The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer.

January 13, 2020 8:46 AM

Living an everyday life amid the disrupters in 'Uncanny Valley'

Anna Wiener's new memoir chronicles the time she spent working in Silicon Valley tech startups. She says industry narratives tend to be about genius and innovation — not ordinary employees.

by Scott Simon

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January 13, 2020 7:01 AM

'Between Two Fires' asks: At what point are we responsible for our actions?

In his new book, The New Yorker's Joshua Yaffa is as much an ethicist as he is a reporter, presenting a portrait of the Russian state through those who have decided to compromise with it.

by Annalisa Quinn

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January 13, 2020 4:34 AM

In new book, retired Pope Benedict breaks silence to speak out on priestly celibacy

The surprise move is seen as a rebuke to Pope Francis, who is weighing whether to allow older, married men to be ordained in some South American countries, where a shortage of priests is acute.

by Scott Neuman

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January 12, 2020 4:14 PM

In an election year, reflecting on a political power couple from the 1800s

NPR's Steve Inskeep, discussing his book “Imperfect Union: How Jesse and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity and Helped Cause the Civil War,” touches on parallels to U.S. politics in 2020.

by Michel Martin

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January 12, 2020 6:00 AM

Art attack! The 'Plain Janes' deliver a shot of creative optimism

Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg's beloved young adult comic returns with a collection of old and new stories — and this time, our art-loving heroines are a little more grown up.

by Etelka Lehoczky

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January 11, 2020 6:00 AM

Brash, bizarre 'Oligarchy' is an unflinching look at troubled young women

Scarlett Thomas' novel, set among wealthy girls at a British boarding school, is an audacious examination of disordered eating and social competition that turns dark when one of the girls drowns.

by Michael Schaub

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January 10, 2020 5:06 PM

A hilarious and razor-sharp debut

“It’s a book that’s a combination of funny and smart,” said bookseller Danny Caine. “And that’s my favorite thing, when something can be hilarious with a lot to say.”

by Tracy Mumford

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January 10, 2020 2:10 PM

Author Peggy Orenstein on ‘Boys & Sex’

Are you dreading having “the talk” with your son? Author Peggy Orenstein did some of the legwork for you. She shares what she found in her new book.

by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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January 9, 2020 12:52 PM

St. Paul libraries want to foster a communitywide conversation about climate change

St. Paul Public Libraries has curated a selection of books climate change for all ages and tastes. Library Director Catherine Penkert recommended some of her picks on Climate Cast.

by Paul Huttner and Megan Burks

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January 9, 2020 10:55 AM

New collection celebrates Jean Stafford, a gifted novelist who deserved better

Stafford is often remembered as wife No. 1 in the many biographies and studies of poet Robert Lowell. But a new Library of America edition of her three novels showcases her masterful writing.

by Maureen Corrigan

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