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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

No warp drives, no transporters: Science fiction authors get real

No warp drives, no transporters: Science fiction authors get real

Some of the biggest names in science fiction right now -- like "The Martian" author Andy Weir -- are writing what's called hard sci-fi, based on real-world science and a vision of hope for the future.
by Steve Paulson

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A motley crew on a wild pilgrimage in 'Sophia'

A motley crew on a wild pilgrimage in 'Sophia'

Michael Bible's slim new novel follows a jaded, drunken priest and his chess-master sidekick on a cross country journey, along with a crowd of misfits and outliers who help give the book its charm.
by Juan Vidal

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How to illustrate the 'Harry Potter' series

How to illustrate the 'Harry Potter' series

The prospect of illustrating all seven volumes filled artist Jim Kay with "terrible panic" -- but he left his comfort zone and did it anyway.

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Monty Python meets Ocean's 11 in 'The Relic Master'

Monty Python meets Ocean's 11 in 'The Relic Master'

Christopher Buckley's new novel is the story of a 16th-century relic hunter and his buddy Albrecht Dürer, who end up in trouble after trying to forge a holy shroud to sell to an unsuspecting nobleman.

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Whom do you write for? 'Pandering' essay sparks a conversation

Whom do you write for? 'Pandering' essay sparks a conversation

Novelist Claire Vaye Watkins recently published an essay called "On Pandering," about realizing she was writing to appeal to white men. She and author Marlon James discuss responses to the piece.

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The best books of 2015

The best books of 2015

Avid readers, critics and listeners share the best books they read this year, along with a few favorites from the past.
by Tracy Mumford

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In 'Drawing Blood,' a life of art and action

In 'Drawing Blood,' a life of art and action

Artist Molly Crabapple's lavishly illustrated memoir chronicles her youth in New York and her work illustrating the Occupy Wall Street movement, protests in Greece and everyday life in Syria.

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