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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.

"Amen Corner" hits the shelves

"Amen Corner" hits the shelves

It's Shefchik's debut murder mystery novel after a 26-year career as a reporter and columnist at the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Shefchik says the phrase "Amen Corner" refers to the most dramatic part of the course.

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Writers rate the greats

Writers rate the greats

A book critic asked more than 100 of today's most well-known writers what they think are the top 10 greatest literary works of all time, and got some interesting responses. Midmorning discusses and debates the literary top 10.

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Jonathan Lethem and "You Don't Love Me Yet"

Jonathan Lethem and "You Don't Love Me Yet"

Jonathan Lethem has a new novel about indie rockers and young performance artists living in Los Angeles. But he is also shopping a new idea -- that artists and businesses keep too tight a hold on copyrights, and that the artistic spirit would flourish if everyone agreed to loosen that grip.
by Euan Kerr and Mary Lucia

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The Resurrection Trade

The Resurrection Trade

"Splayed, flayed and displayed." That's how Minnesota poet Leslie Adrienne Miller says women were illustrated in 18th century anatomical texts. Now she has a new book about it.
by Sea Stachura

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Holy Cow! It's 30 years old!

Holy Cow! It's 30 years old!

If you had to name the home of the oldest literary presses in Minnesota, you'd probably say the Twin Cities. But to be correct, you'd also have to mention Duluth. It's home to Holy Cow! Press, which is celebrating its third decade.
by Stephanie Hemphill

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Author John Banville crosses the line into crime fiction

Author John Banville crosses the line into crime fiction

There are few more serious novelists writing today than John Banville, whose novel, "The Sea," won the Man Booker prize in 2005. Banville has now crossed the divide into crime fiction, writing his latest novel, "Christine Falls," under the name of Benjamin Black.

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The dangers of mixing religion and politics

The dangers of mixing religion and politics

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland and eldest daughter of Robert Kennedy, is out with a new book -- "Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way." She participated in a forum on faith and politics March 18 at the Kennedy Library in Boston.

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Women's poetry collected in new book

Women's poetry collected in new book

Poetry readers in Duluth are celebrating the appearance of a new book. It's a collection of poems by Minnesota women, going all the way back to pioneer days. It's called "To Sing Along the Way."
by Stephanie Hemphill

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