Obama book-buying binge includes 3 Minn. authors

When President Obama and his daughters bought a stack of books Saturday, three of the 21 titles were written by Minnesota authors.

December 2, 2013 at 3:33PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

While you were out shopping on Saturday, doing your bit for small businesses and indie bookstores, the President was following your lead. He and his daughters popped into their local indie, Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., and hauled a pile of 21 books up to the counter.

Lots of worthy books in that stack, some of which were recommended by staff--everything from the classic "Harold and the Purple Crayon" to the much-admired "The Lowland," by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Also in the pile: "Flora & Ulysses," by Minneapolis writer Kate DiCamillo, which was on the long-list for the National Book Award, and "Heart of a Samurai," by Duluth writer Margi Preus, a Newbery Honor Book a couple of years back.

And, of course, "Wild," by McGregor native and UM grad Cheryl Strayed, which might make him officially the last person in the country to read that best-selling memoir.

Here's the full list, courtesy of the Washington Post, which credits the Christian Science Monitor, which credits the White House:

"Half Brother" by Kenneth Oppel

"Heart of a Samurai" by Margi Preus

"Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo

"Jinx" by Sage Blackwood

"Lulu and the Brontosaurus" by Judith Viorst and Lane Smith

"Ottoline and the Yellow Cat" by Chris Riddell

"Moonday" by Adam Rex

"Journey" by Aaron Becker

"The Lowland" by Jhumpa Lahiri

"Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson

"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" by Anthony Marra

"The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance" by David Epstein

"Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football" by Nicholas Dawidoff

"Ballad of the Sad Cafe: And Other Stories" by Carson McCullers

"My Antonia" by Willa Cather

"Ragtime" By E.L. Doctorow

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

"Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka

"All That Is" by James Salter

"Wild: From Lost to Found On the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed

about the writer

about the writer

Laurie Hertzel

Senior Editor

Freelance writer and former Star Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel is at lauriehertzel@gmail.com.

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