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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

New Muhammad Ali biography reveals a flawed rebel who loved attention

New Muhammad Ali biography reveals a flawed rebel who loved attention

"I don't think we do Ali any good by treating him as a saint," says biographer Jonathan Eig. "He was a human being, and he was deeply flawed, but ... he had the spirit of a rebel."
by Dave Davies

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On using meditation to open doors in our everyday lives

In his new book "Why Buddhism is True," Robert Wright, a visiting professor of science and religion at Union Theological Seminary, explores the relationship between science and meditation, and why meditating can help us see the world more clearly.
by Kerri Miller and Julia Franz

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Stephen and Owen King on the horror of a world without women in 'Sleeping Beauties'

Stephen and Owen King on the horror of a world without women in 'Sleeping Beauties'

What if every woman on earth went to sleep and never woke up, leaving only men to run things? That's the horror at the center of "Sleeping Beauties," the new novel from Stephen King and his son Owen.
by Mary Louise Kelly

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In 'Dear Fahrenheit 451,' loving books both wisely and well

In 'Dear Fahrenheit 451,' loving books both wisely and well

Librarian Annie Spence's new book is a collection of love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life -- written in a warm, funny, specific voice that skillfully balances reverence and wryness.
by Margaret H. Willison

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A former speechwriter looks back on his 'Hopey, Changey' years with Obama

A former speechwriter looks back on his 'Hopey, Changey' years with Obama

David Litt says writing speeches and jokes for former President Obama was often a delicate task: "There's a whole industry of people trying to take your words out of context."
by Terry Gross

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