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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.

‘Colored Television’ is an ungentle satire set in post-post-racial America

Danzy Senna’s new novel is an exhilarating yet poignant riff on the struggling artist as a wannabe middle-aged sellout. The writing is endlessly quotable and meaningfully provocative.
by Carole V. Bell

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Margaret Renkl on ‘The Comfort of Crows’

Margaret Renkl on ‘The Comfort of Crows’

To celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of Talking Volumes, we are revisiting a favorite from last year. New York Times columnist and nature writer Margaret Renkl closed out the 2023 Talking Volumes season with meditations on the joys of a backyard oasis, the inevitable losses of a warming climate and how to live while holding both of those truths in tandem.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Author of ‘The Parrot and the Igloo’ examines the history of climate change deniers

Author of ‘The Parrot and the Igloo’ examines the history of climate change deniers

David Lipsky, author of “The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial,” talks about the history of climate change and those who deny the science behind human-caused climate change. 
by Paul Huttner and Matthew Alvarez

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Anishinaabe author Ashley Fairbanks invites children to honor ancestral Native land in her new book

Anishinaabe author Ashley Fairbanks invites children to honor ancestral Native land in her new book

Minnesota-born Anishinaabe author Ashley Fairbanks had her first book published on Aug. 27. The book is for children and is titled “This Land.” It invites kids to trace the history of their home and honor the Native people who lived on the land.
by Sam Stroozas

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These Alaska moms couldn’t find a Yup’ik children’s book. So they made one themselves

These Alaska moms couldn’t find a Yup’ik children’s book. So they made one themselves

Yup’ik is the most spoken Native language in Alaska, but finding Yup’ik books for young children can be almost impossible. These moms created their own — and now they’re fielding nearly 1,000 orders.
by Julie Depenbrock

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Minnesota booksellers talk recommendations, BookTok and how Gen Z is saving bookstores

Minnesota booksellers talk recommendations, BookTok and how Gen Z is saving bookstores

Summer is winding down, but that doesn’t mean the casual beach read is going anywhere. We spoke with three Minnesota booksellers about what is flying off their shelves.
by Emily Bright

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