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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.

Autonomous weapons would take warfare to a new domain, without humans

Autonomous weapons would take warfare to a new domain, without humans

Former special operations agent Paul Scharre helped create U.S. military guidelines on autonomous weapons. His new book Army of None, looks at the advances in technology, and the questions they raise.
by Ari Shapiro

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'Bring The War Home' shows 'lone wolf' terrorists are really part of a pack

'Bring The War Home' shows 'lone wolf' terrorists are really part of a pack

Kathleen Belew's new book explores the impact of the Vietnam War on America's white power movement; Belew says that movement was behind a lot of domestic terror attacks attributed to "lone wolves."
by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

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In 'Head On,' killer robots, dogged gumshoes ... and a very important cat

In 'Head On,' killer robots, dogged gumshoes ... and a very important cat

John Scalzi returns to the world of "Lock In" -- where people incapacitated by a strange disease can re-enter the world through robot avatars -- for a murder mystery that turns on a cat named Donut.
by Jason Sheehan

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'How to Suppress Women's Writing': 3 decades old and sadly still relevant

'How to Suppress Women's Writing': 3 decades old and sadly still relevant

This collection of essays by novelist and scholar Joanna Russ was first published in 1983 -- but it reads as if it might've come out last week. "Get angry; then get a reading list," says NPR's critic.
by Genevieve Valentine

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If the Civil War ended with zombies

If the Civil War ended with zombies

Bookseller Jessica Cox recommends a novel that imagines an alternate history, where the dead rose up at the Battle of Gettysburg, triggering a zombie apocalypse.
by Tracy Mumford

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Poetry Friday: Look closely

Poetry Friday: Look closely

To celebrate National Poetry Month, The Thread is showcasing three poems from local independent publishing houses every Friday.
by Tracy Mumford

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