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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.

Condoleezza Rice: Institutions aren't perfect, but they're the bedrock of democracy

Condoleezza Rice: Institutions aren't perfect, but they're the bedrock of democracy

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells NPR that America is still a 'bright, shining city on the hill, not because we're perfect but because we struggle in our imperfections every day.'
by Rachel Martin

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Her violin stolen, a prodigy's world became 'Unstrung'

Her violin stolen, a prodigy's world became 'Unstrung'

Min Kym had found her perfect partner in a 1696 Stradivarius -- until it was snatched in a London cafe. She comes to terms with the loss in her new memoir, 'Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung.'
by Liz Baker and Lakshmi Singh

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An old soldier is back in action in 'City of Miracles'

An old soldier is back in action in 'City of Miracles'

As Robert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities series draws to a close, grizzled old enforcer Sigrud --- in hiding, in a remote forest -- returns to the city to avenge the murder of his friend and partner.
by Jason Sheehan

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Paula Poundstone's 'Totally Unscientific' search for the secret of happiness

Paula Poundstone's 'Totally Unscientific' search for the secret of happiness

Paula Poundstone had a great idea: Try fun stuff and get a publishing company to pay for it in the name of science. The result? 'The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness.'
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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A novel that asks: How do we forgive the ones we love?

A novel that asks: How do we forgive the ones we love?

Bookseller Josie Danz recommends a sweeping family saga that spans nearly the entire 20th century, following four generations through colonial rule, war and dislocation.
by Tracy Mumford

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'The Boy on the Bridge': This zombie story isn't dead yet

'The Boy on the Bridge': This zombie story isn't dead yet

M.R. Carey follows up his zombie apocalypse thriller 'The Girl With All The Gifts' with a standalone story set in the same world, also featuring an unusual child and a crew of determined scientists.
by Genevieve Valentine

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Book your summer: 13 great picks for young readers

Book your summer: 13 great picks for young readers

A librarian, a bookseller and an 11-year-old bookworm share their favorite reads of the moment, from picture books to young adult novels.
by MPR News Staff

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A guide to Ivanka Trump's manual for 'Women Who Work'

A guide to Ivanka Trump's manual for 'Women Who Work'

Trump's new book is billed as a resource for women trying to reach their dream professional lives, but it is fairly short and nonspecific about how to get there.
by Danielle Kurtzleben

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