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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. 

What books shaped you in high school? Here's what you said

What books shaped you in high school? Here's what you said

More than 1,100 of you wrote to tell us about the books that broadened your horizons, that you kept through every move, that inspired you to become English majors, librarians, writers and teachers.
by Beth Novey, Meghan Collins Sullivan and Andrew Limbong

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What being a mailman taught Stephen Grant about work, belonging and going the extra mile

What being a mailman taught Stephen Grant about work, belonging and going the extra mile

When Steve Grant lost his job during the pandemic, the only replacement he could find was delivering mail in his hometown. But being a letter carrier revealed things about who he was and how he fit that he never could have expected.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Publishing this week: A James Baldwin bio, the hope of solar, Snow White reimagined

Publishing this week: A James Baldwin bio, the hope of solar, Snow White reimagined

Bill McKibben says solar is a “last chance for the climate.” T. Kingfisher offers a dark retelling of “Snow White.” Nicholas Boggs tells James Baldwin’s story. Plus new debut fiction.
by Colin Dwyer

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These ‘Blondes’ are turning 100, and they’re still a lot of fun

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is about two flappers on the prowl for sugar daddies. First published in 1925, Anita Loos’ cheeky comic novel has now been reissued in paperback.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Be there pirates? The true story of Capt. Kidd

Be there pirates? The true story of Capt. Kidd

Was Capt. Kidd a notorious pirate whose ill-gotten treasure is still hunted today? Or was he an experienced sea captain who got caught up in the geopolitics of his day? Parse the true story from the scuttlebutt on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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New books this week: investigating rehab, fighting wildfires and a Slaughter thriller

New books this week: investigating rehab, fighting wildfires and a Slaughter thriller

Just published this week: A portrait of the lucrative drug-treatment industry; a memoir of a female firefighter; debut fiction from an Emmy-winning TV writer; and a brand new Karin Slaughter thriller.
by Colin Dwyer

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‘A Marriage at Sea’ by Sophie Elmhirst

‘A Marriage at Sea’ by Sophie Elmhirst

This week on Big Books and Bold Idea, author Sophie Elmhirst joins Kerri Miller to talk about the true story of a British couple who survived more than a hundred days together on the open seas after a whale sunk their boat. Even more amazing: When it was over, their marriage was stronger than ever.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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