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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. 

'Killing Kind' is pure thriller with a smart, vicious twist

'Killing Kind' is pure thriller with a smart, vicious twist

Chris Holm's new novel is about an hit man who only targets other hit men. Critic Jason Heller says the book's somewhat outlandish setup results in lean action and breakneck execution.
by Jason Heller

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Poet laureate's migrant childhood was like 'living in literature every day'

Poet laureate's migrant childhood was like 'living in literature every day'

Juan Felipe Herrera is the child of Mexican migrant farmworkers. He says, "I had a mother [who] sang and told stories and loved poetry, even though she only went to third grade."

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2015 National Book Awards: Fiction

2015 National Book Awards: Fiction

The National Book Award shortlist for fiction is packed with family dramas, big and small. Short story collections and epic novels will duke it out for the top prize.
by Tracy Mumford

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Exorcisms and apparitions: The Vatican and the supernatural in the modern age

Exorcisms and apparitions: The Vatican and the supernatural in the modern age

The history of the Catholic Church is filled with events that border on the supernatural: miracles, apparitions, visions. But longtime Vatican journalist John Thavis says the modern Church shies away from addressing these events.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Lost Canyon': The secrets hiding in California's forests

'Lost Canyon': The secrets hiding in California's forests

Nina Revoyr breaks into the adventure genre with a story of four hikers who stumble across dangerous secrets hidden in California's picturesque forests.
by Tracy Mumford

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2015 National Book Awards: Nonfiction

2015 National Book Awards: Nonfiction

The National Book Award longlist for nonfiction mixes memoir, science and history.
by Tracy Mumford

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Dark and funny: Growing up in George Carlin's shadow

Dark and funny: Growing up in George Carlin's shadow

In a new memoir, the comedian's daughter describes life with parents who were heavy users of drugs and alcohol.
by Elizabeth Blair

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