Talking Volumes: Our mission

An innovative regional book club.

Last update: July 30, 2008 - 10:23 AM

Talking Volumes, a partnership of the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center, is a regional book club that aims to build community through literature by encouraging people across Minnesota to read and talk about the same books.

Every year the partners select authors and books they think might be of interest to you. The Talking Volumes lineup has included fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, young-adult and children’s illustrated. Each author is profiled in the Star Tribune and his or her book is featured on Minnesota Public Radio.

It all culminates in the author’s onstage appearance at the 1,000-seat Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul with MPR’s Kerri Miller. Along with a book discussion and selected readings, there is music: a boys’ choir for Tobias Wolff’s “Old School,” for example, and somber cellists for Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking.”

An audience Q&A and book signing follows the show. It’s your chance to meet such internationally known literary lights as Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie and such local treasures as Bill Holm and Kate DiCamillo. The event is recorded and broadcast for MPR listeners in the week following the show. All three organizations run promotional materials before the event.

For questions about Talking Volumes, please e-mail Star Tribune senior arts editor Claude Peck at cpeck@startribune.com.

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Here are some of Books Editor Laurie Hertzel's favorite sites and blogs. Got a literary link to share? E-mail Laurie.

Twin Cities Literary Scavenger Hunt Home page for the scavenger hunt, which runs now through Dec. 26.
Reading Minnesota A blog that features Minnesota writers, illustrators, publishers, bookstores, and reviewers.
Talk of the Stacks An author series from the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.
Poets & Writers The website for Poets and Writers Magazine--podcasts, author interviews, and writing resources.
Creative Writing A place to keep apprised of writing competitions in the United States.
Gather Minnesota Readers The Website for Minnesota Public Radio's books blog.
The Loft Literary Center The Website for the Loft, a local place for writers and readers.
Good Reads A way to track what you're reading, and what your friends are reading.
Lost Manuscripts Just what it sounds like - a blog (sporadically updated) devoted to missing and destroyed manuscripts.
Maud Newton Very hip, reviews, links, a little attitude.
bookreporter.com A plethora of online book reviews and reading guides.
Rain Taxi Rain Taxi Review of Books.