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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.

Bob Dylan to receive his Nobel Prize this weekend

Bob Dylan to receive his Nobel Prize this weekend

Dylan declined an invitation last year to the traditional Nobel Prize banquet and ceremony on Dec. 10, pleading other commitments.
by The Associated Press

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Behind the new literary genre: Cli-fi

Behind the new literary genre: Cli-fi

Cli-fi, or climate fiction, is a growing genre of speculative novels that imagine the consequences of climate change.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Girl in Disguise' is a spunky spy saga

'Girl in Disguise' is a spunky spy saga

Little is known about the real life of Kate Warne, the first female detective in America, but Greer Macallister's romp of a novel paints her as a live wire, an ace in a dangerous man's world.
by Jean Zimmerman

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David Grann on the brutal crime America forgot

David Grann on the brutal crime America forgot

David Grann's new book, "Killers of the Flower Moon," tells the true story of the Osage Indian nation. Once the wealthiest people in the world, by the early 1920s, they were being killed off one by one.
by Tracy Mumford

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How for-profit colleges sell 'risky education' to the most vulnerable

How for-profit colleges sell 'risky education' to the most vulnerable

Tressie McMillan Cottom worked in enrollment at two for-profit colleges, but quit because she felt uncomfortable selling students an education they couldn't afford. Her new book is "Lower Ed."

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107-year-old northern Minn. woman leaves behind stories of moonshine, priests

107-year-old northern Minn. woman leaves behind stories of moonshine, priests

Elsye McGuire's early life reads like "Little House on the Prairie" -- if it were written for adults, and Pa ran an illegal moonshine still in the swamp behind his house.
by John Enger

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Tale as old as time: The dark appeal of 'Beauty and the Beast'

Tale as old as time: The dark appeal of 'Beauty and the Beast'

Disney's new live-action extravaganza is just the latest retelling of this classic fairy tale. But why do Beauty and her Beast have such a hold on us? And why are there so many versions of their tale?
by Genevieve Valentine

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If you break literature down by the numbers

If you break literature down by the numbers

Statistician Ben Blatt dumped the text of thousands of books into a database, and pulled out many revealing trends.
by Tracy Mumford

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