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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. 

'Tangerine' charts an obsessive friendship turned sour

'Tangerine' charts an obsessive friendship turned sour

Christine Mangan's new novel, set in Morocco in the 1950s, centers on the sinister tension between two ex-friends -- but the dusty, detailed Moroccan scenery sometimes gets in the way of the story.
by Bethanne Patrick

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'I Was Anastasia': How a famous fraud brought a kind of hope

'I Was Anastasia': How a famous fraud brought a kind of hope

Ariel Lawhon's new novel recounts the lives of both Russia's Grand Duchess Anastasia and Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia after the royal family was executed during the Revolution.

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A look at the 'Father of Christian Rock'

A look at the 'Father of Christian Rock'

Gregory Alan Thornbury's new book "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" chronicles the life of Larry Norman and his battles with Evangelicalism.
by Sarah McCammon and Elizabeth Baker

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An author who starts where most others end

An author who starts where most others end

Bookseller Steve Iwanski recommends a novel about "a down-on-his-luck, beat-up old prize fighter, who loses $12,000 that he needed to pay off his ruthless boss." That's only the beginning.
by Tracy Mumford

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You don't have to be a dog person to enjoy 'Tomorrow'

You don't have to be a dog person to enjoy 'Tomorrow'

Damian Dibben's novel follows a 217-year-old dog (yes, you read that right) as he searches for his wizardly master, who's disappeared somewhere in Europe in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars.
by Jean Zimmerman

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In 'All the Names They Used for God,' the magical meets the harrowing

In 'All the Names They Used for God,' the magical meets the harrowing

Author Anjali Sachdeva spins captivating short stories around kernels of the otherworldly. She says it can be a way to overcome the impulse to look away from that which is unsettling or traumatic.
by Audie Cornish

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Whiting Awards announce 10 winners, aiming to honor future bookshelf staples

Whiting Awards announce 10 winners, aiming to honor future bookshelf staples

Since it began in 1985, the annual prize has recognized emerging writers. And while you may not know the winners announced Wednesday, their futures are bright -- if previous winners are any indication.
by Colin Dwyer

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'Let's No One Get Hurt' is a lyrical, powerful coming-of-age story

'Let's No One Get Hurt' is a lyrical, powerful coming-of-age story

Jon Pineda's new novel follows a young girl living with her father in an old boathouse, somewhere in the Southern United States. It's a well-written book that manages to be both honest and poetic.
by Michael Schaub

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John Oliver spoofs Pence picture book about bunny

John Oliver spoofs Pence picture book about bunny

John Oliver's spoof of a new picture book by the wife and daughter of Vice President Mike Pence was No. 1 on Amazon.com and out of stock as of midday Monday. No. 2 on Amazon was James Comey's "A Higher Loyalty," the upcoming memoir by the FBI director fired last year.
by The Associated Press

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