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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.

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Women’s House of Detention’

Ask a Bookseller: ‘The Women’s House of Detention’

Halee Kirkwood of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis says one of their favorite books from this year is “The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison” by Hugh Ryan.
by Emily Bright

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Tour the galaxy with the 'Bad Astronomer'

Tour the galaxy with the 'Bad Astronomer'

In his new book, Philip Plait — aka the Bad Astronomer — takes space fans on a vivid tour of the cosmos, with stops on planets, moons, stars and even black holes. (Spoiler: That last one doesn’t end well.)
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Ned Blackhawk and Justin Torres are among the winners of National Book Awards

Ned Blackhawk and Justin Torres are among the winners of National Book Awards

The nonfiction prize was awarded on Wednesday night to Ned Blackhawk’s “The Rediscovery of America.” Justin Torres’ “Blackouts” has won the National Book Award for fiction. Young people’s literature was won by Dan Santat’s “A First Time for Everything.”
by The Associated Press

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'Eyeliner' examines the cosmetic's history as a symbol of strength and protest

'Eyeliner' examines the cosmetic's history as a symbol of strength and protest

Journalist Zahra Hankir draws a line connecting the cosmetic across civilizations, continents and eras straight into today — as not only a beauty product but as a means of self expression and more.
by Elise Hu

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Claire Keegan's 'stories of women and men' explore what goes wrong between them

Claire Keegan's 'stories of women and men' explore what goes wrong between them

Book critic Maureen Corrigan says her only frustration with Keegan's work is that she wants more of it. So she was happy to read her nuanced, three-story collection, “So Late in the Day.”
by Maureen Corrigan

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Talking Volumes: Margaret Renkl on 'The Comfort of Crows'

Talking Volumes: Margaret Renkl on 'The Comfort of Crows'

New York Times columnist and nature writer Margaret Renkl closed out the 2023 Talking Volumes season with meditations on the joys of a backyard oasis, the inevitable losses of a warming climate and how to live while holding both of those truths in tandem.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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