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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.

The history of poetry at presidential inaugurations

The history of poetry at presidential inaugurations

The tradition began with JFK and continued with presidents Clinton and Obama. To date, no Republican president has had poetry at his swearing-in.
by Tracy Mumford

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A bookish tour through Obama's years in the White House

A bookish tour through Obama's years in the White House

As the current reader-in-chief finishes his term, we've gathered a list of many of the books Obama recommended, read and bought while in office.
by Tracy Mumford

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In 'Homesick,' Ottessa Moshfegh makes the unlikeable understandable

In 'Homesick,' Ottessa Moshfegh makes the unlikeable understandable

The characters in Ottessa Moshfegh's new collection are cold, unfiltered, frequently pathetic -- all suffering from unease and nameless longing, made understandable by each perfectly-built story.
by Michael Schaub

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The incredible story of two brothers kidnapped by the circus

The incredible story of two brothers kidnapped by the circus

Beth Macy's book, "Truevine," explores the century-old story of a pair of brothers who were forced into work as sideshow exhibits, and of their mother who tried to get them back.
by Kerri Miller and MPR News Staff

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'Transit' is a journey you won't want to end

'Transit' is a journey you won't want to end

Rachel Cusk's latest -- the second in a trilogy that began with 'Outline' -- follows a writer unmoored by the breakup of her marriage, and the people she meets as she goes about her strange new life.
by Heller McAlpin

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A memoir of a father's grief

A memoir of a father's grief

When Thomas Harding's teenage son was killed in a bicycling accident, Harding began writing -- about his son, about the accident, about his grief. Those writings have become a powerful new memoir.
by Kerri Miller and MPR News Staff

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Rep. John Lewis' books sell out after Trump's tweets

Rep. John Lewis' books sell out after Trump's tweets

"March," a graphic novel trilogy about Rep. John Lewis' role in the Civil Rights movement, became the No. 1 best-seller on Amazon over the weekend.
by Tracy Mumford

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