Topics

Literature

• A tale of spirit and survival
  While researching her best selling book "Seabiscuit," Laura Hillenbrand stumbled across an article on Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who endured incredible hardships during World War II. She reached out to him and forged a connection that she chronicles in her latest book. Originally broadcast on Nov. 29, 2010.Midmorning, February 15, 2011
• The queen of the Nile: a new perspective
  She was called Queen of Kings, and in her lifetime Cleopatra was romantically linked with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Biographer Stacy Schiff considered her a shrewd political strategist and powerful ruler. Originally broadcast on January 5, 2011.Midmorning, February 9, 2011
• John and Abigail Adams in letters
  John Adams has had his share of publicity in the past few years. Historian Joseph Ellis's new book takes a look at the enduring relationship between Adams and his wife, Abigail, as revealed through their letters to one another. Originally broadcast on January 3, 2011.Midmorning, February 9, 2011
• Teen fiction author Pete Hautman
  Pete Hautman has won a National Book Award for his young adult novels, and while he loves the genre, he says there are reasons not to write young adult fiction. He explains why, and talks about his newest novel, with Kerri Miller.Midmorning, February 3, 2011
• Novel on English village life amuses while spearing prejudice
  After struggling for a while to write a gritty up-to-the-moment novel, Helen Simonson decided to stop beating herself up and write something for herself. Now the resulting book "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" is a New York Times bestseller.February 2, 2011
• Novelist Paul Auster writes about home
  Paul Auster's new novel about abandoned homes and broken families speaks to Americans' experience with the recession. He revisits themes of existential crisis and the search for identity.Midmorning, January 26, 2011
• Lessons from a war-zone coffee shop
  Deborah Rodriguez dealt with patrons of all kinds when she ran a hair salon in Afghanistan. She wrote a memoir of that time called "Kabul Beauty School." Now she's turned to fiction with her first novel "A Cup For Friendship," which is also set in that country.January 25, 2011
• Author captures regional differences in whiteness
  Satirical writer Christian Lander thought he was on to a good, but probably short-lived, thing with his blog and a book called "Stuff White People Like." After spotting more examples on his book tour, he now has a regional guide to the white people of North America, called "Whiter Shades of Pale." He says most people get the joke.January 19, 2011
• Newsmaker: Censoring Huck Finn?
  A Mark Twain scholar is planning to release a new edition of the classic "Huckleberry Finn," with the "N" word being replaced by the word "slave." He says it's not an attempt to render the book colorblind, but many commentators are up in arms.Midmorning, January 6, 2011
• Today's Question: Should an editor change a classic novel to keep from offending modern readers?
  A Mark Twain scholar plans to release a new edition of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" without the N word. Today's Question: Should an editor change a classic novel to keep from offending modern readers?January 5, 2011
• The queen of the Nile: a new perspective
  She was called Queen of Kings, and in her lifetime Cleopatra was romantically linked with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Biographer Stacy Schiff considers her a shrewd political strategist and powerful ruler.Midmorning, January 5, 2011
• An intimate look at a founding family
  John Adams has had his share of publicity in the past few years. Historian Joseph Ellis's new book takes a look at the enduring relationship between Adams and his wife, Abigail, as revealed through their letters to one another.Midmorning, January 3, 2011
• The year in books
  Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" stole much of the spotlight, but the fact that it wasn't even nominated for the National Book Award shows what a strong year 2010 was for fiction. Midmorning looks at the best books, both fiction and nonfiction, of 2010.Midmorning, December 29, 2010
• Faith, family, and temptation
  Author John Reimringer's new novel tells the story of a young priest and his struggle with the vow of celibacy. But beyond being a story about the sacred versus the profane, the author says it's also a love letter to the city of St. Paul.Midmorning, December 27, 2010
• A grittier 'True Grit'
  St. Louis Park natives Joel and Ethan Coen said they wanted to remake the classic western "True Grit" in part to rectify an injustice to the novel on which it's based. Their film, which opens tomorrow, appears to do just that.December 21, 2010

• Previous
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• Next