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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.

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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'These Violent Delights' transports Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai

'These Violent Delights' transports Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai

Chloe Gong's new novel has some of the important aspects of Shakespeare's famous tragedy — but more than anything else, it's a rich portrait of a time and place not often seen in literature.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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Ask a Bookseller: 'The Most Spectacular Mistake'

Ask a Bookseller: 'The Most Spectacular Mistake'

Bookseller Sarah Rafael Garcia of LibroMobile in Santa Ana California recommended a poetry collection this week: “The Most Spectacular Mistake” by Anatalia Vallez.
by Emily Bright

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2020's National Book Awards strive for inclusivity

This year's National Book Awards — announced in a first-ever virtual streaming ceremony — went mostly to writers of color, as the foundation that gives the prizes vowed to be more inclusive.
by Petra Mayer

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Lin Enger's new novel delves into truth, lies and the apocalypse

Lin Enger's new novel delves into truth, lies and the apocalypse

Lin Enger says his own obsession with the rapture developed over the years, as did a story he first set out to write three decades ago. “American Gospel” is set in the 1970s but has an eerie ring of today.
by Euan Kerr

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