The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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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.

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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.

November 9, 2021 1:03 PM

Louise Erdrich's disquieting new novel will keep you on your toes

Set in a haunted Minneapolis bookshop over the course of one very momentous year, “The Sentence” is an ambitious novel, featuring a sinister ghost, a country in tumult and Erdrich's own shifting style.

by Maureen Corrigan

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November 9, 2021 4:00 AM

Want a good, therapeutic cry? Pick up 'You've Reached Sam'

The heartbreak starts right away in Dustin Thao's debut novel: 17-year-old Julie's boyfriend Sam is killed in a car crash — but then she calls his phone, just to hear his voice again. And he answers.

by Alethea Kontis

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November 7, 2021 4:00 AM

Take a rom-com road trip in 'How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days'

K.M. Jackson's laugh-out-loud new romance follows a Keanu Reeves superfan who's heard her celeb crush is getting *gasp* married — and she has to stop him! But will she find real love along the way?

by Denny S. Bryce

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November 6, 2021 12:47 PM

'Woke Racism': John McWhorter argues against what he calls a religion of anti-racism

Linguistics professor John McWhorter's new book is “Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America.” He says some in the U.S. cultural left have taken "anti-racism" efforts to extremes.

by James Doubek, Steve Inskeep, Barry Gordemer and Reena Advani

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November 6, 2021 4:00 AM

'The Waiting' is an unflinching portrayal of the separations caused by war

Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's harrowing new graphic novel was inspired by her own family history — Gendry-Kim was an adult when she discovered that she had a long-lost aunt possibly trapped in North Korea.

by Thúy Đinh

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November 4, 2021 12:00 PM

Talking Volumes: William Kent Krueger on 'Lightning Strike'

The New York Times bestselling author of “This Tender Land” joined host Kerri Miller at the Fitzgerald Theater for the finale of this season’s Talking Volumes.

by Kerri Miller

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November 4, 2021 10:16 AM

Spies on opposite sides of the Cold War unite in 'From Warsaw With Love'

Reporter John Pomfret interviewed government officials and intelligence operatives and mined declassified files in Poland to write his fascinating story of the Polish-U.S. intelligence relationship.

by Viveca Novak

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November 4, 2021 7:20 AM

How sexism and homophobia sidelined the National Women's Football League

The NWFL lasted from the mid-1970s to 1988, when it shuttered and the teams broke apart. A new book, Hail Mary, explores the league's origins and the problems that brought it to an end.

by Tori Whitley

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November 4, 2021 7:08 AM

For poet Sonia Sanchez — at age 87 — there's more work to be done

For over 60 years, poet and activist Sonia Sanchez has helped redefine American culture, politics and education. She is this year's winner of the Gish Prize, a $250,000 lifetime achievement honor.

by Jeevika Verma

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November 3, 2021 4:36 PM

Paul McCartney knew he'd never top The Beatles — and that's just fine with him

The forthcoming documentary “Get Back” revisits The Beatles' final days together. McCartney says he took the band's breakup hard: "It was quite difficult, because I didn't know what to do at all."

by Terry Gross

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