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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. 

What does a father mean when you've never had one?

What does a father mean when you've never had one?

In 'The Last Samurai,' a mother chooses to raise her son without a father. But her son, a startling prodigy, soon has questions.
by Tracy Mumford

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'We Set the Dark on Fire' burns bright

'We Set the Dark on Fire' burns bright

Tehlor Kay Mejia's debut novel is set at a posh girls' school in a dystopian world where the students are being trained for lives as political consorts to powerful men.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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Minnesota novel revisits meth crisis of the '90s

Minnesota novel revisits meth crisis of the '90s

"Northern Lights" tracks a young man through a succession of small towns and counters the myth that meth affects only the poorest of the poor.
by Euan Kerr

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In 'The Good Immigrant,' new Americans grapple with their polarized county

In 'The Good Immigrant,' new Americans grapple with their polarized county

Co-editor Chimene Suleyman says she doesn't want to wait for other people to decide who's a good immigrant. She wants immigrants to answer that question for themselves.
by Joel Rose

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In climate change, stories have a role to play

In climate change, stories have a role to play

The editors of this new anthology -- drawn from a story contest run by Arizona State University -- argue that stories are as necessary as policy and technology in the fight against climate change.
by Jason Sheehan

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Classic books are full of problems. Why can't we put them down?

Classic books are full of problems. Why can't we put them down?

A recent study found that Dr. Seuss books can be pretty racist. It's highlighted a growing debate: Should schools teach classic books that may be problematic or trade them for socially conscious ones?
by Tiara Jenkins and Jessica Yarmosky

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'Vacuum in the Dark' is fun, funny -- but never frivolous

'Vacuum in the Dark' is fun, funny -- but never frivolous

Jen Beagin is a wonderfully funny writer with a knack for serious subjects. Her exuberant new novel follows a young house cleaner who grew up too fast and is trying to reinvent herself.
by Michael Schaub

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'The Raven Tower' rises from Shakespearean foundations

'The Raven Tower' rises from Shakespearean foundations

Ann Leckie's new fantasy novel is packed with family intrigue, throne-room maneuvering and nods to 'Hamlet' in its story of a son who comes home to find his father missing and his uncle in power.
by Genevieve Valentine

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Boris Fishman's 'Savage Feast' is part memoir, part cookbook

Boris Fishman's 'Savage Feast' is part memoir, part cookbook

Fishman's family came to the United States from Belarus in 1988; he writes that the hunger, terror and loss of World War II still shapes their attitudes towards food even after seven decades.
by David Greene

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