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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. 

Remember 9/11 through literature

Remember 9/11 through literature

It took time for writers to process and understand how America -- and the world -- changed after the attacks on Sept. 11. Now, a growing number of novels address the tragedy and its aftermath.
by Kerri Miller

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From dive bars to Gothic castles: A career with the arc of a fairy tale

From dive bars to Gothic castles: A career with the arc of a fairy tale

Patrick DeWitt, a former barback, once saw his hopes for a writing career teeter on a trash can's edge. Now an acclaimed author, he's dissecting folk tales in his newest novel, "Undermajordomo Minor."

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An Afghan writer wants to return home, but it could cost him his life

An Afghan writer wants to return home, but it could cost him his life

Qais Akbar Omar's memoir has been translated into more than 20 languages. But his outspoken criticism of Afghanistan's government has created problems for him and his family back in Kabul.
by Elizabeth Ross

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Why a white poet posed as Asian to get published, and what's wrong with that

Why a white poet posed as Asian to get published, and what's wrong with that

A white man called Michael Derrick Hudson used the name Yi-Fen Chou as a strategy to get published. Ken Chen of the Asian American Writers' Workshop in New York says the writer wanted to be "special."
by Ken Chen

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'I didn't know you were funny': Minnesota writer a Thurber prize finalist

'I didn't know you were funny': Minnesota writer a Thurber prize finalist

For the first time, the finalists for the nation's top humor writing award are all women. That includes U professor Julie Schumacher, whose satire on academic life got her friends, and everyone else, laughing.
by Tracy Mumford

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Is 007 losing his cool? 'Trigger Mortis' helps bring Bond into 21st century

Is 007 losing his cool? 'Trigger Mortis' helps bring Bond into 21st century

From Bond's smoking habit to the Pussy Galore storyline, there's a lot about the franchise that doesn't fly anymore. In a new Bond novel, writer Anthony Horowitz gives the spy story a modern edge.

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Denver's Tattered Cover bookstore focused on succession, not just survival

Denver's Tattered Cover bookstore focused on succession, not just survival

Known for its vast selection and knowledgeable sales staff, the Tattered Cover is a Denver institution. Now, after 40 years, the store's longtime owner is passing the reins to a new generation.
by Scott Horsley

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