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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

'Love letter to black boys': Memoir explores masculinity against Appalachian backdrop

'Love letter to black boys': Memoir explores masculinity against Appalachian backdrop

“Punch Me Up To The Gods” opens with Brian Broome's father beating him when he was 10. The blows by his father were meant to pound manliness into him — to be the "toughest guy in the room."
by Steve Inskeep

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Underfunded and overworked, Secret Service fears they're 'relying on luck'

Carol Leonnig spoke to a number of Secret Service agents for her new book, “Zero Fail.” "They strongly believed that it was a matter of time before a president was shot on their watch," she says.
by Dave Davies

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Engaging with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A reading list

Engaging with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: A reading list

Over the past year, stories surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been full of violence and grief — here are some reading recommendations that'll take you beyond just suffering.
by Janet W. Lee and Summer Thomad

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'The Plot' works as literary satire, but its mystery fizzles

'The Plot' works as literary satire, but its mystery fizzles

Jean Hanff Korelitz's tale of dirty deeds in the world of letters skewers pompous male authors with sly humor — but her approach to the central mystery might have you guessing the ending too soon.
by Bethanne Patrick

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A boy and his grandfather visit home 'On the Trapline'

A boy and his grandfather visit home 'On the Trapline'

In “On the Trapline,” a little boy and his Moshom — which means grandfather in the Swampy Cree language — travel north to visit the trapline where, many years ago, the grandfather grew up living off the land.
by Samantha Balaban

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Ask a bookseller recommends very short stories — all about ghosts

Ask a bookseller recommends very short stories — all about ghosts

Lia Lent of WordsWorth Books in Little Rock, Ark., recommended “The Ghost Variations,” a flash fiction collection by Kevin Brockmeier. All the stories involve ghosts in some way, but they range from scary to funny, charming to thought-provoking. And they’re short.
by Emily Bright

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In 'Sorrowland,' the story gets lost in the forest

In 'Sorrowland,' the story gets lost in the forest

Rivers Solomon's new novel — a gothic thriller about a woman escaping a cult for a wild life in the forest — relies too much on atmospherics, neglecting the basic building blocks of story.
by Danny Lore

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Author Michael Lewis on ‘The Premonition’

Author Michael Lewis on ‘The Premonition’

Michael Lewis, the author of “The Big Short” and “Moneyball,” has a new book out called “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story.” He spoke with MPR News about how it came together.
by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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