The Thread® - Books and 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 9, 2016 4:00 AM

Viet Thanh Nguyen on hiding in plain sight

Viet Thanh Nguyen, who just won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel "The Sympathizer," shares how Ralph Ellison inspired him to become a writer.

by MPR News Staff

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May 8, 2016 4:00 AM

'Lord Grizzly': Celebrating a Minnesota literary classic

In 1954 Minnesota writer Frederick Manfred published "Lord Grizzly," a novel based on the epic, true tale of frontier scout Hugh Glass.

by Euan Kerr

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May 8, 2016 12:00 AM

Barnes & Noble founder retires, leaving his imprint on bookstore's history

As founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, Leonard Riggio steered it through the proliferation of free information in the Internet age.

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May 6, 2016 4:00 AM

Minnesota poet Gretchen Marquette finds beauty in trying times

Her new collection "May Day" plumbs stories of lost love and anxiety, but each reveals glimpses of life's wonder. Marquette wrote many of the poems sitting at Minneapolis' May Day Café.

by Euan Kerr

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May 5, 2016 9:02 AM

Novelist Richard Russo: 'I find myself now ... having lived the American dream'

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author says his blue-collar grandfather would have been astonished by the life Russo leads. His new book, "Everybody's Fool," is a sequel to 1993's "Nobody's Fool."

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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