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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.

Tony Horwitz, Pulitzer-winning journalist and historian, dies at 60

Tony Horwitz, Pulitzer-winning journalist and historian, dies at 60

Horwitz's publisher says he died of apparent cardiac arrest. A Pulitzer Prize winner for covering the hardships of low-wage workers, the peripatetic writer sought truths obscured by history's cliches
by Colin Dwyer

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'Frannie Langton' takes power over her own story

'Frannie Langton' takes power over her own story

In Sara Collins' new novel, a former slave accused of murder recounts her life -- but, as Frannie Langton herself says, no one expects a woman like her to tell her story, or for it to include joy.
by Annalisa Quinn

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Love, disappointment course through 4 classic Asian American novels

Love, disappointment course through 4 classic Asian American novels

In her new autofictional novel, Spanish writer Gabriela Ybarra turns past tragedy -- the murder of her grandfather by Basque separatists -- into a seamless blend of art, politics and private life.
by Maureen Corrigan

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'Summer of Ellen' builds lyrical, sunny suspense

'Summer of Ellen' builds lyrical, sunny suspense

Agnete Friis' new novel takes place in flashbacks, jumping between the present and a rural Danish farm during the summer of 1978 -- a seemingly idyllic time, until two people go missing.
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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This 'Greatest Hits' album is real. Its artist is fiction

This 'Greatest Hits' album is real. Its artist is fiction

Laura Barnett wrote a novel about an aging singer-songwriter sizing up her life in 16 tracks. Then she approached musician Kathryn Williams, who created the book's original soundtrack.
by Scott Simon

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Sharp satire and dark humor in 'Riots I Have Known'

Sharp satire and dark humor in 'Riots I Have Known'

Ryan Chapman's debut novel opens in the middle of a prison riot as the unnamed narrator cowers in fear for his life -- which doesn't seem like a setup for comedy, but it's packed with dark laughs.
by Michael Schaub

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It begins with a letter in a cemetery

It begins with a letter in a cemetery

Bookseller Rayna Nielsen recommends a young adult novel that follows two teenagers caught up by letters exchanged at a gravestone.
by Tracy Mumford

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Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer and LGBTQ activist, dies at 48

Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer and LGBTQ activist, dies at 48

The author founded a platform for young Kenyan authors and came out as gay in a place where homosexuality has long been illegal. "Binyavanga was unbound in his imagining," said a friend and colleague.
by Colin Dwyer

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'Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense' make a libel case into gripping reading

'Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense' make a libel case into gripping reading

Gifted writers Dan Abrams and David Fisher, who previously brought us "Lincoln's Last Trial," are clearly fascinated by how Teddy Roosevelt's court case played out -- bringing an enthusiasm to readers.
by Michael Schaub

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