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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

'Useful Delusions' examines how beliefs can be powerful in positive and negative ways

'Useful Delusions' examines how beliefs can be powerful in positive and negative ways

In a new book, former NPR reporter Shankar Vedantam suggests attaining "a deeper psychological understanding of why people believe what they believe," being empathetic and considering costs involved.
by Steve Inskeep

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Manosphere, world of incels exposed in Laura Bates book 'Men Who Hate Women'

Manosphere, world of incels exposed in Laura Bates book 'Men Who Hate Women'

The author's latest book is an often harrowing read; an uncompromising guide to the misogynistic backlash of the past decade. Bates says the movement's members "are men we all pass on the street."
by David Futrelle

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'Silence Is A Sense' works to dispel the terrible abstractions of Syria's civil war

'Silence Is A Sense' works to dispel the terrible abstractions of Syria's civil war

Layla Alammar's new novel is about a journalist who's fled the Syrian civil war for a new life in London — but can only tell anonymous stories about her neighbors because trauma has left her silent.
by Scott Simon

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Ask a Bookseller: 'Milk Fed,' a novel about self-discovery — and frozen yogurt

Ask a Bookseller: 'Milk Fed,' a novel about self-discovery — and frozen yogurt

This week’s recommendation comes from Montpelier, Vt., where Claire Benedict is co-owner of Bear Pond Books. Benedict says she devoured the novel “Milk Fed” by Melissa Broder — an appropriate description for a novel that is about appetites and what sustains us — also, lots of frozen yogurt. 
by Emily Bright

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Talking Volumes: A conversation with Reginald Dwayne Betts

Talking Volumes: A conversation with Reginald Dwayne Betts

Reginald Dwayne Betts animates the ideals of justice, integrity and equity in his work as both an attorney and a poet. He went to prison as a teenager for carjacking and later went to Yale to study law. He joined MPR News host Kerri Miller on the virtual Talking Volumes stage for a conversation about race, criminal justice and reading.
by Kerri Miller

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The stories in 'Reality' have some bite

The stories in 'Reality' have some bite

John Lanchester's sharp new story collection considers the dark side of technology, from smartphones to selfie sticks. But you don't have to be a Luddite to appreciate this smart, scary book.
by Michael Schaub

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'Maniac' recounts deadliest school mass murder in American history

'Maniac' recounts deadliest school mass murder in American history

Author Harold Schechter details the 1927 school bombing in Bath Township, Mich., that killed 38 children and six adults. Days later, Charles Lindbergh's famous transatlantic flight captured headlines.
by Michael Schaub

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Books hold the key to 'The Postscript Murders'

Books hold the key to 'The Postscript Murders'

The woman who turns up dead at the start of Elly Griffiths' new novel billed herself as a "murder consultant" for writers. Griffiths says she was inspired by her aunt, who enjoys thinking up murders.
by Mary Louise Kelly

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Are we failing boys in America?

Are we failing boys in America?

In her searing new book, investigative journalist Emma Brown says boys in America face a crisis of emotional and mental health. Can we fix the system that is failing them? 
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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