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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.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

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. 

Beverly Cleary is turning 100, but she has always thought like a kid

Beverly Cleary is turning 100, but she has always thought like a kid

Before she became an author, Beverly Cleary was a children's librarian. She says young readers often asked for books "about kids like us." There weren't any, so she decided to write them herself.
by Melissa Jaeger-Miller

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'Dreamland' paints a haunting picture of heroin in America

'Dreamland' paints a haunting picture of heroin in America

Sam Quinones's book takes readers from a small town in Mexico that sends its sons north to deal heroin, and to cities like Portland, Salt Lake, Columbus, and Minneapolis that seem to have an unquenchable thirst for it.
by Kerri Miller

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Frodo, Bilbo, Kullervo: Tolkien's Finnish adventure

Frodo, Bilbo, Kullervo: Tolkien's Finnish adventure

While still at university, J.R.R. Tolkein became fascinated by Finnish mythology, abandoning his Classics degree to adapt the epic 'Story of Kullervo' -- work that led to the creation of Middle Earth.
by Elizabeth Graham

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'Every Heart' is a doorway to winning fantasy

'Every Heart' is a doorway to winning fantasy

Seanan McGuire's new novella takes the classic portal fantasy -- a group of kids who stumble into magical worlds and are forever changed -- and gives it poignant new life.
by Jason Heller

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Pigeons: Majestic creatures?

Pigeons: Majestic creatures?

Urban wildlife has bad reputation, whether it's pigeons, squirrels, crows or raccoons. In "Unseen City," Nathanael Johnson uncovers the "discreet charm" of the animals we dismiss.
by MPR News Staff

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Poetry Friday: Take a (line) break

Poetry Friday: Take a (line) break

To celebrate National Poetry Month, The Thread is sharing a collection of poetry from local presses every Friday in April.
by MPR News Staff

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Ta-Nehisi Coates takes on Marvel's 'Black Panther'

Ta-Nehisi Coates takes on Marvel's 'Black Panther'

Coates has written a series of 'Black Panther' comics that explore the character of an African prince turned superhero. "I would like Black Panther to be some kid's Spider-Man," he says.

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Meet the 'Rocket Girls,' the women who charted the course to space

Meet the 'Rocket Girls,' the women who charted the course to space

Before there were digital computers, there were "human computers," women who used pencils and paper to do the math that helped carry the U.S. into space. Nathalia Holt tells their story in a new book.

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