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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. 

Everyone invited: 'Great Gatsby' copyright to end in 2021

Anyone will be allowed to publish the book, adapt it to a movie, make it into an opera or stage a Broadway musical. No longer will you need to get permission to write a sequel, a prequel, a Jay Gatsby detective novel or a Gatsby narrative populated with zombies.
by The Associated Press

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'Cleanness' revisits familiar ground, beautifully

'Cleanness' revisits familiar ground, beautifully

Garth Greenwell's new story collection — like his previous novel — follows young, gay American men teaching English in Bulgaria. It's part heartbreaking, part forward-looking, and all beautiful.
by Martha Anne Toll

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In 'Agency,' William Gibson builds a bomb that doesn't boom (and that's OK)

In 'Agency,' William Gibson builds a bomb that doesn't boom (and that's OK)

Gibson's new novel is a sequel to 2014's “The Peripheral,” jumping back and forth in time as investigators, military contractors and killers chase down a rogue AI, and tensions flare in the Middle East.
by Jason Sheehan

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'The Majesties' is disturbing, yet shockingly enjoyable

'The Majesties' is disturbing, yet shockingly enjoyable

Tiffany Tsao's novel explores the dark secrets of the wealthy Chinese-Indonesian Sulinado family, who fall victim to one of their own when daughter Estella poisons the entire clan at a family dinner.
by Swapna Krishna

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'Little Gods' reminds us some questions are better left unasked

'Little Gods' reminds us some questions are better left unasked

Meng Jin's new novel shows us a complex woman through the eyes of her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's nanny — all of whom see different, sometimes contradictory facets of her character.
by Gabino Iglesias

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Talking Volumes with poet Tracy K. Smith

Talking Volumes with poet Tracy K. Smith

Smith was the final speaker of the 20th season of Talking Volumes. The 2017 U.S. poet laureate talked about her experience sharing poetry with communities across the nation.
by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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Christopher Tolkien, 'Middle-earth's first scholar,' dies at 95

J.R.R. Tolkien's son was instrumental in cultivating his father's legacy, shepherding unpublished works to readers and helping extend the world of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
by Colin Dwyer

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Counter Stories: Sisters in Loss

Counter Stories: Sisters in Loss

The Counter Stories team look at the effect of implicit bias and institutional racism on women’s reproductive health.

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'Kingdomtide' and 'Dear Edward': 2 new novels take on a singular situation

'Kingdomtide' and 'Dear Edward': 2 new novels take on a singular situation

If the chances of dying in a plane crash are slim, being the sole survivor is even less likely — but that's the premise for two new novels, Ann Napolitano's Dear Edward and Rye Curtis's Kingdomtide.
by Heller McAlpin

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