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Ask a bookseller

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment.

Ask a Bookseller: 'Civilizations' imagines a Europe colonized by Incas and Aztecs

Ask a Bookseller: 'Civilizations' imagines a Europe colonized by Incas and Aztecs

Sarah Brown of Zenith Bookstore in Duluth has a revisionist history to recommend. "Civilizations: a Novel," by Laurent Binet, asks: What if colonizers had traveled to Europe rather than the other way around?
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' is delightful and informative

Ask a Bookseller: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' is delightful and informative

If you’re a history lover with a desire to escape the Minnesota winter weather, Pat Banning of Bookends in Kailua, Hawaii, has a recommendation for you.
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: 2020 captured in words and images

Ask a Bookseller: 2020 captured in words and images

Donna Garban of Little City Books in Hoboken, N.J., says she knows to order multiple copies every time Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, puts out a new book.
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: 'See Me in the Wonder' is an affirmation of life after loss

Ask a Bookseller: 'See Me in the Wonder' is an affirmation of life after loss

Kathy Gray is the primary bookbuyer for Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minn., and she recommends "See Me in the Wonder," a picture book by a Wisconsin author and illustrator Laurel Fraher.
by Emily Bright

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Newbery Honor book 'A Snake Falls to Earth' is infused with 'unwavering optimism'

Newbery Honor book 'A Snake Falls to Earth' is infused with 'unwavering optimism'

 "I just I found myself smiling a lot and, and kind of feeling like I was in this daydream or, like all of a sudden my imagination was sparked to life,” says Darcie Shultz, owner of Books and Burrow in Pittsburg, Kan., of "A Snake Falls to Earth."
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: Loved the movie? Try reading 'Dune'

Ask a Bookseller: Loved the movie? Try reading 'Dune'

Isaac Frankel of Peregrine Book Company in Prescott, Ariz., has fond memories of picking his father's copy of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel "Dune" off the shelf and reading it for the first time. Now, he says he's seen a huge interest in the “Dune” series since the new film version came out this fall.
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: What does it mean to leave a mark on the world? 

The novel is called “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” but Freya Shrestha of Old Harbor Books in Sitka, Alaska, can’t forget it. 
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Student: Book series elementary school kids love

Ask a Student: Book series elementary school kids love

Usually every week for Ask a Bookseller, MPR News’ Emily Bright checks in with indie booksellers all over the country for recommendations. But this week, we’re changing it up with an Ask a Student edition, courtesy of some of the readers at Gatewood Elementary School in Minnetonka, Minn.
by Emily Bright

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Ask a Bookseller: What does it mean to be a monster? 

Ask a Bookseller: What does it mean to be a monster? 

Emil Ferris's graphic novel "My Favorite Thing is Monsters" made a splash when came out in 2017, and it's still Richard Johnston's favorite title to recommend. "I'm always amazed when people don't know it because I love it so much," says Johnston, who runs Brookings Book Company in Brookings, S.D.
by Emily Bright

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