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The Thread

The Thread from MPR News

A new twist on book talk

Ask a Bookseller: Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen here.

The Thread newsletter: 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. Sent every Friday.

Big Books and Bold Ideas: Conversations on books and ideas with Kerri Miller, Fridays at 11 a.m. Listen here.

Follow The Thread on Facebook | Instagram

'The Boatman's Daughter' dips her toes in horror, crime and poetry

'The Boatman's Daughter' dips her toes in horror, crime and poetry

Andy Davidson's novel follows a young girl who scrapes a living working for local criminals along an Arkansas river — but its crime story bumps up against horror in a strange yet seamless fashion.
by Gabino Iglesias

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Steve Inskeep on ‘Imperfect Union’

Steve Inskeep on ‘Imperfect Union’

The NPR host’s new biography of Jessie and John Fremont details why one of America’s original power couples is still relevant to national politics today.
by Kerri Miller

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Author says 'mixed solutions can feel like a cop-out' but may solve housing inequity

Author says 'mixed solutions can feel like a cop-out' but may solve housing inequity

Journalist Conor Dougherty doesn't traffic radical ideas in “Golden Gates,” but tells the story of housing in all its complexity, acknowledging that imperfect solutions are often the only solutions.
by Nicholas Cannariato

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'Little Legends' celebrates big lives of black history

'Little Legends' celebrates big lives of black history

Vashti Harrison's new picture book showcases black leaders throughout American history — but not just the big names. She also focuses on artists, athletes and scientists who may be less well-known.
by David Greene

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'And I Do Not Forgive You' pokes piquant fun at the patriarchy

'And I Do Not Forgive You' pokes piquant fun at the patriarchy

Amber Sparks' new story collection is full of vivid language, compelling imagery, sharp wit and tenderness; many of the pieces also share a thread of anger in their treatment of the patriarchy.
by Ilana Masad

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Missteps lead publishing industry to review diversity effort

Missteps lead publishing industry to review diversity effort

Diversity in publishing has been an industry issue for years. But the current controversy over Jeanine Cummins' novel “American Dirt" has intensified the debate. Flatiron Books admits it was caught off guard by the objections of Mexican American writers to Cummins' story of a mother and child fleeing to the U.S. border.
by The Associated Press

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Stormy 'Weather' captures our anxious age with bracing wit

Stormy 'Weather' captures our anxious age with bracing wit

Jenny Offill's darkly funny, urgent new novel follows a librarian who gets involved in doomsday prepping. It's a perfect portrait of our age of rising anxiety over climate change and
by Heller McAlpin

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What fictional pandemics can teach us about real-world survival

What fictional pandemics can teach us about real-world survival

People have been telling stories about pandemics for thousands of years — once, they were tales of divine retribution, but today they're often rooted in current events like the coronavirus outbreak.
by Neda Ulaby

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Author Michael Pollan explains caffeine cravings (and why you don't have to quit)

Author Michael Pollan explains caffeine cravings (and why you don't have to quit)

When Pollan decided to write about caffeine, he gave it up — cold turkey. "I just couldn't focus," he says. "I was irritable. I lost confidence." Caffeine reshapes the brain in surprising ways.
by Terry Gross

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