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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.

The power of art to heal grief
When Joseph Luzzi lost his wife, he had to plot a path out of grief. He used Dante's "Divine Comedy" as a road map.
Ernest Hemingway, lion hunter
In the wake of Cecil the lion's death, Ernest Hemingway's stories about hunting in Africa gain new relevance.
'Let's Be Less Stupid': Is it possible to train your brain to be smarter?
"What's the word for that thing that goes in the thing?" Patricia Marx found herself asking. Forgetting basic words made her wonder: Is it possible to make yourself smarter?
Book briefs: Spend the night in a bookstore
A new hotel in Japan lets bookworms curl up for a night in the stacks.
Marlon James' 'Seven Killings' on longlist for Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. This is only the second year that writers from outside the British Commonwealth have been eligible to compete.
'Dueling Neurosurgeons': How brain injuries have shaped science
Brain surgery isn't new, author Sam Kean points out. Skulls that are 8,000 years old have shown signs of surgery -- and, most importantly, of healing afterwards.
50 years ago, Bob Dylan electrified a decade with one concert
It's been 50 years since Bob Dylan strolled on stage at the Newport Folk Festival, plugged in an electric guitar, and infuriated his flock. Historian Elijah Wald says there's much more to the story.
Women's comics are surfing the crowd
It's no secret that women are getting more prominent in the world of comics. But some women are tired of waiting for mainstream attention: They're turning to crowdfunding to get their projects done.
'Crooked' Nixon knew: There are worse things than nukes
In 'Crooked,' novelist Austin Grossman excuses Richard Nixon's rocky political career in the weirdest ways possible -- by reimagining the former president as a warrior against supernatural forces.