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.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

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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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to 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.

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.

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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July 10, 2020 2:56 PM

Rebroadcast: Robin DiAngelo on why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism

A rebroadcast of Kerri Miller’s conversation with Robin DiAngelo, author of the book “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism.”

by Kerri Miller

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July 9, 2020 8:12 AM

Asian American girls saw pivotal icon in 'Baby-Sitters Club'

Claudia Kishi happened to be everything the "model minority" stereotype wasn't. She got bad grades. She thrived in art and fashion. She wasn't struggling to belong. For those reasons and more, Asian American girls in the '80s and '90s idolized Claudia and felt seen in teen fiction.

by The Associated Press

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July 9, 2020 7:44 AM

Dana Canedy is 1st Black person to head major publishing imprint

Simon & Schuster has named Dana Canedy executive vice president and publisher of its namesake imprint. She is the first Black person and the third woman to hold that position.

by Rachel Martin

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