The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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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.

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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.

The most anticipated books of summer
Thirteen summer releases that will put a cherry on top of your summer reading sundae.
Novelist Mat Johnson explores the 'optical illusion' of being biracial
Johnson, the son of an African-American mother and an Irish-American father, has just written a funny, sometimes absurd look at what it means to grow up mixed heritage in the U.S.
What to read when you miss 'Mad Men'
Fans left wanting more 'Mad Men' will find echoes of the show in these fiction and nonfiction picks.
'Everything I Never Told You' is wrapped in family secrets
Celeste Ng's debut novel begins with a gripping mystery and delves into the deep burden one generation leaves for the next.
Bookstore inside Minneapolis Central Library to close
The bookstore has served as a fundraiser for the library for many years, but is now closing its doors with a massive sale.
'Sophie Stark' finds it hard to learn how to be human
Anna North's new novel is narrated by friends and family after the death of troubled filmmaker Sophie. Critic Michael Schaub calls it "a bold and graceful novel, executed with incredible artistry."