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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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is back for its 25th season. Join us at the Fitzgerald Theater for four special events with renowned authors, celebrating our anniversary with a special $25 ticket price for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. Buy tickets here.

February 17, 2006 5:00 AM

Columnist chronicles the battle of the sexes

A rebroadcast of Kerri Miller's interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, author of the book "Are Men Necessary: When Sexes Collide." Dowd says feminism has not worked the way it was supposed to for women and men.

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February 15, 2006 10:00 AM

Master poet

The art of poetry is alive as it's ever been thanks to spoken word and hip hop, says a former U.S. Poet Laureate.

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February 10, 2006 1:30 PM

A day in the life of the American woman

Do you remember what you were doing on April 5, 2005? The activities of quite a few American women were documented by photographers that day. Those photographs are now collected in a new book "A Day in the Life of the American Woman: How We see Ourselves."

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February 10, 2006 12:34 PM

The interviews of Studs Terkel

Legendary Chicago radio man Studs Terkel explored the world of ideas with many of the great minds of the 20th Century during his long career. In his 45 years at WFMT, Terkel shared his studio with everyone from Pete Seeger to Gore Vidal to Mel Brooks.

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February 9, 2006 9:00 AM

Why some societies thrive, and others fail

Bestselling author Jared Diamond looked at several communities that he said chose to destroy themselves rather than change how they used the environment.

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January 30, 2006 11:20 AM

Talking Volumes: Kaye Gibbons

In a conversation recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater on January 26th, Kerri Miller talks with novelist Kaye Gibbons. Her latest book, "The Life All Around Me" is a sequel to her acclaimed novel, "Ellen Foster".

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January 26, 2006 4:20 PM

Writing for the long run: Ron McLarty

Ron McLarty has enjoyed a long career in the theater and on television. He's appeared recently in "The Practice" and "Sex and the City" amongst other T-V shows. For as long as he can remember, he's also been writing fiction, for five hours every morning. Now, at 56 he's an international best-seller.

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January 26, 2006 2:00 AM

The return of Ellen Foster

It's been 20 years since author Kaye Gibbons burst onto the literary scene with her novel about a resilient, determined little girl named Ellen Foster. We hear about the next chapter in Ellen Foster's life in Gibbons' new novel, "The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster," which is the latest Talking Volumes selection.

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January 25, 2006 5:00 PM

The life and times of the 'evil monk'

Minneapolis author Robert Alexander continues to fascinate readers with stories of intrigue from Russian history. Alexander is out with a new book, "Rasputin's Daughter," which looks at the life of the man some call the evil monk through his daughter's eyes. It follows his 2003 bestseller, "The Kitchen Boy," set during the Bolshevik Revolution.

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January 20, 2006 11:20 AM

Memoir: truth, fiction or both?

James Frey is accused of mixing fact with fiction in his memoir "A Million Little Pieces," but how sacred should the truth be for memoir writers?

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