The Thread

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.

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July 16, 2020 8:45 PM

'Sex and Lies' author Leila Slimani: 'Women's lives matter'

Franco-Moroccan writer Leila Slimani's new book examines the restricted sex lives of women in a country where, she says, the unofficial motto is "Do what you wish, but never talk about it."

by Sarah McCammon

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July 16, 2020 6:33 AM

'Magic School Bus' author Joanna Cole dies at age 75

Author Joanna Cole, whose “Magic School Bus” books transported millions of young people on extraordinary and educational adventures, has died at age 75.

by The Associated Press

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July 16, 2020 6:00 AM

If you got a 'Do-Over,' would you like your new life?

“Pretty in Pink” meets “Sliding Doors” in this what-if story. High-schooler Emelia gets the chance to go back and change one decision in her past — but then she has to learn to live with the changes.

by Alethea Kontis

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July 14, 2020 12:14 PM

Colin Jost of 'SNL' knows you're laughing at his 'Very Punchable Face'

SNL "Weekend Update" co-anchor Colin Jost acknowledges that his clean-cut image sometimes rubs people the wrong way. "When I get hurt or hit on camera," he says, "the audience really loves it."

by Terry Gross

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July 14, 2020 6:00 AM

'Inheritors' maps a complicated family tree through the centuries

Asako Serizawa's new novel is a tangle of interlocking stories about several generations of a Japanese family, beginning in 1868 and going all the way through to an imagined future in the 2030s.

by Marcela Davison Avilés

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July 13, 2020 7:41 PM

Judge frees Mary Trump from gag order on new family tell-all

The president's niece is now free to speak publicly on her book, due to be released Tuesday, about the Trump family and how it shaped Trump's worldview.

by Alana Wise

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July 13, 2020 5:11 PM

The Thread: A return to a classic crime series

How are you doing on your summer reading list? Kerri Miller wants you to make space for a classic crime writer who was on the bestseller list 65 years ago.

by Kerri Miller

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July 12, 2020 6:00 AM

Take 'The Unadoptables' home for a rollicking adventure

Hana Tooke creates a memorable villain, Matron Gassbeek, who menaces the feisty orphans of The Unadoptables in the grand tradition of awful authority figures like Miss Trunchbull and Viola Swamp.

by Juanita Giles

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July 11, 2020 9:28 AM

'Utopia Avenue,' the greatest sixties band that never was

David Mitchell's new novel chronicles the rise and fall of fictional 1960s psychedelic rock band. He says he was drawn to both the music and the "dark magic that was in the air" in that era.

by Scott Simon

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July 11, 2020 6:00 AM

You know how 'Survivor Song' will end. It's still horrifying.

Paul Tremblay's new novel, about a viral outbreak that locks down New England, hits close to home. Taking place over just a few hours, it's both a zombie horror tale and a focused, personal drama.

by Jason Sheehan

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