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Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

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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.

March 13, 2017 12:14 PM

'Irresistible' by design: It's no accident you can't stop looking at the screen

Technology is designed to be addictive, offering gratification that's similar to that of drug abuse or gambling. Author Adam Alter says a new frontier could soon provide another escape from reality.

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March 13, 2017 11:20 AM

A blank book, 'Reasons to Vote for Democrats,' is Amazon's No. 1 best-seller

The book by Michael J. Knowles is 266 pages, and almost entirely blank.

by Tracy Mumford

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March 13, 2017 9:12 AM

'Celine' is an ace detective with a crack shot, a quick wit and a good story

Peter Heller's detective novel is a romp -- complete with a taking-names heroine, action-packed adventures, and a sense that you've known these characters for years.

by Jason Sheehan

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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