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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.

Authors with banned books talk about protecting access to stories

Authors with banned books talk about protecting access to stories

To mark Banned Books Week, three young adult authors whose books have been banned join MPR News host Kerri Miller to talk about the importance of keeping a diverse selection of books available in public schools and libraries nationwide.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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'A Man of Two Faces' is a riveting, one-stop primer on Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Sympathizer author's memoir is cocky and riveting — self-consciously constructed as if written for a standup audience and serving as a generous, one-stop primer for his fiction and scholarly work.
by Thúy Đinh

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This Australian writer might be the greatest novelist you've never heard of

This Australian writer might be the greatest novelist you've never heard of

Helen Garner, 80, embraces the many-sidedness of life. Her books crackle with curiosity and unpredictability — they win big prizes, kickstart controversies and say things other people rarely dare.
by John Powers

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Book ban attempts on the rise in Minnesota schools

Book ban attempts on the rise in Minnesota schools

Occasional parent concerns about a book have morphed into confrontations with groups and parents coming in with long lists of titles they see as inappropriate. It’s happening across the nation and in Minnesota, where Bloomington schools face pressure to remove dozens of titles.
by Elizabeth Shockman

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Minnesota Native reading project teaches 'present tense' of Indigenous lives

Minnesota Native reading project teaches 'present tense' of Indigenous lives

A book that tells the stories of the Upper Sioux Community may help students across the state learn more about Indigenous communities in Minnesota. Another tribal nation, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, is providing the books for free.
by Melissa Olson

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Talking Volumes: Ann Patchett on 'Tom Lake'

Talking Volumes: Ann Patchett on 'Tom Lake'

Ann Patchett and Kate DiCamillo joined host Kerri Miller on stage Sept. 28 for Talking Volumes. They discussed why women are always the ones making dinner, what Ann really thinks of books tours, how she choses to live without regret, and — oh yes — her new novel, "Tom Lake."
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Jon Fosse, a Norwegian master of spare Nordic writing, wins the Nobel Prize in literature

Jon Fosse, a Norwegian master of spare Nordic writing, wins the Nobel Prize in literature

Jon Fosse, a master of spare Nordic writing in a sprawling body of work ranging from plays to novels and children’s books, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for works that “give voice to the unsayable.”
by The Associated Press

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For Alix E. Harrow, writing 'Starling House' meant telling a new story of Kentucky

For Alix E. Harrow, writing 'Starling House' meant telling a new story of Kentucky

Alix E. Harrow's Starling House depicts a dying, fictional coal town's horrors and dark past. Harrow joins a long tradition of authors writing Gothic fiction as a way to process the ills of society.
by Kalyani Saxena

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Michael Connelly, Nikki Grimes, Judy Blume and other authors unite against book bans

Michael Connelly, Nikki Grimes, Judy Blume and other authors unite against book bans

During what the ALA is calling Banned Books week, more than a dozen high-profile authors are taking a stand against censorship. Author Michael Connelly alone has donated $1 million to the cause.
by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

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