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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. 

Southern gothic 'Florida' spins tales of hurricanes, humidity and humanity

Southern gothic 'Florida' spins tales of hurricanes, humidity and humanity

Lauren Groff sets her new story collection in what she calls the "sunniest and strangest of states." Critic Maureen Corrigan says the tales are "brooding, inventive -- and often moving."
by Maureen Corrigan

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Recipes for a good story

Recipes for a good story

Rick Bragg's new book is filled with family recipes -- but the stories behind those recipes are the main event.
by Tracy Mumford

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What does Shakespeare have to do with 'energy?' (Trust us, there's a link)

What does Shakespeare have to do with 'energy?' (Trust us, there's a link)

In his new book, Richard Rhodes lays out an accessible and surprisingly optimistic history of energy by exploring the lives of scientists and inventors -- and a few unlikely people, like the Bard of Avon.
by Michael Schaub

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Americans say government is broken. Can it be fixed?

Americans say government is broken. Can it be fixed?

Journalist Steven Brill wanted to find out why so many Americans have lost faith in their government. What he discovered fills "Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall — and Those Fighting to Reverse It."
by Stephanie Curtis and Elizabeth Shockman

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In 'Calypso,' David Sedaris blends slime and the sublime

In 'Calypso,' David Sedaris blends slime and the sublime

David Sedaris' new story collection is earthy, to say the least -- concerned with all the gross things that happen as we live and age -- but also full of wonder at his life, and appreciation for his family.
by Heller McAlpin

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Sexuality, mortality, failure -- 'My Ex-Life' has fun asking big questions

Sexuality, mortality, failure -- 'My Ex-Life' has fun asking big questions

A divorced couple reconnects after nearly 30 years apart in Stephen McCauley's new novel. Critic Maureen Corrigan says "My Ex-Life" is a social satire that's "suffused with generosity."
by Maureen Corrigan

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'Some Trick' takes on the life of the (delightfully irritable) mind

'Some Trick' takes on the life of the (delightfully irritable) mind

Helen DeWitt's new story collection seems less like a book, and more like a series of notes from some vast, alien intelligence, capable of picking apart human habits with startling precision.
by Annalisa Quinn

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Thread Book Hour: Arundhati Roy

Thread Book Hour: Arundhati Roy

Kerri Miller interviews Man Booker Award winning author Arundhati Roy.

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