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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. 

Art Hounds: New children's books by Minnesota authors

Art Hounds: New children's books by Minnesota authors

Four new children's and YA books are being promoted in local bookstores this weekend. Plus, the Art Hounds recommend a show about the legacy of Indian boarding schools, and "Dancing on the Edge."
by Marianne Combs

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Leaving the past behind -- or trying to -- in Rushdie's latest

Leaving the past behind -- or trying to -- in Rushdie's latest

Salman Rushdie's 'The Golden House' explores the idea of reinvention in America, through an Indian family whose shady patriarch may not be able to escape his past, despite fleeing across the Atlantic.
by Ari Shapiro

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A black food historian explores his bittersweet connection to Robert E. Lee

A black food historian explores his bittersweet connection to Robert E. Lee

Michael Twitty's enslaved ancestors witnessed the Confederate general's surrender, the significance of which weaves through his new memoir as he seeks 'culinary justice' for African Americans.
by Nina Martyris

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In 'A Legacy of Spies,' John le Carre goes back out in 'The Cold'

In 'A Legacy of Spies,' John le Carre goes back out in 'The Cold'

Former CIA operative Valerie Plame says pop culture doesn't usually get espionage right -- but le Carre comes close. His new novel is a kind of prequel to 1963's 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.'
by Lynn Neary

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'Sourdough' rises like a good loaf

'Sourdough' rises like a good loaf

Robin Sloan's latest is a beautiful, small, sweet, quiet book that takes a deep dive into the world of food, underground restaurants and markets, and the magic power of a good sourdough starter.
by Jason Sheehan

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