The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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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.

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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.

Rediscovering 'Cher Ami' and the lost battalion: Questions for Kathleen Rooney
Kathleen Rooney's new novel follows an unlikely subject: Cher Ami, the once-famous homing pigeon who helped save a trapped battalion during World War I, and the officer who owed his life to her.
How a 1969 murder at Harvard turned into a cold case and a 'cautionary tale'
In “We Keep the Dead Close,” author Becky Cooper revisits the killing of Harvard graduate student Jane Britton. The 440+ page book is overstuffed with suspects, motives, red herrings and interviews.
Author details 'Living With Death' in her 20s and scrambling for life-saving care
Katherine Standefer was uninsured and working as a hiking guide when diagnosed with a genetic heart condition. She chronicles her experience with an implanted heart device in “Lightning Flowers.”
Author and journalist Tom Ricks: Founding Fathers expected today's political state
"I think Madison, especially, would be very proud to see that when America deeply disagrees, as it does now, that things grind to a halt," Ricks, author of a new book, “First Principles,” tells NPR.
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe on equal pay, and what the U.S. flag means to her
Rapinoe has also been an outspoken advocate for pay equity and the Black Lives Matter movement. "I see patriotism as constantly demanding better of ourselves," she says. Her new book is “One Life.”
Thread: Wanbli Weiden's 'Winter Counts' deserves more fanfare
For this week’s Thread: Kerri Miller begins a series this morning running through the end of December that will give more attention to authors you might not have heard about, and would be great ideas for the holiday season.
60 years later, Ruby Bridges tells her story in 'This Is Your Time'
Bridges was the little girl depicted in that famous Norman Rockwell painting — the first Black student at her New Orleans elementary school. Now, she's written a book to tell kids her story.