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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.

Ask a Bookseller: A murder mystery set on the North Shore 

Ask a Bookseller: A murder mystery set on the North Shore 

Lisa Deyo of Sweet Reads in Austin, Minnesota (across from the Spam Museum) recommended the murder mystery “The Devil’s Kettle” by fellow Austin-based writer J.J. Ollman. 
by Emily Bright

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Just move: Scientist author debunks myths about exercise and sleep

Just move: Scientist author debunks myths about exercise and sleep

Paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman says the concept of "getting exercise" is relatively new. His new book, “Exercised,” examines why we run, lift and walk for a workout when our ancestors didn't.
by Terry Gross

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In 'Remote Control,' drones fly over the yam fields of a near-future Africa

In 'Remote Control,' drones fly over the yam fields of a near-future Africa

Nnedi Okorafor's multi-faceted new novella follows a young girl in a near-future version of Ghana who becomes the Adopted Daughter of Death — but she can't quite figure out how that happened.
by Jason Heller

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'Doctors Blackwell' tells the story of 2 pioneering sisters who changed medicine

'Doctors Blackwell' tells the story of 2 pioneering sisters who changed medicine

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to earn her medical degree. Her sister Emily followed in her footsteps. Janice Nimura tells the story of the "complicated, prickly" trailblazers.
by Dave Davies

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The history in 'Angel of Greenwood' could not be more timely

The history in 'Angel of Greenwood' could not be more timely

Randi Pink's new novel follows a young couple, Angel and Isaiah, whose budding love is set against the backdrop of historical tragedy: the Tulsa race massacre of 1921.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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Two books to reflect on climate change in 2021

Two books to reflect on climate change in 2021

Kerri Miller provides her Thread Must-Read recommendations and she says 2021 will be a good year for great writing about climate change.
by Kerri Miller

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'Aftershocks' is a powerful memoir of a life upended — then pieced back together

'Aftershocks' is a powerful memoir of a life upended — then pieced back together

When Nadia Owusu was 4 years old, her Armenian American mother disappeared from her life. When she was 13, her Ghanaian father died. Owusu reflects the losses and her biracial identity in her memoir.
by Maureen Corrigan

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There's pain and tragedy in 'Yellow Wife' — but also great joy

There's pain and tragedy in 'Yellow Wife' — but also great joy

Sadeqa Johnson's novel — inspired by a real historical figure — pulls no punches in its tale of an enslaved woman trying to survive and make a life for herself and her family.
by Denny S. Bryce

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