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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.

'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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These cli-fi classics are cautionary tales for today

These cli-fi classics are cautionary tales for today

As heat waves roll across Europe and storms pummel the American South, literature is responding. But climate fiction — or cli-fi — is nothing new, and we've got a roundup of some classics.
by Jason Heller

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From insomnia to sexsomnia, unlocking the 'secret world' of sleep

From insomnia to sexsomnia, unlocking the 'secret world' of sleep

Neurologist Guy Leschziner, author of The Nocturnal Brain, says the brain can be in different sleep stages at once — which explains why people sometimes walk, eat and even have sex when sleeping.
by Dave Davies

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'Lager Queen' author was tired of caricatures of Midwestern women

'Lager Queen' author was tired of caricatures of Midwestern women

J. Ryan Stradal wasn't seeing the strong, Midwestern women who raised him reflected well in contemporary fiction. So he decided to write those characters himself in “The Lager Queen of Minnesota.”
by Ari Shapiro

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