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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.

Annie Proulx's bloody new novel 'Barkskins' is about more deforestation

Annie Proulx's bloody new novel 'Barkskins' is about more deforestation

"Barkskins" follows two loggers' stories over three centuries. Proulx says the forest is the hero of her book, but it's also "one facet of larger things, like climate change and the melting of the ice."

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A wry, warm look at the indignities of aging

A wry, warm look at the indignities of aging

Cathleen Schine's new novel stars that literary rarity: a functional family. But matriarch Joy is struggling; her husband is ailing and her worried children don't like seeing their parents' decline.
by Heller McAlpin

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'Smarter Faster Better': Understanding productivity

'Smarter Faster Better': Understanding productivity

The bestselling author of 'The Power of Habit' returns with new insights on the way we get things done.
by MPR News Staff

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The 'Take It to the Lake' summer fiction series

The 'Take It to the Lake' summer fiction series

From psychological thrillers to spies stories to complicated coming-of-age tales, here's The Thread's summer reading list.
by MPR News Staff

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'Infomocracy' is a sci-fi thriller with election year chills

'Infomocracy' is a sci-fi thriller with election year chills

Malka Older's new book takes place at the end of the 21st century, in a future where the game of politics has become more streamlined -- but infinitely more complex and terrifying.
by Jason Heller

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Exploring 'The Story of Autism'

A new book, "In a Different Key: The Story of Autism," by John Donvan and Caren Zucker, tracks the history of the diagnosis from 75 years ago to today.
by MPR News Staff

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Essayist Sloane Crosley dives into fiction with 'The Clasp'

Essayist Sloane Crosley dives into fiction with 'The Clasp'

Sloane Crosley launched her writing career in nonfiction, but her debut novel lets her "be free from the constraints of reality," she said.
by MPR News Staff

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