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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.

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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.

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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. 

Squeezing classic literature into one cartoon

Squeezing classic literature into one cartoon

Actually reading "Moby-Dick" would take you hours. John Atkinson drew a nano-synopsis for you. (Spoiler: The whale wins.)
by Tracy Mumford

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Music appreciation in the age of robot DJs

Music appreciation in the age of robot DJs

Mobile technology and music streaming services have given listeners more power than ever over their listening choices. "So what are we going to do with it?" asks music critic Ben Ratliff.
by MPR News Staff

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Keys are the key to 'What is Not Yours'

Keys are the key to 'What is Not Yours'

Writer Helen Oyeyemi's new collection features nine stories all linked through the idea of keys that open rooms, doors, even hearts. She says she felt haunted by keys while working on the book.

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'The Rope' chronicles a good death, and a bad start

'The Rope' chronicles a good death, and a bad start

Kanan Makiya's new novel is named for the rope used to execute Saddam Hussein. It follows one Shiite militiaman from the day of Saddam's fall through the tumultuous years that follow.

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Korea's classic swashbuckler gets a new translation

Korea's classic swashbuckler gets a new translation

A young nobleman leaves home and ends up joining a group of outlaws -- sound familiar? No, it's not Robin Hood, it's the iconic Korean hero Hong Gildong, and it's time the rest of the world met him.
by Genevieve Valentine

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With beauty and wonder, 'The Winged Histories' soars

With beauty and wonder, 'The Winged Histories' soars

Sofia Samatar returns to the world of her award-winning debut, "A Stranger in Olondria," with a companion tale of four women caught up in war and turmoil, trying to preserve and pass on their stories.
by Jason Heller

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A St. Patrick's poem on shamrocks and stereotypes

A St. Patrick's poem on shamrocks and stereotypes

"All that mindlessness, shouting and getting plain stocious / That isn't Irish, that's simply atrocious," writes author and Irish expatriate Frank Delaney in "Drowning the Shamrock."

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Why your middle-aged brain is not declining

Why your middle-aged brain is not declining

Faced with her own forgetfulness, former NPR correspondent and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty tried to do something about it. She's written about her efforts in "Life Reimagined."
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

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