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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.

Minnesota: land of long-lasting small presses

Three of the nations most successful non-profit literary presses are based in the Twin Cities and they're all celebrating major anniversaries this year. Somehow they've managed to survive in the multi-billion dollar book publishing business where major houses viciously compete for access to book-lovers' wallets. So how did they do it?

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Talking Volumes with Joyce Carol Oates

Midmorning broadcasts Talking Volumes with Joyce Carol Oates. The author's book The Falls tells the story of a woman who becomes the reluctant stuff of legend.

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Graeme Base plays with "Jungle Drums"

Eighteen years ago, Australian author and illustrator Graeme Base created a sensation with his picture book "Animalia." It contained a couple of dozen illustrations, each one crammed with objects all beginning with the same letter. The book was a huge hit with children and adults alike. He's followed that book with other bestsellers: "The 11th Hour," "Sign of the Seahorse," "The Worst Band in the Universe," and "The Water Hole." Base was in the Twin Cities this week to read from his new book, "Jungle Drums."

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Robert Smith: 'The Rest of the Iceberg'

Daunte Culpepper. Kevin Garnett. The names instantly evoke athletic glory in the minds of sports fans. But the image of sports celebrity is only an image, according to former Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith. Smith retired from pro football in 2001 at the age of 28. He left the game at the height of his career with millions of dollars waiting for him in his next contract. Smith has been tight-lipped about why he retired. He answers that question, and discusses the darker side of celebrity and celebrity-worship in his new book. He talked with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer. (Photo: Rick Stewart/Allsport)

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A mystery in the desert: who is Ralph M. Trilipush, really?

Arthur Phillips burst onto the literary scene a couple of years ago with his bestseller, "Prague." That story followed young Americans looking to find themselves in post-Iron Curtain Eastern Europe. His new book, "The Egyptologist," looks at another group of Americans abroad in a very different era.

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Drunk, homeless, and profane

Writer Nick Flynn only saw his father once while growing up. But at age 23, his father turned up at a homeless shelter where Nick was working. Flynn's new book tells the story of being drawn back into a relationship with the man who had deserted him, and how it forced him to confront some ugly realities about homelessness and his own life.

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"A Hundred Years of Solipsism"

Given the topic "major trends of the 20th Century" essayist Roger Rosenblatt didn't write a history; he wrote a novel, or at least what he called a novel. Really, it was an hour-long work of fiction, whimsically recounting Rosenblatt's imaginary war with his imaginary neighbor, a man called Laffem. Rosenblatt said Laffem and his giant, space-age house represented the 20th Century, which is why he tried to destroy them both.

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The Hidden Folk

Lise Lunge-Larsen grew up in Norway. Her parents and grandparents filled her life with stories of elves, dwarves, and fairies. Now she shares those stories with children, and the adults who read to them. Her latest picture book is called "The Hidden Folk."

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F. Scott Fitzgerald's home becomes a landmark

On his 108th birthday St. Paul novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald is getting the local respect he didn't get during his lifetime. A group of Minnesota book lovers dedicated his St. Paul birthplace as a National Literary Landmark on Friday

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