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 7, 2005 12:00 AM

A writer's view of true crime

Minnesota author Judith Guest is drawn to the dark side of life. She loves reading the most lurid tales from the daily newspapers: the kidnappings and the murders. Her latest novel, "The Tarnished Eye," is based on the real-life unsolved killings of a father, mother and their four children.

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February 3, 2005 4:53 PM

Sending a message about loneliness back in time

In Douglas Coupland's new novel 'Eleanor Rigby', 36 year-old Liz Dunn has resigned herself to a life of loneliness. She lives in a small Canadian town, trying to avoid the overbearing attentions of her mother, and the rest of her family. Then one day a 20-year-old man turns up on her doorstep, and says he's her son.

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January 28, 2005 3:00 PM

Book review: "Cold Water Memory"

It's getting to that time of year when many people across the state are a little blue. The holidays are a memory. New Year's resolutions are already out the door. Plus, the cold and short days will be around for another few months. A local security guard/poet provides some solace for the winter-weary.

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January 21, 2005 12:00 PM

Donald Hall reflects on his life of poetry

Donald Hall is considered one of America's greatest poets. He's published 15 volumes of poetry. The two most recent works, "Without" and "The Painted Bed," deal with the death of his wife, poet Jane Kenyon in 1995. Hall told MPR's Marianne Combs he was drawn to poetry from an early age.

by Marianne Combs

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January 21, 2005 10:20 AM

Welfare and the American Dream

Hard work and sustained good luck make the difference as people try to escape welfare. A new book ponders why generations of families depend on government aid.

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January 20, 2005 11:20 AM

Don't Know Much

Since the first installment in 1990, The Don't Know Much About, series has merged education with humor, and racked up impressive sales on a number of bestseller lists.

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January 18, 2005 4:00 PM

Tobias Wolff's first novel "dips deep" into his own memories

Author Tobias Wolff made a name for himself with his successful memoir, "This Boy's Life," which was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. You may recognize his name because his brother, Geoffrey Wolff, is also a writer. Now, Wolff is out with his first novel, "Old School," which is the January selection of the Talking Volumes book club.

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January 17, 2005 11:20 AM

Presidents on the playground

The childhood of a president can tell us a lot about the type of leader he becomes, according to the author of a new book.

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December 16, 2004 1:00 PM

Reliving "A Christmas Memory"

For some people, Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" is a holiday classic. It's the autobiographical account of a simpler Christmas celebration. That tradition is alive and well in Duluth, where a public reading of the story has taken place every year for three decades.

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December 15, 2004 3:14 PM

Talking Volumes: The Polar Express

"The Polar Express" was the December 2004 Talking Volumes selection.

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