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Staff Picks...
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Laura
Hansen, Owner/Bookseller
I love
language at least as much
as I love story. You’re
likely to find lots of lyrical
writing in my selections.
I rarely fall in love with
a book written in a style
the reviewer describes as
“spare” or “sparse”.
I demand good writing even
in the mysteries I read.
I also prefer stories that
cover a short intense period
of time; a day, a week,
as opposed to multi-generational
sagas.
I read literary fiction,
mysteries, travel writing,
an occasional memoir and
I also read and write poetry.
My friends also know that
I am a sucker for any book
with water or a dog on the
cover!
Laura
Hansen was named Great River
Arts Association's August
2010 Artist of the Month.
Click here to read the article.
 let's
take the long way home:
a memoir of friendship
by gail caldwell
Gail Caldwell was recently
interviewed on NPR. I immeditaly
ordered the book and read
it straightaway. The story
of two writers who become
fast friends while walking
their dogs and end up sharing
their lives, hobbies and
recovery from addiction.
Caldwell writes about her
life before, during and
after the loss of her friend,
Caroline Knapp, the author
of Drinking; A Love Story.
If you haven't read any
Caroline Knapp, I do recommend
that you read Drinking
and also - for dog lovers
- Pack of Two.
You can also find me on
www.goodreads.com
and Facebook.
 prayers
and lies by sherri wood
emmons ($15.00 kensington
02/2011)
I thoroughly enjoyed this
book. It begged to be read
in one sitting. Bethy, an
Indiana girl who visits
her Coal River cousins every
year, feels a sisterly bond
to her cousin Reana Mae
who is scarecly tolerated
by her Mother let alone
loved. At the same time
Bethy prays for her cousin
she also hides her darkest
secrets. A wonderful new
voice in fiction for fans
of Lee Smith, Dorothy Allison,
Ron Rash.
Fans
of Carolyn Wall's Sweeping
Up Glass or of Velva
Jean Learns to Drive
take note. Place your orders
now for your winter reading
list; 632-1848.
 The
Tale of Halcyon Crane by
Duluth author, Wendy Webb,
Trade Paper.
A modern
gothic set on Grand Manitou,
a fictional Great Lakes
Island cut off from cell
phone reception and without
motorized transportation.
Hallie James is drawn away
from her Pacific Northwest
home after the death of
her father when she recieves
a letter from the mother
she never knew and thought
was dead. Hallie travels
to insular world of Grand
Manitou at the behest of
her Mother's attorney and
proceeds to learn the strange
and tragic story of a family
haunted by loss and troubling
"gifts". A great
rainy night read. An April
2010 Midwest Connections
Pick.
I really
loved Vendela Vida's book,
Let the Northern Lights
Erase Your Name, so
I decided to give her upcoming
book a try. The Lover's
will be released in July
and is about a recently
widowed American woman traveling
in Turkey.
 The
Lovers by Vendela
Vida
Yvonne, recently widowed,
heads off to Turkey to revisit
the site of her honeymoon.
Once there, she realizes
not only how much the place
has changed, but how much
she has as well. No longer
the free-spirited, always
prepared traveler she had
been, Yvonne sets out on
a drive to find ...something.
What she finds is a beach,
a small intrepid little
boy selling sea shells,
and a chance to meditate
on her role as wife and
mother. I liked Yvonne's
openness to strangers and
the experiences it allowed
her to have. I am much more
insular and self-contained
as a traveler. Not all goes
well for Yvonne and I really
related to her occasional
panic attacks as she tries
to find her way through
foreign cities and strange
landscapes. As many Americans
do (according to her new
friend Ozlem) Yvonne tries
to always do the right thing
and ends up doing the typically
American thing instead.
Yvonne learns that some
things you can't fix and
some things fix themselves.
 The
Singer's Gun by Emily St.
John Mandel Hardback
Release May 2010
“Reads
like an enchantment. Stunning.
Anton Waker wants a moral
life, a simple everday American
job, to do anything other
than follow in his family’s
shady footsteps. His one
mistake is to start his
new life with a lie he can
never take back. Anton’s
thinking is seductively
convincing. He makes us
believe his good intentions
as much as he does. It is
scary how relatable he is..”—Laura
Hansen, Bookin’ It
The Number One Pick
for the May IndieNext List!
Author guest blog bleow
answers Laura's question
about keeping the suspense:
[Topic: (Laura asks) I
guess I would want to know
how she (Emily) decided
how much to reveal to the
reader when...it is a tricky
business holding out on
the reader (maintaining
the mystery) and holding
their attention (without
frustrating them) at the
same time.]
In a book like The Singer’s
Gun, where almost every
character has a secret,
maintaining the tension
of the plot was a delicate
task. What to reveal, when:
give it all away too quickly
and you have nowhere to
go after the first hundred
or so pages, give it away
too slowly and the plot
goes slack.
This probably isn’t
a very original metaphor,
but I think of the plot
as a sort of wire strung
between two points. The
two points are the first
word of the book and the
last, and the trick is to
avoid slackening at all
costs. “The plot must
sing with tension,”
my editor said, in the course
of the revision process,
and every plot decision
I made afterward was based
on that idea: will this
increase the tension of
the plot, or lessen it?
My editor’s words struck
me as good advice for every
book I write in the future.
I don’t start a book
with much knowledge of the
plot. I start books based
on vague premises—what
if someone kept traveling
forever? What if a man left
his wife on their honeymoon?—and
images—a car on a desert
highway, a passport changing
hands in a café.
Once I have a premise or
an image to go on, I just
start writing and figure
it out as I go along.
I don’t think I can
work in any other way, but
setting out in this fashion
means that my initial draft
is always unspeakably rough;
the book comes together
in successive rewrites.
Decisions about dramatic
tension are made in the
revisions, when the book
is taken apart and pieced
back together and rewritten
and retooled until the version
that my agent finally sees
bears almost no resemblance
to the unwieldy mess of
a thing that I’d once
thought of fondly as a first
draft. When I was revising
The Singer’s Gun I
changed the order of revelations
several times, searching
for the highest possible
level of tension. - Emily
St. John Mandel
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 Goat
Song by
Brad Kessler June
2009
Goat
Song is written
with tenderness, humor
and intelligence.
Kessler's writing
seamlessly combines
his personal experience
and observations with
thoughtful asides
that range from etymolgy
and mythology to economics,
ecology, religion,
and faith. Kessler's
writing is so fluid
you would read just
about anything he
chose to write about,
but the most joyous
sections are his descriptions
of life as a goatherd
and of his own unique
flock. Brilliant.
Recommended for fans
of Hit by a Farm,
Marley and Me,
Michael Perry's Coop,
or Barbara Kinglsolver's
Animal, Vegetable,
Miracle.
 From
best-selling author
Jeannette Walls (The
Glass Castle)
Half
Broke Horses; A True-Life
Novel is based
on the amazing hardscrabble
life of Walls' own
grandmother. If you
like tales of gutsy
women and pioneers,
you'll love this one.
Told in plain-spoken
fashion, just the
way her grandmother
would have told it.
Half Broke Horses
is going to be a huge
hit.
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 Burning
Bright; Stories
by Ron Rash (author of Serena)
March 2010
These
magnificent short stories
center around tough choices
in limited circumstances.
Rash once again captures
the voice of the Appalachians
in stunning prose.
The first two stories (Hard
Times, The Back of Beyond)
alone and in juxtapostion
are worthy of discussion.
Two men taking different
approaches to "ridding
the snake from the henhouse";
the first of which turns
out to be a harmless young
girl, the second a meth-addicted
nephew who is selling aff
the farm a little at a time
until his elderly parents
move out of the house and
into their son's unheated
trailer in fear of him and
his drugged out friends.
In
Dead Confederates and
Ascent we see a grown
man and a young boy making
similar self-justifications
for stealing. And in The
Woman who Believed In Jaguars
we find a woman grappling
to hold on to a lost reality
by trying to prove the existance
of another.
There
is desolation in these sotries,
loneliness, and tenderness,
too, little fires flaring
in the night, moments when
men step wrong and there
is no turning back, a thin
connecting thread of hopes
dreamed and hopes dashed.
