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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread 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 every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

New 'American Pastoral' movie is a '60s tale still relevant today

New 'American Pastoral' movie is a '60s tale still relevant today

The new film "American Pastoral" tells the story of a father in 1960s New Jersey whose comfortable, suburban life falls apart after his daughter becomes radicalized, commits a crime and disappears.

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In 'IQ,' a Sherlock for South Central

In 'IQ,' a Sherlock for South Central

Joe Ide's debut novel follows Isaiah Quintabe, known as IQ around his Los Angeles neighborhood. IQ solves the crimes police won't touch -- even when his clients can only pay him in chickens or tires.
by Jason Sheehan

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How long does it take to write a bestseller?

How long does it take to write a bestseller?

Some writers (looking at you, Stephen King) can churn out two books in a year. Some writers take more than a decade. Here's a look at how long it took to write your favorite book.
by Tracy Mumford

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13 scary books worth the nightmares

13 scary books worth the nightmares

October is the perfect time to terrify yourself with a good book. Whether you like modern horrors or good, old-fashioned haunted houses, these books are sure to keep you up at night.
by Tracy Mumford

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The 'Fireside Guide' has delightfully simple answers to your grown-up problems

The 'Fireside Guide' has delightfully simple answers to your grown-up problems

The new "Fireside Grown-Up Guide" series is a throwback to the brightly-colored life lessons of your childhood. They're dark and dry and surprisingly funny, a pleasant tonic for your grown-up cares.
by Jason Sheehan

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'Truevine' tells the tale of 2 black albino brothers forced to work for the circus

'Truevine' tells the tale of 2 black albino brothers forced to work for the circus

For years, black children around Roanoke, Va., heard the cautionary tale of Willie and George Muse, African-American albino brothers who were kidnapped and forced to perform in a series of circuses.
by Lynn Neary

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A history of the small but mighty Dinkytown neighborhood

A history of the small but mighty Dinkytown neighborhood

It's just four blocks, nestled next to the University of Minnesota and the Mississippi River, but Dinkytown has been a center of Minneapolis' political, intellectual and cultural life for a century.

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'Body of Water': What fishing teaches us about being human

'Body of Water': What fishing teaches us about being human

Chris Dombrowski's two great passions are fishing and poetry. His new book explores the life of a legendary bonefishing guide in the Bahamas, and the wisdom the man has earned from his time at sea.
by MPR News Staff

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