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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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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. 

Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

Video: Biffy, hobbledehoy, cattywumpus! Where did these words come from?

It’s not always possible to find the exact origin of our favorite words. History and language can get messy. But discussing their roots and forming hypotheses can be fascinating, and lots of fun! We sat down with etymologist Anatoly Liberman to help shed some light on a few of our favorite words.
by Sara Porter and Jiwon Choi

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Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Idiosyncratic, dimension-hopping 'Skip' creates its own niche

Molly Mendoza's loopy new graphic novel isn't quite a young adult book, or a book for grownups, either. But it is a trippy visual experience, and Mendoza's art is gorgeous even when the story is thin.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Losing and old faith — and gaining a new one — in 'The Churchgoer'

Patrick Coleman's novel follows a former pastor, now working as a security guard, who gets caught up in a noirish adventure after one of his coworkers is murdered, but it's much more than a whodunit.
by Ilana Masad

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'It Came from Something Awful' links 4Chan and today's political discourse

'It Came from Something Awful' links 4Chan and today's political discourse

If author Dale Beran is to be believed, all the world's an Internet forum. His new book offers an overview of Internet culture and explores the mindset and techniques of early Internet trolls.
by Andrew Limbong

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'Marilou is Everywhere,' and also a miracle

'Marilou is Everywhere,' and also a miracle

Sarah Elaine Smith's debut novel, about a girl from an impoverished, broken family who impersonates a missing neighbor in order to get motherly attention, is otherworldly in its beauty and power.
by Michael Schaub

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'Jade War' is a magical, operatic crime and family drama

'Jade War' is a magical, operatic crime and family drama

Fonda Lee's Jade War is the second volume in her sweeping yet intimate saga about two clans on a small island nation, battling for control over supplies of the magical jade that powers their fighters.
by Jason Sheehan

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A complicated puzzle get closer to solution in 'The Dark Above'

A complicated puzzle get closer to solution in 'The Dark Above'

In Jeremy Finley's followup to The Darkest Time of Night, too many plot threads tangle the story — but his strong, well-realized women are a welcome presence in this supernatural thriller.
by Bethanne Patrick

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Colson Whitehead's new novel 'is the work of a master'

Colson Whitehead's new novel 'is the work of a master'

How does Colson Whitehead follow up his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel? — with an equally stunning story.

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