The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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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.

Women bootleggers in the time of Prohibition
Journalist and author Jeannette Walls returns with a much-anticipated third novel. “Hang the Moon” follows a fiery young woman trying to maneuver within her own powerful family in Prohibition-era Virginia.
In 'The Fight for Midnight,' a teen boy confronts the abortion debate
Dan Solomon's YA novel ‘The Fight for Midnight’ takes place during former Texas state lawmaker Wendy Davis' filibuster of a bill that would restrict access to abortion. The protagonist is a teen boy.
Two new novels illustrate just how hard it is to find a foothold in America
Brandon Taylor's “The Late Americans” is a sexually-explicit, cynical novel about young people striving. “Such Kindness,” by Andre Dubus III, grapples with injury, addiction, masculinity and loneliness.
'Rich White Men' reinforces the argument that inequality harms us all
While not a new concept, Garrett Neiman makes distinct contributions to the conversation; as a rich white man, he has insider's access to that population — and doesn't shy away from self-indictment.
Debut novel 'The God of Good Looks' adds to growing canon of Caribbean literature
A growing number of high-profile novels are coming out of the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora. And the region has long been punching above its weight on the international literary scene.