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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.

Tickets are now available for our 26th season. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller (and special guest host Catharine Richart) as they talk with authors including Stacey Abrams, Patricia Lockwood, Misty Copeland, John Grisham, and Kate Baer.

September 11, 2018 12:00 AM

Sally Field wasn't sure she'd have the guts to publish her new memoir

"I wrote it for myself," Field says of her intensely personal accounting of her life and career. "In Pieces" describes childhood abuse, an abortion at 17 and her relationship with Burt Reynolds.

by Ari Shapiro

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September 10, 2018 9:24 AM

Woodward: Mattis, Kelly denials of his book quotes untrue

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is quoted calling President Trump "an idiot," and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is quoted saying Trump has the understanding of "a fifth or sixth-grader," but they've said they didn't make those statements.

by The Associated Press

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September 9, 2018 8:31 AM

Bob Woodward has written about presidencies but Trump book is his first indictment

In this account by the longtime journalist, President Trump appears convinced that the same braggadocio that made him rich and made him president will make the world conform to his own view of it.

by Ron Elving

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September 7, 2018 4:58 PM

Brash, funny and tender: A new poetry collection for your reading list

Bookseller Danny Caine recommends a poetry collection that offers "a funny and occasionally devastating portrait of life as a first generation Mexican-American."

by Tracy Mumford

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September 6, 2018 4:00 AM

Liberian novelist combines fact and magic to tell her homeland's creation story

Wayetu Moore fled Liberia's civil war when she was 5. Now she is reconnecting with her homeland through her novel "She Would Be King" published by Twin Cities-based Graywolf Press.

by Euan Kerr

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September 6, 2018 12:00 AM

What happens when A.I. takes the wheel?

In his new book, Larry Burns, formerly with General Motors, argues that self-driving, electric cars are inevitable.

by Jasmine Garsd

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September 5, 2018 6:13 PM

Duluth gives 'virtual' library cards to public school students

The virtual card will give students access to a variety of resources, like e-books, movies, music and research databases. Students will also be able to check out up to five items. And, they won't have to pay late fees.

by Dan Kraker

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September 5, 2018 10:45 AM

'The Most Dangerous Branch,' asks whether the Supreme Court has become too powerful

In author David Kaplan's view, the top court has taken an increasing role in policy making, having issued critical decisions on abortion, voting rights, gun control, healthcare — and the president.

by Martha Anne Toll

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September 5, 2018 6:40 AM

Woodward book puts White House back in damage-control mode

The book describes former aides calling President Trump an "idiot" and a "liar," disparaging his judgment and claiming they plucked papers off his desk to prevent him from withdrawing from a pair of trade agreements.

by The Associated Press

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September 5, 2018 12:00 AM

From poverty to rocket scientist to CEO, a Girl Scout's inspiring story

When she was a Brownie, Sylvia Acevedo was inspired to earn her science badge. In her new memoir, the Girl Scouts CEO says this experience led directly to her career at NASA.

by Elissa Nadworny

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