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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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. 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.

A secret history of pseudonyms

A secret history of pseudonyms

In our "look at me" era, privacy now seems to be a thing of the past. Yet as Carmela Ciuraru's new book reminds us, this wasn't always the case. She explores the fascinating stories of more than a dozen authorial impostors across centuries and cultures.

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St Paul author mines the story of a bootlegging relative for novel

St Paul author mines the story of a bootlegging relative for novel

When St Paul writer Mary DesJarlais needed a character for her first novel, she had to go no further than a photograph of her great aunts. She knew one of them made her living as a bootlegger in rural Minnesota during Prohibition.
by Euan Kerr

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Abraham Lincoln and slavery

Abraham Lincoln and slavery

In his new book, historian Eric Foner examines Abraham Lincoln's complex ideas about slavery and African-Americans, casting fresh light on an American icon.

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Ann Patchett book club broadcast

Ann Patchett book club broadcast

Broadcast of Kerri Miller's conversation with Ann Patchett, recorded at McNally Smith on Thursday, June 23. She talks about her new novel, "State of Wonder."

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The guilt of a teenage accident: Darin Strauss discusses 'Half A Life'

The guilt of a teenage accident: Darin Strauss discusses 'Half A Life'

When he was in high school, novelist Darin Strauss was involved in car accident that took the life of a classmate. Yet when he left his hometown he rarely spoke of it. His new memoir explores his guilt and attempts to hide the deepest part of his life.

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The battle over teen fiction

The battle over teen fiction

A recent Wall Street Journal article that criticized young adult fiction for being rife with violence and depravity has raised hackles among readers, novelists, and the publishing industry. Midmorning speaks with an author and a librarian about the controversy.

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A father's journey to understand his extraordinary son

A father's journey to understand his extraordinary son

When he was 8 months old, Ian Brown's son, Walker, was diagnosed with cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome, an extremely rare disorder that left him severely disabled. Ian Brown joins us to discuss his quest to help his son and talk about his new book, "The Boy in the Moon."

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A meditation on men, women and marriage

A meditation on men, women and marriage

Novelist Siri Hustvedt's new novel is about the breakup of a marriage. Just don't ask her if it's autobiographical. She joins Midmorning to talk about "The Summer Without Men," and why readers want to believe that novelists draw from their own lives.

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Is teen fiction too dark?

Is teen fiction too dark?

Young adult literature is a booming genre in the publishing industry, but one reviewer says we should be concerned about how dark and lurid the offerings for adolescent readers have become.

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