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.

May 5, 2016 6:31 AM

The ethics of pet ownership

"Maybe love is not enough," writes Jessica Pierce in "See Spot Run." "Maybe the 470 million-odd animals we call pets also need some moral attention."

by Barbara J. King

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May 4, 2016 5:00 AM

KARE's Belinda Jensen pens children's books to take the worry out of weather

She's created a book series called "Bel the Weather Girl" to help kids understand the science behind tornadoes, clouds and thunderstorms.

by MPR News Staff

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May 4, 2016 12:00 AM

The great Twin Cities bookstore bike tour

This Indie Bookstore Day, 10 Twin Cities bookstores banded together for the Bookstore Passport project, challenging readers to visit all 10 in a single day. Books producer Tracy Mumford was up for the task.

by Tracy Mumford

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May 3, 2016 12:53 PM

A spare and suspenseful novel of family drama

"Shelter," Jung Yun's debut novel, follows a young couple who find themselves underwater in their mortgage and their marriage.

by MPR News Staff

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May 3, 2016 11:44 AM

Can a computer identify a bestselling book?

An online publishing platform claims that its algorithms can analyze reader behavior to identify potential hits-in-the-making.

by Tracy Mumford

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May 3, 2016 7:54 AM

'I Hate Fairyland' takes on Princess Syndrome

Skottie Young's comic may horrify (or delight) the parents of princess-obsessed kids. It's the story of a not-so-little girl who's gone a little violent after 27 years trapped in a sparkly fairyland.

by Etelka Lehoczky

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May 2, 2016 11:53 AM

J.K. Rowling apologizes for killing off a beloved character

Today is the 18th anniversary of the fictional Battle of Hogwarts, which pitted Harry Potter and his allies against Voldemort's forces. Rowling is making amends for a certain death.

by Tracy Mumford

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May 2, 2016 10:39 AM

A harsh migration out of India

Sunjeev Sahota's new novel follows three men who journey from India to England, looking for a better life. But NPR's Nishant Dahiya says that life turns out to be a complex, and often dangerous one.

by Nishant Dahiya

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May 2, 2016 9:00 AM

Don DeLillo returns with 'Zero K'

In Don DeLillo's new novel, a billionaire secretly funds an enterprise aimed at preserving people through cryogenics -- a technology he hopes to use to rejoin his already-frozen wife.