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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.

The complexity and comedy of Midwestern living

Changing and simplifying one's life may be the current American dream; it's also ripe for satire.

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A refugee's story

A difficult transition to American life drives a Vietnamese emigre family apart in a poetic debut novel.

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The life and times of Alexander Hamilton

A Twin Cities speech by Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton. He spoke recently at Barnes and Noble in Edina.

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Honoring the past and looking to the future

Former Governor Elmer Andersen's remarks Wednesday night at the Barnes and Noble Galleria Bookstore. He celebrates his 95th birthday next month and is out with a new book I Trust to be Believed. Plus, 14-year-old Grant Remmen of Detroit Lakes. The Minnesota spelling bee champion is heading out this weekend to the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC.

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Talking about death won't kill you

When death comes to a family, it often leaves loved ones speechless. But there are ways to confront the difficult time that may help with the pain.

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The life and times of Alexander Hamilton

A new biography of a key founding father reveals a financial genius who deserves more recognition for steering the fledgling nation toward stability.

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Investigating detective fiction

Two detective fiction writers of different generations talk about the genre that keeps readers coming back for more gore and intrigue.

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Northern Thailand's first black Buddhist nun

Twenty years ago Faith Adiele spent two months studying Buddhism in a forest temple in northern Thailand. She was not just the first black American, but also the first foreigner, to study at the temple.

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Author Jim Bouton sets out to save a ballpark

Baseball iconoclast Jim Bouton looks at the efforts waged by city leaders in a small town to find the money for a new stadium, while some citizens fight to save the old one.

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The journey from concubine to empress

The most hated woman in China was its last empress. Host and Talking Volumes producer Heather McElhatton interviews Anchee Min about her book Empress Orchid. The author talks about re-imagining the Ching Dynasty court and the women who rose to power amid intrigue and murder. The conversation was recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater on April 20.

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