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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.

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.

Prince memoir 'The Beautiful Ones' coming out in the fall
"'The Beautiful Ones' is the deeply personal account of how Prince Rogers Nelson became the Prince we know: the real-time story of a kid absorbing the world around him and creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and the fame that would come to define him," Random House announced.
'Flowers Over the Inferno' has a tantalizing weirdness
Ilaria Tuti's crime thriller, set in the mountains of northern Italy, stars a classic odd couple of cops: A gruff, aging, unhealthy veteran detective and her young whippersnapper of a partner.
'Republic of Lies' explores the fixation with conspiracy theories
Author Anna Merlan's recitations are chilling, as are her warnings that fringe beliefs tend to go mainstream -- and how their rise is seen against a resurgence in nationalism and white supremacy.
Escaping death -- seven or eight times
Bookseller Carol Price recommends a novel about a woman whose near-death experiences just keep adding up.
Keillor's bookstore sold to a St. Paul native
Common Good Books in St. Paul has a new owner and a new name, "Next Chapter Booksellers."
'The Problem of Democracy' looks at personality's role in U.S. leadership
A new book focuses on how the Adams father-son duo spent years abroad making a case for our young country -- yet both saw themselves rejected in favor of more charismatic and populist rivals.
'Pickle's Progress' is a weird -- but secretly sweet -- journey
Marcia Butler's new novel centers on a drunken, bickering couple whose lives are turned upside down after a car crash. It's a deeply weird book that succeeds because of Butler's considerable charisma.