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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. 

Russian-American Masha Gessen sees Putin in Trump, trouble in future

Russian-American Masha Gessen sees Putin in Trump, trouble in future

The New Yorker journalist says Putin and Trump were elected president without really wanting the job. They ran "not for president but for autocrat" and did not expect to settle for anything less.
by Ron Elving

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This bedtime book helps kids find their place in the 'universe'

This bedtime book helps kids find their place in the 'universe'

Before he became an astrophysicist, Ray Jayawardhana was just a kid, looking up at the night sky with his father. "I remember being awed," he says. He's written a book called “Child of the Universe.”
by Samantha Balaban

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'Something To Talk About' is a slow-burn showstopper romance

'Something To Talk About' is a slow-burn showstopper romance

In Meryl Wilsner's debut novel, a Hollywood showrunner and her assistant are thrust into the spotlight after an innocuous red-carpet moment prompts gossip about a relationship between the two women.
by Denny S. Bryce

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In 'Humankind,' Rutger Bregman aims to convince that most people are good

In 'Humankind,' Rutger Bregman aims to convince that most people are good

The historian and author of “Utopia for Realists” says that research shows that "especially in times of crisis, we show our best selves. And we get this explosion of altruism and cooperation."
by Scott Simon

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Say 'Hello, Neighbor' to this charming picture book about Mister Rogers

Say 'Hello, Neighbor' to this charming picture book about Mister Rogers

Our kids' books columnist reports that amidst the messes and fights that result from kids in lockdown, Matthew Cordell's gentle new picture book biography of Mister Rogers has the power to soothe.
by Juanita Giles

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Larry Kramer, pioneering AIDS activist and writer, dies at 84

Larry Kramer, pioneering AIDS activist and writer, dies at 84

Kramer was a writer with an Oscar-nominated screenplay when his friends started dying mysteriously — galvanizing him to found the Gay Men's Health Crisis, and later ACT UP, to combat AIDS.
by Neda Ulaby

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How the 'lost art' of breathing can impact sleep and resilience

How the 'lost art' of breathing can impact sleep and resilience

While researching his book, “Breath,” James Nestor participated in a study in which his nose was completely plugged for 10 days, forcing him to breathe solely through his mouth. "I felt awful," he says.
by Terry Gross

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A memoir reflects on what happens to the 'Fairest' of them all

A memoir reflects on what happens to the 'Fairest' of them all

During a boyhood in the Philippines, Meredith Talusan received positive reactions to the white skin and blonde hair accompanying albinism. She found a different response as a trans woman in the U.S.
by Hope Wabuke

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