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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.

'Underground Airlines' presents a scarily realistic alternate history

'Underground Airlines' presents a scarily realistic alternate history

Ben H. Winters' new novel is set in a modern-day America in which almost everything seems normal — except for the fact that the Civil War never happened, and slavery is still legal in four states.
by Bethanne Patrick

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From 'runt of the litter' to 'liberal icon,' the story of Robert Kennedy

From 'runt of the litter' to 'liberal icon,' the story of Robert Kennedy

Biographer Larry Tye says Kennedy wasn't always the "hot-blooded liberal" we remember today. The transformation wasn't a "flip-flop" he says; "he took things to heart in ways that few politicians do."

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How teachers can help 'quiet kids' tap their superpowers

How teachers can help 'quiet kids' tap their superpowers

Remember that quiet kid in class who never spoke up? In New York, teachers are learning how to make sure the ideas of introverts don't get overlooked.

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How to raise brilliant children, according to science

How to raise brilliant children, according to science

Two developmental psychologists break down 21st century skills and give everyday tips for parents on how to instill them.

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'This is no paradise': Author explores the side of Jamaica tourists don't see

'This is no paradise': Author explores the side of Jamaica tourists don't see

The characters in "Here Comes the Sun" are working class women, struggling with money, sexuality and the pressures of tourism. It is a debut novel for Jamaican author Nicole Dennis-Benn.

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Adapting Roald Dahl: The good, the bad and the wondercrump

Adapting Roald Dahl: The good, the bad and the wondercrump

With the release of "The B.F.G." this weekend, here's a look back at the ways Dahl's wacky tales have made it to the big screen.
by Tracy Mumford

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Gay Talese disavows his disavowal of his new book

Gay Talese disavows his disavowal of his new book

Talese had told The Washington Post he wouldn't promote his new nonfiction book, "The Voyeur's Motel," after the paper found flaws in its story. But now he says the book will go ahead as planned.
by Annalisa Quinn

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Mislabeled as a memoirist, author asks: Whose work gets to be journalism?

Mislabeled as a memoirist, author asks: Whose work gets to be journalism?

Suki Kim wrote "Without You, There Is No Us" after working undercover as a teacher in North Korea. She says the response to her book is also a response to her identity as Korean and a woman.

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