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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. 

Exclusive First Read: 'The Shepherd's Crown' By Terry Pratchett

Exclusive First Read: 'The Shepherd's Crown' By Terry Pratchett

Return to the Discworld one more time in the late author's last novel, about young witch Tiffany Aching. Tiffany faced down the Queen of the Elves in her first adventure -- but now the queen is back.

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What you can do with your library card (other than check out books)

What you can do with your library card (other than check out books)

Checking out books is only the beginning: Library cards open all kinds of doors. You can download free music, borrow vinyl records, learn to build websites and go to story time — in 7 different languages.
by Tracy Mumford

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From Egyptian tombs to modern days: The history of cookbooks

From Egyptian tombs to modern days: The history of cookbooks

Some of first recorded recipes have been found on the walls of ancient tombs — because paradise just wouldn't be paradise without your favorite foods.
by Tracy Mumford

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Capturing an unknowable writer in 'Love Song'

Capturing an unknowable writer in 'Love Song'

Author Tracy Daugherty's new biography of Joan Didion is an honest attempt to construct a coherent narrative about her -- but critic Michael Schaub says it doesn't completely work.
by Michael Schaub

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Amid a hubbub at the Hugos, 'puppies' see little success

Amid a hubbub at the Hugos, 'puppies' see little success

At science fiction's Hugo Awards, voters largely rejected a slate of nominees pushed by a group called the Sad Puppies. In an unusual end to the controversy, a few categories didn't even get a winner.
by Colin Dwyer

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'A Manual for Cleaning Women' showcases a gritty, one-of-a-kind voice

'A Manual for Cleaning Women' showcases a gritty, one-of-a-kind voice

A posthumously published collection of stories steers recognition to Lucia Berlin, whose fictional narrators are the sort who have seen it all and aren't afraid to tell you about their crappy day.
by Maureen Corrigan

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'Eileen' is dark, damaged fun

'Eileen' is dark, damaged fun

Ottessa Moshfegh's new novel follows a defiantly, triumphantly off-putting young woman who dreams of escaping her grim New England existence. Critic Jean Zimmerman calls it "pleasingly perverse."
by Jean Zimmerman

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In new memoir, Maria tells us how she got, how she got to Sesame Street

In new memoir, Maria tells us how she got, how she got to Sesame Street

Sonia Manzano has spent 44 years as one of the lucky residents of Sesame Street. In her memoir she describes how, during her own difficult childhood in the South Bronx, she sought comfort in TV.

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