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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. 

When America's librarians went to war

When America's librarians went to war

How did librarians fit into national security in the 20th century? In an array of ways, says Cara Bertram, an archivist for the American Library Association. Libraries were established at hospitals and military bases.
by Linton Weeks

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'Battle Lines' graphic novel shows Civil War through panes of history

When the authors of the new graphic history of the Civil War began their project, they couldn't know that the Confederate flag would be so painfully relevant again.

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Family lost and found in Mary Anna King's new memoir

Family lost and found in Mary Anna King's new memoir

Mary Anna King's new memoir makes you laugh -- and makes you wonder if it's okay to laugh.
by Tracy Mumford

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'The Ghost in My Brain': Climbing back from a concussion

'The Ghost in My Brain': Climbing back from a concussion

A concussion changed Clark Elliott's life in a second. In his book, he talks about what he lost, and what he was able to find again.
by Tracy Mumford

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Exploring the largest Sherlock Holmes archive in the world

Exploring the largest Sherlock Holmes archive in the world

More than 60,000 items related to Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are housed in the University of Minnesota's cavernous library -- 85 feet underground.
by Tracy Mumford

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A sexy novel emerges from questions that can't be unasked

A sexy novel emerges from questions that can't be unasked

In "Summerlong," author Dean Bakopoulos delivers a steamy story of middle-aged loss. A husband and wife lose touch and wonder what went wrong.
by Euan Kerr

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How do you move an entire bookstore?

How do you move an entire bookstore?

You need to have a strong back and solid grasp of the alphabet to relocate thousands of books, as SubText Books in St. Paul recently found out.
by Tracy Mumford

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From galleries to graffiti, art inspires author's first novel

From galleries to graffiti, art inspires author's first novel

Diane Mullen, a writer who works as gallery guard at the Walker Art Center, drew on paintings, photos and graffiti art to finish "Tagged," a novel about a young boy.
by Euan Kerr

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