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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.

'Melmoth' bears witness to our worst, loneliest moments

'Melmoth' bears witness to our worst, loneliest moments

Sarah Perry's new novel isn't subtle -- it's full of ominous birds, guttering candles and mysterious figures in gloomy windows. But there's something satisfying about its emotional flamboyance.
by Annalisa Quinn

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'Ruth Bader Ginsburg' reminds us why the justice is a true legal icon

'Ruth Bader Ginsburg' reminds us why the justice is a true legal icon

Jane Sherron De Hart's biography sheds light on personal and professional challenges Ginsburg faced on the way to the top and puts the Supreme Court justice's life in context.
by Michelle Olsen

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What would Eleanor do? 'If You Ask Me' revisits Roosevelt's advice columns

What would Eleanor do? 'If You Ask Me' revisits Roosevelt's advice columns

For 20 years, Roosevelt answered reader questions on topics monumental, mundane and everywhere in between. A new book presents a selection of her essential advice and practical wisdom.
by Maureen Corrigan

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'Heavy' brilliantly renders the struggle to become fully realized

'Heavy' brilliantly renders the struggle to become fully realized

The book is at once a paean to the Deep South, a condemnation of our fat-averse culture, and a beautiful memoir of being black, bookish, and part of a family that's as challenging as it is grounding.
by Martha Anne Toll

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'Vietnam' takes on all sides with a critical gaze

'Vietnam' takes on all sides with a critical gaze

While historian Max Hastings may break no new ground in his tome, it's how he crafts his story with color, detail and pathos that makes it great -- and likely to become the standard on the war.
by Tom Bowman

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Anna Burns wins Man Booker prize for 'Milkman'

Anna Burns wins Man Booker prize for 'Milkman'

Burns' story set in Northern Ireland was awarded the 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the book will be published in the U.S. this December by Graywolf Press.
by Associated Press

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'Hey, Kiddo' aims to help kids with addicted parents feel less alone

'Hey, Kiddo' aims to help kids with addicted parents feel less alone

Jarrett J. Krosoczka was raised by his grandparents. The author and illustrator says he got a lot of practice telling stories as a kid, "making up excuses for where my biological parents were."
by Terry Gross

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Getting 'The Band' together: Questions for Nicholas Eames

Getting 'The Band' together: Questions for Nicholas Eames

Author Nicholas Eames's series The Band is a joyous mashup of classic rock and fantasy tropes -- because if there were monsters, why wouldn't there be bands of celebrity mercenaries to slay them?
by Jason Heller

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Phoebe Robinson: There's no excuse for the lack of diversity in comedy

Phoebe Robinson: There's no excuse for the lack of diversity in comedy

"There are so many talented, amazing people and if you're not booking them, it's either out of laziness or the fact you really don't care," says the co-host of the 2 Dope Queens podcast.
by Terry Gross

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