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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. 

Marlon James' 'Seven Killings' on longlist for Man Booker Prize

Marlon James' 'Seven Killings' on longlist for Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. This is only the second year that writers from outside the British Commonwealth have been eligible to compete.
by Tracy Mumford

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'Dueling Neurosurgeons': How brain injuries have shaped science

'Dueling Neurosurgeons': How brain injuries have shaped science

Brain surgery isn't new, author Sam Kean points out. Skulls that are 8,000 years old have shown signs of surgery -- and, most importantly, of healing afterwards.
by Tracy Mumford

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50 years ago, Bob Dylan electrified a decade with one concert

50 years ago, Bob Dylan electrified a decade with one concert

It's been 50 years since Bob Dylan strolled on stage at the Newport Folk Festival, plugged in an electric guitar, and infuriated his flock. Historian Elijah Wald says there's much more to the story.

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Women's comics are surfing the crowd

Women's comics are surfing the crowd

It's no secret that women are getting more prominent in the world of comics. But some women are tired of waiting for mainstream attention: They're turning to crowdfunding to get their projects done.
by Etelka Lehoczky

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'Crooked' Nixon knew: There are worse things than nukes

'Crooked' Nixon knew: There are worse things than nukes

In 'Crooked,' novelist Austin Grossman excuses Richard Nixon's rocky political career in the weirdest ways possible -- by reimagining the former president as a warrior against supernatural forces.
by Jason Heller

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Brothers hope books will help Muslim kids hang onto their identity

Brothers hope books will help Muslim kids hang onto their identity

Amin and Mohammed Aaser would like their "Noor Kids" books to save youngsters from what they went through in post-9/11 Minnesota.
by Laura Yuen

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Archive: Chuck Palahniuk on Talking Volumes

Archive: Chuck Palahniuk on Talking Volumes

A rebroadcast of the 2011 discussion between MPR News host Kerri Miller and author Chuck Palahniuk about his most memorable trip to Paris, his biggest fear about red wine and his book, "Damned."

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In 'Wondering Who You Are,' a man wakes up and doesn't know his wife

In 'Wondering Who You Are,' a man wakes up and doesn't know his wife

Sonya Lea and her husband Richard Bandy had been married for more than 20 years before an operation for a rare cancer cleared most of his memories.

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'Cartel' dives deep into Mexico's drug wars

'Cartel' dives deep into Mexico's drug wars

Life imitates art in the case of Don Winslow's novel about an escaped Mexican drug lord.
by Kerri Miller

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