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Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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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.

'Bright Precious Thing' encompasses memories unleashed by #MeToo movement
Like most good memoirs, Gail Caldwell's latest is a reassessment of life choices, roads taken and others foregone. "At some point you shuffle the cards and call the deck a life," she writes.
New book teaches kids 'How to Solve a Problem' like a rock climber would
Ashima Shiraishi may be one of the most talented rock climbers in the world, but lofty titles aside, she wants kids to know that most of climbing — and life — is "just falling."
For fantasy fans looking for their next book series
Bookseller Jody Hardy recommends a series that has drawn comparisons to the works of Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin.
New book explores cycles and whiplash of Minneapolis history
Journalist Tom Weber has published a new biography of the City of Lakes. He explores the history of Minneapolis and examines the repetition and rhyme of the city’s understanding of its past.
Pitch-perfect 'Mexican Gothic' ratchets up the dread
Silvia Moreno-Garcia's latest is true Gothic horror; set in 1950s Mexico in a creepy, isolated house where a young bride believes her new husband is poisoning her, and that ghosts walk through walls.
A doctor confronts medical errors — and flaws in the system that create mistakes
Dr. Danielle Ofri says medical errors are more common than most people realize: "If we don't talk about the emotions that keep doctors and nurses from speaking up, we'll never solve this problem."
Rudolfo Anaya, a founding father of Chicano literature, dies at 82
Anaya's 1972 classic Bless Me, Ultima — about a young Mexican American boy and his curandera mentor in New Mexico in the 1940s — inspired a generation of Chicano writers.
The Thread: More must-read Midwestern novels
Are you staying close to home this summer? Kerri Miller offers up more novels set right in our own backyard.
Kevin Kwan's new 'Sex and Vanity' is a summer romp with a satirical sting
For his latest novel, Kevin Kwan decided to update one of his own favorite books, “A Room With a View.” The result is “Sex and Vanity,” a fun, decadent whirl that manages to take on some serious subjects.