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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.

Ask a bookseller: Prairie Lights in Iowa City

Ask a bookseller: Prairie Lights in Iowa City

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we have a recommendations for poetry and a haunting novel.
by Tracy Mumford

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A kitty leads a double life in Beatrix Potter's posthumously published tale

A kitty leads a double life in Beatrix Potter's posthumously published tale

The unfinished work is a curious afterword to Potter's beloved catalog. But perhaps the best thing about 'The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots' is that it will likely send readers back to Potter's original work.
by Maureen Corrigan

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A stunning look at America's first national park

A stunning look at America's first national park

To celebrate the centennial of America's national parks, National Geographic has compiled an in-depth look at Yellowstone.
by MPR News Staff

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In 'Ghost Talkers,' the spies are actual spooks

In 'Ghost Talkers,' the spies are actual spooks

Mary Robinette Kowal's new book imagines a version of World War I where mediums serve in the British Army, and newly dead soldiers are vital sources of information about what's happening at the front.
by Jason Sheehan

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If you lose everything you've written, start a new novel

If you lose everything you've written, start a new novel

Nathan Hill's novel "The Nix" is a mother-son story at heart, but it spins through everything from video games to Norwegian folklore, and the 1968 Chicago riots to the Occupy Wall Street movement.
by MPR News Staff

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Everything have meaning in the dream world of 'Vellitt Boe'

Everything have meaning in the dream world of 'Vellitt Boe'

Kij Johnson's new novella follows an unlikely adventurer (and a small black cat) through a world built of dreams. It's a wonder-quest that will hold you spellbound from start to finish.
by Amal El-Mohtar

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Ask a bookseller: The Tattered Cover in Denver

Ask a bookseller: The Tattered Cover in Denver

Every week, we ask booksellers around the country about the books they can't put down. This week, a Denver bookseller takes us back to the U.K. in the 1970s.
by Tracy Mumford

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Max Ritvo, poet who chronicled his battle with cancer, dies at 25

Max Ritvo, poet who chronicled his battle with cancer, dies at 25

The Los Angeles native was diagnosed at 16 with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects bones and soft tissue in children. He gained wide recognition for his works on fighting the illness.
by The Associated Press

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Ten young adult books adults should read, too

Ten young adult books adults should read, too

"Young adult" is just a label on the shelf — but the battle over who should read YA books rages on.
by Tracy Mumford

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