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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.

Kurt Vonnegut would have turned 100 today — his war novels are relevant as ever

Kurt Vonnegut would have turned 100 today — his war novels are relevant as ever

The author — who died in 2007 at the age of 84 — wrote satirical novels that won him a cult-like following among young people in the 1960s. Vonnegut's novels communicated: "Hey, you're not alone."
by Tom Vitale

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Ask a Bookseller: "Found Audio" is a creepy fall read

Ask a Bookseller: "Found Audio" is a creepy fall read

The printed novella “Found Audio” sounds very fitting for our radio-based book series. It’s called “Found Audio,” by N. J. Campbell, and it was published by Two Dollar Radio, a small press in Ohio. 
by Emily Bright

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Talking Volumes: Ross Gay on 'Inciting Joy'

The 2022 season of Talking Volumes ended on a joyous, raucous note with poet Ross Gay. Don’t miss this rollicking conversation between Gay and host Kerri Miller as they talk about how to grow joy from the often messy and painful soil of living.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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From the archives: Poet Tracy K. Smith at Talking Volumes in 2019

From the archives: Poet Tracy K. Smith at Talking Volumes in 2019

The season finale of the 2022 Talking Volumes season will appear on Big Books and Bold Ideas this week, featuring poet Ross Gay talking about joy. Enjoy this 2019 Talking Volumes conversation with another poet, Tracy K. Smith, as you anticipate what’s coming.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Talking Volumes: Dani Shapiro on 'Signal Fires'

“Signal Fires” is Dani Shapiro’s much-anticipated return to fiction, and it examines how what binds families together can also tear them apart. She appeared on the Talking Volumes stage this month to talk with MPR News host Kerri Miller about her book and what she’s learned about family secrets.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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'White Horse' is about supernatural horrors — and everyday horrors

'White Horse' is about supernatural horrors — and everyday horrors

Erika T. Wurth's novel belongs to a new wave of horror fiction that delivers the creepiness and darkness readers have always associated with the genre, while also packing plenty of social commentary.
by Gabino Iglesias

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'Shutter' author was inspired by her own work as a crime scene photographer

'Shutter' author was inspired by her own work as a crime scene photographer

Ramona Emerson's novel is about a police department photographer, who, like Emerson, grew up in the Navajo Nation. The protagonist is haunted by the ghosts of victims from scenes she's photographed.
by Sam Briger

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Franny Choi's latest poetry finds hope for the future in our past apocalypses

Franny Choi's latest poetry finds hope for the future in our past apocalypses

Poet Franny Choi believes that for marginalized people, the apocalypse has already happened. In ‘The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On,’ she explores what it means to live in this dystopia.
by Julie Depenbrock

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