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.

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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.

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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.

April 20, 2018 4:16 PM

If the Civil War ended with zombies

Bookseller Jessica Cox recommends a novel that imagines an alternate history, where the dead rose up at the Battle of Gettysburg, triggering a zombie apocalypse.

by Tracy Mumford

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April 20, 2018 9:45 AM

Novelist Richard Powers finds new stories deep in old growth forests

In "The Overstory," Powers explores how humans can revere ancient trees with "the same kind of sanctity that we reserve exclusively for ourselves."

by Lynn Neary

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April 20, 2018 8:48 AM

Poetry Friday: Look closely

To celebrate National Poetry Month, The Thread is showcasing three poems from local independent publishing houses every Friday.

by Tracy Mumford

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April 20, 2018 4:36 AM

'God Save Texas' is essential reading for everyone -- even non-Texans

Lawrence Wright is at his best in this new examination of his home state -- a thoughtful, beautifully written book about a place that can be hard for outsiders to understand.

by Michael Schaub

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April 19, 2018 2:45 PM

Women take fall in Nobel scandal for man's alleged misdeeds

The ugly internal feud has already reached the top levels of public life in the Scandinavian nation known for its promotion of gender equality, with the prime minister, the king and the Nobel board weighing in.

by Associated Press

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April 17, 2018 4:08 AM

'And Now We Have Everything' charts the emotional extremes of an ordinary pregnancy

Memoirs now tend towards the unique and superhuman, recounting experiences most of us will never have. But Megan O'Connell's wry new book is brutally honest about something commonplace: pregnancy.

by Annalisa Quinn

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April 16, 2018 11:00 AM

A story of addiction and creativity with author Leslie Jamison

"That sense of being touch with something dark and deep was part of the lure [of addiction]," Jamison told host Kerri Miller.

by Kerri Miller, Suzanne Pekow and Elizabeth Shockman

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April 14, 2018 4:00 AM

For Ferrante fans, another story of 'a very strong woman, very well told'

Bookstore owner Danny Caine recommends "an intimate coming-of-age immigrant story that ends up telling the whole story of 20th century Iran as well."

by Tracy Mumford

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April 13, 2018 7:15 AM

Drunken chaos, pointless destruction, great music: The Replacements roadie talks

Bill Sullivan had a front row seat to all the action and occasional self-destruction. His new book "Lemon Jail: On the Road with The Replacements" offers a fresh view on one of rock's most notorious bands.

by Jim Bickal