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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

'The Strange Case of Dr. Couney' tells of fair sideshows that saved babies' lives

'The Strange Case of Dr. Couney' tells of fair sideshows that saved babies' lives

In a mosaic mystery told in vignettes, cliffhangers, curious asides, and some surreal plot twists, journalist Dawn Raffel investigates the secrets of the man who changed infant care in America.
by Genevieve Valentine

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Yabbadabba-what? These aren't the Flintstones you remember

Yabbadabba-what? These aren't the Flintstones you remember

When you say "The Flintstones," most people think of the old Hanna Barbera cartoons. But a new comic book adaptation keeps the humor, and tackles some heavy themes like capitalism and human frailty.
by Mallory Yu

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Scientists are 'Spying on Whales' to learn how they eat, talk and ... walked?

Scientists are 'Spying on Whales' to learn how they eat, talk and ... walked?

Paleobiologist Nick Pyenson is dedicated to uncovering the "hidden lives" of whales. Forty to 50 million years ago, he says, whales had four legs and lived at least part of their lives on land.
by Dave Davies

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'The Third Hotel' will get under your skin

'The Third Hotel' will get under your skin

Laura Van Den Berg's new novel follows a woman who runs into her ostensibly-dead husband at a Cuban film festival. It operates in symbols and layers, leaving readers disoriented, but fascinated.
by Lily Meyer

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'The Incendiaries' is a poignant and powerful look at campus life

'The Incendiaries' is a poignant and powerful look at campus life

R.O. Kwon's new novel explores the attractions -- and dangers -- of faith, against the overheated, over-the-top backdrop of an upper-crust college somewhere in the Northeastern United State.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Scientists are 'Spying on Whales' to learn how they eat, talk and ... walked?

Scientists are 'Spying on Whales' to learn how they eat, talk and ... walked?

Paleobiologist Nick Pyenson is dedicated to uncovering the "hidden lives" of whales. He says that 40 million to 50 million years ago, they had four legs and lived at least part of their lives on land.
by Dave Davies

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A thwarted child kidnapping inspired 'Fruit of the Drunken Tree'

A thwarted child kidnapping inspired 'Fruit of the Drunken Tree'

Growing up amid widespread violence in Colombia, Ingrid Rojas Contreras and her sister were targeted for kidnapping. They were saved by the courage and compassion of a teenager working in their home.

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