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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.

"Ordinary Man" saved hundreds in Rwandan genocide

"Ordinary Man" saved hundreds in Rwandan genocide

Paul Rusesabagina managed the real-life hotel made famous in the 2004 movie "Hotel Rwanda." In 1994, Rusesabagina sheltered and negotiated for the lives of 1,200 people during 100 harrowing days of violence in Rwanda. He tells his story in a new autobiography.

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Doctors and patients find healing in medical poetry

Many of the concerns of physicians and patients -- life and death, struggle and hope -- have also been the regular themes of poets through the ages. Dr. Jon Hallberg shares his annual selection of medical poetry during National Poetry Month.
by Tom Crann

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A "nature-deficit disorder"

A "nature-deficit disorder"

Have kids given up playing outdoors in favor of X-Boxes, iPods and the World Wide Web?

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The NEA has schools teaching poetry the old-fashioned way

The NEA has schools teaching poetry the old-fashioned way

Six Minnesota high schools are taking part in "Poetry Out Loud." It's a poetry recitation competition sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.
by Chris Roberts

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Author Julia Alvarez thrives in two worlds

Author Julia Alvarez thrives in two worlds

Author Julia Alvarez balances two very different worlds -- in her life and in her new novel, "Saving the World." Alvarez grew up in a large family in the Dominican Republic, but moved to the U.S. at the age of 10. She spends most of the year in Vermont now, although she still owns a farm in the Dominican Republic.
by Kerri Miller

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Poet Dennis O'Driscoll finds inspiration in the workaday world

Poet Dennis O'Driscoll finds inspiration in the workaday world

Irish poet Dennis O'Driscoll is being recognized by St. Thomas University for his writing. O'Driscoll's day job is in Ireland's revenue department, but he says he finds plenty of inspiration for his poetry from the working life.
by Tom Crann

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The last four years of Martin Luther King's life

The last four years of Martin Luther King's life

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch has finally finished the project he began over a decade and a half ago. "At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68" completes a massive, three-volume history of Martin Luther King's career.

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Lost and found in the woods

Lost and found in the woods

Getting lost in the woods is a hazard that many people face, whether they're prepared for it or not. A new book tells true stories of minor missteps that nearly lead to disaster.

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Coming back from the brink

Coming back from the brink

A broadcast of the March 23 Talking Volumes event with Brent Runyon, author of "The Burn Journals." Runyon tried to commit suicide at 14 by lighting himself on fire. His book chronicles his recovery in body and spirit.

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'The Burn Journals:' To the brink of suicide and back

'The Burn Journals:' To the brink of suicide and back

When Brent Runyon was just 14, he soaked his bathrobe in gasoline, stepped into the tub and set himself on fire. The story of his suicide attempt, his painful recovery and self-discovery is told in his memoir "The Burn Journals," the latest selection in the Talking Volumes regional book club.
by Kerri Miller

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