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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other 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.

What is it like to be 'The Only Woman In The Room'?

What is it like to be 'The Only Woman In The Room'?

Writer Eileen Pollack studied physics at Yale in the 1970s, but ended up pursuing another career. Her personal account provides something statistics and studies often leave out, says Tania Lombrozo.
by Tania Lombrozo

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Standards, grades and tests are wildly outdated, argues 'End of Average'

Standards, grades and tests are wildly outdated, argues 'End of Average'

A Harvard faculty member argues in his new book that averages tell us nothing useful about individuals. And that has big implications for schools.

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'Narconomics': How drug cartels operate like Walmart

'Narconomics': How drug cartels operate like Walmart

Reporter Tom Wainwright says cartels that control the region's drug trade use business models that are surprisingly similar to those of big-box stores and franchises.

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Bruce Springsteen memoir coming in September

Bruce Springsteen memoir coming in September

Bruce Springsteen's memoir will be published in September. The title, of course, is "Born to Run."
by The Associated Press

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Lisa Lucas takes the reins at the National Book Foundation

Lisa Lucas takes the reins at the National Book Foundation

Lucas is the third executive director in the history of the foundation, which runs the National Book Awards. Her priority? Inclusivity: "Everyone is either a reader or a potential reader," she says.
by Colin Dwyer

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On 'a terrorist, a president and the rise of the drone'

On 'a terrorist, a president and the rise of the drone'

Scott Shane's book "Objective Troy" provides an in-depth biography of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen and al-Qaida propagandist who was killed in a drone strike in 2011.

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How adult coloring books became a million-dollar trend

How adult coloring books became a million-dollar trend

Adult coloring books came out of nowhere last year to sell millions of copies. What's behind the sudden craze of coloring inside the lines?
by Tracy Mumford

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New 'Harry Potter' play coming out in book form

New 'Harry Potter' play coming out in book form

Scholastic Inc. announced Wednesday that a "script book" of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will be published July 31.
by The Associated Press

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