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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. 

The history of trans misogyny is the history of segregation

As anti-trans legislation has ramped up, historian Jules Gill-Peterson turns the lens to the past in her book, “A Short History of Trans Misogyny.” This week, NPR talks about how panics around trans femininity are shaped by wider forces of colonialism, segregation and class interests.
by Gene Demby, B.A. Parker, Jess Kung, Xavier Lopez, Leah Donnella, Christina Cala, Courtney Stein, Lori Lizarraga and Veralyn Williams

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Samira Ahmed on ‘This Book Won't Burn’

Samira Ahmed on ‘This Book Won't Burn’

After a family tragedy, Noor Khan is forced to finish her senior year of high school in a small town where she discovers — to her horror — that books are disappearing from the school library.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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‘Horror Movie’ questions the motivation behind evil acts

‘Horror Movie’ questions the motivation behind evil acts

Paul Tremblay’s latest tale is dark, surprisingly violent and incredibly multilayered — a superb addition to his already impressive oeuvre showing he can deliver for fans and also push the envelope.
by Gabino Iglesias

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Queenie’s second life on screen gives her more room to grow

Queenie’s second life on screen gives her more room to grow

An irresistible new Hulu series follows the quarter-life growing pains of a lonely South Londoner. It’s based on a 2019 novel by showrunner Candice Carty-Williams.
by Carole V. Bell

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What’s a book ban anyway? Depends on who you ask

What’s a book ban anyway? Depends on who you ask

The term "book ban" is used a lot in media and elsewhere when addressing the rise in challenges to certain books being allowed in schools and public libraries. But is it more political hyperbole or a censorship alarm bell?
by Elizabeth Blair

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‘Beyond the Light’: Minneapolis artist Layne Kennedy reveals the stories behind photographs in new book

‘Beyond the Light’: Minneapolis artist Layne Kennedy reveals the stories behind photographs in new book

Visual artist Layne Kennedy has spent a career taking photos. Now, he’s collected dozens of his images — and the stories behind them — in a new book.
by Tom Crann, Josh Cobb and Ngoc Bui

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In ‘Consent,’ an author asks: ‘Me too? Did I have the agency to consent?’

In ‘Consent,’ an author asks: ‘Me too? Did I have the agency to consent?’

Jill Ciment wrote about a relationship she had with a teacher when she was very young — that turned into a marriage — in “Half a Life.” Now, eight years after his death at 93, she reconsiders their relationship in light of the #MeToo movement.
by Heller McAlpin

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In ‘Fire Exit,’ a father grapples with connection and the meaning of belonging

In ‘Fire Exit,’ a father grapples with connection and the meaning of belonging

Morgan Talty’s debut novel is a touching narrative about family in which the past and present are constantly on the page as we follow a man’s life, while also entertaining what that life could have been.
by Gabino Iglesias

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