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The Thread® - Books and Literary 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. 

In 'Hag-Seed,' a gentle guide to Shakespeare's stormy island

In 'Hag-Seed,' a gentle guide to Shakespeare's stormy island

Margaret Atwood's retelling of "The Tempest" follows the exiled director of a Shakespeare festival, now reduced to putting on shows with convicts at an isolated rural prison.
by Liza Graham

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Ask a bookseller: Phinney Books in Seattle

Ask a bookseller: Phinney Books in Seattle

Tom Nissley says the hardest request he gets as a bookseller is when people say: "I want a happy book." But a newly released book fits that bill.
by Tracy Mumford

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MPR documentary 'Boy from the North Country: Bob Dylan in Minnesota'

MPR documentary 'Boy from the North Country: Bob Dylan in Minnesota'

A Minnesota Public Radio documentary celebrates Bob Dylan's life and music. It's called "Boy from the North Country: Bob Dylan in Minnesota."

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Six things not to miss at the Twin Cities Book Festival

Six things not to miss at the Twin Cities Book Festival

The festival takes over the state fairgrounds this weekend, with author events from local and national favorites, and an all-day book fair.
by Tracy Mumford

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Bob Dylan as literature? Literary Twitter loses its collective mind

Bob Dylan as literature? Literary Twitter loses its collective mind

Did the Nobel committee get tired of reading? Did they just really want to meet Bob Dylan? People unleash their snarky responses over the musician's unexpected literary honor.
by Tracy Mumford

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Bob Dylan wins 2016 Nobel Prize in literature

Bob Dylan wins 2016 Nobel Prize in literature

The Swedish Academy said the Minnesota native "created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."
by The Associated Press

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Choose a book to read to your barber, he'll take a little money off the top

Choose a book to read to your barber, he'll take a little money off the top

A great way for kids to brush up on reading skills? Why, reading to the barber, of course. That's the idea at one barbershop in Ypsilanti, Mich. Oh, and in Houston, Dubuque, Iowa, and Columbus, Ohio.
by Jennifer Guerra

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In 'Singing Bones,' an artist recasts the Grimm tales -- literally

In 'Singing Bones,' an artist recasts the Grimm tales -- literally

Illustrator Shaun Tan puts his skills to a new test in "The Singing Bones." He's taking the familiar Grimm fairy tales and condensing each one down to a single, wordless photo of one of his sculptures.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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'The Wangs' is a sparkling family travelogue -- with teeth

'The Wangs' is a sparkling family travelogue -- with teeth

Jade Chang's debut novel follows former cosmetics magnate Charles Wang, whose business empire has collapsed, as he herds his fractious family on a cross-country roadtrip to their new home.
by Jason Heller

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