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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.

The man behind ISIS

The man behind ISIS

Journalist Joby Warrick's new book traces the roots of ISIS to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was once rejected by al-Qaida 'for being too extreme.'

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A new Alcott emerges from the 'Annotated Little Women'

A new Alcott emerges from the 'Annotated Little Women'

Biographer John Matteson crams all his knowledge of Louisa May Alcott into a massive new annotated edition of her best-known book -- in which the author herself emerges as a fascinating character.
by Genevieve Valentine

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Why are old women often the face of evil in fairy tales and folklore?

Why are old women often the face of evil in fairy tales and folklore?

Evil stepmothers, witches and crones: When they aren't poisoning princesses, they're mangling mermaids or trying to eat children. One writer traces these villains' roots to a fear of female power.
by Elizabeth Blair

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Syrian author finds 'The Arab of the Future' in his own past

Syrian author finds 'The Arab of the Future' in his own past

Riad Sattouf is a Syrian-French cartoonist who brings to life the Middle East in the 1980s. Published as a graphic novel, it provides a humorous and intimate view of the author's youth.
by Eleanor Beardsley

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Who really wrote 'it was a dark and stormy night'?

Who really wrote 'it was a dark and stormy night'?

'It was a dark and stormy night' has become the most cliche phrase in literature. Who wrote it first?
by Tracy Mumford

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'Welcome to Night Vale': Where supernatural is super normal

'Welcome to Night Vale': Where supernatural is super normal

Glow Clouds, shadow governments, five-headed dragons and the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home — these are all part of life in "Night Vale," a popular podcast-turned-novel.
by MPR News Staff

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'Modern Girl' Carrie Brownstein describes finding (and hiding) herself in music

'Modern Girl' Carrie Brownstein describes finding (and hiding) herself in music

The Sleater-Kinney guitarist and singer is known for her defiant performances, but it was vulnerability that initially drew her to music. Brownstein's new memoir is 'Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl.'

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Five haunting stories in time for Halloween

Five haunting stories in time for Halloween

Crack open these scary stories from the 19th century to now. You may want to read them with the light on.
by Tracy Mumford

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A witch's brew of fear and fantasy: America's tiny reign of terror

A witch's brew of fear and fantasy: America's tiny reign of terror

Pulitizer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff's last book was a best-seller about Cleopatra. Now, the Massachusetts native is out with a history of a subject closer to home: the 1692 Salem witch trials.

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Don't necessarily judge your next e-book by its online review

Don't necessarily judge your next e-book by its online review

Online scams known as catfishing and astroturfing produce fake reviews for e-books published under fake names or generate false praise for restaurants. In either case, it pays to be skeptical.

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