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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.

Amnesty for little book lovers: New York City libraries erase kids' late fees

Amnesty for little book lovers: New York City libraries erase kids' late fees

On Thursday, the city's public library systems are forgiving fines on overdue materials checked out by readers age 17 and under, reopening library doors to young readers once blocked by unpaid fees.
by Colin Dwyer

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Custom-printed cocktails on the moon? 'Soonish' shows us how

Custom-printed cocktails on the moon? 'Soonish' shows us how

Zach and Kelly Weinersmith's accessible, occasionally goofy new book lays out futuristic fantasies (like matter-printed cocktails) and connects them to projects scientists are working on right now.
by Tasha Robinson

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Minnesota's Gretchen Carlson on how to confront, report and end sexual harassment

Minnesota's Gretchen Carlson on how to confront, report and end sexual harassment

Anoka native Gretchen Carlson found fame as Miss America 1989. Her name filled headlines again last summer when she sued Fox for sexual harassment. Her new book, "Be Fierce," offers practical advice for women dealing with workplace harassment.
by Tom Weber, MPR News Staff and Tracy Mumford

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Dan Buettner on the happiest places in the world

Dan Buettner on the happiest places in the world

Pleasure, purpose and pride: Those are three paths to a happy life, the author says. In his latest book, Buettner examines the places where people live the happiest lives -- Denmark, Singapore and Costa Rica -- and what sets them apart.
by MPR News Staff

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'Death in the Air' revisits 5 days when London was choked by poisonous smog

'Death in the Air' revisits 5 days when London was choked by poisonous smog

Kate Winkler Dawson's new book chronicles The Great Smog of 1952, when moist air from the Gulf Stream stalled for days over London, mixing with poisonous gases and causing more than 12,000 deaths.
by Maureen Corrigan

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George Saunders wins Man Booker prize for 'Lincoln in the Bardo'

George Saunders wins Man Booker prize for 'Lincoln in the Bardo'

It's the second year in a row that an American writer has taken home the prestigious literary award.

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A mortician travels the world to 'find the good death'

A mortician travels the world to 'find the good death'

Caitlin Doughty, whose Los Angeles funeral home specializes in alternative ceremonies, traveled the world to collect stories about how different peoples send loved ones off to the great beyond.
by Renee Montagne and Samantha Balaban

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'Quackery' chronicles our love of miracle cures -- and how it leads us astray

'Quackery' chronicles our love of miracle cures -- and how it leads us astray

Tobacco enemas? Mercury pills? Ice pick lobotomies? A new book explains how throughout history, miracle "cures" often didn't just fail to improve people's health, they maimed and killed.
by April Fulton

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Sleep scientist warns against walking through 'in an underslept state'

Sleep scientist warns against walking through 'in an underslept state'

"Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," says sleep scientist Matthew Walker. His new book is "Why We Sleep."
by Terry Gross

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