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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.

Holiday gift guide: Five new books featuring Minnesota music

Holiday gift guide: Five new books featuring Minnesota music

With clubs and parties finally open full-time again, this was a bountiful year to go out and experience music in the Twin Cities. It’s also been a good year to read books by and about local artists, old and new.

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Canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz on her book 'The Year of the Puppy'

Canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz on her book 'The Year of the Puppy'

Dog week continues on Big Books and Bold Ideas with a conversation about what canine researcher Alexandra Horowitz learned by observing and then adopting a puppy. What happens during that critical first year of a dog’s life — and how can learning about it help us become better companions and caretakers?
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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New book explores why a Minnesota woman joined the Symbionese Liberation Army

New book explores why a Minnesota woman joined the Symbionese Liberation Army

While it was Sarah Jane Olson who made headlines for her St. Paul arrest in 1999, a lesser-known Symbionese Liberation Army member mentioned in the coverage caught the attention of author Rachael Hanel. She explores Camilla Hall’s journey from St. Peter, Minn., to the SLA in her new book, “Not the Camilla We Knew.”
by Tom Crann and Megan Burks

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Ask a Bookseller: "Another Appalachia"

Alissa Brown of “The Inner Geek” in Huntington, W.V. recommends the memoir “Another Appalachia: Coming up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place” by Neema Avashia.
by Emily Bright

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Annie Duke on how to get better at quitting

Annie Duke on how to get better at quitting

On this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas: Why success means quitting more often. Annie Duke writes that we often stay at a job that makes us unhappy or hang onto a relationship that’s going nowhere because we associate quitting with failure. That’s wrong!
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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The best books to give kids this holiday season, from a bookseller and librarian

The best books to give kids this holiday season, from a bookseller and librarian

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a local bookseller and a librarian about the best books for that special child or teenager in your life.  
by Angela Davis, Matthew Alvarez and Nicole Johnson

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From the archives: John Tierney on the science behind willpower

From the archives: John Tierney on the science behind willpower

If you like books that delve into fascinating science research, you’re in for a treat this week. Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, host Kerri Miller talks with cognitive behaviorist and former professional poker player Annie Duke about the science of quitting. We’re teeing it up with another book that looks at why we do what we do: “Willpower,” the 2011 powerhouse work by psychiatrist Roy F. Baumeister and science journalist John Tierney.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Why Minnesotan kids lag in their reading level and what can be done to help

Why Minnesotan kids lag in their reading level and what can be done to help

One in three Minnesota fourth graders can’t read at a basic level. Is there a better way to teach reading? MPR News host Angela Davis talked with APM reporter and producer Emily Hanford about the new podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.”
by Angela Davis, Maja Beckstrom and Nicole Johnson

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What are the most-checked-out books at Minnesota libraries? See the list

What are the most-checked-out books at Minnesota libraries? See the list

MPR News asked libraries across the state what their most popular adult and children’s books were, and the answers may surprise you. While some Minnesotans are focused on the practical, checking out driver’s manuals or dog training guides, Duluthians are reading about themselves.
by Sam Stroozas

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