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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. 

Ask a Bookseller: 'Heaven, My Home'

Ask a Bookseller: 'Heaven, My Home'

Amber Collins, owner of Soul Book Nook in Waterloo, Iowa, recommends a bit of crime fiction, “Heaven, My Home,” a Highway 59 novel by Attica Locke. 
by Emily Bright

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In the Poppy War series, R.F. Kuang asks: 'What if Mao was a teenage girl?'

In the Poppy War series, R.F. Kuang asks: 'What if Mao was a teenage girl?'

The third volume in Kuang's Poppy War series is out now. She grounded the story in history, both her own and China's; it follows a passionate, ruthless young woman who becomes a military leader.
by Alan Yu

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Kwame Alexander offers new poems on race and hope as 'psalms and balms' for the soul

Kwame Alexander offers new poems on race and hope as 'psalms and balms' for the soul

In “Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words On Race And Hope,” Kwame Alexander writes of the killing of George Floyd, Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protests, and the election of Barack Obama.
by Rachel Martin

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Pope Francis' book explores George Floyd, virus skeptics

Pope Francis' book explores George Floyd, virus skeptics

In a new book “Let Us Dream,” Pope Francis is supporting demands for racial justice in the wake of the U.S. police killing of George Floyd and is blasting COVID-19 skeptics and the media that spread their conspiracies.
by The Associated Press

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'Even As We Breathe': A first novel from a teacher who writes for her students

'Even As We Breathe': A first novel from a teacher who writes for her students

The book is a mystery of sorts, set at an upscale North Carolina resort during World War II. Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle teaches at a high school with a student population that's 30 percent Native American.
by Neda Ulaby

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'Nights When Nothing Happened' is quietly lovely — maybe a little too quiet

'Nights When Nothing Happened' is quietly lovely — maybe a little too quiet

Simon Han's debut novel follows a Chinese immigrant family in Texas, whose fragile peace is shattered after the father is wrongly accused of a crime, and it's up to the kids to restore balance.
by Leland Cheuk

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