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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.

Is book publishing dying?

Is book publishing dying?

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Garrison Keillor argues that with the rise of blogs and self-publishing, book publishing as we know it, and its role in the creation of authors, is about to "slide into the sea." Two industry observers say that while publishing is in trouble, the end isn't near.

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Talking Volumes season finale: Monica Ali

Talking Volumes season finale: Monica Ali

Author Monica Ali is considered one of the best young novelists in Britain. Her latest novel, "In the Kitchen," is about the efforts of a chef to succeed in a once grand restaurant, despite huge pressures at home and a murder. Kerri Miller talked with Monica Ali on the stage of the Fitzgerald Theater May 19.
by Jeffrey Thompson

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These storytellers are rockstars

These storytellers are rockstars

Every third Sunday of the month, a group of "Gen Y" yarn spinners regale audiences with edgy tales of woe, wisdom and awkward situations. They call themselves the Rockstar Storytellers.
by Chris Roberts

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Azar Nafisi on Iran and human rights

Azar Nafisi on Iran and human rights

Author and activist Azar Nafisi says the repression in Iran goes beyond the holding of the three American hikers. She talks about how the Iranian regime tries and occasionally fails to stifle creative expression.

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Rin Tin Tin, chickens and Susan Orlean

Rin Tin Tin, chickens and Susan Orlean

Animals interest writer Susan Orlean. Chickens and mules show up in her writing for the New Yorker lately. That fascination extends to Orlean's latest writing on the life of Rin Tin Tin.

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Lee Child on the craft of crime fiction

Lee Child on the craft of crime fiction

Author Lee Child has written many books where his character, retired military policeman Jack Reacher finds himself in countless dangerous situations. In the most recent installment of Reacher's adventures, he's stuck in a South Dakota blizzard with a killer closing in.

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All aboard Jim Lehrer's new novel, "Super"

All aboard Jim Lehrer's new novel, "Super"

They called it the train of the stars. The Super Chief was a streamlined flagship of the Santa Fe railroad. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, and pampered its often famous passengers in luxury and discretion.

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Anchee Min's personal view on 'The Good Earth' author

Anchee Min's personal view on 'The Good Earth' author

Writer Anchee Min's latest novel, "Pearl of China," details the life of Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck. In the early 1930s Buck wrote "The Good Earth," and other books about life in China. Min says while much has been written about Buck's life, it's never been from a Chinese perspective.

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New reasons for boys to read

A recent study from the Center on Education Policy shows that boys' reading performance lags behind their female peers. It's not the boys' fault, some authors say, but the fault of books that rarely reflect boys' lives.

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Minn. Book Awards honor local writers, advocates

Minn. Book Awards honor local writers, advocates

Carolyn Holbrook, a longtime advocate of arts in education, received special recognition Saturday night at the Minnesota Book Awards, for her contributions to Minnesota's literary community.
by Marianne Combs

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