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.

September 26, 2003 11:20 AM

Anna Quindlen on Talking Volumes

The author of several books and a popular magazine column talks with Katherine Lanpher about her novel, Blessings.

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September 24, 2003 11:20 AM

Pulitzer fiction winner talks about her newest work

Jhumpa Lahiri chronicles what it's like to be part of two cultures, American and Indian. Her first collection of short stories won acclaim and built anticipation for her next work, about a second-generation Indian-American.

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September 17, 2003 11:20 AM

Anne Lamott talks about her bestselling novel

Anne Lamott hit The New York Times bestseller list with Blue Shoe, now out in paperback. She has won a popular following with her mixture of religious faith and real life miseries and pleasures.

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September 11, 2003 11:20 AM

"Winn-Dixie" author returns with a new novel

Kate DiCamillo's new book began as a request from a child and became a story of a mouse, a rat, a girl and a princess.

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September 9, 2003 11:20 AM

The saga of Saul and Patsy

Minnesota native Charles Baxter talks about his new novel, Saul and Patsy, more on the life of two characters from Baxter's short stories written over the past 20 years.

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September 3, 2003 11:20 AM

Anna Quindlen: a Talking Volumes interview

Author and columnist Anna Quindlen kicks off the new season of Talking Volumes. She joins Katherine Lanpher to talk about Blessings, a chronicle of an unusual family.

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September 2, 2003 5:05 PM

Themes and Threads in Anna Quindlen's "Blessings"

Talking Volumes Producer Heather McElhatton discusses the themes of quietness, pathos, and return in Anna Quindlen's novel, "Blessings."

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August 28, 2003 11:20 AM

A new biography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin's belief in civic duty and self-reliance helped shape an American ethic. A new biography illuminates this energetic, complicated forebear.

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August 21, 2003 2:47 PM

A Q&A with Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie discusses her career and her novel, "Purple Hibiscus."

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August 20, 2003 11:20 AM

Head to toe history of the human body

A new look at the history and science of the human body examines the body of knowledge, or what we know about what we are.

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