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The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread from MPR 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.

Sign Up for The Thread® Newsletter

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.

End-to-beginning telling of inventor's story in 'Edison' makes for a circular read

End-to-beginning telling of inventor's story in 'Edison' makes for a circular read

Throughout his career, Edmund Morris repeatedly showed boredom, even disdain, for the traditional biography. In turn, he sometimes injected his books with an artistic flair that got in the way.
by Scott Detrow

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In 'Janis,' Joplin show to be a tangle of talents, contradictions and mythology

In 'Janis,' Joplin show to be a tangle of talents, contradictions and mythology

Holly George-Warren's research, eye for detail, illuminating contextualization and clear delivery make for a far more rounded and convincing image of the musician's precocity than seen previously.
by Jason Heller

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In Cixin Liu's 'Supernova Era,' the children really are our future

In Cixin Liu's 'Supernova Era,' the children really are our future

In this early work from the Hugo Award-winning author, a supernova near Earth kills off everyone over the age of 13 — and the remaining kids turn increasingly to violence as they struggle to rebuild.
by Jason Heller

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In 'The Less People Know About Us' a mysterious identity theft hits close to home

In 'The Less People Know About Us' a mysterious identity theft hits close to home

Axton Betz-Hamilton was 12 when her family's mail began disappearing. Her memoir details what follows and, when she discovers the culprit, the painful process of collecting the pieces of her past.
by Genevieve Valentine

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George R.R. Martin really does know you want him to write faster

George R.R. Martin really does know you want him to write faster

Martin, who's working on the long-awaited sixth volume of his series A Song of Ice and Fire, rarely gives interviews — but NPR's Scott Simon recently caught up with him onstage at an awards ceremony.
by Scott Simon

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A story of the kidnapped children of Spain

A story of the kidnapped children of Spain

Bookseller Shirley Mullin recommends a deeply research novel about the children stolen from their parents under the Franco regime in Spain.

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