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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. 

What's in a first line?

What's in a first line?

My favorite first line in literature comes from Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca": "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." What's yours?
by Kerri Miller

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Dive into Laura Ingalls Wilder's life through her letters

Dive into Laura Ingalls Wilder's life through her letters

A new collection of more than 400 letters from Wilder to her friends, family and fans provides an unprecedented look into the writer's life and her time in Minnesota.
by Tracy Mumford

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Rushford man runs publishing company with personal touch

Rushford man runs publishing company with personal touch

Leveraging experience, a bit of risk, and a decent internet connection, Shipwreckt Books Publishing Company is making a go at independent publishing.
by The Associated Press

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'Charlie Chan': An imaginary cartoonist draws a very real homeland

'Charlie Chan': An imaginary cartoonist draws a very real homeland

Charlie Chan Hock Chye is one of Singapore's great unsung cartoonists. He's also imaginary -- the virtuosic invention of comic artist Sonny Liew, who's created a realistic mix of comics and history.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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'Rodeo' gets in touch with the wild, both inside and out

'Rodeo' gets in touch with the wild, both inside and out

Boris Fishman's new novel follows an immigrant Jewish couple in New Jersey who adopt a baby from Minnesota -- and set out to find his roots.
by Heller McAlpin

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"Prince of Tides" author Pat Conroy dies at 70

"Prince of Tides" author Pat Conroy dies at 70

The best-selling author was known for novels such as "The Great Santini" and "The Prince Of Tides." He had announced last month that he had pancreatic cancer.
by Emma Bowman

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America's 'Lead Wars' go beyond Flint, Mich.: 'It's now really everywhere'

America's 'Lead Wars' go beyond Flint, Mich.: 'It's now really everywhere'

David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz chronicle America's poisonous relationship with lead in "Lead Wars." "We've created a terribly toxic environment in all sorts of ways," Rosner says.

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From 'The Taliban Shuffle' to Tina Fey

From 'The Taliban Shuffle' to Tina Fey

Kim Barker's memoir about reporting in Pakistan and Afghanistan has been turned into the Tina Fey film, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot." Barker explains what it's like when Hollywood put its own spin on your life.

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The strange afterlives of 'Dead Presidents'

The strange afterlives of 'Dead Presidents'

There have been 45 presidents of the United States — and some of them became more interesting after they died.

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'The Yid' blends Soviet fact and fiction

'The Yid' blends Soviet fact and fiction

Paul Goldberg's audacious new novel trades in rumor and anecdote, conjuring a time of Antisemitism and violence in 1950's Moscow.
by Jane Ciabattari

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