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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.

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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. 

Sweden gives 'We Should All Be Feminists' to every 16-year-old student

Sweden gives 'We Should All Be Feminists' to every 16-year-old student

The Swedish Women's Lobby has distributed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's feminist manifesto, hoping to spark dialogue about feminism in one of the most gender-equal countries in the world.

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'A Confederacy Of Dunces Cookbook': A classic revisited in recipes

'A Confederacy Of Dunces Cookbook': A classic revisited in recipes

Set in 1960s New Orleans, 'A Confederacy of Dunces' centers around Ignatius J. Reilly, a glutton in a city known for its cuisine. A new cookbook looks at the food central to the heralded comedic novel.

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Best books to give (and get): Top nonfiction picks of 2015

Best books to give (and get): Top nonfiction picks of 2015

This year's nonfiction picks pinball between styles and topics, from superheroes to spaceflight, and Stalin's daughter to Sandra Day O'Connor.
by Tracy Mumford

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How Chicago's slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat

How Chicago's slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat

Opened in 1865, Chicago's Union Stock Yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill floors, a sight hailed as a miracle of modernity.
by Anne Bramley

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Death by coconut: A story of food obsession gone too far

Death by coconut: A story of food obsession gone too far

August Engelhardt believed coconuts were a nutritional and spiritual panacea. So in 1902, he sailed to the South Pacific to start a utopian cult that survived only on the fruit. It ended calamitously.
by Nina Martyris

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Best books to give (and get): Top fiction picks of 2015

Best books to give (and get): Top fiction picks of 2015

From the Vietnam War to wooly mammoths, from psychological thrillers to stark, quiet novels, this year's fiction picks delivered stories big and small.
by Tracy Mumford

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Best books to give (and get): Young adult picks

Best books to give (and get): Young adult picks

Supernatural still reigns supreme, but this year's mix of young adult novels has plenty of heart, history and real-life drama to read and read again.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Your Brother's Blood' gives new life to the undead

'Your Brother's Blood' gives new life to the undead

Zombie stories are everywhere, but David Towsey's new book takes an unexpected turn to a gritty, far-future world with echoes of the American West, full of undead who still have hearts and souls.
by Jason Heller

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'Handbook for Happiness': Resilience is key

'Handbook for Happiness': Resilience is key

Dr. Amit Sood, author of "The Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness," explores the unexpected connection between adversity and happiness.
by MPR News Staff

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