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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.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

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.

Curl up with 'The Tuscan Child,' a truly cozy mystery

Curl up with 'The Tuscan Child,' a truly cozy mystery

This tale of an RAF pilot, the Italian woman who rescues him after a crash, and 30 years later, his daughter, is so skillful and comforting that you may not even notice the fact that there's a war on.
by Bethanne Patrick

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The enduring lyricism of W.E.B. Du Bois' 'The Souls of Black Folk'

The enduring lyricism of W.E.B. Du Bois' 'The Souls of Black Folk'

The collection of essays about black American life has been republished for Du Bois' 150th birthday anniversary -- and still has plenty to say to those encountering it.
by Lynn Neary

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What if you were at the mall and civilization ended?

What if you were at the mall and civilization ended?

Kaete Schwehn discovered that if she were going to write a dystopian novel, she needed to set it in Minnesota.
by Euan Kerr

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'Manuscripts' encourages readers to approach the Bible like a novel

'Manuscripts' encourages readers to approach the Bible like a novel

The Bible's famous verse and chapter structure is relatively recent -- and surprisingly unpopular. And a new version out now aims to make it more approachable by structuring it like any other book.
by Juan Vidal

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'Automating Inequality': Algorithms in public services often fail the most vulnerable

'Automating Inequality': Algorithms in public services often fail the most vulnerable

Author Virginia Eubanks argues that automated systems that governments across the U.S. use to deliver benefit and welfare programs are often rigged against the very people who need it most.
by Emma Bowman and Alyssa Edes

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'Piecing Me Together' novelist says she writes to help kids feel seen

'Piecing Me Together' novelist says she writes to help kids feel seen

Renee Watson won the Coretta Scott King Award for her novel about a black student at a mostly white private school.

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In 'Freshwater,' a college student learns to live with separate selves

In 'Freshwater,' a college student learns to live with separate selves

Akwaeke Emezi's debut novel follows the spiritually receptive student, Ada. The author pulls from her own experience with what she says "is like a cloud of selves that are shifting."

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The key to raising a happy child

The key to raising a happy child

A new book warns parents: Stop micromanaging your kids. Think of yourself less as their boss, and more like a consultant.
by Cory Turner

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