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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.

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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. 

2016 National Book Awards: Fiction

2016 National Book Awards: Fiction

This year's fiction contenders bounce among Texas, Delhi and Bulgaria, and among football, friendship and corruption.
by Tracy Mumford

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Award nominations put a spring in Graywolf's step

Four titles on the Minneapolis-based publisher's list advanced toward prestigious honors.
by Euan Kerr

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2016 Man Booker Prize shortlist announced

2016 Man Booker Prize shortlist announced

The list of contenders was culled from 13 to six. On the list are a riotous satire, a brutal literary thriller, a generational family drama and more.
by Tracy Mumford

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Who says you can't train a cat? A book of tips for feline-human harmony

Who says you can't train a cat? A book of tips for feline-human harmony

In "The Trainable Cat," feline behavior specialist Sarah Ellis explains how you can train your kitty to come on command, take medicine and stop waking you up in the middle of the night.

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2016 National Book Awards: Poetry

2016 National Book Awards: Poetry

This year's poetry contenders include both debut writers and former U.S. poets laureate.
by Tracy Mumford

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Dictionary fans might squee: OED adds new words, because YOLO

Dictionary fans might squee: OED adds new words, because YOLO

A fusty old tome? Fuhgeddaboudit. The Oxford English Dictionary regularly updates to reflect English's evolution. The latest additions include "gender-fluid," "biatch" and a batch of Dahlesque words.

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An illustrated guide on 'How to Be Perfect'

An illustrated guide on 'How to Be Perfect'

"Sing, every once in a while," Ron Padgett's poem advises. "Do not practice cannibalism. Make eye contact with a tree."
by Tracy Mumford

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'The Fortunes' is a resonant account of the Chinese immigrant experience

'The Fortunes' is a resonant account of the Chinese immigrant experience

Peter Ho Davies' new novel tells four separate stories, from a 19th-century tycoon and his Chinese valet to the murder of a Chinese American man in 1982. It's a revelatory, deftly structured read.
by Michael Schaub

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2016 National Book Awards: Young people's literature

2016 National Book Awards: Young people's literature

This year's authors captivated readers with tales of soccer, the 1970s, wild foxes, friendships, beauty pageants, Chinese folklore and the thrill of first loves.
by Tracy Mumford

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