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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.

Author Frederick Joseph examines modern masculinity in 'Patriarchy Blues'

Author Frederick Joseph examines modern masculinity in 'Patriarchy Blues'

What does it mean to be a man today? In his new book, the award-winning author of “The Black Friend” examines how masculinity and patriarchy join together to make a toxic culture and offers a compelling vision for how to move beyond.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Ask a Bookseller: 'The Lying Life of Adults'

Ask a Bookseller: 'The Lying Life of Adults'

Jean Anne Pugh of Four Seasons Books in Shepardstown, West Virginia, just loves the title of Elena Ferrante’s novel, “The Lying Life of Adults.” Pugh calls the novel an excellent portrait of a teenager “in conflict with her culture and her family.”
by Emily Bright

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From the archives: Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

From the archives: Author Ashley C. Ford on her debut memoir, ‘Somebody’s Daughter’

This week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas features a conversation with author and activist Frederick Joseph about his new book, “Patriarchy Blues.” We decided to whet your appetite for that discussion by replaying this one with Ashley C. Ford. Both Ford and Joseph were shaped by daunting childhood experiences and have emerged with powerful lessons about gender, race and class in America.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Author Leila Mottley on her breakout first novel, 'Nightcrawling'

Author Leila Mottley on her breakout first novel, 'Nightcrawling'

Leila Mottley was just 17 when she began writing what is already one of the breakout novels of the summer. “Nightcrawling” explores police corruption, patriarchy, poverty and what it means to young Black women who are often expected to carry it all.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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From the archives: Author and activist Reginald Dwayne Betts on the power of books

From the archives: Author and activist Reginald Dwayne Betts on the power of books

This Friday’s Big Books and Bold Ideas will be a conversation between host Kerri Miller and Leila Mottley, who penned “Nightcrawling,” one of the hottest books this summer. As we anticipate that, enjoy this Talking Volumes from 2021 with poet, activist and author Reginald Dwayne Betts. Like Mottley, he brings the deep questions about being a Black person in America to scrutiny in the most beautiful and haunting ways.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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'The Poet's House' is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel

'The Poet's House' is a droll coming-of-age story — and an absolute keeper of a novel

Jean Thompson's novel follows an insecure young woman as she's drawn into a clique of poets. “The Poet's House” is a story about the corrosive power of shame and the primal fear of sounding stupid.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Here are the 14 books that NPR staff and critics are loving the most so far this year

Here are the 14 books that NPR staff and critics are loving the most so far this year

Every year, we ask NPR staff and contributors to tell us about their favorite books. From a list of 167 books so far this year, here are the 14 that the most people chose as their top pick.
by Miranda Mazariegos

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Novelist Jakob Guanzon on the divide between scarcity and 'Abundance'

Novelist Jakob Guanzon on the divide between scarcity and 'Abundance'

Can a life be measured in dollars and cents? That’s the question at the heart of Jakob Guanzon’s debut novel, “Abundance,” which follows a father and son living on the razor’s edge of poverty.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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