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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.

The future of the book

The future of the book

Google's plan to scan thousands of books has spurred hope of a universal digital library, and a lawsuit from several publishing companies over copyright issues. Can books as we know them survive the digital age?

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An updated view of the Pilgrims

An updated view of the Pilgrims

An updated history of the Mayflower suggests a much more nuanced view of both the Pilgrims who settled in North America and the Indians they came to depend on -- and then to battle.

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Hey! Animals are people too!

Hey! Animals are people too!

Scientist Jonathan Balcombe studies animal behavior and believes that if we open our eyes and really look at animals, we can see that they are individuals with a complex array of feelings.
by Mary Lucia

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You'll never be as happy as you are now

You'll never be as happy as you are now

Imagine how happy you would be if you won $10 million. Now imagine how unhappy you would be if you lost your leg. Guess what? According to Daniel Gilbert, your level of happiness probably wouldn't change that much.
by Mary Lucia

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Exploring Hurston's legacy

Exploring Hurston's legacy

A broadcast of a special Talking Volumes featuring Kerri Miller's conversation with author Edwidge Danticat about Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater on May 16, 2006.

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The Great Hinckley Firestorm story retold

The Great Hinckley Firestorm story retold

Author Daniel James Brown has written a new book that recalls one of America's most devastating fires -- the Great Hinckley Firestorm, which occurred on Sept. 1, 1894.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Spy games

Spy games

As a Senate committee prepares to grill the next candidate for the CIA directorship, Midmorning talks with a CIA insider about the changes in the spy agency.

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A soldier's story

A soldier's story

Fighting in the Iraq war changed one soldier's opinion of the wisdom of the war's conduct. Now Paul Rieckhoff speaks out about veterans' problems back home.
by Paul Rieckhoff

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Exploring a changing China

Exploring a changing China

An American writer explores the social and economic transformation of 21st century China.

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Two poets with Mideast roots cross paths in St. Paul

Two poets with Mideast roots cross paths in St. Paul

Some set aside Holocaust Remembrance Day to remember the horrific lessons of the past; others choose to take the time to envision a brighter future. Two poets--one Israeli, the other Lebanese--are reading and discussing their work in an attempt to create greater cultural understanding across international borders.
by Marianne Combs

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