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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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. 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 Thread Book Club: 'Black Man in a White Coat'

The Thread Book Club: 'Black Man in a White Coat'

Damon Tweedy attended Duke University's medical school in the mid-1990s, when African-Americans accounted for only seven percent of medical students nationwide.
by Tracy Mumford

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In new novel, fans seek clues about mysterious author's past

In new novel, fans seek clues about mysterious author's past

Elena Ferrante is the pen name of an anonymous Italian author. Very little is known about her, but Ferrante's books -- widely believed to be a thinly veiled autobiography -- have achieved cult status.
by Christopher Livesay

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Jonathan Franzen on writing: It's an 'escape from everything'

Jonathan Franzen on writing: It's an 'escape from everything'

The author of 'The Corrections' and the new novel 'Purity' likens writing to losing himself in a dream. "When it's really going well ... you're in a fantasy land and feeling no pain," he says.

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College students object to reading bestselling, 'pornographic' memoir

College students object to reading bestselling, 'pornographic' memoir

Duke University selected Alison Bechdel's graphic novel memoir, "Fun Home," for all incoming freshman to read. But that sparked a conversation among students, some of whom said reading the book would be immoral.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Why We Work': It's more than money

'Why We Work': It's more than money

A recent Gallup poll found that only 13 percent of workers feel engaged by their jobs. So why is everyone doing something they don't enjoy? Barry Schwartz tries to find an answer.
by Tracy Mumford

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor, 'Sisters In Law'

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor, 'Sisters In Law'

A new book details that the women were not personal friends, but they were strong allies on the Supreme Court bench, especially in the legal fight for women's equality.
by Nina Totenberg

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'The Wake' is an unlikely hit in an imaginary language

'The Wake' is an unlikely hit in an imaginary language

Paul Kingsnorth self-published 'The Wake,' his tale of the 11th-century Norman conquest of England, written in a pastiche of Old and modern English --- and was startled when it became a smash hit.
by Ari Shapiro

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Sampling new foods at the fair and on the page

Sampling new foods at the fair and on the page

The tantalizing, spice-infused descriptions of food in Richard Morais' novel, "The Hundred Foot Journey," will leave you hungry -- but the book will leave you satisfied.
by Kerri Miller

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North Minneapolis losing its lone bookstore

North Minneapolis losing its lone bookstore

The owners of Ancestry Books hope to hold readings and other events elsewhere.
by Peter Cox

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How schools are handling an 'overparenting' crisis

How schools are handling an 'overparenting' crisis

Two new books, "The Gift of Failure" and "How To Raise An Adult," argue that too many children are being given too much.

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