The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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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.

November 10, 2020 12:55 PM

How a 1969 murder at Harvard turned into a cold case and a 'cautionary tale'

In “We Keep the Dead Close,” author Becky Cooper revisits the killing of Harvard graduate student Jane Britton. The 440+ page book is overstuffed with suspects, motives, red herrings and interviews.

by Maureen Corrigan

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November 10, 2020 12:55 PM

Author details 'Living With Death' in her 20s and scrambling for life-saving care

Katherine Standefer was uninsured and working as a hiking guide when diagnosed with a genetic heart condition. She chronicles her experience with an implanted heart device in “Lightning Flowers.”

by Dave Davies

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November 10, 2020 10:00 AM

Author and journalist Tom Ricks: Founding Fathers expected today's political state

"I think Madison, especially, would be very proud to see that when America deeply disagrees, as it does now, that things grind to a halt," Ricks, author of a new book, “First Principles,” tells NPR.

by Steve Inskeep

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November 10, 2020 8:49 AM

Exclusive: Brit Bennett, Yaa Gyasi among contenders for Aspen Words Literary Prize

Aspen Words — part of the Aspen Institute — has announced the longlist for this year's Aspen Words Literary Prize. The $35,000 award recognizes fiction that "illuminates a vital contemporary issue."

by Petra Mayer

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November 10, 2020 6:13 AM

In 'Wintering,' Katherine May encourages 'the active acceptance of sadness'

The British author writes beautifully of her own recent bout with a personal winter, a period when she felt low and overwhelmed — and aims to help others to embrace their winters.

by Heller McAlpin

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November 9, 2020 1:08 PM

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe on equal pay, and what the U.S. flag means to her

Rapinoe has also been an outspoken advocate for pay equity and the Black Lives Matter movement. "I see patriotism as constantly demanding better of ourselves," she says. Her new book is “One Life.”

by Terry Gross

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November 9, 2020 12:11 PM

Thread: Wanbli Weiden's 'Winter Counts' deserves more fanfare

For this week’s Thread: Kerri Miller begins a series this morning running through the end of December that will give more attention to authors you might not have heard about, and would be great ideas for the holiday season.

by Kerri Miller

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November 7, 2020 7:59 AM

60 years later, Ruby Bridges tells her story in 'This Is Your Time'

Bridges was the little girl depicted in that famous Norman Rockwell painting — the first Black student at her New Orleans elementary school. Now, she's written a book to tell kids her story.

by Scott Simon

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November 7, 2020 6:00 AM

Ask a Bookseller: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Yes, we know Halloween was last week, but vampires are an any-time-of-year kind of story, right? — especially for a suspense thriller described as “Steel Magnolias-meets-Dracula.”

by Emily Bright

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November 5, 2020 9:57 AM

Amid violence and tragedy, a library brings hope in 'The Book Collectors'

Journalist Delphine Minoui tells the true tale of a young man who refused to escape the terrors of Assad's regime in Syria, instead working with friends to make a library — a beacon of hope.

by Martha Anne Toll

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