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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. 

Finnish authors heat up the speculative fiction world

Finnish authors heat up the speculative fiction world

Finland hosts the World Science Fiction Convention in 2017 — but if you can't make it to Helsinki, hit the library: more and more Finnish speculative fiction authors are getting English translations.
by Jason Heller

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An unkillable myth about atheists

An unkillable myth about atheists

The idea that atheists cling to their non-belief despite a sad loss of meaning in their lives is a tired old myth, says anthropologist and atheist Barbara J. King.
by Barbara J. King

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When 'Your Heart Is A Muscle,' empathy is a revolutionary act

When 'Your Heart Is A Muscle,' empathy is a revolutionary act

Writer Sunil Yapa says his father taught him to have a global perspective from a very young age. Yapa's new novel was inspired by explosive global trade protests that took place in Seattle in 1999.

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The Thread Live: 2016 authors announced

The Thread Live: 2016 authors announced

Four writers will bring discussions of science, faith, fiction and family to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, beginning in February.
by MPR News Staff

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'Medusa's Web' tangles the occult and the old Hollywood

'Medusa's Web' tangles the occult and the old Hollywood

Tim Powers, best known for his time-travel classic "The Anubis Gates," mixes up the decades again in "Medusa's Web," a tale of an eerie estate in Hollywood and a family unmoored in time.
by Jason Heller

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'Hidden History' of Koch brothers traces their childhood and political rise

'Hidden History' of Koch brothers traces their childhood and political rise

Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money, says the Kochs didn't grow up in "the usual cozy, all-American family." Their parents were away much of the time, and competition between the brothers was fierce.

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The books every person should read

The books every person should read

Esquire magazine came under fire for its list of "The 80 Best Books Every Man Should Read." This month, they're attempting to make amends with a new, more diverse list.
by Tracy Mumford

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