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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.

Fiona McCrae of Graywolf Press looks back on 27 years of a job well done

Fiona McCrae of Graywolf Press looks back on 27 years of a job well done

After 27 years at the helm of the influential Graywolf Press, Fiona McCrae recently announced her retirement. She spoke to host Cathy Wurzer about how she grew the small, independent Twin Cities literary press and what she's looking forward to doing next.
by Cathy Wurzer and Alex Cheng

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Ask a Bookseller: ‘I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness’

Ask a Bookseller: ‘I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness’

Stef Schmidt of Water Street Books in Exeter, N.H, recommends a novel whose title is sure to draw some curious attention on the shelves. It's called “I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness,” by Claire Vaye Watkins.
by Emily Bright

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Raising a gender expansive child

Raising a gender expansive child

Host Angela Davis talks about how to support gender expansive children with teacher Tom Rademacher, who wrote a new book about what he’s learned raising his nonbinary art-nerd kid, a pediatrician who leads a gender health program and a nonbinary young adult who works with nonbinary teens.
by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

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Their lands are oceans apart but are linked by rising, warming seas of climate change

Their lands are oceans apart but are linked by rising, warming seas of climate change

Photographer Vlad Sokhin's latest work, “Warm Waters,” is an exploration of climate change traveling across 18 countries and off-the-map territories seen by seldom few.
by Charles Maynes and Grace Widyatmadja

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A former Marine says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane

A former Marine says the contradictions of war can make you feel insane

Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the absolute worst — as well as the absolute best — that human beings are capable of.
by Terry Gross

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Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Children's book 'Calvin' shows how a community can embrace a trans child's identity

Authors JR and Vanessa Ford's experience with their own child coming out inspired the story of the young transgender protagonist in their new children's book.
by Audie Cornish, Jonaki Mehta and Sarah Handel

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Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

Will Smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past

As a child, Smith watched helplessly as his father beat his mother. The experience shaped him: "The mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today."
by Tonya Mosley

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'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

'Passing' — the original 1929 novel — is disturbingly brilliant

The movie adaptation of Nella Larsen's “Passing” is out now, and if you're less familiar with the book, critic Carole Bell describes it as a "decades-early precursor to a Patricia Highsmith novel."
by Carole V. Bell

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