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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

Ashley C. Ford’s debut memoir, “Somebody’s Daughter,” takes readers on an emotional journey of her life growing up as a young Black girl in Indiana with a single mother, an absent father and a heavy family secret.
by Kerri Miller and Ariana Rosas

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Friendship between a woman and a fox leads to transformation in 'Fox & I'

Friendship between a woman and a fox leads to transformation in 'Fox & I'

The very antithesis of a fox-taming tale, Catherine Raven's memoir shows us that we are surrounded by wild animals who make thoughtful decisions and experience joys and sorrows on their own terms.
by Barbara J. King

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How an anti-vice crusader sabotaged the early birth control movement

How an anti-vice crusader sabotaged the early birth control movement

The Comstock Act, which passed in 1873, virtually outlawed contraception. In “The Man Who Hated Women,” author Amy Sohn writes about the man behind the law — and the women prosecuted under it.
by Terry Gross

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Fasten your seat belts: Flight attendant-turned-novelist shares stories from the sky

Fasten your seat belts: Flight attendant-turned-novelist shares stories from the sky

During her 10 years as a flight attendant, T.J. Newman became an expert in guessing drink orders and calming unruly passengers. She drew on those experiences to write the hijack thriller “Falling.”
by Dave Davies

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J.P. Morgan's personal librarian was a Black woman. This is her story.

J.P. Morgan's personal librarian was a Black woman. This is her story.

Belle Da Costa Greene was one of the most prominent career women of her time, but the world didn't know she was Black. A new novel from Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray tells her story.
by Karen Grigsby Bates

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A late bloomer makes the case for rejecting life's typical timeline

A late bloomer makes the case for rejecting life's typical timeline

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Doree Shafrir about her book “Thanks for Waiting” and the obstacles and victories of postponing the usual milestones of success for women like marriage, kids and a career.
by Ailsa Chang, Elena Burnett and Justine Kenin

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Fierce girls and giant robots battle an empire in this YA adventure

Fierce girls and giant robots battle an empire in this YA adventure

In Zoe Hana Mikuta's new “Gearbreakers,” a talented pilot and a daring rebel have the same goal — take down a giant, evil empire. But first, they have to learn to trust each other — and maybe more.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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The first wave of post-Trump books arrives. And they fight to make sense of the chaos

The first wave of post-Trump books arrives. And they fight to make sense of the chaos

Authors are unearthing fresh details on the pandemic response and election fallout. The difficulty they face discerning the truth and meaning from all of that reflects the turmoil of the Trump years.
by Danielle Kurtzleben

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What transitioning taught a transgender pastor about power, sex and patriarchy

What transitioning taught a transgender pastor about power, sex and patriarchy

When Paula Stone Williams announced she was going to transition from being a man to being a woman, her world imploded. She lost her job as a Christian leader, and her family was in turmoil. In her new memoir, she shares what she discovered about herself, what it means to be transgender, and what she learned about the patriarchy as she lives her life as a strong woman.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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