So the tallying has been done and it's ... a tie? For the past six years, Minneapolis and Seattle have duked it out for the title of "most literate." Back and forth the two have gone, trading places, bumping between No. 1 and No. 2. And this year, they're dead even.

The annual study looks at what it calls "indicators of literacy" -- that is, it doesn't measure how much we read, but the available resources -- bookstores, libraries, newspaper circulation. Newspaper circulation. That one makes me happy.

St. Paul ranks fourth, after Washington, D.C. (Ah, well, my town is used to being a little behind Minneapolis.)

The study is done by the Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn.

Also ...

• "National Monuments," a collection of poetry by Heid E. Erdrich, has been published by Michigan State University Press (106 pages, $14). Erdrich is the author of "Fishing for Myth," published by New Rivers Press.

• "On the Hunt: The History of Deer Hunting in Wisconsin," by Robert C. Willging, has been published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press (292 pages, $26.95). The book explores traditions and histories of deer hunting and is illustrated with old black-and-white photos.

• Catherine Urdahl of Shorewood has written "Emma's Question," a picture book recently published by Charlesbridge Publishing.

• Scarletta Press of Minneapolis has published "Written on the Knee: A Diary From the Greek-Italian Front of World War II" ($16.95). The diary, kept by a Greek doctor named Theodore Electris as a document for his wife, was translated by his daughter, Helen Electrie Lindsay.

• Twin Cities rapper Dessa (real name: Maggie Wander) has published "Spiral Bound," a collection of essays, with Doomtree Press. Dessa is a recipient of a Jerome Foundation grant and her poetry has been nominated for two Minnesota Music Awards. The book sells for $11.99.