Kerri's pick
 
 
Book of the week

Literature scholars will argue that there are only six essential stories in the world, tragedy and survival among them.

This gave Alexandra Fuller solace, the idea that the loss-stricken and the bereaved had come this way before.

She writes in her memoir, “The way a pilot sees wind in clouds or a sailor reads currents in water, I look unconsciously for stories to remind me where I am, to remind me that whatever I’m going through, millions have been here before, are here now, will be here again.”

Fuller’s memoir, “Fi,” begins in the summer she turned 50; divorced from her husband, traveling the West with a new lover, when word arrives that her son has died from complications of a brain seizure.

What follows is a chronicle of all-encompassing grief, hers and her daughters’ search for acceptance and consolation, and the determination that they will eventually survive the loss.


— Kerri Miller | MPR News
Happy Independent Bookstore Day (almost)!

Hi Thread readers!

This is Sam Stroozas, digital producer at MPR News. Emily Bright, host of Ask a Bookseller, and I worked on a little guide to some titles to look out for if you choose to browse on Saturday for Independent Bookstore Day.

You know that feeling when you walk into a bookstore and forget the title of every book you’ve ever wanted to read?

Thankfully, booksellers are professional book-recommenders, so don’t be afraid to ask for advice, whether you’re looking for yourself or a loved one. We’ve done some of the asking for your on “Ask a Bookseller,” our regular Saturday morning radio series and podcast.

Here are some of recent recommendations to inspire you.


— Sam Stroozas | MPR News
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This week on The Thread
Talking Volumes: Leif Enger

Join Kerri Miller at a special on-the-road edition of Talking Volumes. She’ll be at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing on June 4 to talk with Minnesotan Leif Enger about his new book, “I Cheerfully Refuse.” Tickets are limited. Learn more at mprevents.org.
Alexandra Fuller on ‘the braid, the spiral, the knot of grief’

Alexandra Fuller’s new memoir begins with the death of her 21-year-old son, Fi, and chronicles her attempts to grieve well in the searing aftermath of his loss. 

She talks about finding solace on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘Honey’ by Victor Lodato

Sheila Burns of Bloomsbury Books in Ashland, Ore., recommends “Honey” by Victor Lodato. She and her fellow booksellers couldn’t resist the 82-year-old protagonist. Honey Fasinga escaped her toxic, New Jersey mobster family as a young woman and cultivated a life full of art and fashion.
Art and history come together in ‘Fur Trade Nation: an Ojibwe’s Graphic History’

Artist Carl Gawboy has used his thirty years of experience teaching the history of fur trade relations on Turtle Island, also known as North America, to create hundreds of illustrations depicting stories of Ojibwe people and lifeways centered on entrepreneurship and freedom.
Black Garnet Books talks about Independent Bookstore Day

Black Garnet Books owner Dionne Sims joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to discuss her store and what books have caught her attention lately. 
A photographer documented Black cowboys across the U.S. for a new book

NPR’s A Martinez speaks with photojournalist Ivan McClellan about his new book documenting Black cowboys, “Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture.”
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