The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

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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.

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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 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.

August 11, 2005 4:00 PM

Studs Terkel's conversations about music

In 1964, legendary radio host and oral historian Studs Terkel brought a young, virtually unknown songwriter from Hibbing into the studios at WFMT Chicago. That interview with a young Bob Dylan is one of dozens he has transcribed into a collection of conversations about music. Terkel says the book's title, "And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey," comes from an interview with conductor Leonard Bernstein. He talked with MPR's Tom Crann.

by Tom Crann

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August 8, 2005 4:30 PM

Robert Bly's sentence of 'A Thousand Years of Joy'

For the last few years, Minnesota poet Robert Bly has dedicated himself to exploring the ghazal, a poetic style developed in the Muslim world. He's just published a new collection of the poems.

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July 20, 2005 1:36 PM

11 Books That (Might) Make a Difference

Summertime is when many of us, including doctors, catch up on our reading. You might think their bedside tables are piled with medical journals and books on the latest scientific findings. But that's not necessarily the case.

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July 13, 2005 5:00 PM

The Minnesota Stories of Sinclair Lewis

Seventy-five years ago, Sinclair Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in literature. He traveled the world and was welcomed in the most distinguished of literary circles.

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July 8, 2005 2:00 PM

Author Chuck Logan continues the adventures of Phil Broker

Twin Cities novelist Chuck Logan's heroes don't get much rest. Logan, who lives in Stillwater, continues the story of retired undercover cop Phil Broker in his new novel, "Homefront." It's the sixth book in his series featuring Broker and his special forces wife Nina Pryce.

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June 22, 2005 10:20 AM

One Marine's life and death

The moving portrait of a doomed Marine corporal shows what life is like for the thousands of soldiers in Iraq.

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June 20, 2005 6:30 PM

A Northern Front

John Hildebrand of Eau Claire has been called "one of the finest essayists in America." His latest book, A Northern Front, is a collection of 17 new and selected essays. Hildebrand says the essay is one of the most personal forms of writing. But, he admits, it's sometimes hard to get people to embrace it. All Things Considered host Tom Crann talked with Hildebrand.

by Tom Crann

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June 20, 2005 11:20 AM

1776 revisited

Perhaps the best know date in American history receives a fresh retelling by master historian David McCullough.

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June 20, 2005 10:20 AM

Lehrer's latest fiction is revolutionary intrigue

An encore presentation of a conversation with longtime PBS NewsHour host Jim Lehrer. He talks about television journalism and his successful career as writer of fiction.

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June 17, 2005 11:20 AM

Crime writers set the scene

Two top crime writers talk about crafting thrilling books and how they come up with new ways to plot their many novels. (This show was originally broadcast on Midmorning on May 27, 2005)

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