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.

March 13, 2017 8:11 AM

How lemonade helped Paris fend off plague and other surprising 'food fights'

Tom Nealon's new book searches through patchy historical records to trace subjects like how chocolate helped lead to war in the Caribbean, or the role a grain fungus played in the Crusades.

by Tove Danovich

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March 11, 2017 6:00 AM

On Douglas Adams's 65th birthday, pick up 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'

"Douglas Adams managed, in a humorous way, to tell universal truths," bookseller David Shuman said of the classic space romp.

by Tracy Mumford

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March 10, 2017 1:27 PM

Photos: Documenting the world's animals in 'The Photo Ark'

National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is attempting to document as many species as he can. He just photographed his 6,000th animal this spring.

by Tracy Mumford

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March 10, 2017 10:39 AM

'Bridges of Madison County' author Robert James Waller dies

Robert James Waller's most famous novel, 'The Bridges of Madison County,' stayed on The New York Times best-seller list for three years.

by Associated Press

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March 10, 2017 9:11 AM

In 'White Tears,' appropriation has horrifying consequences

Suspense is the driving force in Hari Kunzru's thriller about two young white men who invent a fictional blues singer.

by Michael Schaub

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March 8, 2017 4:00 PM

Author unravels her spy dad's life, one secret mission at a time

Keggie Carew grew up with her father's stories of parachuting into the jungle and working as a spy in Burma. She wasn't sure how much to believe until she started researching her new book, "Dadland."

by Ari Shapiro

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March 8, 2017 4:00 AM

Gaiman says dark stories from Nordic myth are perfect for hard times

In his new book, author Neil Gaiman takes the gods from Nordic myths and thrusts them into the modern world for a showdown against new deities.

by Euan Kerr

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March 7, 2017 1:18 PM

Author says Hitler was 'Blitzed' on cocaine and opiates during the war

Author Norman Ohler says that Hitler's drug abuse increased "significantly" from the fall of 1941 until winter of 1944: "Hitler needed those highs to substitute [for] his natural charisma."