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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.

The revolution will be driverless: Autonomous cars usher in big changes

The revolution will be driverless: Autonomous cars usher in big changes

Driverless vehicles could be the 'most disruptive technology to hit society worldwide since the advent of the motor car,' says former New York City Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz.
by Terry Gross

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'Mary, Queen of Scots' is a case study of how political, human narratives get crafted

'Mary, Queen of Scots' is a case study of how political, human narratives get crafted

Stefan Zweig's famous book is as much about its own context as an execution 300 years ago; its archness signals a time capsule, except that the rhetoric around women in power has changed so little.
by Genevieve Valentine

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In 'Trish Trash,' it's roller derby on Mars

In 'Trish Trash,' it's roller derby on Mars

Jessica Abel's comic 'Trish Trash, Rollergirl of Mars' isn't just a sports story and a coming-of-age tale, it's a masterful critique of capitalism that stays engaging despite a few wobbles.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Surrealism meets sci-fi in 'Parallel Lives'

Surrealism meets sci-fi in 'Parallel Lives'

Olivier Schrauwen's new graphic novel is cold and rejecting, giddy and uncontrolled, all at the same time. It's semi-autobiographical and loosely sci-fi, set in an unsettlingly minimalist future.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Michelle Obama's take on 'lean in'? 'That &#%! doesn't work'

Michelle Obama's take on 'lean in'? 'That &#%! doesn't work'

Obama told a Brooklyn audience that the notion of "having it all" is "a lie." Many were delighted by the former first lady's spontaneous candor.

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In love with teen lit: Remembering the 'Paperback Crush' of the '80s and '90s

In love with teen lit: Remembering the 'Paperback Crush' of the '80s and '90s

As a preteen Gabrielle Moss devoured books in "The Baby-Sitters Club" and "Sweet Valley High" series. She recently reread them for "nostalgic stress relief" and ended up writing a book on the genre.
by Ailsa Chang

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New biography chronicles Bing Crosby's most beloved years

New biography chronicles Bing Crosby's most beloved years

Crosby set the mold for the multimedia star: on radio, on the big screen and on record. The 1940s was the period when his star shone brightest and 'Swinging on a Star' by Gary Giddins tells that story.
by Tom Vitale

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'Babel' looks at language through the 20 most-widely spoken

'Babel' looks at language through the 20 most-widely spoken

Linguist Gaston Dorren's book is endlessly interesting -- and you don't have to have any linguistic training to enjoy it: He has a talent for clearly explaining even the most difficult concepts.
by Michael Schaub

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Extreme ideologies clash in 'North of Dawn'

Extreme ideologies clash in 'North of Dawn'

Author Nuruddin Farah writes about immigration and radicalization in his latest novel 'North of Dawn,' which follows a Somali living in exile in Norway whose son chooses a dangerously extreme path.
by Steve Inskeep

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