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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. 

An 'Exhausted' Martin Luther King Jr.'s final 31 hours

An 'Exhausted' Martin Luther King Jr.'s final 31 hours

A bomb threat, a march turned violent and a militant black power group all weighed heavily on the civil rights leader during his last speech in 1968, says "Redemption" author Joseph Rosenbloom.
by Noel King and Jeffrey Pierre

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'Two Sisters' leave home for Syria, tearing a family apart

'Two Sisters' leave home for Syria, tearing a family apart

Norwegian journalist Asne Seierstad's new book is a heartbreaking but necessary account of two teenage sisters from a moderate Muslim family who fled to war-torn Syria after becoming radicalized.
by Michael Schaub

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Love (and music and glitter) saves the day in 'Space Opera'

Love (and music and glitter) saves the day in 'Space Opera'

In Catherynne M. Valente's new novel, a washed-up glitter punk musician has to save all humanity by singing in an intergalactic version of the Eurovision Song Contest. (Also, there are murderhippos.)
by Jason Sheehan

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Madeleine Albright warns: Don't let fascism go 'unnoticed until it's too late'

Madeleine Albright warns: Don't let fascism go 'unnoticed until it's too late'

The former secretary of state describes President Trump as "the most anti-democratic leader that I have studied in American history." Albright's new book is "Fascism: A Warning."
by Terry Gross

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'Look Alive Out There' elevates its anecdotes with humor and feeling

'Look Alive Out There' elevates its anecdotes with humor and feeling

Sloane Crosley returns to form with her first essay collection in eight years, covering everything from an escalating battle with her neighbor's hip but noisy children to mountain climbing in Ecuador.
by Heller McAlpin

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Meg Wolitzer asks the big questions in 'The Female Persuasion'

Meg Wolitzer asks the big questions in 'The Female Persuasion'

At the start of Meg Wolitzer's new novel, a young woman is groped at a fraternity party -- and her question, "Why is it like this, and what are we supposed to do about it?" echoes through the book.
by Annalisa Quinn

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Ousted commander aims to 'Fight Like a Girl' against gender bias in Marines

Ousted commander aims to 'Fight Like a Girl' against gender bias in Marines

Kate Germano worked to hold female recruits to a higher bar. Then she was fired. In a new book, the retired officer talks about her efforts to improve training for women throughout the Marine Corps.
by Sydney Harper

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Would you want to know the exact date of your death?

Would you want to know the exact date of your death?

Chloe Benjamin's novel "The Immortalists" follows four young siblings who meet with a traveling psychic. The psychic predicts the date of their deaths -- and that knowledge shapes every decision they make.
by Tracy Mumford

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In 'Hey Mom,' Louie Anderson has a laugh with his leading lady

In 'Hey Mom,' Louie Anderson has a laugh with his leading lady

The actor and stand-up comedian has channeled his late mother in his work for years. "Hey Mom" is Louie's way of catching her up on everything that's been going on in his life.
by Danny Hajek and David Greene

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Stumbling (and texting) toward love in 'Emergency Contact'

Stumbling (and texting) toward love in 'Emergency Contact'

Mary H.K. Choi's new novel follows Penny and Sam, both so loaded down with emotional baggage that at first, all they can do is swap numbers and agree to be each other's emergency contacts.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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