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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.

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. 

We have always been bored -- 'Yawn' wonders why

We have always been bored -- 'Yawn' wonders why

Mary Mann's new book digs into a phenomenon as old as humanity: boredom. Why do we get bored? Is there a cure? 'Yawn' is a thoughtful read, but its mix of autobiography and scholarship doesn't jell.
by Genevieve Valentine

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Leaving high school behind for a dangerous life in 'A Good Country'

Leaving high school behind for a dangerous life in 'A Good Country'

Laleh Khadivi's new novel traces the path of a young Muslim man in California, the son of strict Iranian immigrant parents, from his first bong hit at age 14 to his eventual radicalization.

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Grocery stores: 'The best of America and the worst of America'

Grocery stores: 'The best of America and the worst of America'

In his new book, Michael Ruhlman explores how and why Americans have changed from corner-store customers to insatiable consumers of every edible product at our fingertips.
by Laurel Dalrymple

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Boy meets space-alien girl: An intergalactic love story

Boy meets space-alien girl: An intergalactic love story

Twin Cities author Andrew DeYoung has written a tale of teen romance, with an interplanetary twist.
by Euan Kerr

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Wonder women: A history of female characters in comic books

Wonder women: A history of female characters in comic books

Bookseller Aja Martin is excited about a new collection that covers the history of female comic book characters. Ever heard of the Man-Huntin' Minnie of Delta Pu?
by Tracy Mumford

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Harry Potter and the burgled prequel: Rare, handwritten copy stolen in U.K.

Harry Potter and the burgled prequel: Rare, handwritten copy stolen in U.K.

The 800-word prequel, which was scrawled on a postcard by J.K. Rowling herself, went missing from a property after a burglary in mid-April. Now, Rowling and the police are calling on fans to help.
by Colin Dwyer

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'Based on a True Story' may not be true -- but it's still scary

'Based on a True Story' may not be true -- but it's still scary

French novelist Delphine De Vigan follows up her tell-all 2012 memoir with a creepy tale of a blocked novelist -- also named Delphine -- who falls under the sway of an elegant, menacing ghostwriter.
by Bethanne Patrick

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DNR mulls fate of celebrated author's Minnesota prairie home

DNR mulls fate of celebrated author's Minnesota prairie home

Novelist Frederick Manfred found inspiration in the landscape around the home he built within southwestern Minnesota's Blue Mounds State Park. But the house, now the park's visitor center, is crumbling and may face demolition.
by Mark Steil

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