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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.

No 'tell-all,' but Prince's ex details their life in memoir

No 'tell-all,' but Prince's ex details their life in memoir

Love, grief, loss, legacy are just a few of the reasons Mayte Garcia is stepping back into the purple light with a new memoir covering her 11 years with the late music icon Prince.
by Associated Press

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Prince contained multitudes, new book confirms

Prince contained multitudes, new book confirms

Prince on defining his music: "The only thing I could think of, because I really don't like categories, but the only thing I could think of is inspirational."
by Leah Donnella

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2017 Minnesota Book Award winners announced

2017 Minnesota Book Award winners announced

The awards honored writers in nine categories, including children's literature, general nonfiction and genre fiction.
by Tracy Mumford

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A book that offers 'healing to us as a human family'

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.
by Tracy Mumford

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Poetry Friday: Landscape, chance and longing

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.
by Tracy Mumford

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'The Hello Girls' highlights the women who ran the WWI switchboards

'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.
by Glen Weldon

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'Tell Me How It Ends' offers a moving, humane portrait of child migrants

'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."
by John Powers

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Rich, colorful 'Afar' reimagines the magical girl

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.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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Wild Rumpus named best bookstore of the year

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.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Hemingway didn't say that' (and neither did Twain or Kafka)

'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.
by Robert Siegel and Connor Donevan

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