Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

July 26, 2024 11:00 AM

Claire Messud’s new novel in inspired by her own family’s history

Novelist Claire Messud plumbs ancestral photo albums, diaries and a huge memoir for her new novel, “This Strange Eventful History.”

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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July 19, 2024 11:00 AM

‘Get Out’ meets ‘The Stepford Wives’ in Nicola Yoon’s new thriller

New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon’s new novel, “One of our Kind,” is one of the most talked about books of the summer.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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July 12, 2024 11:00 AM

Rachel Khong’s ‘Real Americans’

One of the hottest novels of the summer, Rachel Khong’s “Real Americans” is about love and expectations, mystery, privilege and dreams.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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July 5, 2024 2:37 PM

The shadow fighters of the Civil War

Historian Patrick O’Donnell spotted an intriguing roadside marker and then spent six years researching a part of the Civil War long forgotten. His new book, “The Unvanquished,” tells the story shape-shifting spies, fearless guerilla fighters and military leaders straight out of a movie.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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June 28, 2024 11:00 AM

Minnesota author Tai Coleman on families, hope and surviving America while Black

Poet and writer Taiyon Coleman’s new essay collection, “Traveling without Moving,” is a personal take on what it’s like to be a Black woman in today’s America.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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June 21, 2024 11:00 AM

Can you create your own luck?

Social scientist Mark Robert Rank says: not really. You can and should work hard. Talent plays a role. But random chance has far more to do with success than sheer determination.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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June 14, 2024 11:00 AM

Samira Ahmed on ‘This Book Won't Burn’

After a family tragedy, Noor Khan is forced to finish her senior year of high school in a small town where she discovers — to her horror — that books are disappearing from the school library.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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June 7, 2024 10:46 AM

Talking Volumes: Leif Enger on ‘I Cheerfully Refuse’

Minnesota’s own Leif Enger joined MPR News host Kerri Miller in Red Wing this week for a Talking Volumes conversation about his new novel, “I Cheerfully Refuse.”

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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May 31, 2024 11:00 AM

Alua Arthur says facing death is the key to living well

In her work as a death doula, Alua Arthur has been present for thousands of deaths. Her new book, “Briefly Perfectly Human,” says facing your mortality is the best way to live a purposeful and joyful life.

by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon