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.

January 24, 2020 7:13 AM

Latinx critics speak out against 'American Dirt;' Jeanine Cummins responds

Latinx writers and critics are speaking out against Jeanine Cummins' new book “American Dirt,” calling its depiction of the migrant experience inauthentic and harmful. We asked Cummins to respond.

by Rachel Martin

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January 23, 2020 12:33 PM

In 'Sexual Citizens,' students open up about sex, power and assault on campus

Profs. Jennifer Hirsch and Shamus Khan asked more than 150 undergrads about their sex lives — what they wanted out of sex, how troubling encounters unfolded, and how misunderstandings led to assault.

by Ailsa Chang

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January 22, 2020 9:58 AM

Everyone invited: 'Great Gatsby' copyright to end in 2021

Anyone will be allowed to publish the book, adapt it to a movie, make it into an opera or stage a Broadway musical. No longer will you need to get permission to write a sequel, a prequel, a Jay Gatsby detective novel or a Gatsby narrative populated with zombies.

by The Associated Press

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January 21, 2020 1:22 PM

In true tale 'The Third Rainbow Girl,' townspeople accuse one another of murder

Emma Copley Eisenberg's book offers a deep-dive into rural Appalachia — and digs into questions of how misogyny and bias can take root inside a community — as she tracks a double murder.

by Rachel Veroff

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January 21, 2020 9:48 AM

'Cleanness' revisits familiar ground, beautifully

Garth Greenwell's new story collection — like his previous novel — follows young, gay American men teaching English in Bulgaria. It's part heartbreaking, part forward-looking, and all beautiful.

by Martha Anne Toll

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January 21, 2020 6:00 AM

In 'Agency,' William Gibson builds a bomb that doesn't boom (and that's OK)

Gibson's new novel is a sequel to 2014's “The Peripheral,” jumping back and forth in time as investigators, military contractors and killers chase down a rogue AI, and tensions flare in the Middle East.

by Jason Sheehan

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January 20, 2020 6:00 AM

'The Majesties' is disturbing, yet shockingly enjoyable

Tiffany Tsao's novel explores the dark secrets of the wealthy Chinese-Indonesian Sulinado family, who fall victim to one of their own when daughter Estella poisons the entire clan at a family dinner.

by Swapna Krishna

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January 18, 2020 6:00 AM

'Little Gods' reminds us some questions are better left unasked

Meng Jin's new novel shows us a complex woman through the eyes of her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's nanny — all of whom see different, sometimes contradictory facets of her character.

by Gabino Iglesias

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January 17, 2020 10:53 AM

Talking Volumes with poet Tracy K. Smith

Smith was the final speaker of the 20th season of Talking Volumes. The 2017 U.S. poet laureate talked about her experience sharing poetry with communities across the nation.

by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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January 16, 2020 5:07 PM

Christopher Tolkien, 'Middle-earth's first scholar,' dies at 95

J.R.R. Tolkien's son was instrumental in cultivating his father's legacy, shepherding unpublished works to readers and helping extend the world of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.”

by Colin Dwyer

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