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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. 

Can a computer write a sonnet? Turing Test gets a creative twist

Can a computer program craft passable prose -- something readers can't distinguish from human-authored stuff? How about poetry, or dance mixes? New contests pose those challenges.
by Joe Palca

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Exploring the 'Wild And Haunting World Of Dolphins'

Exploring the 'Wild And Haunting World Of Dolphins'

In her new book, Susan Casey describes the life of dolphins and details some new threats the animals face, such as organized dolphin kills and man-made sounds in the ocean.

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'The Cartel': The cost of the war on drugs

'The Cartel': The cost of the war on drugs

Don Winslow's new book about the drug trade in Mexico is fictional, but he dedicated it to the many journalists who lost their lives telling the truth.
by MPR News Staff

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'Anxious': Understanding fear and anxiety

'Anxious': Understanding fear and anxiety

Joseph LeDoux explains the science behind fear and anxiety disorders, which affect about 20 percent of the population.
by MPR News Staff

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Book briefs: Bookstore offers refunds for 'Go Set a Watchman'

Book briefs: Bookstore offers refunds for 'Go Set a Watchman'

A bookstore in Michigan is offering refunds for unsatisfied readers, saying "Watchman" should be considered an academic artifact rather than "a nice summer novel."
by Tracy Mumford

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Six friends, a pile of cash and a game with deadly consequences

Six friends, a pile of cash and a game with deadly consequences

'Black Chalk' hinges on a plot twist that we won't give away. But we will say it's the summer thriller we've been waiting for.
by Jason Sheehan

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'Kids love to be scared': Louis Sachar on balancing fun and fear

'Kids love to be scared': Louis Sachar on balancing fun and fear

The award-winning author of "Holes" has just published a new novel for young readers, called "Fuzzy Mud." It mixes middle-school with a more sinister mystery: a rogue biotech threat.

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Literary mysteries: The 20 rules for writing a detective novel

Literary mysteries: The 20 rules for writing a detective novel

In the 1920s, S.S. Van Dine put forth 20 rules about detective stories. He said no love interests, no supernatural elements and no crazy twists. Do his rules hold up?
by Tracy Mumford

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Aviator Beryl Markham soars again in 'Paris Wife' author's new book

Aviator Beryl Markham soars again in 'Paris Wife' author's new book

Beryl Markham was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West. The British-born Kenyan woman was also a racehorse trainer, a writer and a fearless adventurer.

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'Spies' is a cinematic account of Americans in war-torn Paris

'Spies' is a cinematic account of Americans in war-torn Paris

Historian Alex Kershaw's latest book focuses on the true story of an American doctor and his family who worked with the French Resistance from their apartment in Paris.
by Genevieve Valentine

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