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The Thread® - Books and Literary 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. 

'Want' captures the precariousness of America's middle class

'Want' captures the precariousness of America's middle class

The family at the center of Lynn Steger Strong's novel is on the brink of bankruptcy. “Want” is a portrait of how close to the edge people are — despite the seeming safeguard of middle-class jobs.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Coronavirus and drinking games: Author of new book sees commonalities

Coronavirus and drinking games: Author of new book sees commonalities

Adam Kucharski, author of the new book “The Rules Of Contagion,” talks about how to predict the spread (and end) of contagious events, from viruses to internet trends.
by Susan Brink

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'We've got to learn from our history,' 'Demagogue' author warns

'We've got to learn from our history,' 'Demagogue' author warns

Author Larry Tye chronicles Sen. Joseph McCarthy's infamous smear campaign in a new book. He says both McCarthy and Trump are "bullies" who exploit fears and "point fingers when they're attacked."
by Terry Gross

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Thread Must-Read: 'The Vanishing Half' by Brit Bennett

Thread Must-Read: 'The Vanishing Half' by Brit Bennett

For this week’s Thread Must-Read, MPR News host Kerri Miller shares what she calls the summer read of 2020.
by Kerri Miller

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Privilege takes many forms in 'Friends and Strangers'

Privilege takes many forms in 'Friends and Strangers'

J. Courtney Sullivan's new novel examines the relationship between a mother and her child's caregiver — both women with significant degrees of privilege, despite their surface economic differences.
by Mary Louise Kelly

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'Bright Precious Thing' encompasses memories unleashed by #MeToo movement

'Bright Precious Thing' encompasses memories unleashed by #MeToo movement

Like most good memoirs, Gail Caldwell's latest is a reassessment of life choices, roads taken and others foregone. "At some point you shuffle the cards and call the deck a life," she writes.
by Heller McAlpin

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New book teaches kids 'How to Solve a Problem' like a rock climber would

New book teaches kids 'How to Solve a Problem' like a rock climber would

Ashima Shiraishi may be one of the most talented rock climbers in the world, but lofty titles aside, she wants kids to know that most of climbing — and life — is "just falling."
by Samantha Balaban

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For fantasy fans looking for their next book series

For fantasy fans looking for their next book series

Bookseller Jody Hardy recommends a series that has drawn comparisons to the works of Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin.
by Emily Bright

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