The Thread® - Books and Literary News

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

February 3, 2004 11:20 AM

Fact and fiction at play in memoirs

The art of the memoir owes to both nonfiction and fiction writing. An author and teacher of memoir talks about the controversy over the amount of fiction in some memoirs.

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February 2, 2004 2:57 PM

Loving Che

The image of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara has spilled across tee-shirts and dorm-room posters for almost half a century—but who was he? Writer Ana Menendez explores that question in her novel "Loving Che."

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January 20, 2004 11:20 AM

Talking Volumes author Neil Gaiman

One of the top writers of graphic novels adds a children's novel to his critically-acclaimed work. It's the story of a child discovering another world strangely parallel to her own.

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January 19, 2004 5:26 PM

Neil Gaiman on Dave McKean

Neil Gaiman describes his work with his friend and the illustarator of "Coraline," Dave Mckean.

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January 15, 2004 11:20 AM

Talking Volumes: "A Brief History of the Flood"

A broadcast of Talking Volumes at the Fitzgerald Theater. Katherine Lanpher talks with former Minnesotan Jean Harfenist about her debut novel, A Brief History of the Flood. The book chronicles a girl's growing up in a troubled family.

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January 12, 2004 4:15 PM

Minneapolis author receives top children's book award

The story of a small mouse in love with a princess won the top honor in children's literature from the American Library Association on Monday. Minneapolis author Kate DiCamillo received the 2004 Newbery Medal for the year's best writing for "The Tale of Despereaux."

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January 9, 2004 3:12 PM

The Canterbury Papers

In the 13th century the powerful practiced full contact politics. Lose a political battle, and you might lose your head. The period has fascinated Minneapolis writer Judith Koll Healy since she was a girl. About 15 years ago she began reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the political intrigues swirling round her family, the courts of France and England. Those intrigues form the basis for Healy's first novel "The Canterbury Papers."

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January 5, 2004 11:20 AM

The world behind a famous work of art

Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, examines the world that produced yet another famous work of art. In her latest work, she delves into the secrets behind a mysterious and beautiful set of tapestries.

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December 18, 2003 5:06 PM

Themes and Threads in Jean Harfenist's "A Brief History of the Flood"

Producer Heather McElhatton explores the structure, tone, and metaphor of A Brief History of the Flood.

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December 18, 2003 11:20 AM

A Talking Volumes interview: Jean Harfenist

The latest Talking Volumes selection is a series of interconnected short stories set in a small Minnesota town. A Brief History of the Flood is the story of a girl growing up in a disintegrating family and in a house that is literally sinking.

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