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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.

'George' wants you to know: She's really Melissa

'George' wants you to know: She's really Melissa

One of this fall's most anticipated books is about a transgender fourth-grader. Publisher Scholastic is employing some of the same marketing techniques it used for megahits like 'The Hunger Games.'
by Neda Ulaby

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The Thread State Fair edition: Great literary characters

The Thread State Fair edition: Great literary characters

Live from the Minnesota State Fair, MPR News' Kerri Miller is joined by novelist Ben Percy for a discussion of what makes a great character.

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The girl who outlived her creator: Salander returns in 'Spider's Web'

The girl who outlived her creator: Salander returns in 'Spider's Web'

The fourth book in Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium series comes out internationally today -- but Larsson died in 2004, so his father and brother hired a new writer to continue the series
by Lynn Neary

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Book briefs: Is Scandinavian children's literature more risque than others?

Book briefs: Is Scandinavian children's literature more risque than others?

Every year, a new group of books lands on the American Library Association's Frequently Challenged Books list. A Scandinavian author argues that in her region, there are no taboos for children's books.
by Tracy Mumford

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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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