The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

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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.

November 16, 2008 2:00 AM

Minnesota Opera launches major initiative

The Minnesota Opera is announcing a new multi-million dollar program called Minnesota OperaWorks that will make it a national leader in contemporary opera. And due to good luck, or good planning they've already raised more than half the funds.

by Euan Kerr

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November 13, 2008 4:30 PM

Bob Woodward and the war within

The transition from the Bush administration to the Obama administration will be unique for a number of reasons. Author and journalist Bob Woodward talks to MPR's Tom Crann about President George Bush, Iraq and what happens in the transition to the Obama presidency.

by Tom Crann

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November 10, 2008 1:15 PM

Bloom's new novel inspired by a journey

Author Amy Bloom's new novel tells the story of a Russian immigrant's attempts to adjust to America, and her trek across the country to try to find her lost daughter. Bloom was inspired by the legend of a young immigrant woman who tried to walk home to Siberia.

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November 7, 2008 12:00 PM

St. Paul writer uses her own experience to create a historical fantasy

A University of St. Thomas professor has written a historical fantasy for children, based on her experience as a tour guide on one of the uninhabited Apostle Islands.

by Euan Kerr

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November 4, 2008 3:00 AM

Picturing the cold

Minneapolis photographer Stuart Klipper captures images on film of places most people will never have the chance to see in person. His new book "The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole" explores the stark loneliness of the Antarctic landscape.

by Marianne Combs

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October 30, 2008 5:56 PM

Author takes democracy to the doorstep

James Read, author of 'Doorstep Democracy', ran for a Minnesota House seat back in 1992. However, instead of hiring door-to-door canvassers, Read did the work himself. Read ended up knocking on 7500 households and lost the election by only 98 votes.

by Tom Crann

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October 29, 2008 4:31 PM

Where do politics and literature intersect?

Irish scholar and critic Declan Kiberd has become known in Ireland for his literary scholarship, with a keen eye toward how writers influence and shape the wider culture. He spoke with Tom Crann about the instersection of politics and literature in Ireland and in the U.S.

by Tom Crann

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October 29, 2008 4:07 PM

Producer Dave Isay collects StoryCorps in new book

You've heard the Story Corps stories here on Minnesota Public Radio. They're intimate, provocative and compelling stories of regular people captured in the Story Corps booth. Dave Isay, the producer behind StoryCorps talked with Tom Crann about his new book.

by Tom Crann

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October 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Dracula through the ages

A lawyer has turned his obsession with Victorian times and its most prominent characters into a new book that catalogues everything one might hope to know about Dracula.