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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.

Dessa working on book of essays, due in September

Dessa working on book of essays, due in September

The Minneapolis rapper-singer will publish an essay collection this fall, titled "My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love."
by Associated Press

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A bonfire of scorn, schadenfreude and social insecurity in 'Mrs.'

A bonfire of scorn, schadenfreude and social insecurity in 'Mrs.'

If you think the social pressures in high school are brutal, they're nothing compared to the jockeying that goes on among the high-powered preschool parents in Caitlin Macy's withering new novel "Mrs."
by Heller McAlpin

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At 80, Judy Blume reflects on feminism, #MeToo and keeping Margaret 12

At 80, Judy Blume reflects on feminism, #MeToo and keeping Margaret 12

Judy Blume's best-selling books have shaped the way we talk about puberty, periods and female sexual experiences. Those story lines take on renewed relevance amid the #MeToo movement.
by Chloee Weiner

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In 'Heart Berries,' an indigenous woman's chaotic coming-of-age

In 'Heart Berries,' an indigenous woman's chaotic coming-of-age

Terese Marie Mailhot's new memoir is an effort to draw art from mental illness, lost love and her family history on an Indian reservation in British Columbia.
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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A novel on the power and pains of sisterhood

A novel on the power and pains of sisterhood

Bookseller Susan Hans O'Connor recommends a novel about two sisters whose bond is tested by mental illness.
by Tracy Mumford

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What not to say to the terminally ill: 'Everything Happens for a Reason'

What not to say to the terminally ill: 'Everything Happens for a Reason'

Kate Bowler has lived with stage 4 cancer for years. Her new memoir details what she's found out about herself and suffering. "You have to learn to be present, even when things are absurd," she says.
by Rachel Martin

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The Thread Live: 2018 authors announced

The Thread Live: 2018 authors announced

The Thread Live returns in spring 2018 with two literary stars who are masters of both fiction and nonfiction.
by MPR News Staff

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Immortality, sadness and drinking with Shakespeare in 'How to Stop Time'

Immortality, sadness and drinking with Shakespeare in 'How to Stop Time'

Matt Haig's new novel isn't exactly about time travel -- it's about a slow-aging man who travels through time just by staying alive for centuries. And yes, he meets Shakespeare (who has bad breath).
by Jason Sheehan

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