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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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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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.

In 'Dear Haiti, Love Alaine,' Haiti comes alive as a character

In 'Dear Haiti, Love Alaine,' Haiti comes alive as a character

Sisters Maika and Maritza Moulite tackle heavy issues in this novel about a girl who gets sent to live with her aunt in Haiti, and discovers more than she bargained for about the women of her family.
by Alethea Kontis

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'Fashionopolis' tells us why we should care about clothes

'Fashionopolis' tells us why we should care about clothes

Fashion journalist Dana Thomas' book is a snappy, clear-minded attack on the fashion industry's rampant labor and environmental abuses — and also offers a path forward for consumers and the world.
by Lily Meyer

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'The Grammarians' diagrams the push and pull of sisterhood

'The Grammarians' diagrams the push and pull of sisterhood

Cathleen Schine's new novel follows redheaded twin sisters whose obsessive love of language brings them close as children — and begins to drive them apart as increasingly competitive adults.
by Heller McAlpin

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For many authors, celebrity book clubs are a ticket to success

For many authors, celebrity book clubs are a ticket to success

Booksellers often talk about discoverability — the ability to help readers find books publishers want them to buy. And increasingly, celebrity book clubs are a way to get books into readers' hands.
by Lynn Neary

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'The Testaments' takes us back to Gilead for a fast-paced, female-centered adventure

'The Testaments' takes us back to Gilead for a fast-paced, female-centered adventure

Margaret Atwood's long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale brings readers new voices (and one familiar one) and a whole new view of Gilead, the dystopian theocracy that was once the United States.
by Danielle Kurtzleben

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Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie headline 2019 Booker Prize shortlist

Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie headline 2019 Booker Prize shortlist

Atwood made the list for her sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, and Rushdie for his reimagining of Don Quixote. Chigozie Obioma, Elif Shafak, Lucy Ellmann and Bernardine Evaristo round out the finalists.
by Colin Dwyer

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Structural injustice is at the core of 'We, The Survivors'

Structural injustice is at the core of 'We, The Survivors'

Tash Aw's beautifully written new novel focuses on class issues in contemporary Malaysia, where his compelling protagonist is struggling to lead a quiet life after a long-ago murder conviction.
by Lily Meyer

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'Just Ask!' says Sonia Sotomayor. She knows what it's like to feel different

'Just Ask!' says Sonia Sotomayor. She knows what it's like to feel different

We're all different and that's good, says the U.S. Supreme Court justice. Her new children's book about embracing diversity portrays kids of all abilities working together to create a gorgeous garden.
by Samantha Balaban

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In 'The Ventriloquists,' the true story of a fake newspaper

In 'The Ventriloquists,' the true story of a fake newspaper

E.R. Ramzipoor's novel tells the story a group of resisters in Belgium during World War II who lampooned the Nazis by putting out a satirical edition of the newspaper Le Soir, then a Nazi mouthpiece.
by Jean Zimmerman

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