The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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A book that offers 'healing to us as a human family'
Bookstore owner Akbar Watson rarely rereads books, but the news recently has him turning to an older favorite.
Poetry Friday: Landscape, chance and longing
To celebrate National Poetry Month, we are showcasing weekly poems from Graywolf Press, Milkweed Editions and Coffee House Press.
'The Hello Girls' highlights the women who ran the WWI switchboards
A book published today, the 100th anniversary of America's entry into World War I, tells the story of "America's First Women Soldiers" who served as switchboard operators in the field.
'Tell Me How It Ends' offers a moving, humane portrait of child migrants
Valeria Luiselli's new book is based on her experiences working as an interpreter for Central American child migrants seeking entry to the U.S. Critic John Powers calls it "fair minded and expansive."
Rich, colorful 'Afar' reimagines the magical girl
Leila del Duca and Kit Seaton's new novel follows a young girl in a richly-imagined North Africa-flavored fantasy world, who discovers she has the power to dream herself into different bodies.
Wild Rumpus named best bookstore of the year
The Minneapolis children's bookstore is stocked with more than 34,000 titles, as well as a chicken, three cats, one ferret, two doves, two chinchillas... The list goes on.
'Hemingway didn't say that' (and neither did Twain or Kafka)
There are tons of quotes from famous people out there -- and a lot of them are just plain wrong. Author Garson O'Toole has dedicated himself to setting the record straight.
The Thread Hour: Authors Molly Brodak and Paul Auster
MPR's Kerri Miller interviews author Molly Brodak about her memoir, "Bandit: A Daughter's Memoir" and MPR's Euan Kerr interviews Paul Auster about his latest novel, "4 3 2 1."
'Foxlowe' is a delicious slice of darkness
Eleanor Wasserberg's debut novel is not for the faint of heart: This tale of a cultishly evil group called the Family who live in a mansion on the English moors is unrelentingly cruel and eerie.
Mayte Garcia knew she would marry Prince, but could never have predicted how
In her new book, "The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince," Garcia explains how an unlikely meeting at one of the pop icon's concerts sparked a relationship full of love, surprises and, ultimately, heartbreak.