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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.

'False Calm' acts as a record of real life in Patagonia

'False Calm' acts as a record of real life in Patagonia

Argentine writer Maria Sonia Cristoff wants to be honest: She won't shape her subjects' narratives or take control of another person's story. This is both the book's great strength and great weakness.
by Lily Meyer

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'Once and Forever' turns familiar fairy-tale ideas upside down

'Once and Forever' turns familiar fairy-tale ideas upside down

Kenji Miyazawa is a beloved author in Japan; this book -- a reissue of a 1993 story collection -- balances chaos and kindness, natural and supernatural to build a world in which anything might happen.
by Genevieve Valentine

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How a 19th century chemist took on the food industry with a grisly experiment

Deborah Blum's book, 'The Poison Squad,' tells how Harvey Washington Wiley and his band of chemists crusaded to remove toxins, such as arsenic and borax, from food. How? By testing them on volunteers.
by Ari Shapiro

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'Infidel' uses the supernatural to explore racism's real life horrors

'Infidel' uses the supernatural to explore racism's real life horrors

The new comic series from creators Pornsak Pichetshote and Aaron Campbell follows a young Muslim-American woman living in an apartment building haunted by evil entities that feed on racist hate.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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'Beautiful Things' is a string of little apocalypses

'Beautiful Things' is a string of little apocalypses

Almost every story in Simon Van Booy's bitter, tonic new collection is about the end of the world -- or if not the world, then a world, whether it's a failing relationship or a dying family member.
by Jason Sheehan

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Graphic novelist's latest book tackles the cruelty of youth

Graphic novelist's latest book tackles the cruelty of youth

"Home After Dark" is the story of Russell, a youngster who becomes isolated after his parents split and he moves to a rural community in northern California.
by Euan Kerr

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Dessa describes 'My Own Devices'

Dessa describes 'My Own Devices'

The Minnesota musician describes why it was time to put her story in print instead of in an album.
by Kerri Miller

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Stormy Daniels offers 'Full Disclosure' on her own terms

Stormy Daniels offers 'Full Disclosure' on her own terms

In her memoir, the porn star lures readers with salacious details of her alleged time with President Trump, then insists that those "two to three minutes" are the least interesting part of her life.
by Annalisa Quinn

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