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Shreve scales marital discord

Another engrossing Anita Shreve novel about adventure in Africa, and a marriage in turmoil.

Holiday books 2009

Our annual offering of the season's best, from our staffers and reviewers. We've picked the most tempting titles.

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The browser: A quick look at recent releases

How do people resume being a family when an important member dies? That is the problem facing Kate Cavanaugh and her two kids after her husband dies at 42.

McCain: Tension between aides, Palin 'no big deal'

U.S. Sen. John McCain said Saturday that he enjoyed reading running mate Sarah Palin's new memoir and downplayed any tension between their campaign aides as "no big deal."

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"Going Rogue" is going big

Minnesota native wins book award

T.J. Stiles given nonfiction prize for his biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Photo right: T.J. Stiles, author

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Want to flash-read Palin's book?

The Associated Press electronically scanned the book, "Going Rogue," and, using software to highlight the most common words, created a "word cloud" that captures the book in a nutshell.

Going back to the shack

Shelter doesn't get much cruder, but that's not the point: The seasonal sanctuary for deer hunters serves just fine as as a launch point, warming house and social dining room.

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Talking Volumes: Stephen King on his first novel 'Carrie'

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Fans of Horowitz's Alex Rider get green light for adventure

Laurie Hertzel

You might know Anthony Horowitz as the guy behind the BBC-TV series "Foyle's War." But kids know him as the author of the Alex Rider books, international best-selling adventure novels that have been called "the not-so-secret weapon" in getting boys to read. To launch his newest book, "Crocodile Tears," Horowitz has planned a series of events nationwide that allow kids to "be" Alex Rider by posing for a photo in front of a green screen and then uploading the photo to the Web. (And apparently the resulting pictures will look for all the world as if the kids are falling into the mouths of crocodiles.) The Twin Cities green screen event will be at 1 p.m. next Sunday at the Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka. Two autographed copies of "Crocodile Tears" will be raffled off.

Also ...

• If you've never heard Adam Hochschild speak, you need to get to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. The author of "King Leopold's Ghost" will read at 7:30 p.m. -- and a graceful, intelligent speaker he is. He'll be there as part of the Edelstein-Keller Visiting Writers Series. Free.

•This week's literary scavenger hunt question: Which Minnesota poet ran for president five times and once said, "If any of you are secret poets, the best way to break into print is to run for the presidency"? This week's bookstores: Minnesota History Center Store, 245 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, and Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake. Note that next Sunday's clue will not appear in the Star Tribune but you can find it online at http:// twincitieslit.wordpress.com

• First published in 1936, "Tales From a Finnish Tupa," by James Cloyd Bowman and Margery Bianco, has been re-released by the University of Minnesota Press. The Finnish folkstories were translated by Aili Kolehmainen.

• "Total Oblivion, More or Less," a novel by Twin Cities writer Alan DeNiro, will be published in December by Spectra.

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News and views about Twin Cities arts and entertainment.

The poet comes home. A look, in words and video, at Minnesota's poet laureate.

See all 5 Books columns.

Dianna Fuller, Plymouth

"Beneath a Marble Sky" by John Shors is on my bedside table. Lauren, a friend of mine who is a voracious reader, recommended it. It is a historical novel about the building of the Taj Mahal. It is romantic, adventurous and educational. It was a delight to read!

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The new season: Five literary heavyweights are coming for the 10th season, with a theme of the big social novel. That’s certainly true of James Ellroy’s “Blood’s a Rover,” a giant political noir that tears into the conspiracy theories, eccentric behavior, paranoia and chaotic violence of the late 1960s. Read an interview with Ellroy in the Star Tribune Sept. 20, and see him live at the Fitzgerald Theater Oct. 7. Other big names in the 2009-10 lineup include Barbara Kingsolver (Nov. 11), Stephen King and Audrey Niffenegger (together on Nov. 18) and Monica Ali (May 19, 2010). All shows at 7 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Theater. Tickets are $20 per event ($18 for Star Tribune subscribers and members of Minnesota Public Radio and the Loft Literary Center) and are available through the box office at the Fitzgerald, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, 651-290-1221. Season-pass buyers get all four shows for the price of three. Update: The King and Kingsolver appearances are sold out.

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.