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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.

Alice Goffman on how U.S. sets up poor, black kids for life in criminal system

Alice Goffman on how U.S. sets up poor, black kids for life in criminal system

The sociologist argues that a constant surveillance of young, black men by police impinges on the men's civil rights and changes the character of entire American neighborhoods.

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Inauguration poet mixes grief, love in her new memoir

Inauguration poet mixes grief, love in her new memoir

Elizabeth Alexander, who read at President Obama's 2009 inauguration, mixes soaring language with stunning grief in her new memoir about her husband's unexpected death.
by Tracy Mumford

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Literary mysteries: Books that have been permanently lost

Literary mysteries: Books that have been permanently lost

Manuscripts from Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Hardy and more have all been lost to time -- or to a train station thief.
by Tracy Mumford

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If science could 'Clone a Mammoth,' could it save an elephant?

If science could 'Clone a Mammoth,' could it save an elephant?

De-extinction technology could soon bring back lost species -- or preserve endangered ones. In her new book, evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro explores the scientific and ethical challenges.

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Nightmare mothers from literature

Nightmare mothers from literature

Behold a bevy of literary ladies who won't be getting any brunch this Mother's Day.
by Tracy Mumford

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Does post-apocalyptic literature have a (non-dystopian) future?

Does post-apocalyptic literature have a (non-dystopian) future?

Store shelves and libraries are packed with post-apocalyptic, dystopian novels right now. Critic Jason Heller has some suggestions to help you wade through the floods. And the fires. And the fallout.
by Jason Heller

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How Jamaica inspired James Bond

How Jamaica inspired James Bond

Ian Fleming, the creator of 007, wrote the novels at Goldeneye, his Jamaican estate.
by Tracy Mumford

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