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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 Liberian life of extremes

A Liberian life of extremes

Growing up in Liberia, Helene Cooper had an idyllic childhood, but it all came crashing down during the bloody coup of 1980 when the family had to flee Liberia to the U.S.
by Euan Kerr

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David Lebedoff connects authors despite their differences

David Lebedoff connects authors despite their differences

Award-winning author and Twin Cities lawyer David Lebedoff discusses his new book, "The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in Love and War."
by David Lebedoff

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Songs for the lovelorn

Songs for the lovelorn

For centuries, lovelorn souls have written letters addressed to "Juliet, Verona, Italy." They're writing to the heroine of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. A production at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis takes a musical and theatrical look at "The Juliet Letters."
by Marianne Combs

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Zen and now

Zen and now

Millions of people know the 1970s book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." It's the story of author Robert Pirsig's cross-country bike trip with his son Chris. Now, a 21st century biker has recreated Pirsig's journey, and written a book called "Zen and Now."
by Euan Kerr

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Author describes how a stalker changed her life

Author describes how a stalker changed her life

A new memoir chronicles what happens when an independent woman's loving partner turns into a threat. Kate Brennan uses an alias to shield her identity. Her book reveals what it takes to elude a man whom she believes is determined to destroy her life.

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Does Catcher in the Rye still resonate with teens?

Does Catcher in the Rye still resonate with teens?

A college English professor argues that the J.D. Salinger classic is getting a bit dusty, and would like to see high school students exposed to more contemporary fiction. Midmorning examines which books should be considered the new "classics" for teen readers.

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Steve Coogan does Hamlet in his own special way

Steve Coogan does Hamlet in his own special way

Steve Coogan is considered a comedic genius in his British homeland. His specialty is deadpan performances which shred the conventions of television, movies and drama. His latest film, "Hamlet 2," opens this weekend.
by Euan Kerr and Stephanie Curtis

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A reporter looks back at his grim past

A reporter looks back at his grim past

New York Times reporter David Carr thought his life might make a good book. So he wrote about the time of his life that was filled with drug use, parenting mishaps and close encounters with oblivion. It's a junkie memoir, but one that Carr says was reported, not invented.

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A man of science and letters

A man of science and letters

William Carlos Williams is one of the most celebrated American poets of the 20th century, yet he toiled in obscurity for much of his life. Midmorning examines the life and the work of the man who delivered babies by day, and wrote poetry by night.

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