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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.

From 'f-bomb' to 'photobomb,' how the dictionary keeps up with English

From 'f-bomb' to 'photobomb,' how the dictionary keeps up with English

For a new word to enter the dictionary, it must meet three criteria: widespread use, sustained use and meaningful use. Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper explains the process in 'Word by Word.'
by Terry Gross

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren on her new book, 'This Fight is Our Fight'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on her new book, 'This Fight is Our Fight'

"Everybody's got to get out there and find the piece that they can do," the Democratic Massachusetts senator says. She talks to NPR's Audie Cornish about her new book, the middle class and activism.
by Audie Cornish

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"Shattered" picks through the broken pieces of Hillary Clinton's dream

"Shattered" picks through the broken pieces of Hillary Clinton's dream

A new book goes behind the scenes of Clinton's presidential bid. "There is no Big Reveal," says NPR's Ron Elving. "Instead we get a slow-building case against [her campaign's] concept and execution."
by Ron Elving

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In the 1920s, a community conspired to kill Native Americans for their oil money

In the 1920s, a community conspired to kill Native Americans for their oil money

The Osage tribe in Oklahoma became spectacularly wealthy in the early 1900s - and then members started turning up dead. David Grann's "Killers of the Flower Moon" describes the dark plot against them.
by Steve Inskeep

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'Upside of Unrequited' is a fresh, fun, snarky spring fling

'Upside of Unrequited' is a fresh, fun, snarky spring fling

Becky Albertalli's new young adult novel is a snappy romance that'll bring you back to the pain and elation of young love. It follows two sisters trying to balance their relationship with new crushes.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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'The Book of Joan' recasts a historic heroine--in space

'The Book of Joan' recasts a historic heroine--in space

Lidia Yuknavitch's fascination with Joan of Arc informs her new novel, set in a grim future where humanity is sexless and ageless, prisoners in a technological hell ruled by a malevolent billionaire.
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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An underground library and the perfect mystery

An underground library and the perfect mystery

Cynthia Justus owns the westernmost bookstore in the entire United States, in Kauai, Hawaii. There's one book she's been recommending to readers for almost a decade.
by Tracy Mumford

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Fitzgerald didn't satisfy this author, so she wrote her own 'Gatsby'-inspired novel

Fitzgerald didn't satisfy this author, so she wrote her own 'Gatsby'-inspired novel

Stephanie Powell Watts' 'No One Is Coming to Save Us' isn't quite a retelling of 'The Great Gatsby'; instead, it uses similar themes to tell a story about black characters in a declining furniture town.
by Ari Shapiro

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Poetry Friday: War, water and migration

Poetry Friday: War, water and migration

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we are showcasing weekly poems from Graywolf Press, Milkweed Editions and Coffee House Press.
by Tracy Mumford

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