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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.

'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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Understanding the threats to big cats worldwide

Understanding the threats to big cats worldwide

With lions in the news, what about tigers? Dubbed the Indiana Jones of wildlife science, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz describes his efforts to save the tigers of Myanmar.
by Kerri Miller

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Cheetos, canned foods, deli meat: How the U.S. Army shapes our diet

Many of the processed foods that we eat -- and the way they're made --- were invented not for us, but for soldiers, says the author of the new book 'Combat-Ready Kitchen.'
by Nadia Whitehead

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Alan Cheuse, novelist and longtime NPR contributor, dies at 75

The author and critic died Friday of injuries sustained in a car accident. For years, he was the voice of NPR's literature commentary -- and, for many, the 'guide to a very exciting world.'
by Colin Dwyer

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