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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.

'Moonglow' shines a light on hidden family history

'Moonglow' shines a light on hidden family history

Michael Chabon's new novel is based on deathbed conversations with his own grandfather, as strong painkillers unlocked the stories of a long full life -- stories Chabon says he'd never heard before.

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Ask a bookseller: Atomic Books in Baltimore

Ask a bookseller: Atomic Books in Baltimore

Benn Ray, one of the owners of Atomic Books, recommends a book about the Satanism paranoia that swept the country in the 1980s.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Fantastic Beasts': Potter fans grew up, so the movie did, too

'Fantastic Beasts': Potter fans grew up, so the movie did, too

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" swoops into theaters this weekend. It has all the magic of the original "Potter" stories, but we're in the world of adults now.
by Tracy Mumford

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Do you finish books you don't like?

Do you finish books you don't like?

If you don't love a book, do you finish reading it anyway? Or do you move on and get another?
by Tracy Mumford

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The term 'graphic novel' has had a good run. We don't need it anymore

The term 'graphic novel' has had a good run. We don't need it anymore

Coined in an era when comics were considered "junk" culture, "graphic novel" is a hoary, meaningless, and often completely inaccurate term. Comics are comics; stop apologizing for them.
by Glen Weldon

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Before his name was known at all, Seuss put creatures on the wall

Before his name was known at all, Seuss put creatures on the wall

Decades before he became a beloved children's book author, Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) created a series of whimsical sculptures he called "Unorthodox Taxidermy."
by Jeff Lunden

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A post-election reading list

A post-election reading list

The election has left people with a lot of questions. This reading list is aimed at sharing perspectives, offering insight and building understanding.
by MPR News Staff and Tracy Mumford

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Predictions from 1996: The e-book

Predictions from 1996: The e-book

"Imagine that you're reading a book by holding just one thin, paper-like screen -- a computer, really." That was a grand new idea back in 1996, when MPR News reporter Mary Stucky looked into the future of publishing.
by Tracy Mumford

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Golden age of television? More like 'Platinum Age'

Golden age of television? More like 'Platinum Age'

Longtime Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli's new book lays out what he calls the "Key Evolutionary Stages" in the development of the medium -- and the constant conversation we're having with it.
by Jason Heller

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