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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.

Lynne Cox: swimming the cold seas

Lynne Cox: swimming the cold seas

She swam the English Channel as a teenager. In 1987, she crossed the Bering Strait between the Soviet Union and Alaska. Her toughest feat: swimming for 25 minutes near Antarctica in water cold enough to kill in much less time. In the rarified world of distance cold water swimming, Lynne Cox is the best known. She's also the author of two books on her adventures.

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Geraldine Brooks finds mystery in an ancient text

Geraldine Brooks finds mystery in an ancient text

When Geraldine Brooks covered the Bosnian crisis for the Wall Street Journal, she became fascinated by the disappearance of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a prized medieval text. The story of its recovery launched what was to become Brooks' new novel, "People of the Book."
by Euan Kerr

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Why it's difficult to make a movie from a comic book

Why it's difficult to make a movie from a comic book

If you want to make an animated film out of a comic book, logic suggests just taking what's on the pages, make it move and slap it on the screen. Not so says Marjane Satrapi. She wrote the best selling "Persepolis" graphic novels and directed an award winning film based on the story.
by Euan Kerr

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Sara Paretsky revisits 'Bleeding Kansas'

Sara Paretsky revisits 'Bleeding Kansas'

After writing a string of hard-boiled detective novels featuring private eye V.I. Warshawski, author Sara Paretsky is returning to her roots. Her new novel, "Bleeding Kansas," is set in a small town on the prairie.
by Euan Kerr

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A teacher looks at war through words

A teacher looks at war through words

An English teacher at West Point explains her literary choices for expanding the minds of her student cadets, some of whom will soon become soldiers.

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Twin Cities top most literate list

Twin Cities top most literate list

Minneapolis has topped a list of the most literate cities in America. St. Paul landed at number three on the list, which is part of a study by Central Connecticut State University.

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