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A quick look at recent releases
Book review: fiction
Novel digs into pain, power of choices
Photographer Alec Malone chose not to follow his father into politics, chose not to cover the war in Vietnam. And now, years later, he is forced to question whether he has lived a life without meaning.
Photo right: Exiles in the GardenBy: Ward Just
Book review: Nonfiction
What goes down when a plane crashes?
The author was a passenger on a plane that crashed on Cape Cod in 1979. Now he looks up other survivors and rescue workers to hear how the crash affected them.
Photo right: Down Around MidnightBy: Robert Sabbag
Book review: Nonfiction
Their hometown is anywhere
A former "Relo" looks at the stark and perfect suburbs that have sprung up to accommodate itinerant executives, who move from "burb to burb" as they pursue their careers.
Photo right: Next Stop, RelovilleBy: Peter T. Kilborn
Book review: Nonfiction
From 1609 storm, a tale of strength
A tremendous hurricane off the coast of Bermuda in 1609 might have been the inspiration for one of Shakespeare's plays.
Book review: Fiction
Break from the Ya-Yas is a little too boring
Alien abduction? A major concussion? It's hard to know what happened to the Rebecca Wells who came up with a world like the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, the author whose depiction of skinny-dipping in the town water tower made millions of women's sides split with laughter.
Online teasers precede new Dan Brown novel
The promotion for Dan Brown's new thriller will itself be a bit of a puzzle.
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The Latest from the local scene
History in black & white Minnesota on display
Turner Publishing Co. has seen a lot of success in recent years with its steady stream of historic photo books. And why not? They're nice books, big and heavy, with sharp reproductions of old photos that have been locked away for decades in libraries and historical society vaults. In the past few years Turner has published photo books about most major cities (including, diplomatically, separate books on Minneapolis and St. Paul) as well as about people and events (Chicago crime, Ernest Hemingway, various Civil War battles).
"Historic Photos of Minnesota" has just been published (205 pages, $39.95), a heavy, square book like the others, fat with black-and-white pictures from the Library of Congress, the Minnesota Historical Society, and various Twin Cities newspapers. It was compiled and written by Susan Marks, a Minneapolis writer, who will be at Har Mar Barnes & Noble in Roseville at 7 p.m. Thursday to sign books.
Also ...
• The finalists for the Great Lakes Book Awards have been announced, and they include Spike Carlsen of Stillwater for "A Splintered History of Wood," David Wroblewski for "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle," and Wisconsin's Michael Perry for "Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting." To qualify, books must have been published between June 2008 and May 2009. Nominations are limited to writers who live around the Great Lakes or set their books there. Winners will be announced in August.
• Cork O'Connor fans, listen up: "Heaven's Keep," by William Kent Krueger, is coming out in September with Atria Books. Will Krueger kill off Cork's wife, Jo? Hmmm. ... The jacket copy seems to imply so, but ...
• Former Twin Citian Jessica Hopper (now of Chicago) is the author of "Girls' Guide to Rocking: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom," published by Workman Publishing. She'll be at Magers & Quinn in Uptown Minneapolis at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to sign books. She'll be introduced by Laurie Lindeen from the band Zuzu's Petals. Lindeen is the author of a memoir, "Petal Pusher," out last fall in paperback.
Recommendations that everyone should read
Coming up with this list sent Paul Danicic yearning for a monthlong canoe trip with a pile of books. Danicic is executive director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a Minneapolis-based organization whose mission is to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as the Quetico-Superior Ecosystem. Here are the books he'd stow in his Duluth pack, and why:
"The Singing Wilderness" by Sigurd Olson
Jim Eyer, Brooklyn Park: Through my volunteer work at the Children's Literature Research Collections at the Andersen Library, I have discovered a number of authors who write for children, but whose work appeals to me as an adult -- Patrice Kindl, E.L. Konigsburg and Madeleine L'Engle, to name a few. One also can't go wrong reading the Newbery winners. What's on your nightstand? E-mail us at lhertzel@startribune.com
Season concluded: Pultizer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove’s appearance May 11 concluded this season of Talking Volumes, the community book club sponsored by the Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center. Dove read from and talked about her new poetry volume, “Sonata Mulattica.” This season featured bestselling novelists Richard Russo (October) and Wally Lamb (November), critically acclaimed nonfiction author Michael Greenberg (February) and Dove. Also appearing were popular young-adult writer Sandra Cisneros and legendary poet Nikki Giovanni.
Watch this space for news about writers who will appear this fall on Talking Volumes.
Here are some of Books Editor Laurie Hertzel's favorite sites and blogs. Got a literary link to share? E-mail Laurie.
- 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.
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