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 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 19, 2004 10:20 AM

The Distance Between Us

A new novel depicts the life of a foreign correspondent who discovers the lure of covering violence and following a cause. The book's author is a journalist who has reported on conflict in Afghanistan and other troubled areas.

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November 18, 2004 10:19 AM

Minnesota writer Pete Hautman wins National Book Award

The national book award for young people's literature went to a graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Pete Hautman's "Godless" is the story of a skeptical teenager who helps found a new religion. The winners of the National Book Awards were announced Wednesday night in New York.

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November 11, 2004 1:20 PM

The World War II home front

Much has been said of the people who fought in the battles of World War II, but what about all the ones who participated in the stateside war effort? A new book examines the history of the Minnesota home front during what former Sen. Eugene McCarthy called "the last of the 'happy' wars."

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November 11, 2004 12:20 PM

"Minnesota Goes to War"

In honor of Veterans Day, we remember the Minnesotans who took part in World War II and the lesser-known stories of those who stayed behind and worked on the home front.

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November 10, 2004 12:00 PM

The storyteller who lost his voice

A few years back, Joel ben Izzy woke up after throat surgery to some good news, and some bad news. The good news: surgeons had successfully removed a cancerous growth. He was on the road to recovery. The bad news? The nerve controlling his vocal chords was dead. He was told he'd lost his voice. Permanently. The news would be bad enough for most people, but it was especially bad for Joel ben Izzy because he is a professional storyteller.

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November 9, 2004 10:20 AM

The life and death of the prairie

The largest ecosystem in North America also is the most altered. A new book chronicles the changes human beings have brought to the surprisingly fragile prairie.

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November 8, 2004 11:20 AM

What are you reading this winter?

Author Nancy Pearl shares book suggestions for gifts and reading on these long winter nights.

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October 28, 2004 11:20 AM

A conversation with author Russell Banks

Writer Russell Banks explores the clash of ideology and racism in his latest novel The Darling. Banks joins Midmorning host Kerri Miller for Talking Volumes recorded at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.

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October 27, 2004 1:03 PM

"The Darling" by Russell Banks

"The Darling" by Russell Banks is a featured book for Talking Volumes.

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October 26, 2004 3:00 PM

The man who lit 'Chango's Fire'

Julio Santana is an arsonist. He's the hero of Ernesto Quinonez's new novel "Chango's Fire." Julio burns down buildings in New York's Spanish Harlem neighborhood. He gets his money from the building's owners, who cash in their insurance. His criminal activities aside, Julio is a community-minded kind of guy. He's good to his family and friends, and spends a lot of time fixing up his own place. Quinonez says "Chango's Fire" is a protest novel of a kind, pointing out the downside to gentrification.

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