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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright 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 and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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 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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A powerful look at black girls' path through the education system

A powerful look at black girls' path through the education system

Clarrissa Cropper said "Pushout" traces how factors at home affect students' "ability to be at school, and be surrounded by the pressures of classmates, teachers, homework."
by Tracy Mumford

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Harper Lee estate sues over 'Mockingbird' Broadway version

Harper Lee estate sues over 'Mockingbird' Broadway version

The estate of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee has filed suit over an upcoming Broadway adaptation of the novel, arguing that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's script wrongly alters Atticus Finch and other characters from the book.
by The Associated Press

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In 'Go Home,' finding -- or building -- a home with words

In 'Go Home,' finding -- or building -- a home with words

This new anthology of Asian diasporic writers, edited by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, is packed with stories, essays and poetry on the idea of home -- where it is, what it is, and how you find or lose it.
by Ilana Masad

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