Book Culture in the Twin Ports
Poster of MN Bookstores
So today, I stopped by the Amazing Alonzo used bookshop. It was my second used bookstore adventure in two weeks, and it makes me think about book culture in the Twin Ports.
Poster of MN Bookstores
So today, I stopped by the Amazing Alonzo used bookshop. It was my second used bookstore adventure in two weeks, and it makes me think about book culture in the Twin Ports.
Two books lead the list of recommended local reads this fall: One is a new book by Duluth’s outgoing mayor, which will no doubt generate tons of attention before anyone fully reads it. The other is an impressive memoir published back in March by a humble Lakesider, which deserves to be held up next to Duluth’s highest ranking literary office.
Hey! A little late here with the news, but The Duluth Grill Cookbook has been picked up by Barnes & Noble in all Minnesota and Wisconsin stores. This is fun. My favorite news appearance was in Madison, not the least because they told me right at the last minute they’d love to see a cooking demo. I was not prepared for a cooking demo.
Duluth-based writer Margi Preus and illustrator Rick Allen were among the winners of the 27th annual Minnesota Book Awards, announced at a ceremony in St. Paul on Saturday.
Visit Duluth Public Library’s One Book, One Community page and cast your vote for a book to be selected for this reading program. My suggestion: Support, Linda Grover’s The Dance Boots. Grover is the only local author on the shortlist, and this award-winning set of stories is perfect for this honor. (You might also check out Grover’s hot-of-the-press novel The Road Back to Sweetgrass.)
“Well I never!” What a way to start the day. Here at Loaves & Fishes on Jefferson Street, someone decided to set our Little Free Book Library on fire this morning! An officer happened to be driving by and she noticed flames emanating from the library so she stopped, grabbed her fire extinguisher, and extinguished the flames. Who thinks it’s a good idea to burn free books? Seriously.
Celebrating books about northeastern Minnesota published in 2013. Send one book plus $25 nomination fee to UMD Kathryn A. Martin Library. Winners will be announced May 22.
It’s been more than a year since the first post on Perfect Duluth Day about Little Free Libraries, and the trend seems to be growing. So now it’s time to update the list and include some photos to show what’s out there.
Little Free Libraries, of course, are boxes full of books where anyone may stop by and pick some up or drop some off.
(As usual, click on these photos to see them larger.)
997 84th Ave. W. (Morgan Park neighborhood)
Steve & Janelle Schoenbauer, Stewards #2336
16 E. Seventh St. (Central Hillside neighborhood)
Colin Engstrom, Steward #8416
1612 E. Skyline Parkway (East Hillside neighborhood)
John Pastor, Steward #2278
I’m a writer who grew up in Duluth and use the city as part of the setting for a middle-grade ghost adventure called Johnny Graphic and the Etheric Bomb. Johnny is a 12-year-old news photographer who lives in an alternative universe in 1935, in which Duluth is called Zenith. Ghosts are real in this world and a few of them have something very nasty in mind for the city. The book is available as a print-on-demand paperback and e-book through Barnes and Noble and other online retailers. Right now, I’m also giving paperback copies away through Goodreads, for any readers who may belong. The book’s website is johnnygraphicadventures.com.
Someone asked on Twitter today if there are any Little Free Libraries in the Twin Ports. So, are there any around?
(While reading the blog, I noticed that Claire wrote an article for Publishers Weekly on the movement … maybe you might know?)
Hello, Kyle Elden here. A book of my poetry is going to be published and released this October. I am collaborating with local painter Kate Whittaker to create a coffee-table-style book with my poems and her paintings throughout.
I just bought and read Proctor native Scott Jurek’s new book Eat and Run and really enjoyed it. As you may know Scott is a dominant athlete in the weird world of ultramarathons and has won many major 50, 100, 135 and 150 mile foot races world wide. He also changed from a backwoods meat-and-potato childhood diet to become a vegan and world-class athlete. His story is an amazing journey of a person who really applies himself and finds the will to complete and win distances most of us cannot imagine running. The book is not an ego trip, preachy, nor attacks omnivores, but rather relates his story and personal thoughts about training, running and racing and the positive effects of a plant-based diet. He includes simple vegan recipes in each chapter.
World Book Night USA will be celebrated on Monday, April 23, which is also William Shakespeare’s birthday. On World Book Night, thousands of people all across the USA will give away free copies of one of 30 titles. That’s right, free books. It’s all part of an international effort to promote print books and literacy and reading.
A 7-year-old boy in Duluth created something called International Book Giving Day last year. This year the effort is actually going international. It’s on Feb. 14, a great alternative to Valentine’s Day. Since it’s kind of a blog-driven initiative I thought I’d link to my post about it here.
Urban Girl Interrupted: Duluth boy’s vision goes global
And There Shall Be Wars is a worthy addition to any World War II library.
When the Twin Towers were struck and fell on my birthday ten years ago, 9/11 was immediately being compared to another Day of Infamy sixty years earlier. What’s striking about the two events is how differently the news reached us. In 2001 Americans across the land were glued to their TV sets seeing replays of the horror and hearing commentaries of related unfolding events as they happened, with varying degrees of accuracy but instantly. With Internet access we could also watch reactions from around the world. Information about the 1941 attack came home to us in a far different manner, as this book excerpt shows.
