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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. 

Drag Queen Story Hour sparks protests in conservative towns

Drag Queen Story Hour sparks protests in conservative towns

Drag Queen Story Hours have been held at libraries or book stores in big cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and the Twin Cities. In some smaller communities, however, the programs have sparked protests from conservative and religious groups.
by Associated Press

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'Rush': The other Founding Father from Philadelphia named Benjamin

'Rush': The other Founding Father from Philadelphia named Benjamin

Stephen Fried's biography argues that Benjamin Rush -- a pioneering physician, writer and a signatory to the Declaration of Independence -- belongs on the historical tier of Benjamin Franklin.
by Melissa Block

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'Dog Symphony' is less a novel than a mood given form

'Dog Symphony' is less a novel than a mood given form

Sam Munson has written a weird book that doesn't try to hide its weirdness. It's nominally about a professor of prison architecture visiting a conference in Buenos Aires -- but then there are the dogs.
by Jason Sheehan

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Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and the history of protest

Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and the history of protest

"More than a history of music, this is actually a history of the United States, and of protest in the early twentieth century," says bookseller Ruth Hulbert.
by Tracy Mumford

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An aunt's memoir: Remembering the drowned Syrian boy on the beach

An aunt's memoir: Remembering the drowned Syrian boy on the beach

Tima Kurdi has written a book that tells the story of the family's attempt to cross from Turkey to Greece in a rubber boat -- and the struggle to make sense of the tragedy.
by Diane Cole

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'Gross Anatomy' turns humor on taboos about the female body

'Gross Anatomy' turns humor on taboos about the female body

Author Mara Altman got tired of hiding her hairy, sweaty self from the world, and set out to reframe the shame in her latest book of essays -- part memoir, part scientific exploration, part manifesto.
by Ailsa Chang and Alyssa Edes

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'The Air You Breathe' is a glorious, glittery saga of friendship and loss

'The Air You Breathe' is a glorious, glittery saga of friendship and loss

Frances de Pontes Peebles' new novel about two women in Brazil -- and later Hollywood -- who take the music world by storm can sometimes slip into corniness, but it's a genuinely exciting read.
by Lily Meyer

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'Ohio' is a wild, angry, devastating debut

'Ohio' is a wild, angry, devastating debut

Stephen Markley's novel follows four friends, each with their own baggage, who return to their home town on the same night, but for different reasons -- leading to an explosive moment of violence.
by Michael Schaub

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