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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. 

The stories in 'Verge' are beautiful, but don't quite satisfy

The stories in 'Verge' are beautiful, but don't quite satisfy

Lidia Yuknavitch's new story collection is weighed down by strangely predictable structures and obvious metaphors — but in places it's rivetingly insightful, and one story towers above the rest.
by Kamil Ahsan

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'The Mercies' is a spark of light on a bleak shore

'The Mercies' is a spark of light on a bleak shore

Kiran Millwood Hargrave's new novel takes place in a 17th century Norwegian fishing village devastated by a storm that swallows husbands, brothers and fathers, leaving the women to survive alone.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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New coronavirus 'won't be the last' outbreak to move from animal to human

New coronavirus 'won't be the last' outbreak to move from animal to human

Science writer David Quammen says the new coronavirus is the latest example of the way pathogens are migrating from animals to humans with increasing frequency — and sometimes deadly consequences.
by Dave Davies

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Multiple universes fill the pages of 'The Lost Book of Adana Moreau'

Multiple universes fill the pages of 'The Lost Book of Adana Moreau'

Michael Zapata's debut novel is a straightforward literary mystery on the surface — but his simple tale of a lost sci-fi manuscript goes deep on themes of family, displacement and mythology.
by Jason Heller

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'The Resisters' could use a little more resistance

'The Resisters' could use a little more resistance

Gish Jen's new novel takes place in a dystopian future country called AutoAmerica, where the swamp-dwelling underclass — called "Surplus" — are set against the fair-skinned, land-dwelling "Netted."
by Annalisa Quinn

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A widow, not a wife: 'Smacked' explores an ex-husband's secret addiction

A widow, not a wife: 'Smacked' explores an ex-husband's secret addiction

Eilene Zimmerman didn't learn of her ex-husband's addiction to cocaine and opioids until after his death. "This had happened in front of us, and we hadn't recognized it," she says.
by Terry Gross

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In Ben Passmore's latest, 'Sports Is Hell' and the world is on fire

In Ben Passmore's latest, 'Sports Is Hell' and the world is on fire

Passmore's timely new graphic novel is set in an unnamed city whose football team has just won the Super Bowl, setting off fiery riots. It's a biting satire of political action, race and capitalism.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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In a dark future, these 'Upright Women' bring hope

In a dark future, these 'Upright Women' bring hope

Sarah Gailey's new novella is set in a dystopian future where the United States resembles the Old West, and bands of women on horseback distribute government-approved media to distant villages.
by Jason Heller

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