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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.

For John Sandford, Minnesota remains the perfect crime scene

For John Sandford, Minnesota remains the perfect crime scene

Thrill master John Sandford, who set his latest book, "Escape Clause," at the Minnesota Zoo, talks with MPR News about his characters' Minnesota roots -- and the hardest part about crime writing.
by Tracy Mumford

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Ask a bookseller: Left Bank Books in St. Louis

Ask a bookseller: Left Bank Books in St. Louis

Bookseller Shane Mullen has two eerie, unsettling reads for your October book list. The first deals with a horror film gone awry in the Amazon and the second revolves around the mysterious disappearance of young twin girls.
by Tracy Mumford

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Here's the only good thing -- books! -- about the Lynx losing the WNBA championship

Here's the only good thing -- books! -- about the Lynx losing the WNBA championship

The mayors of Minneapolis and Los Angeles staged a friendly wager over the game: The loser has to send a shipment of books by local women authors to the winning city. Minneapolis is preparing to send the books next week.
by Tracy Mumford

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Novel offers a fierce hymn to troubled small towns

Novel offers a fierce hymn to troubled small towns

A Minnesota writer uses her skill at sharp storytelling to portray life in a place beset by hard times and hard drugs.
by Euan Kerr

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'American Crime Story' to tackle the tale of a serial killer with Minnesota connections

'American Crime Story' to tackle the tale of a serial killer with Minnesota connections

The third season of the television show will tell the story of Andrew Cunanan, who killed fashion designer Gianni Versace in Florida in 1997 — after a killing spree that began in Minnesota just weeks before.
by Tracy Mumford

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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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Checking back in on the barber who encourages kids to read

Checking back in on the barber who encourages kids to read

Our story about the barbershop that takes $2 off haircuts for young readers went viral, so we went back to ask what happened next.
by Jennifer Guerra

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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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