The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread 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.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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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.

November 17, 2009 4:00 PM

Visiting the land of invented languages

Linguist Arika Okrent speaks many languages, including several such as Klingon and Esperanto, which someone sat down and invented from scratch. In her new book "In the Land of Invented Languages," Okrent explores nine centuries of linguistic invention, and the belief that a better language could lead to a better world.

by Euan Kerr

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November 16, 2009 12:00 AM

Talking Volumes with Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver's new novel, "The Lacuna," is the story of a man who spends his youth among legendary Mexican figures Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, then grows reclusive in older age. Kingsolver talked with Kerri Miller on Nov. 11 as part of the Talking Volumes regional book club series.

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November 13, 2009 6:26 PM

Barbara Kingsolver on being a writer

Author Barbara Kingsolver talks about being a writer and her hometown library. Filmed live at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn. November 11, 2009 with host Kerri Miller.

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November 13, 2009 12:00 AM

A fictional exploration of the terrorist mind

A new thriller from author and journalist Masha Hamilton takes readers inside the mind of a terrorist contemplating an attack in New York, as his mother and girlfriend try to figure out how to stop him.

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November 11, 2009 12:00 AM

Mary Karr on alcoholism, sobriety, and finding religion

Mary Karr has described the writing her first memoir, "The Liar's Club" as a scalding experience. Her third and latest memoir talks about her burning need for sobriety and belief in God.

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November 9, 2009 4:22 PM

Video: Iconic author John Irving on Midmorning

John Irving, author of "the World According to Garp" and many other novels, talks about why terrible things happen to his characters.

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November 9, 2009 12:00 AM

John Irving on 'Last Night in Twisted River'

The novels of John Irving have introduced readers to memorable figures like T.S. Garp and Owen Meany, characters whose lives are filled with lunacy and sorrow. His new book focuses on a novelist with a career very similar to his own.

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November 6, 2009 4:45 PM

Novel explores the legacy of Indian boarding schools

Bemidji-based writer Kent Nerburn writes fictional narratives based on the real stories of people he has met on reservations in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Nerburn's latest book, "The Wolf at Twilight," explores the sad legacy of the Indian Boarding schools.

by Euan Kerr

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November 4, 2009 12:00 AM

Concordia's annual salute to top writers

Kerri Miller talked with authors Maxine Hong Kingston and Annette Gordon-Reed, the featured speakers at the National Book Awards at Concordia College in Moorhead. Kingston is the author of "The Woman Warrior." And Gordon-Reed is the author of "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family." The event was recorded Friday, Oct. 30.

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November 3, 2009 12:00 AM

'The Man Who Loved Books Too Much'

A journalist tracks the mind and motivation of a notorious book thief who regularly eludes capture, one of many thieves making rare books the art form most sought after by criminals.

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