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The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

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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. 

Paddington bear creator Michael Bond dies at 91

Paddington bear creator Michael Bond dies at 91

Publisher HarperCollins says Michael Bond, creator of globe-trotting teddy Paddington bear, has died aged 91. The publisher says Bond died Tuesday at his home after a short illness.
by The Associated Press

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In 'Amatka,' a warped and chilling portrait of post-truth reality

In 'Amatka,' a warped and chilling portrait of post-truth reality

Karin Tidbeck's new novel is set in the mysterious city of Amatka, an agricultural colony ruled by a totalitarian government -- but this is no standard dystopia. In "Amatka," language has strange power.
by Jason Heller

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'But Seriously,' tennis great John McEnroe says he's seeking 'inner peace'

'But Seriously,' tennis great John McEnroe says he's seeking 'inner peace'

Known for his on-court outbursts, McEnroe famously yelled, "You cannot be serious!" at one official. Now, decades later, he says it's a "miracle" if he goes a full day without hearing that line.
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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'Too Fat, Too Slutty' challenges cultural expectations of women

'Too Fat, Too Slutty' challenges cultural expectations of women

Anne Helen Petersen's new book is a thoughtful consideration of several public women -- from Nicki Minaj to Hillary Clinton -- who've run up against the invisible expectations our culture has of them.
by Annalisa Quinn

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Updating Frankenstein for the age of Black Lives Matter

Updating Frankenstein for the age of Black Lives Matter

The classic tale of the Monster resurrected from the dead gets a new treatment in Victor LaValle's new limited-series comic.
by Gene Demby

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'The Sarah Book' is an unsparing primal scream of a book

'The Sarah Book' is an unsparing primal scream of a book

Scott McClanahan's semi-autobiographical novel is packed with loss, pain and existential anguish, but his narrator -- also named Scott -- refuses to give up, no matter how often he's knocked down.
by Michael Schaub

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In the event of attack, here's how the government plans 'to save itself'

In the event of attack, here's how the government plans 'to save itself'

In "Raven Rock," Garrett Graff describes the bunkers designed to protect U.S. leaders in the event of a catastrophe. One Cold War-era plan put the post office in charge of cataloging the dead.
by Terry Gross

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Eddie Izzard: Coming out gave me the confidence for everything else

Eddie Izzard: Coming out gave me the confidence for everything else

Fair warning: There are no actual jazz chickens in Eddie Izzard's new "Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens." But it does provide insight into what makes the acclaimed comedian tick.
by Kelly McEvers

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Be bigger, fight harder: Roxane Gay on a lifetime of 'Hunger'

Be bigger, fight harder: Roxane Gay on a lifetime of 'Hunger'

Gay has finally written the book that she "wanted to write the least." The moment she realized she would "never want to write about fatness" was the same moment she knew this was a memoir she had to write.
by Terry Gross

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President Donald Trump, unreliable narrator

President Donald Trump, unreliable narrator

Why can't we stop reading Trump's Twitter feed? The same reason we can't put down "The Catcher In The Rye" or "Pale Fire."
by Danielle Kurtzleben

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