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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.

Poet W.S. Merwin dies at 91

Poet W.S. Merwin dies at 91

In the 1980s, the two-time U.S. poet laureate moved to Hawaii and began working to restore the rainforest. According to one contemporary, that's when he 'morphed into a poet of praise.'
by Noah Adams

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Just 'Follow this Thread': You're meant to get lost in this book about mazes

Just 'Follow this Thread': You're meant to get lost in this book about mazes

Henry Eliot's book takes twists and turns through history, philosophy, myth and pop culture. He says mazes are just like life -- except that at the end you can turn around and do it all over again.
by Ari Shapiro

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Meet the lagoon's forgotten lady and see 'the strangest movie never made'

Meet the lagoon's forgotten lady and see 'the strangest movie never made'

'The Lady from the Black Lagoon' tells the story of Milicent Patrick, who designed the Creature's monster suit. 'Giraffes on Horseback Salad' was a Marx Brothers script scenario written by Salvador Dali.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Entertained but underwhelmed by this European best-seller? Join 'The Club'

Entertained but underwhelmed by this European best-seller? Join 'The Club'

German author Takis Wurger's debut novel, a thriller about a secret society at Cambridge University, also tackles hot-button issues of privilege and toxic masculinity. It's now out in English.
by Michael Schaub

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'The Volunteer' is a war story unlike any other

'The Volunteer' is a war story unlike any other

Salvatore Scibona's new novel is a generational saga, an epic of Vietnam and other places rendered in language that makes even simple things sound mythic. But first, a boy is abandoned at an airport.
by Jason Sheehan

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A man looks back on those he lost

A man looks back on those he lost

Bookseller Vicki Burger recommends a novel that's "just lovely, about how we look back on our lives ... and the people who have been important to us either for good or bad."
by Tracy Mumford

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