The Thread® - Books and Literary 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.

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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.

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Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is back for its 25th season. Join us at the Fitzgerald Theater for four special events with renowned authors, celebrating our anniversary with a special $25 ticket price for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. Buy tickets here.

April 29, 2021 6:45 AM

Survival is an invitation to push through hard times in 'White Magic'

Elissa Washuta's “White Magic” is full of magic — and pain — as it deals with trauma while exploring cultural inheritance and the way attacks on Native women never stopped.

by Gabino Iglesias

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April 28, 2021 11:00 AM

How women can reclaim their power

In her new book, “Unbound,” former dominatrix Kasia Urbaniak teaches women how to step into their power.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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April 28, 2021 10:51 AM

'Mom Genes' aims to examine biological transformations of motherhood

Abigail Tucker's descriptions of how radically women may change at the time of motherhood — and, as an extension, how this might affect their ability to focus on other things — gets pretty harrowing.

by Barbara J. King

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April 28, 2021 7:42 AM

'The Haunting of Alma Fielding' is a ghost story — and a tale of power and fear

In 1938, a housewife went to the press complaining of a poltergeist in her home — and a ghost hunter investigated. Kate Summerscale's true tale is about women and power, anxiety, and choices.

by Ilana Masad

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April 27, 2021 12:45 PM

Ask a Bookseller: A mystery without the procedure in 'Picnic in the Ruins'

Dana Welshans of Snowbound Books in Marquette, Mich., found herself surprised and delighted by the thriller “Picnic in the Ruins” by Todd Robert Petersen.

by Emily Bright

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April 27, 2021 12:32 PM

Ask a Bookseller: 'Witches Steeped in Gold' is a Jamaican-inspired YA fantasy

Kalima Desuze of Café con Libros in Brooklyn, N.Y., recommends a Jamaican-inspired YA fantasy novel that just hit the shelves on April 20: “Witches Steeped in Gold” by debut author Ciannon Smart.

by Emily Bright

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April 27, 2021 5:00 AM

Comic: Bringing the library home during the pandemic

It's been a year since teachers were handed an unprecedented request: educate students in entirely new ways, amid the backdrop of a global pandemic. This week takes us to a librarian and a bus driver.

by Eda Uzunlar

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April 27, 2021 3:09 AM

In 'Stronger,' Cindy McCain reflects on life, and the last days, with John McCain

In her memoir, the late senator's wife details a decision on emergency surgery in John McCain's final days, reviews their 38 years of marriage — and offers her thoughts on Donald Trump.

by Claudia Grisales

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April 26, 2021 2:57 PM

Cheap, legal and everywhere: How food companies get us 'hooked' on junk

Reporter Michael Moss says processed foods can be as alluring in some ways as cocaine or cigarettes. His new book explains how companies keep us snacking by appealing to nostalgia and brain chemistry.

by Dave Davies

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April 25, 2021 9:20 AM

Embarrassed by your parents? 'Watercress' explores that universal kid experience

In the new book “Watercress,” a girl is initially ashamed when her immigrant parents stop the car to forage for watercress by the side of the road — until she learns more about her family's history in China.

by Samantha Balaban

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