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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.

A new biography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin's belief in civic duty and self-reliance helped shape an American ethic. A new biography illuminates this energetic, complicated forebear.

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A Q&A with Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie discusses her career and her novel, "Purple Hibiscus."

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Head to toe history of the human body

A new look at the history and science of the human body examines the body of knowledge, or what we know about what we are.

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Head to toe history of the human body

A new look at the history and science of the human body examines the body of knowledge, or what we know about what we are.

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Summer reading for children

The latest heavy volume from Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling may be the blockbuster of the children's book world, but it's not the only good read for kids.

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Northern Minnesota writers feed creativity through nature

There's a significant community of writers living amidst the lakes and pines of northern Minnesota. Poets, novelists, nature and non-fiction writers are attracted to the serenity of the northern landscape. Many northwoods writers sustain their creativity by the natural beauty that surrounds them.

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The Company You Keep

In the 1960s, as opposition to the Vietnam war intensified, a few radicals decided peaceful protest was not enough. They organized and coordinated violent acts, including bank robberies and bombings, against "the establishment." The group's name, the Weather Underground, was inspired by a line in a Bob Dylan song. Some members took on new identities and disappeared. They became adept at avoiding the authorities, in some cases for decades. But one-by-one they resurfaced to face legal charges and attempt to reconnect with lives and families they had avoided for years. Several such figures appear in Neil Gordon's new novel "The Company You Keep."

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Conversion conversations

A writer pursues a spiritual life that crosses both Judaism and Christianity. In the process, she explores what it means to convert.

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The universe and you

Is there a link between the scientific exploration of the universe and our earth-bound lives? A science journalist seeks connections between distant wonders and everyday events.

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