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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. 

Neil Gaiman on returning to 'Sandman' and the power of comics

Neil Gaiman on returning to 'Sandman' and the power of comics

Twenty-five years after he initially created Sandman, Gaiman returns to one of his most enduring characters. Gaiman says writing "The Sandman: Overture" was "the most intense period of my life."

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A history of shiny objects: From trading beads to the first wristwatch

A history of shiny objects: From trading beads to the first wristwatch

Author Aja Raden says jewelry is the perfect lens through which to view human history. In "Stoned," she tells the story of the glass beads used to purchase Manhattan and the rise of the wristwatch.

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From Russia, with mayonnaise: Cookbook revisits Soviet classics

From Russia, with mayonnaise: Cookbook revisits Soviet classics

The dishes that marked the Soviet era still have a strong pull on Russian sentiment (if not stomachs). A new book revisits these recipes, born, in part, of food shortages and ingenuity.
by Deena Prichep

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What can a city do to fight cancer and heart disease?

What can a city do to fight cancer and heart disease?

Health departments once battled epidemics like cholera and yellow fever. When the modern threats are diabetes and cancer, how should a city's health department respond?
by MPR News Staff

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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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Authors pick their most meaningful reads of 2015

Authors pick their most meaningful reads of 2015

Authors George Saunders, Amy Quan Barry and Carrie Mesrobian share the books that stuck with them this year.
by MPR News Staff

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