The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

In 'Caul Baby,' a rare gift becomes a double-edged sword
In Morgan Jerkins' novel, a family of Black women has a gift; they're born with a caul, a layer over their skin that protects them from harm. They can share and sell the caul — which brings trouble.
Memoir offers advice on 'How to Raise a Feminist Son'
A feminist son, says author Sonora Jha, means "a boy who believes in the full humanity of women and girls around him." It also means recognizing that as they grow older, they can be led by women.
Singer Brandi Carlile talks ambition, avoidance and finally finding her place
The six-time Grammy winner got her start as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her new memoir, “Broken Horses,” is about her early life and the family she's built.
Old ways cradle a new life in 'I Sang You Down from the Stars'
Caldecott Medal-winning artist Michaela Goade's Tlingit heritage her illustrations for “I Sang You Down From the Stars,” about a woman following Indigenous customs as she prepares for motherhood.
Talking Volumes: A conversation with author Naima Coster
Novelist Naima Coster joined MPR News for a wide-ranging conversation on everything from integration to parenting to books that got her through the pandemic.
Hunter Biden's memoir 'Beautiful Things' seeks to tell just where he's been
The account by the president's younger son is at times a harrowing journey; in the end, if not for forgiveness or sympathy, it may be about making a stand and taking whatever place he can occupy.
'A Most Remarkable Creature' introduces the little-known, charismatic caracara
Through Jonathan Meiburg's inquiring lens, readers will find themselves with a new favorite animal — a bird of prey aptly described as "one of the strangest and most wonderful animals on Earth."