I highly
recommend Rash's earlier
books One Foot in Eden
and Saints at the River
(a Bookin' It Contemporary
Fiction Book Club Selection).
His book Serena,
now available in paperback,
was a New York Times Notable
Book of the Year.
 Then
Came the Evening by
Brian Hart (Hardback, Dec.
2009)
Reviewers
compare this book to the
work of Cormac McCarthy
who I haven't read, but
I am sure they are correct.
Bandy Dorner is a man who
courts tragedy, is a magnet
for it. And life isn't any
easier for his son. Set
in Idaho, I get a hint of
Ron Carlson's Five Skies
(a book I loved) and
also of Ron Rash's books
One Foot in Eden
and Burning Bright.
It has been a long long
time since I cried at the
end of a book and I'm not
sure why I did so for a
character as unredeemed
as Bandy, but I did.
 31
Hours by Masha Hamilton
What
would you do if you couldn't
locate your college age
son? What if you found out
he'd met a man named Masoud
and traveled in secret to
Pakistan with him? How does
one spawn a home-grown terrorist?
Masha Hamilton considers
all these things and more
in her gripping new novel,
31 Hours.
Masha
Hamilton's best work since
Staircase of a Thousand
Steps. I enjoyed it
in the same way as Ann Patchett's
Run with its compact
time frame and small cast
of well-defined characters.
 The
Day the Falls Stood Still
by Cathy Marie Buchanan
(September 2009, $24.99)
This
a wonderful historical novel
in the vein of another book
club favorite of ours, Grand
Ambition (Lisa Michaels).
Set immediatley before and
after WWI, Bess's story
is powered by the falls
and whirlpools and mists
of Niagra and by the mysterious
riverman, Tom Cole, who
shares his love for the
river with her.
Buchanan
does a marvelous job of
juxtaposing the cultured
life Bess is accustomed
to with the rough and dangerous
life of the river stuntmen
and hydro-electic construction
crews of the era.
For
all that, this is a love
story at its heart and I
found myself waiting as
anxiously as Bess for Tom
to reappear along the road
or along the shore. The
Day the Falls Stood Still
is a joy to read.
 Sweeping
Up Glass by Carolyn
Wall Trade Paper August
2009
With the rich detailing
and clear voice of Lay
that Trumpet in Our Hands
(Susan Carol McCarthy)
and the gripping emotional
and historical impact of
David Hill's Sacred Dust,
Sweeping the Glass is a
wonder.
Olivia lives in the Kentucky
mountains, befriending wolves,
tending her grandson and
fractious mother, and nursing
the wounds of the past.
When she digs too deep into
her family's secrets, she
dredges up trouble enough
to endanger an entire town.
 All
the Living by C.E. Morgan
(Coming soon in paperback)
All
the Living reads like
a waking dream on a hot
August afternoon. The language
is a delerious mix of colloquialism
and lyricism. Like Coomer's
Decatur Road, I feel
myself wanting to read it
twice; once for the sheer
enjoyment of the story and
the second time to revel
in the language. Ms. Morgan
writes a story that seeps
into you, permeates like
the musk of the soil, envelopes
the reader with the acrid
scent of the farmstead and
the heat of hard work. Through
it all Aloma's nervous fingers
are tapping out melodies
on door frames and tabletops
and her denim-clad thighs,
while Orren's remain motionaless
at this sides. Reminds me
a bit of Jaskunas' Hidden.
 A
Reliable Wife by Robert
Goolrick, Algonquin Books
now in paperback
With
A Reliable Wife,
Robert Goolrick has given
us a rare treat, a story
so good we are loathe to
start another book for fear
it will fail utterly in
comparison.
It
is 1907 and Ralph Truitt
is seeking a wife. Catherine
Land is the woman who answers
his call. In the midst of
a swirling snowstorm, she
steps off of the train and
into his life. She is not
what he expected. Nor is
he as naïve as she
had hoped.
What
follows is a skillfully
told tale of lies and betrayals,
of rampant passion and unchecked
desires, and occasionally
of hope and compassion.
Fierce and original, sensual
but never crass, Goolrick
spins a remarkable tale
that takes the reader from
the sophistications of Chicago
to a bitterly cold and barren
Wisconsin winter to the
opium dens and music halls
of St. Louis.
A
Reliable Wife wins NAIBA's
"Book of the Year"
for fiction. Midwest Booksellers
"2009 Choice Award"
honor book.
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 The
Crossing Places
by Ellie Griffiths
January 2010, $25.00
Ellie Griffiths opens a great
new mystery series with The
Crossing Places. Professor of
Archaeology, Ruth Galloway,
who lives at the edge of wind-blown
saltmarsh with her two cats
Sparky and Flint, is asked to
help the police in a missing
child case when bones are found
not far from her cottage. Thoroughly
enjoyable. How could I not love
a heroine who reads Ian Rankin
in bed at night?
Stop in now for this 2010
release, especially if you are
a fan of Erin Hart's mysteries.
Speaking of Erin Hart....False
Mermaid is due March 2010.
Novelist
Erin Hart who will be at our
Linden Hill Author Tea Retreat
in May gave us permission to
quote her review of The Crossing
Places from her goodreads
post.
"Against
the eerie backdrop of the Saltmarsh—a
dangerous, desolate stretch
of coastline that’s not
quite earth, not quite sea—forensic
archaeologist Ruth Galloway
stirs up fears and passions
among the living even as she
unearths ancient remains.
Although she’ll
admit to being a walking cliché—she’s
an overweight, unmarried, cat-loving
academic—Ruth Galloway
actually defies such slender
classification. She’s an
uncommon heroine whose acute
insight, wry humor, and depth
of feeling make her a thoroughly
engaging companion on this spooky,
sometimes harrowing ride."
- Erin Hart (Haunted Ground,
Lake of Sorrows, False Mermaid)
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 A
Toast to Murder by Michele
Scott (paperback original,
4/2010)
This is Scott's
6th Wine Lover's Mystery featuring
Nikki Sands and the Malveaux
Estates Winery. I fell in love
with these light hearted mysteries
from the very start and they
have become my guilty little
pleasures. When a new one comes
in I drop everything knowing
I can finish it in a day - a
thoroughly enjoyable day at
that - and get back to my real
life. In this latest Wine Lover
Mystery series book, Michele
Scott is back in form after
a couple of weak outings. Here
is all the wine county detail,
snappy dialogue, and humor we've
come to love in the first three
books in the series. A wedding
- Nikki and Dereks's - goes
terribly wrong when Simon's
brother is shot walking Nikki
down the aisle. Once again Scott
tests both Nikki's ability to
keep it together in trying circumstances
as bodies turn up along with
an old love.
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 Necessary
As Blood, A Duncan Kincaid/Gemma
James Mystery
by Deborah Crombie
Another
well-thought-out mystery by
Crombie. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Gemma James gets involved with
a missing persons case that
turns into murder. Though the
case is assigned to her partner
Duncan Kincaid, Gemma continues
to search out answers in order
to protect a young girl orphaned
by the murder. Rich in background
detail of immigrant London,
and of its Bangladeshi subculture.
Very good and makes me want
to go back and read The Case
of the Missing Servant by Tarquin
Hall which I have tucked away
at home somewhere and also Brick
Lane by Monica Ali.
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 A
Beautiful Place to Die
by Malla Nunn
(Trade Paperback)
A
Beautiful Place to Die
is a roaring good mystery.
Malla Nunn combines issues of
race, politics, and small town
power struggles in this powerful,
provocative, and atmospheric
novel. Rural Jacob's Rest, South
Africa in the 1950's is held
in an uneasy truce between blacks,
coloreds and the ruling whites
until someone crosses social
taboos and a policeman ends
up dead. Detective Emmanuel
Cooper is sent to investigate
and finds himself in a writhing
bed of lies and betrayal and
ends up fighting not only for
the truth but for his life.
Let the Dead Lie,
will be released April 2010.
 Let
The Dead Lie by Malla Nunn
(Trade Paperback, April 2010)
The early
part of this book is hard reading
mainly because it is so uncomfortable
to see the hero of Nunn's previous
book, A Beautiful Place to Die,
in such different circumstances,
stripped of his Detective's
Badge and reclassified as non-white.
Not a big deal? In 1950's South
Africa it changes everything
for Emmanuel Cooper. Cooper
is nonethless drawn in to a
new murder investigation and
quickly becomes a suspect on
the run in the racially mixed
streets of Durban. Cooper does
eventually come to accept the
help of his friends, a Jewish
doctor and a black police officer
he met in the previous book.
With the help of his friends,
the brooding tone and hopelessness
of the story lifts slightly.
Cooper must solve three murders
and protect a Russian defector
and his pregnant wife from a
murderer and a rogue policeman.
Let the Dead Lie is an apt title
as all of Cooper's problems
stem from his inablilty "let
the dead lie". Even when
he knows repsonsible parties
will never be broguht to justice
and that innocent people may
be hurt in the pursuit of justice,
and the consequences for his
own life are dire, he is unable
to stop himself in the pursuit
of the truth.
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 Hotel
on the Corner of Bitter and
Sweet by
Jamie Ford,
(Now in PB)
Jamie
Ford's Hotel on the Corner
of Bitter and Sweet casts
a lasting glow. The characters
are fully realized, the title
is a real attention grabber,
and the story fleshed out with
plenty of local and period detail.
Ford provides an intimate look
at life on the homefront during
WWII from the uncommon perpective
of an earnest Chinese-American
boy and his Japanese-American
school friend. I think Henry
and Keiko are two of the most
engaging characters I've come
across in a long while and I
will not soon forget them, nor
Sheldon, the saxophone player
who befreinds them. I'm not
the type of reader that necessarily
longs for a happy ending, but
this one certainly satisfies.
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 Remarkable
Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Remarkable
Creatures is
a fairly quiet book, not for
fans of high adventure and gripping
plots. It is, however, an excellent
historical novel that will appeal
to fans of historical fiction
and to book clubs. Mary Anning's
life as a fossil hunter and
her friendship with spinster
Elizabeth Philpot is convincingly
presented. What intrigues most
is their efforts to understand
the world in view of their finds
and their struggle to be acknowledged
in the male-centric world of
academics and gentleman collectors
they are thrust among.
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 The
School of Essential Ingredients
by Erica Bauermeister is
absolutley charming and Bauermeister's
writing is chock full of beautiful
metaphors. Now in trade paperback.
On Monday nights, Lillian closes
her restaurant to customers
and opens her arms to the students
of her cooking class. Not one
to depend on recipes, Lillian
opens her students eyes, hearts
and minds by concentrating on
each ingredient as a guest at
the table to be admired and
enjoyed and paired with other
interesting "friends".
Bauermeister lays out this delectable
spread one student at a time,
giving voice to the sometimes
subltle and sometimes dramatic
ways the class has changed their
outlook on life.
 
Pomegranate Soup
and Rosewater and Soda
Bread by Marsha Mehran.
both in quality paperback.
Read these
two small delightful books together
in one "sitting".
Three sisters flee revolutionary
Iran and arrive after a time
in a small Irish village where
they turn the town on its ear
by opening the Babylon Cafe.
The voices ring so true in Mehran's
deft storyteller's hands that
they keep on singing in your
head long after the stories
are read and set aside. Lovingly
told and peppered with humor
and heart.
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 The
Fire Engine that Disappeared
by Maj Sjowall and
Per Wahloo
Part of The
Martin Beck Police Mystery Series
set in Sweden and written by
a husband and wife writing team.
In this book, not Martin Beck
but the cranky and contemptous
Detective Gunvald Larsson is
the main character. He has just
saved a number a people from
a burning building that exploded
while under police surveillence.
Larsson's fellow officers are
content to call it an accident,
but Larsson is sure it was arson.
This series of ten mysteries
set in 1960's Sweden is being
re-released by Vintage paperbacks
and I plan to delve into the
whole series. Great for fans
of Henning Mankell or Steig
Larsson.
South of Hell by PJ
Parrish
Another taut
and dazzling read for fans of
Parrish's Florida PI, Louis
Kincaid. In this outing Kincaid
finds himself traveling back
to Michigan to help out on a
cold case he was loosley connected
tom years before. At the same
time a young girl is hitchhiking
home, straight into the arms
of a killer.
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My Only Home, Poems
by Freya Manfred (Red Dragonfly
Press, $12.00)
Midwest Booksellers' Association
2009 Book of the Year Winner
for Poetry
 I
have recently fallen in love
with the poetry of Freya Manfred.
Like me she loves water, in
her case lakes, in my case rivers
and lakes, and she knows them
as she knows her own family.
These poems are regional only
in the sense they dwells in
the depths and the reflections
of the water Manfred seeks out.
And these are indeed poems of
great depth and clarity and
richness.
Freya Manfred's poetry collection
is dedicated to "my two
favorite places to swim"
and, indeed, a large section
of the book is an ode to lakes.
But in My Only Home,
Freya doesn't just praise lakes,
she becomes them, sinking into
the dark waters of grief, the
welcoming waters of home, into
deep communion with family,
self, and place.
My throat constricts with recognition
as Manfred describes how grief
over her father's death weighed
"a heavy fieldstone"
on her chest that carries her
"to the bottom of the lake".
I return again and again with
her to the dock and the boathouse,
to the lake bottom and the far
shore, and to the perfect metaphor
of "A Body Heals/the way
a lake heals/in wider and wider
circles" (p. 46).
 I
just received a copy of Beloved
on the Earth; 150 Poems of Grief
and Gratitude (June
2009) and have already liberally
sampled the poems included.
I find this to be an absolutley
essential collection. Some of
my favorite poets are represented
here (Kooser, Oliver, Berry,
Clifton) and many are new to
me. But this is just a remarkable
and thoughful collection and
the poems are well-crafted and
not dripping with sentimentality
as so many of these types of
collections tend to be.
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 Exley
by Brock Clarke, Algonquin, October
2010
I read this book at the start as
a tribute to my dear friend Max and
because I loved the twisted brilliance
of A Fan's Notes, but in the
end I read it to find out how any
truth could come out of the story
of an imaginative boy, his missing
father, and his seemingly equally
disturbed "mental health professional".
Turns out the "truth" is,
as it is so often, that love transcends
a lot but it doesn't make life perfect
or enduring or even - at times - acceptable.
Loved Miller and his huge love for
his less-than-perfect father, though
it is I suspect a book for a particularly
adventurous kind of reader. It has
all the strange truth-bending charm
of A Fan's Notes. A worthy
paen to its namesake, yet Brock Clarke
writes in a truly distinctive voice.
From Kirkus Reviews: Another
literary high-wire performance by
a novelist who is establishing himself
as a unique voice in contemporary
fiction.
This novel shares significant qualities
with its predecessor (An Arsonist's
Guide to Writer's Homes in New England,
2007), which provided a critical breakthrough
for Clarke. Both have protagonists
who are good-hearted, well-intentioned
and self-delusional, thus as unreliable
as they are likable. And both have
a metafictional, book-about-books
quality. In this case, as the title
suggests, the creative springboard
is Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes,
a memoirist novel that itself confuses
the real with the imagined. A seriously
playful novel about the interweave
of literature and life.
"Sometimes you have to tell
the truth about what you've done so
that people will believe you when
you tell them the truth about other
stuff you haven't done," says
Miller, who is in for as many surprises
as the reader.
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I have authored a
poetry chapbook titled Diving
the Drop-off. It is available
at Bookin' It, the Gift Shop at GRAA, Beagle
Books in Park Rapids, and Drury Lane Books
in Grand Marais. You can also click
here to read a few samples
of my poetry (I've just added a new one
avid readers may enjoy), where I've been
published and what writing awards I've won.
You can also read some of my work in The
Talking Stick: Volume 16 "Finding The
Words" available at Bookin' It and
other Minnesota bookstores. Talking Stick
17 available soon.
 And
here is the cover image of County Lines,
a collection of poems by Minnesota poets
about Minnesota places. It was produced
by the League of Minnesota Poets with grant
support from the Minnesota Sesquicentiennial
Committee. In stock now
at Bookin' it.
Among the many writers represented are
Dave Bengtson of Long Prairie and Bookin'
It owner, Laura Hansen.
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Maryjude
Hoeffel,
Spirituality Book Discussion Group (SBDG)
Coordinator/Bookseller
My
reading choices are mostly non-fiction,
though you'll find novels (mostly
historical) in my selctions as well.
I gravitate to spirituality, non-fiction
history and adventure, with some memoir
and travel thrown in for good measure.
I love to cook, bake, & create,
so you'll find cookbooks among my
picks as well as art/craft selections.
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 They're
Your Parents,Too! How Siblings Can
Survive Their Parents' Aging Without
Driving Each Other Crazy by
Francine Russo
Many families are unprepared
for the difficult decisions that
must be made when their aging parents
need assisance and care. Siblings
often have differing opinions on
what is "best for Mom &
Dad". Russo's book offers
a deep examination of the transition
that siblings must go through from
the "old" family of their
childhood to a "new" family
after their parents are gone. Full
of wise insights and practical advice.
Highly recommended.
 No
Way Down - Life and Death on K2
by Graham Bowley
I've been reading mountaineering
stories since 1972 when I was holed
up with strep throat at 10,000 feet
at Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier. This
one is a real page-turner. Bowley
recounts the 2008 disaster on K2,
the world's second-highest mountain.
As gripping as Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer, No Way Down
reveals the dangers of high-altitude
mountaineering and the people willing
to risk their lives to make the
summit..
 Hamlet's
BlackBerry A Practical Philosophy
for Building a Good Life in the
Digital Age by William Powers
Got a laptop, a Blackberry, an IPad?
Do you have a Facebook or Twitter
account? The digital technology
many of us own have opened new worlds
and connected us with hundreds of
other users,, but at what cost?
In this timely new book, author
Powers says that we've bought into
the idea that the more connnected
we are, the better. But this constant
connectedness comes with a cost:
out lives have lost depth. How can
we regain a balance between our
outer and inner lives? Powers provides
practical tools for all of us who'd
like to spend more time "disconnected."
 The
House on Teacher's Lane: A Memoir
of Home, Healing and Love's Hardest
Questions by Rachel Simon
I enjoyed Simon's previous memoir:
Riding The Bus With My Sister
and so picked this one up with
a sense of anticipation. I wasn't
disappointed. Simon uses the saga
of the renovation of the Delaware
row-house home she shares with her
husband, Hal, as the vehicle for
exploring the fracturings and repairs
we experience in our lives. Beautifully
written; filled with insights you'll
want to share.
 A
Secret Gift - How One Man's Kindness
- and a Trove of Letters - Revealed
the Hidden History of the Great
Depression by Ted Gup
In 2008, Gup's mother gave him an
old suitcase, containing letters
written to a Mr. B. Virdot, in Canton,
Ohio, in December, 1933. The authors
were all responding to an ad Mr.
B. Vidot had placed in the Canton
paper, offering $10 to each of 75
families in distress. Mr. B. Virdot
was none other than Gup's grandfather,
Sam Stone. Gup, totally surprised
by this secret that had been kept
for 75 years, decides to track down
the descendants of the recipients
of this gift and in so doing, reveals
a very personal and poignant picture
of the Great Depression.
This book will be published in October,
2010
.
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power
of Boundless Compassion by Gregory
Boyle
Quite simply, this is a book that
grabbed my heart and I can do no
better than to quote author Anne
Lamott's review: "An astonishing
book . . . about suffering and dignity,
death and resurrection, one of my
favorite books in years. It is lovely
and tough and tender beyond my ability
to describe and left me in tears
of both sorrow and laughter."
 At
Home - A Short History of Private
Life by Bill Bryson
I'm a big fan of Bryson and his
latest, to be published in October,
2010, is a delightful tour through
a century and a half of the history
of the home. Bryson and his family
live in England in a Victorian parsonage.
He uses each room of the house as
a jumping off point for his far-ranging
musings about domestic life. Entertaining
and fascinating.
 Impatient
With Desire by Gabrielle Burton
If you've taken note of my fiction
choices, nearly all are historical
fiction; not a surprise since History
was my favorite subject. In this
novel, Burton brings to life Tamsen
Donner, the wife of George Donner,
head of the ill-fated party of pioneers
who were trapped in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains for 4 months in the winter
of 1846-47. Exhaustively researched
and drawing on the 17 extant letters
of Tamsen Donner, Burton's novel
is an engrossing read.
 Put
"Em Up - A Comprehensive Home
Preserving Guide for the Creative
Cook from Drying and Freezing to
Canning and Pickling by Sherri
Brooks Vinton
I grew up near the truck farms of
southeastern Michigan and learned
"putting foods by" from
my mom.
Some folks think it's hard to do,
but it's not and this book is a
great place to begin. I really like
the layout - Vinton begins with
a section devoted to the various
techniques of food storage and preservation,
then goes on to recipes which are
organized alphabetically by food.
For example, in the section on apples,
recipes include dried apple rings,
apple brandy, applesauce and spiced
apple chutney, to name a few. Before
long, you'll be impressing your
friends with your homemade treats.
 Passages
in Caregiving - Turning Chaos into
Confidence by Gail Sheehy
Gail Sheehy's milestone book, Passages,
was published in 1976 and became
an instant best-seller. Her latest,
I believe, is destined for the same
honor. This is one of the clearest,
most helpful books on caregiving
that I have read and I highly recommend
it to anyone who is tackling the
sometimes dificult, but often rewarding
job of caring for another person.
Sheehy likens the caregiving journey
to a walk in a labyrinth, with several
"turnings" on the path.
She covers each stage of the journey,
giving wise counsel and practical
advice based on her own experiences.
 Nomansland
by Lesley Hauge
I try to read a Young Adult novel
now and again and this one is intriguing.
Following the near destruction of
humanity, a group of women inhabit
an island which they protect from
the enemy --- men. Keller is one
of the Trackers - adolescent equestrians
and archers - whose job it is to
patrol the borders. But a chance
discovery of something from the
Before Time brings all of Keller's
beliefs into question. For ages
12 and up.
To be published in late June.
 The
Personal History of Rachel DuPree
by Ann Weisgarber
The unforgiving South Dakota Badlands
is the setting for this debut novel
about a black family struggling
to homestead at the turn of the
20th century. Historical fiction
fans will find an unforgettable
character in Rachel Dupree.
To be published
in August, 2010
Stuff - Compulsive
Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee
The authors tell us there are more
than 6 million compulsive hoarders
in this country and in this fascinating
book, you'll meet some of the hoarders
that Frost, a psychologist and Steketee,
a social worker, inteviewed and
worked with in their decade of studying
this form of compulsion. Frost and
Steketee share their insights into
this behavior which has crippled
so many lives. "Stuff
answers the question of what happens
when what we own starts to own us."
Exiles by Ron Hansen
A beautiful novel about the 19th
century poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins
and the tragic sinking of a ship
carrying five young German nuns
to America that inspired one of
his greatest poems, The Wreck
of the Deutschland. Hansen deftly
weaves the story of Hopkins, who
ended a seven year silence to write
the poem, and the nuns, who drowned
that December night in 1875. Hopkins'
complete poem is included in the
book.
Caring for Your Parents -
The Complete Family Guide by
Hugh Delehanty and Elinor Ginzler
AND
 How
to Find the Best Eldercare by
Marilyn Rantz, PhD, RN, FAAN and
Mary Zwygart-Stauffacher, PhD, RN,
FAAN
Many people my age have found themselves
called upon to assist their parents
with long term care decisons. I
have found these two books to be
very helpful in navigating the issues
of eldercare. Full of practical
advice from experts in the field,
these are great resources for anyone
expecting to be involved in their
parents' care.
 Healthy
Bread in Five Minutes a Day
by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois
The folks that brought you Artisan
Bread in Five Minutes a Day are
back, this time with recipes for
delicious, artisan, whole-grain
and gluten-free breads and rolls.
I'm in awe of
artists and craftspeople of all
sorts and love to browse craft magazines,
galleries and craft stores for inspiration.
This past November, my mother-in-law
taught me to knit and now I can't
go into a yarn shop without drooling
and gazing longingly at all I'd
love to buy. It's the same with
craft books. I can't possibly buy
all I'd like to own, but here are
some recently published books I've
got my eye on:
Knitting 24/7 by Veronik
Avery
This is a great book for knitting
on the go. Avery has designed 30
stylish projects that are perfect
for when you have a few moments
to spare - while waiting for an
appointment. The projects are easily
portable and designed with stitch
patterns you can memorize.
 Fast,
Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button
Jewelry: Create Gifts & Glamour
in One Afternoon by Laura West Kong
October, 2009 $14.95
Hattitude: Knis for Every Mood
by Cathy Carron
November, 2009 $19.95
 Inchies:
Creative Miniature Works of Art
Using Textiles and Mixed Media Techniques
by Peggy Donda-Kobert
April, 2010 $13.95
 Things
That Make Us [Sic] by Martha Brockenbrough
Are you tired of hearing your friend
refer to that strong Italian coffee
as an "expresso"? Does
your sister always refer to something
as being further (instead of farther)
away? Now there's hope in this funny
and oh-so-helpful book on the often-overlooked
subject of the correct useage of
English. Brockenbrough, the founder
of SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion
of Good Grammar reviews all the
important things you learned in
elementary school but might have
forgotten. She intersperses her
"lessons" with the funny
e-mails and letters she's sent to
grammar violators, including the
Toronto Maple Leafs and the White
House.
 In
Cod We Trust by Eric Dregni
Eric Dregni grew up with a father
who always extolled his Norwegian
heritage. When he was awarded a
Fullbright Fellowship in Trondwheim,
Norway, Dregni and his wife, Katy,
who was pregnant with their first
child, left for a year-long adventure
to the land of luttefisk, lefse
and the dreaded moreketid (dark
night of the Norwegian winter).
A humorous and poignant memoir that
you don't have to be Norwegian to
enjoy.
The Boy Who Harnesed the Wind by
William Kamkwamba
Inventiveness, persistence and hope
all fuse beautifully in this inspiring
book about a boy who builds a windmill
to improve the lives of his family
and community in famine-ravaged
Malawi.
 Baking
Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
I can best
describe this book as a "Patty
Jane's House of Curl" meets
"The No. 1 Ladie's Detective
Agency". Angel Tungaraza is
a cake baker extraordinaire in Kigali,
Rwanda. But her talents as a baker
are equaled by her compassionate
heart and her ability to change
lives - lives that have been touched
by AIDS and the horrors of the Rwandan
genocide. Readers of Lorna Landvik
and Adrianna Trigiani will enjoy
this first novel by Parkin, a native
of Zambia.
 Sacred
Hearts by Sarah Dunant
Dunant's newest novel (she wrote
Birth of Venus and In
the Company of the Courtesan)
is just what I look for in historical
fiction: wonderful writing and a
story that immerses you in another
time and place. The setting for
this one is the 1570s in the northern
Italian city of Ferrara where Serafina,
a 16-yr. old passionately in love
with a young singer, is forced into
the convent of Santa Caterina against
her will. She longs to escape, yet
feels a growing attachment to Suora
Zuana, the convent's herbalist/apothecary
to whom she is apprenticed. Dunant
offers us a glimpse into a medieval
convent, one of the only places
where women held power and used
political intrigues of their own.
 The
Blue Notebook by James A. Levine
Levine's
debut novel haunted me long after
I finished reading it. The blue
notebook of the title is a diary
kept by Batuk, a 15-year-old prostitute
in Mumbai, India, who was sold into
sexual slavery by her father at
the age of nine. For Batuk, the
act of writing is a way to transcend
the grim reality of her life. All
of the U.S. proceeds fom this novel
will be donated to the International
and National Centers for Missing
and Exploited Children.
 Life
is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be
Mindful, and Live Intentionally by
Patti Digh.
This book is a gift. Patti
Digh's writing is from the heart and
will touch yours profoundly with its
truth. Digh's stepfather died 37 days
after his diagnosis with lung cancer.
His death made Patti ask herself:
"What would I be doing today
if I had only 37 days to live?"
She outlines 6 care practices for
a more meaningful and intentional
life: Say Yes, Trust Yourself, Slow
Down, Be Generous, Speak Up and Love
More.
A book
I'm recommending to everyone.
 Mister
Pipp by Lloyd Jones
This book has just been added to my
personal list of the "10 best
books I've ever read". As booksellers,
we don't have the time to read every
book that arrives here. I'd read great
reviews of this one but hadn't gotten
around to reading it. I recommended
it to a customer based on reviews,
then asked if she'd let me know what
she thought. So here's a thank you
to Mary Jo for being my "reader
and reviewer".
Set on a tropical island torn by civil
war, Jones explores the power of story
and imagaination through the eyes
of 13-year-old Matilda as she listens
to her teacher, the last remaining
white man on the island, read from
the only textbook available: Charles
Dicken's Great Expectations.
Cake Keeper Cakes - 100 Simple
Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes,
Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes and Other
Good-to-the-Last-Crumb Cakes by Lauren
Chattman.
Chattman's done it again with
this scrumptious collection of recipes
for fantastic cakes your family will
love. Chattman has the busy baker
in mind, so these cakes don't take
a lot of time or effort. I made the
Cranberry-Walnut Bundt Cake with
Maple-Espresso Glaze. Yummm!
Dessert Espress - 100 Sweet Treats
You Can Make in 30 Minutes or Less
by Lauren Chattman
I inherited a sweet tooth from
my Grandma Hoeffel, but unlike my
grandma, I don't have a lot of time
to spend in the kitchen. When this
book arrived in the store, I grabbed
it and am happy to recommend it to
you. Chattman, a former pastry
chef, finds ingenious shortcuts
for made from-scratch goodies to satisfy
every sweet tooth. Try the
Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies,
the Chocolate-Hazelnut & Raspbery
Panini, the Mocha Marshmallow Mousse....
they're all wonderful!
 Flatbreads
and Flavors - A Baker's Atlas by Jeffrey
Alford and Naomi Duguid
In their James Beard Award-winning
cookbook "Flatbreads and Flavors"
Alford and Duguid share more than
sixty recipes for flatbreads of every
origin and description: tortillas
from Mexico, pita from the Middle
East, naan from Afghanistan, chapatti
from India, pizza from Italy, and
French fougasse. In addition, they
provide 150 recipes for traditional
accompaniments to the flatbreads,
from chutneys and curries, salsas
and stews, to such delectable pairings
as Chinese Spicy Cumin Kebabs wrapped
in Uighur nan or Lentils with Garlic,
Onion, and Tomato spooned onto chapatti.
Redolent with the tastes and aromas
of the world's hearths, "Flatbreads
and Flavors" maps a course through
cultures old and intriguing, and,
with clear and patient recipes, makes
accessible to the novice and experienced
baker alike the simple and satisfying
bread baker's art.
I tried the bulgur bread (no yeast)
with the Armenian Eggplant-Tomato
Salsa. YUM!
Healthy
Bread in Five Minutes a Day by
Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francoise
The
sequel to Artisan
Bread in Five Minutes a Day,
features whole grain breads with the
simple, no-knead recipes the authors
made famous in their first book. It's
the answer for all of us who enjoy
healthy, artisan bread, but who don't
have the time for the classic time-consuming
process. I love this bread and as
soon as you discover how simple it
is, you will too.
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Wendi
Martin-Fogelberg, Bookseller/Horsewoman/Crafter
 
 Polar
Obsession by Paul Nicklen
is as intense and timely as it is beautiful.
Wildlife photograper Nicklen goes to the
extremes of the artic to gather the images
in this collection, including diving into
the icy waters normally only inhabited by
Narwals, seals, penguins and polar bears.
The result is a photographic exploration
of Artic lands that is at once intimate
and startling.
A good companion
read would be Richard Ellis' On Thin
Ice; The Changing World of the Polar Bear
(11/2009)
 The
Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen (available
in mass market paperback, $7.99)
I listened to this one
on audiobook and really enjoyed the suspense
and period detail. I'll definitely be adding
Tess Gerritsen to my list of authors to
watch. In this story, 1830's Boston meets
present day rural Massachusets when a human
skull turns up on the grounds of a new home.
A Kirkus Reviews starred review.
 The
Birthing House by Christopher Ransom
This psychological thriller
with supernatural overtones begins as a
story of possession and sexual obsession
and ends ultimately in murder, as a centuries-old
crime is reenacted in the present with devastating
consequences.
Trade paperback, $14.99,
to be released August 3, 2010.
 Last
Night at the Lobster by Stewart
O'Nan (Trade Paperback)
You know how you have
a book on your pile for ages and never seem
to get to it and then you pick it up and
read it straight through and think, "Hey,
that was great!" and wonder why you
waited so long to read it? That was my experience
with Last Night at the Lobster, a really
fun and funny book with a good bit of heart.
Chelsea
Cain is one of my new favorites for her
high suspense mysteries:
  
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 The
Hour I First Believed by
Wally Lamb
What
can I say, I just love Wally Lamb.
Now availalbe in Trade Paperback!
Annie
Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral
by Kris Radish
The
delivery of a UPS package with a pair
of red high top sneakers filled with
ashes and a note...the lives of 5
women will change forever.
As
they set off on a traveling funeral
for their friend Annie they encounter
miracles, fun, secrets, broken hearts
and second chances.
Annie
Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral
is a heartwarming, fun adventure that
I someday hope to go on.
Water
for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
This book
is fantastic. Gruen's depiction of
circus life in the dust bowl years
is gritty and realistic, her characters
drawn with bold , bright strokes.
On the surface Water for Elephants
is about the life of a young man whose
family is displaced from their home
leaving him uable to finish his Veterinary
education. In a moment of blind desperation
he hops a train which he soon learns
is owned by a second rate traveling
circus. He becomes the shows unoffficial
Vet and the self-appointed protector
of the lovely young equestrian star,
Marlena. The true hero of this story,
however, is the magnifcent Rosie the
Elephant. I also very much enjoyed
Gruen's two earlier books, Flying
Changes and Riding Lessons.
All are available in paperback.
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Chosen
by a Horse; A Memoir
by Susan Richards
For
everyone who has ever loved a horse
this one will really tug at your heart
strings. Susan tells the heartwarming
story of an abused woman and horse
who find each other and learn to love
and trust again. Having owned an abused
horse myself it brought back many
emotions of what we went through to
get to that place only to lose him
in the end.
Richard's latest book,
Saddled, How a Spirited Horse Reined
me in and Set Me Free, has just
arrived at the store.
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 Gallop
- A Scanimation Action Book by
Rufus Butler Seder
Kids will
love this ingenious "moving picture"
book of animals in motion. Reminiscent
of an old-fashioned kinetiscope. Check
out the amazing follow-up books,
Swing! and Waddle!
 Roger
Burrow's Images Travel Kit by Roger
Burrows
Burrows' distinctive
geometric designs from his innovative
Image series are included in this
fun pack. Comes with a 100-page book
with Wire-O binding and perforated
pages, a hardback lap board, colored
pencils in a pouch, and pencil sharpener.
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Here's a fun book
for anyone who loves to entertain...
I used ideas from this book to help
me decorate the tables for the 2008
Author Tea Retreats at Linden Hill
and everyone was really wowed by the
different napkin folds. The photos
do a great job of showing the folding
steps. Sometimes I completed them
without even referring to the written
instructions. This book has napkin
folds for both cloth and paper napkins,
and from simple to elegant to whimsical.
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Donna
Plante, Bookseller Emeritus
 I'm
currently enjoying a mix of Nordic
mysteries, American Westerns, and
memoirs that take me around the world.
I've always loved to travel and especially
enjoyed my visits to Russia, China,
Australia and New Zealand. These days
I find that the vicarious travel I
get from books is a little more in
my budget (but no less exciting).
I also love to do Jigsaw puzzles,
usally 1000 piece puzzles that keep
me up at night and busy for weeks.
Stop in at Bookin' It to see some
of the beautiful Sunsout Puzzles that
are available. Laura likes to stock
the ones that aren't square, but die-cut
to the shape of the animal image.
Tough, but really fun!
Donna
has been reading books so fast lately
I can hardly keep up with her new
Staff Picks. Here are three of her
recent recommendations soon to be
published:
  
New
York Times Bestselling author, Tana
French, (In the Woods, The Likeness)
returns with Faithful Place
set in Ireland. Pub. Date July 13,
2010.
Minnesota
favorites, PJ Tracy, are back with
a new Monkeewrench mystery. Shoot
To Thrill will be available sometime
in May.
Internationally
bestselling and award winning author,
Nathaniel Philbrick, writes about
Custer, Sitting Bull and The Battle
of Little Bighorn in The Last Stand.
Pib. DateMay 4, 2010.
Donna also recommends Philbrick's
earlier book, Mayflower.
 One
Good Dog by Susan Wilson,
March 2, 2010
By
now you've figured out that I love
dogs and - ergo - dog stories. And
I am here to tell you, I just loved
this book. A story of salvation in
the very best sense.
 The
Information Officer by
Mark Mills
Donna
recently read The Information Officer
and recommends it highly. she also
read and enjoyed Mills' Amagansett.
We like this review from Shelf Awareness
by Darwin Ellis:
"Pinched
between Nazis in Italy and in North
Africa, Malta--a speck of a British
colony--is taking a nightly pounding.
The function of the 'information'
officer is to keep up the morale of
the troops and local populace. But
how can he when there is a murderer
on the loose who might be a spy? "--Darwin
Ellis, Books on the Common, Ridgefield,
Conn.
 13
1/2 by Nevada Barr
Donna
says, "I couldn't put it down!"
Barr makes a departure from her popular
Anna Pigeon Mystery Series in the
taut psycholological thriller. Barr,
who once lived in Minnesota, spins
her fictional tale off actual events
of the 1970's, when a young boy murders
nearly his whole family. Set partially
in Rochester, MN, Barr draws on a
number of true crimes in constructing
her fictional character.
The
Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane,
A Novel by Katherine Howe
A Top IndieNext List Pick and
a Starred Review in Booklist
"The
Physick Book of Deliverance Dane"
travels seamlessly between the Salem
witch trials in the 1690s and a modern
woman's story of mystery and discovery.
Author Katherine Howe's ancestores
were among those accused of being
withches. The customer feedback
on this one has been fabulous!
June
9, 2009 Hardback Release
 Sworn
to Silence by Linda Castillo
(June 2009 Hardback)
Ohio. Amish country.
Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is
chasing a murderer through deep snow,
working a case that carries too closely
to her own past. Great characters,
well-paced, but reader beware...the
murders are brutal and graphically
described.
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 The
Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas
H. Cook June
2009
Two
usolved mysteries serve as the backdrop
to this unusual story which is part
mystery, part traveler's tale. I found
it to be "excellently good"
with a nice twist at the end. Publishers
Weekly, in a starred review, calls
Cook's work "eerily poignant."
 The
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley
A unique debut
-- an 1950's English Cozy-style murder
mystery featuring a precocious 11-year
old sleuth named Flavia de Luce. There
is a good reason this was the top
IndieNext Pick for April 2009. Now
available in paperback with a sequel
due this year as well.
Only those who
dislike precocious young heroines
with extraordinary vocabulary and
audacious courage can fail to like
this amazingly entertaining book.
Expect more from the talented Bradley.(Booklist)
 Tomato
Rhapsody by Adam Schell June
2009
Adam Schell invites
readers to join in the ribald and
at times bawdy hijinks of a 16th century
village in Tuscany as they celebrate
The Feast of the Drunken Saint. Told
with wry good humor, Rhapsody ridicules
the superstitions, prejudices, and
even the clergy in this inventive
fable of love and how the tomato came
to Italy.
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 The
Color of Lightning by Paulette
Jiles
This
well-written historical novel evolved
from a side-story that Jiles came
across while researching her highly
praised "Enemy Women". Jiles
expands on the story of Britt Johnson,
a freed slave who travels with his
family after the Civil War from Kentucky
to the dangerous Texas frontier.
 Dog
On It
by
Spencer Quinn
February 2009 Hardback Release Now
in Trade paper
Oh
what fun. Dog On It is narrated
by Chet, a very large and voluble
dog who is totally devoted to his
PI owner, Bernie. As Bernie's protector
and sidekick, Chet proves to be a
wonderful observer and readers will
enjoy his ironic dogs-eye-view of
Bernie's life and of life on the streets.
In their mystery debut, Bernie and
Chet are working on the case of a
missing teenager. While Bernie works
the case, Chet goes off on a few misadventures
of his own. Whether keeping eyes on
Bernie or using his wits to get himself
out of trouble, Chet shows himself
to be one of those great canine heroes
we'd all love to have on our side.
The sequel, Thereby Hangs The Tail,
just arrived!
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 The
Little Sleep, A Novel by Paul
Tremblay (Paperback origingal,
March 2009)
This
wickedly funny mystery features a
narcoleptic PI who gets into the darnedest
situations. Fantastic! I loved it.
Library
Journal Starred Review
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The
Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
(Hardback,
10/2009)
Ovee
the course of the past year, I have
discovered and enjoyed this wonderful
sereis by Louise Penny featuring Chief
Inspector Gamache. They are a traditional
village mystery set in Three Pines
in Canada. Reviewers call Penny's
mysteries "sophisticated"
and "literary", and refer
to her as a "world-class storyteller".
I heartily agree and The Brutal Telling
is her best yet.
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Books
for Kids ...lullabies, tall tales,
fun facts, lift-the-flaps, art projects;
think of us as a playground for your
child's mind!
Meet
our official store greeter....Jackson.
 Jackson
(a Schipperke/Schnauzer mix)
is our official store greeter. Jackson
likes to sit in our laps and listen
as we read aloud the newest children's
books. He's also an excellent doorbell.
Read
on to discover some of his favorites.....and
some of ours too.
Don't
Slam the Door! by Dori Chaconas
One slam begins a domino-effefct of
household chaos in this humorus read-aloud.
How
Rocket Learned to Read by Tad
Hills
An inspirational teacher opens Rocket's
world to words.
 Brontorina
by James Howe
She
may be big and doesn't have the right
shoes, but Brontorina is a ballerina
in her heart. A story about following
your dreams.
 Creak
Said the Bed by Phyllis
Root
On a dark, stormy night, Momma and
Poppa are sleeping peacefully until
Evie, Ivy and Moe want to climb into
their bed. But will there be room
for Fred? You won't want to miss this
great read-aloud.
Chalk
by Bill Thomson
A wonderfully illustrated wordless
story of what happens when three children
find a bag of chalk on the playground.
 Guess
Again
by Mac Barnett
Barnett's rhyming book asks kids to
fill in the missing word at the end
of each verse. Think you know the
answer? Guess again. Young ones will
enjoy this as a read-aloud.
 Step
Into Reading Level 2, Shampoodle
($3.99)
Filled with lively
dogs and plenty of laughs. Perfectly
written for first readers.
 A
Friend Like You by Tanja Askani
A Friend Like You is a great book
for kids showing friendship between
various animals. For fans of The
Blue Day Book, Owen and Mzee
or Stranger in the Woods. Features
delightful animal photographs that
will appeal to all ages.
Photographer Askani adopts orphaned
or injured animals, and under her
care, unexpected friendships form.
This collection of heartwarming photographs,
accompanied by simple text celebrating
the comforts and delights of friendship
is sure to appeal to anyone who loves
animals and appreciates a true friend.
Full color.
 Here
are three books that celebrate things
that Minnesotans love...rocks, moose
& loons.
  
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 Nico
& Lola; Kindness shared between
a boy and a dog by Meggan Hill
A
Staff and Midwest Connections Pick!
Great for teaching kids how to treat
a new puppy, an older family pet,
and also how we should all learn to
be "so kind" to each other.
Nico is asked to take care of Aunt
Sue's pug and finds it isn't so hard
to be kind if he just pays attention
to what Lola needs and what he'd want
in the same situation. Irresistable.
Gorgeuous photographs that will
appeal to fans of the Carl Sams series
Stranger in the Woods, Lost
in the Woods and First Snow
in the Woods.
Puffling by Margaret
Wild and Julie Vivas
Simple,
endearing text follows a young puffin
from birth to his first leap into
the big ocean. As he waits safe in
his nest from the scary gulls, he
asks each day when he will be big
and brave enough to leave home.
Gentle illustrations by Julie
Vivas reflect the muted tones and
foreshortened light of the artic regions.
Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice by
Judy Schachner
Skippyjon
Jones is back and his latest adventure
- a trip to Mars - is out of this
world.. A fun read aloud with tongue-twisting
alliteration and sprinklings of Spanish.
This Siamese cat who think he's a
chihuahua is a hoot!
Otis by Loren Long
This reminded
us of the classic "Mike Mulligan
and His Steam Shovel". A sweet
story for the very young about friendship
and loyalty. We love the muted palette
Long used for his illustrations.
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 I
Spy With My Little Eye Minnesota
by Kathy-Jo and Ed Wargin
Another winner
from Sleeping Bear Press. Included
in these pages are bright bold photographs,
Minnesota "Photo Facts",
search and find challenges and side
by side spot-the-difference photo
collages.
 Now
also: I Spy Hockey
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 Fancy
Nancy Fans TAKE NOTE! Goldilicious
is here!
In this enchanting
follow-up to her "New York Times"
bestsellers "Pinkalicious"
and "Purplicious," Kann
brings to life a magical new character--a
roller-skating, kite-flying, high-jumping
unicorn.
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These sweet
board books feature beautifully-sewn
felt finger puppets that pop out from
their family dwellings on every page.
A delight for babies and toddlers.
Also availalbe: In My Pond.
  
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 On
the Farm by David Elliot, illustrated
by Holly Meade
We are huge fans
of woodcuts and Holly Meade uses them
to bright and wonderful effect here.
Each spread features a farm animal
and a lively poem that aptly shows
the animal's character.
"New York
Times" bestselling author and
a Caldecott Honor-illustrator evoke
life on a farm with simple, lyrical
text and boldly expressive images.
Full color woodcuts.
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 Origami
Master by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
Shima the origami Master lives
on a mountain in Japan. One morning,
Shima finds a new origami animal on
his desk. The next day, another creature
appears. Who is making these wonderful
creatures? In finding his answer,
the master learns a wise lesson. Paper-cut
art illustrations by Aki Sogabe.
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 Shape
by Shape by Sue Macdonald
Bright simple shapes,
creative cut-outs, and a fun guessing
game make this book a great way to
learn shapes. Macdonald is a Caldecott
Honoree.
 Totty
a board book by Paola Opal (part
of the So Small Series of books)
Totty is the last
of the turtles to emerge from the
sand. So how does Totty become the
first of his siblings to reach the
sea? Told in simple, graphic pictures
and a minimum of words. A perfect
start for the littlest ones.
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 We
love The King's Taster by Kenneth
Oppel June 2009
Oppel appeals
to kids and parents alike in this
creatively illustrated book about
a beagle belongs to the Royal Cook
and is the official King's Taster.
When a new King is crowned, the cook
and his hound travel far and wide
to find foods to suit the new King's
taste.
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 Billy
Twitters and His Blue Problem
by Marc Barnett Illustrated by Adam
Rex (Frankenstein
Makes a Sandwich)
We're not sure
why Billy's Mother thinks buying him
a big blue whale as a pet is a suitable
punishment for not cleaning his room,
but one morning there it is - parked
just outside the house with his big
sleepy eye peering in the window.
What will Billy do with his new pet?
Fun, humor enough for the whole family,
and more cetacean facts tucked in
than you ever thought you needed to
know.
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 Fine
As We Are by Algy Craig Hall
The arrival of
a new sibling can be a time of uncertainty
for youngsters. This new book about
Little Frog's big brother experience
is one that parents and children will
enjoy time and time again
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Horns & Wrinkles by
Joseph Helgerson
One
hundred twenty miles south of Minneapolis,
tucked between the bluffs and sandbars
of the Mississippi River, is a place
where river trolls, rocks trolls and
ancient blue-wing fairies still practice
their magic barely hidden from the
modern world. When Claire and her
cousin, Duke, get mixed up with a
threesome of bumbling but almost likeable
river trolls, strange "riverish"
things start to happen. With Duke
growing a bully's horn and his parents
turned to stone, it is up to Claire
to unlock this riddle of missing miners,
falling stars and lucky crickets that
never tell the truth.
One
thinks of these type of fantasies
taking place on the moors in England
or amongst the celts of Ireland or
in some dark castle in a namelss country
far away. I like that Helgerson brings
the magic right into our own time
and to familiar territory.
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 Danny's
First Snow by Leonid Gore
Little Apple Goat prefers munching
apples, pears and cherries from the
farmer's orchard to munching grass.
But one stormy night, all of the orchard's
trees are blown down. How will Little
Apple Goat manage without her fruit?
After a while,
something mysterious begins to happen
on the farm.
Young readers will delight in this
sweetly illustrated tale.
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 Do
Unto Otters - A Book About Manners
by Laurie Keller
Adults at the book fair I was
at recently came over to my table
to see what all the laughter was about.
I just couldn't help it; Keller's
book is the best kids' intro to the
Golden Rule I've read. Rabbit is surprised
to discover that The Otters, have
moved in next door. He wonders if
he'll get along with his new neighbors
when his friend, Owl, reminds him
of the rule put forth by Socrates
for maintaining harmonious relationships.
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Of
Local Interest
Two
new books by local authors:
Awesome
Possum by Faye Sandy
Rural
Roots; A Memoir by Delores Thoma
 The
Minnesota Table
This
beautiful cookbook and travelogue includes
and interesting sidebar on the Franciscan
Sisters ofLittle Falls and an article on
the Annual Bethel Lutheran Lutefisk Supper
also in Little Falls.
Travel
along in spring, summer, fall, and winter
as we hunt morels, pick blueberries, winnow
wild rice, and come nose-to-nose with yaks,
elk, and bison. Meet gardening nuns and
artisan farmers who breathe color and warmth
into the argument for sustainable agriculture;
try new twists on classic and regional recipes
that take the pure flavors of fresh, local
ingredients to new heights. Recipes include
Grilled Rainbow Trout with Chive-lemon Pepper
Butter, Wild Rice Dried Cranberry Salad
with Clementine Vinaigrette, and MapleSugar
Creme Brulee.
Charming
watercolors and color photography illustrate
the stories and recipes.
 State
Fair - The Great Minnesota Get-Together
by Susan Lambert Miller
From 10,000 photos
shot over four years, Miller has selected
100 images that capture the fair's essence.
A delight for first-timers and annual-goers
both.
 Now
available, Lambert's Minnesota County
Fairs.
 Camp
Ripley 1930 - 1960
by Sandra
Alcott Erickson
The author of this book has served as the
administrator of the Minnesota Millitary
Museum, located at Camp Ripley, for the
last 13 years. This 127-page pictorial hisory
includes rare photographs of Camp Riply's
early history.
 Minnesota
13 - "Wet" Wild Prohibition Days
by Elaine Davis
Davis, a Professor
of Management at St Cloud State University,
has written a fascinating account of the
Prohibition era in Stearns County, Minnesota.
In these pages, you'll meet makers of moonshine,
bootleggers and gangsters. And, if you can
trace your heritage back to this part of
Minnesota, you might even meet your relatives!
 Minnesota
State Fair An Illustrated History
by Kathryn Strand Kolutsky & Linda Kolutsky
From the pair that brought us Minnesota
Eats Out and Minnesota Vacation Days
comes the newest title about the Great MN
Get-Together. Filled with wonderful photos,
this book is a must for every fair lover
and for those who've never been to the best
10 days of late summer.
 Land
of Amber Waters; the History of Brewing
in Minnesota by Doug Hoverson contains
a good deal of information on Little's Falls
Kiewel Brewing Company; richly illustrated.
LOCAL GRAD
PUBLISHED BY HARLEQUIN
Helen Brenna, 1979 Graduate of Little Falls
Community High School (Helen Twomey) was
in Little Falls this summer signing books
at Bookin' It. See our signed copies page
for titles available as signed stock. Helen's
book, Peak Performance, is available
now.
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Back
in Stock!
"About
Little Rock" The Story of a Small
Town Boy by Harvey Starr
 A
Place to Call Home; a memoir by
Faye Schreder of Sartell, MN $12.95
A
well-written and interesting book
filled with short anectodal stories
of growing up in rural Cental Minnesota
in the early 1940's.
Temporarily
Out of Stock.
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 SIGNED
copies still available.
Legends
& Legacies; Fish Stories from
Northern Minnesota
- A History of the Nisswa Guides'
League by Ray Gildow, Published by
Evergreen Pres, May 2005, $24.95
Broken Hart; Small Town, Short Stories
by Jerry Mevissen of Nimrod, MN
Jerry
is just a great guy and we hope you'll
give his book a look. Jerry's earlier
book is The Nimrod Chronicles.
Jerry is a very active member tof
the Jackpine Writers' Bloc.
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We've been
wanting to offer this Classic Minnesota
CD by Fyder and Everhart for some
time and AT LAST they are here...Goin'
Up North is the perfect
gift for Minnesotans in exhile, hardy
northwoods fishermen, or the family
comedian. Goin' Up North
pairs beautifully for Father's Day
with the recently released book, Legends
& Legacies (above). Funny,
poignant, and always distinctly Minnesotan...Fyder
and Everhart are singer/songwriters
that know the human heart and illuminate
the humorous moments in our everyday
lives. Also availalbe: Hooks and
As Is; solo CD's by Glen Everhart.
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Written
by long-time Little Falls art teacher,
Ren Holland, the book is about the
search for the source of the Mississippi
River, the early days of Itasca State
Park, and life in the area around
the park. Of more general interest
are stories of rural schools and logging.
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Long Prairie's resident poet, Dave
Bengtson (Broken Lines),
chats with visiting author Sheila
O' Connor (Where No Gods Came)at
a book signing at Bookin' It in the
fall of 2003. Bengston's poetry was
recently selected to be aired on Garriosn
Keillor's Writer's Almanac
and in U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's
American Life in Poetry.
Learn more about David Bengtson's
poetry and readings at: http://web.mac.com/dbengtson1
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Local Historian Maurice Faust spends
his retirement heralding the towns
and events of Morrison County:
 Beyond
the Horizon - A Collage of World Wide
Adventure is a collection of stories
from the varied travels of Maurice
and his wife, Maggie. Join this adventurous
couple as they roam from Norway to
Mexixo, Jamaica to Hudson Bay to discover
the gifts of other cultures.
The
Great Experiment: Prohibition
in the United States and Central Minnesota
is a look at the days of stills, blind
pigs, moonshine and rum-runners and
the failed attempt to make the country
dry.
Aitkinsville to Zerf
is an alphabetical tour through
the early history of immigrants putting
down permament roots in Morrison County...from
paper towns, platted and still on
record to towns that showed great
early promise only to fail to towns
held together by the glue of religion,
their original churches still in use
today.
Pounded By Tramps:
A Probe Into the Dark Side of Local
History includes accounts
of lynchings, hangings, brutal murders,
bounty hunters, sheriff's posses and
crime on freight trains.
Remember, No Electricity;
A Reminiscence is Faust's
most personal book. Faust recalls
his years growing up in Agram township
and tells tales of card games and
shopping at the JC Penney where your
change was hoisted down from the office
above on a cable.
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Moving personal
account of frontier women left behind
in Minnesota when their husbands went
west to prospect for gold in Colorado
and Montana in the mid-1800s.
"These
richly detailed letters portray the
lives of many 'widows,' who share
their fears and hopes, and also provide
a vivid description (from James) of
life in the mining communities."
-- CHOICE
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Lindbergh Looks
Back; A Boyhood Reminiscence by
Charles A. Lindbergh, Foreword by Reeve
Lindbergh
Lindbergh's personal and intimate
recollection of his boyhood days on his
family's Minnesota farm on the banks of
the Mississippi River.
With remarkable detail,
warmth, and accuracy, Charles A. Lindbergh--aviator,
author, scientist, and conservationist--recalls
the boyhood experiences that led to his
later life of international fame and significant
achievement. Lindbergh introduces readers
to the curly-haired boy and serious-minded
youth who grew to manhood from 1902 to 1920
on a farm along the banks of the upper Mississippi
River near Little Falls, Minnesota. There,
long before the Spirit of St. Louis and
its celebrated flight, he learned the country
ways that nourished his love of the natural
world and its preservation, inspired his
practical knowledge of working machinery,
and revealed the importance of careful observation
and perseverance.
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