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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR News

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

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread 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 every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

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. 

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer. 

Author Pete Hautman on 'How to Steal a Car'

Author Pete Hautman on 'How to Steal a Car'

Twin Cities novelist Pete Hautman's new book for teens examines life through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl who's an expert at stealing cars.
by Euan Kerr

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If students choose their own books, will they read more?

If students choose their own books, will they read more?

Reading lists over the summer have yielded to assigned reading in class for most middle and high school students. But does required reading help or hurt when it comes to inspiring kids to become lifelong book lovers?

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Political memoirs, fact or fiction?

Political memoirs, fact or fiction?

Political observers are anticipating the release of the memoir of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Will the memoir reveal new details about the personal life and struggles of the late senator, or merely recount his storied political career?

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How our fast culture hurts reading

How our fast culture hurts reading

Reading is losing the competition with other media for our attention says the book editor of the Los Angeles Times. He found it difficult to find space in his mind to allow him to concentrate on books.

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The importance of Anne Frank

The importance of Anne Frank

Sixty-five years ago this August, Anne Frank and her family were discovered hiding in an annex in Amsterdam and sent to concentration camps. Though she perished, her diary became one of the most compelling and poignant stories to come out of the holocaust. Midmorning examines the lingering power of Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl."

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A reporter's long journey home

A reporter's long journey home

In her new memoir, journalist Helene Cooper describes her privileged childhood in Liberia during a violent civil war, the trauma that prompted the family's flight to America, and memories of the adopted sister she left behind in Africa.

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Minneapolis writer chronicles her eating disorder

Minneapolis writer chronicles her eating disorder

Nicole Johns was diagnosed as having EDNOS, or an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. She has now written a book about her experience in the hope she can help others.
by Euan Kerr

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A story of hope amid despair

A story of hope amid despair

A new novel by Mayo Clinic doctor and obesity researcher James Levine tells the story of a young Indian girl forced into a life of prostitution. Dr. Levine says the novel sprang from a visit to the slums of Mumbai and encounter there that haunts him to this day.

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Classified ad sparks new mystery novel

Best-selling author and former Twin Cities TV producer Julie Kramer got the inspiration for her latest novel from a classified ad. It said: "Wedding Dress, never worn."
by Cathy Wurzer

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David Rhodes's long road back

David Rhodes's long road back

Novelist David Rhodes released three highly acclaimed novels when he was in his 20s, and then was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. He joins Midmorning to discuss his first novel in more than 30 years, and the long road back to writing.

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