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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. 

'Coyote Doggirl' is a childlike Western with hidden depths

'Coyote Doggirl' is a childlike Western with hidden depths

Artist Lisa Hanawalt creates kids' stories for grownups, both on TV -- she's the production designer for "BoJack Horseman" -- and in her new book "Coyote Doggirl," a candy-colored Western saga.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Book review: Once 'Ball Lightning' gets rolling, this sci-fi mind-bender shines

Book review: Once 'Ball Lightning' gets rolling, this sci-fi mind-bender shines

The novel is Chinese writer Cixin Liu's first in English since his "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. And that series' radical creativity returns in this tale of scientific striving -- eventually.
by Colin Dwyer

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Once 'Ball Lightning' gets rolling, this sci-fi mind-bender shines

Once 'Ball Lightning' gets rolling, this sci-fi mind-bender shines

The novel is Chinese writer Cixin Liu's first in English since his "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. And that series' radical creativity returns in this tale of scientific striving -- eventually.
by Colin Dwyer

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In 'Severance,' the world ends not with a bang, but a memo

In 'Severance,' the world ends not with a bang, but a memo

Ling Ma's shocking and ferocious new novel mashes up a zombie apocalypse story with the everyday tribulations of office life -- you may run from zombies but you'll never escape middle management.
by Michael Schaub

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An immortal goddess gets her due

An immortal goddess gets her due

Remember Circe from "The Odyssey"? The ancient sorceress finally gets to take center stage in Madeline Miller's new novel.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Flights' is a trip, if you like wandering off the edges of the map

'Flights' is a trip, if you like wandering off the edges of the map

Polish author Olga Tokarczuk's new collection is a cabinet of curiosities -- surreal, loosely connected stories about the human body, about movement, about two-headed calves and saints' relics.
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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An Iraq veteran, heroin addict, bank robber and debut novelist

An Iraq veteran, heroin addict, bank robber and debut novelist

Nico Walker is currently in federal prison for bank robbery. That's given him plenty of time to write his semi-autobiographical novel "Cherry," which has received glowing advance reviews.
by Quil Lawrence

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A day at the beach won't be the same after 'The World in a Grain'

A day at the beach won't be the same after 'The World in a Grain'

Journalist Vince Beiser's no-nonsense writing makes light reading of a grim subject, the past and future of sand, but it paints a telling picture of how great a problem lies before us.
by Genevieve Valentine

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'Crazy Rich Asians' spurs conversation over representation

'Crazy Rich Asians' spurs conversation over representation

Some are critical of a story centered on a specific subset of the already well-represented Chinese-Singaporeans who make up the majority of Singapore's population.
by The Associated Press

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'Baghdad Noir' presents a city of diverse experiences

'Baghdad Noir' presents a city of diverse experiences

Akashic Books' "Noir" series visits Baghdad for its latest installment, and the talented writers collected here manage to wrest compelling noir from a place that's plenty dark already.
by Bethanne Patrick

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