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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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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.

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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'A Manual for Cleaning Women' showcases a gritty, one-of-a-kind voice

'A Manual for Cleaning Women' showcases a gritty, one-of-a-kind voice

A posthumously published collection of stories steers recognition to Lucia Berlin, whose fictional narrators are the sort who have seen it all and aren't afraid to tell you about their crappy day.
by Maureen Corrigan

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'Eileen' is dark, damaged fun

'Eileen' is dark, damaged fun

Ottessa Moshfegh's new novel follows a defiantly, triumphantly off-putting young woman who dreams of escaping her grim New England existence. Critic Jean Zimmerman calls it "pleasingly perverse."
by Jean Zimmerman

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In new memoir, Maria tells us how she got, how she got to Sesame Street

In new memoir, Maria tells us how she got, how she got to Sesame Street

Sonia Manzano has spent 44 years as one of the lucky residents of Sesame Street. In her memoir she describes how, during her own difficult childhood in the South Bronx, she sought comfort in TV.

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'Devil in the White City': A very different time at the fair

'Devil in the White City': A very different time at the fair

With the Minnesota State Fair only days away, "Devil in the White City" offers a historical take on the dark side of another fair.
by Kerri Miller

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Mom and toddler put sleep-inducing 'Rabbit' book to the test

Mom and toddler put sleep-inducing 'Rabbit' book to the test

Psychologist Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin designed his best-selling (and self-published) story 'The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep' to help kids doze off. We visited a local naptime to see if it works.
by Lynn Neary

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