Minnesota Readers discussion

Hello everybody,

I thought it would be fun to start a thread about books from, about, and connected to Minnesota! Okay, let's go:

Of course, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis are both from Minnesota.

Marlon James, the author of A Brief History of Seven Killings (which won the Man Booker Prize 2015), teaches at MacAlester College in St. Paul.

This year, Minnesotan Emily Fridlund got longlisted for the Booker with History of Wolves.

Nathan Hill, author of The Nix, used to teach at St. Thomas University in St. Paul.

...and I am desperately trying to get a hold of Al Franken, Giant of the Senate, which proves to be almost impossible when you are living in Germany! :-(

What books connected to Minnesota do you know? ...

This will be a fun thread! To name a few ...

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.
Also his Cork O'Connor series. (16 books)
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens
He also has a series that is on my tbr and

Roger Stelljes His McRyan mystery series (6 books)

As a part of their "The United States of Books" series, Penguin released a list of books connected to MN:

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the...

Nathan Jorgenson
Mike Lein

Ha, I finally got a kindle so I could get a hold of Al Franken, Giant of the Senate - yippieh!! :-)

Louise Erdrich I want to read more of her books

I've read and

Little House on the Prairie

Garrison Keillor

Indian Boyhood by Charles Alexander Eastman. He was born in Minnesota. The book references the Minnesota massacre that broke up his home.

I just finished
A pretty good mystery set in Minneapolis.

That looks good, thanks for posting.

...and of course the protagonist of Stephen King's new novel The Institute, Luke, hails from Minneapolis!

Meike wrote: "...and of course the protagonist of Stephen King's new novel The Institute, Luke, hails from Minneapolis!"

I saw that! Quite a change for King, who usually sets his books on the east coast.

Doughgirl5562 wrote: "I saw that! Quite a change for King, who usually sets his b..."

...guess where the title-giving institute is located! :-)

Purgatory Ridge
Great series

William Kent Krueger is a great author, I have 4 more books and then I'll be done with the series. :(

WKK just published (9/19) This Tender Land. Really good book, my favorite 5 star read for 2019.

This Tender Land was so good! (Although I thought that Ordinary Grace even better.) I purchased the ebook of This Tender Land on the day that it was published - which I hardly ever do.

I just started the audio of The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal. I think it's going to be a winner also.

Meike wrote: "Doughgirl5562 wrote: "I saw that! Quite a change for King, who usually sets his b..."

...guess where the title-giving institute is located! :-)"

Where??? Don't make me guess!

I just started Monkeewrench/P.J. Tracy set in MPLS and Wisconsin

Karen Kay wrote: "I just started Monkeewrench/P.J. Tracy set in MPLS and Wisconsin"

Enjoy! The first Monkeewrench book is one of the best mystery / thrillers that I have read. It's quite a ride!

Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Karen Kay wrote: "I just started Monkeewrench/P.J. Tracy set in MPLS and Wisconsin"

Enjoy! The first Monkeewrench book is one of the best mystery / thrillers that I hav..."

It was good!

I just started Live Bait/P.J. Tracy book 2 in the Monkeewrench series

Oh, there's a new novel by Louise Erdrich, and it's great: The Night Watchman

I'm currently trying to read The Night Birds/Thomas Maltman. It's been a struggle.

Just finished American Assassin I read this out of order, so I already knew the outcome for some characters. It would have been more exciting if I read this one first.

I read a bunch of books about Hubert H. Humphrey last year. His autobiography, Education Of A Public Man: My Life and Politics, was good, but Carl Solberg's biography, Hubert Humphrey: A Biography, was outstanding. Well written and with a real feel for its subject. It was one of those books that made you feel like you'd spent time with the subject. By contrast, I thought Arnold A. Offner's new biography, Hubert Humphrey: The Conscience of the Country, was quite dry.

I also read The Vikings Reader to get up to speed on the team's history. Well worth a read if you've any interest in them, it is made up of contemporary articles covering their history. It contains a great joke too, describing the Vikings as 'The Harold Stassen of professional football'.

kitchens of the great midwest by Stradal
MaryJanice Davidson has moved to MN after scoping it out for a novel

That looks like a fun, light read

The Minnesota Stories of Sinclair Lewis

I added this to the "Currently Reading" discussion, but its also relevant here. It appears to be a collection of his short stories and well received. Can't recommend it yet, however if you are a Sinclair Lewis fan, you should find something in this.