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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.

John Lee Clark is pioneering an emerging language — and culture

John Lee Clark is pioneering an emerging language — and culture

In a culture where people operate at a distance from each other and their surroundings, John Lee Clark advocates for Protactile, a set of practices and language based entirely on touch and designed by DeafBlind people.
by Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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New book chronicles life of Cornbread Harris, one of Minneapolis‘ most influential musicians

New book chronicles life of Cornbread Harris, one of Minneapolis‘ most influential musicians

“Deeper Blues: The Life, Songs and Salvation of Cornbread Harris” goes inside the 97 year old’s legacy on the Minneapolis sound and music scene.
by Cathy Wurzer and Ellen Finn

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‘Not a badge of honor’: How book bans affect Indigenous literature

For some authors, finding their book on a “banned” list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there with classics like “The Bluest Eye” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” But the reality is, most banned books never get the kind of recognition or readership that the most famous ones do.
by Christina Cala, Gene Demby, Leah Donnella, Courtney Stein, Jess Kung, Xavier Lopez, B.A. Parker and Lori Lizarraga

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Twin Cities author releases children’s books celebrating Haitian language and music

Twin Cities author releases children’s books celebrating Haitian language and music

On Saturday Djenane Saint Juste is sharing two children’s books she self-published in three languages: English, French and Haitian Creole, a language she was not allowed to learn in school.
by Cathy Wurzer and Alanna Elder

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Blindsided by ‘The Most’: This is a superb novel of a marriage at its breakpoint

The story takes place in Newark, over the course of a single day in 1957, which we experience from the two spouses’ alternating points of view. Jessica Anthony’s novel deserves to become a classic.
by Heller McAlpin

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Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Sweet Blue Distance’ and ‘The Frozen River’

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Sweet Blue Distance’ and ‘The Frozen River’

Call the midwife: Jolie Hughes of Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, N.H., recommends two recent historical fiction books that both feature midwives — one real, one fictional — set at different points within American history.
by Emily Bright

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