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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. 

Columnist Amy Dickinson's small town roots

Columnist Amy Dickinson's small town roots

Syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson celebrates the small town where she grew up. And where she spent some time as a single parent, raising her daughter with the help of her tough-to-impress extended family.

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The next literary stars

In an industry that is focused more than ever on the bottom line, it's hard for young writers to get published. But some say there are more great writers working now than ever before. Midmorning takes a look at some of the writers starting to make a name for themselves.

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Literary escapes

Literary escapes

When times are tough, a good book can provide an escape. Two book critics offer their suggestions for books that take readers to a different place.

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Christian Moerk proves a Dane can write an Irish tale

Christian Moerk proves a Dane can write an Irish tale

Writer Christian Moerk has an ear for languages. Some might call him a linguistic shapeshifter. He grew up in Denmark, but worked in the US and in Ireland. When he decided to write a novel, he wanted to capture the distinctive language of Ireland's remote west coast.
by Euan Kerr

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'B is for Beer' says author Tom Robbins in new book

'B is for Beer' says author Tom Robbins in new book

Best-selling author Tom Robbins has made a career out of writing novels which make people laugh while also exploring the serious side of the human condition. His new book, "B is for Beer," is a children's book, where a little girl learns more than she wants to about beer and it's place in our culture.
by Euan Kerr

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Talking Volumes: Sandra Cisneros

Talking Volumes: Sandra Cisneros

Author Sandra Cisneros and host Kerri Miller met before a full house of students and adults at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. Cisneros' groundbreaking work, "The House on Mango Street," was published 25 years ago. Singer and spoken word artist Dessa also performs.

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Prize-winning Irish poet inspired by native seacoast

Prize-winning Irish poet inspired by native seacoast

Poet Mary O'Malley comes from Connemara, a craggy, windswept area of the West of Ireland. It's where the rocks meet the sea, and life moves to the rhythm of the ancient Irish language. And she brings that sensibility, and that place, to her poetry.
by Tom Crann

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Conference celebrates poet Robert Bly

Conference celebrates poet Robert Bly

Tonight the University of Minnesota is launching a three-day, international conference celebrating the work of Minnesota poet Robert Bly. The 82-year-old's legacy includes not just his poetry, but his work as a translator, an editor, and the leader of the men's movement.
by Marianne Combs

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Reflections on life in Iran

Reflections on life in Iran

As the friends and family await the sentencing of radio reporter and Fargo native Roxana Saberi, one friend reflects on the constraints of Iranian life. Journalist Azadeh Moaveni's new book centers on peaks and valleys of trying to marry and raise a family in the Islamic Republic.

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Walter Mosley and his mysteries

Walter Mosley and his mysteries

Mystery author Walter Mosley introduces a new detective with a complicated past. Mosley's previous detective novels starred "Easy" Rawlins in popular books like "Devil in a Blue Dress." Mosley talks about how a new character and a new city energizes his work.

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