Rebecca Kanner goes behind the scenes to retell Esther’s story
Readers of romance, suspense, literary history, books about royals and “The Hunger Games” and “Game of Thrones” fans would find it just as juicy.
Amy Goetzman
Amy Goetzman writes about books, authors, libraries and the Twin Cities literary scene.
Artist/writer Steven Lang works in Traveling Museum on shores of Silver Lake
“This is my home for the season, and they thought of everything I’d need,” said Steven Lang, showing off the Rural Arts Initiative’s portable, multipurpose art space.
‘I Live Inside’: Michelle Leon on her life as a bassist in Babes in Toyland
“I had an amazing, incredible time with the band, but I maybe didn’t realize what it all meant until I began writing about it,” says Leon.
Wild-rice ecologist urges Minnesotans to go outside
In this absorbing, highly approachable look at natural history and ecology, John Pastor shows us that Minnesota’s landscape is rich and tightly interconnected.
‘Women of Mayo Clinic’: Turns out they were critically important
A group of Franciscan sisters spent years working and saving money to buy the land and build the original Mayo campus building, St. Mary’s Hospital. They were just the first women important to the Mayo.
Bikepacking poet Ben Weaver makes a life in art
Weaver writes, illustrates, prints and binds his books of poetry by hand. (He has also recorded eight albums of music.)
Design firm invents a book of Minnesota inventions
“We spend a lot of time indoors hiding out from the weather, and I really believe that makes Minnesotans more inventive,” says Replace founder Jeff Johnson.
Anton Treuer writes the first history of Red Lake Nation
“Warrior Nation: A History of the Red Lake Ojibwe” (Minnesota Historical Society Press) details a 250-year stretch of political history.
Still in legal limbo despite ‘Wedding Heard ‘Round the World’
Jack Baker and Michael McConnell write the biography of their love story, complete with legal struggles.
The mother-in-law is here to stay in an Iranian-Minnesotan marriage
In this humorous, richly detailed portrait of a family, that long, awkward visit turns out to be a gift.
Chris Martin organizes chaos through poetry
Martin’s third book of poems, “The Falling Down Dance” (Coffee House Press), centers on what he calls the “ecstasy and agony of parenthood.”
In Beth Dooley’s memoir, the focus is on food
Dooley’s love for cooking began at her grandmother’s side, and her cooking and need to connect with farmers comes from the Victory Garden generation.
The Birchwood Café shares recipes, aims for connection
The book is divided into eight, not four seasons: Spring, Summer, Scorch, Autumn, Dusk, Frost, Winter and Thaw. We are now, by the way, in Dusk, a pre-hibernation, post-harvest phase.
Larry Millett makes the case for saving midcentury architecture
Millett has created the definitive book on the midcentury era in Minnesota, including residential, public and commercial designs.
Chuck Logan and the death spiral of the mid-list author
His latest book, “Fallen Angel,” features an Iraqi war pilot who returns to civilian life, but can’t move on until she sorts out memories of an incident that took the life of a friend.
Alexandria-born writer revisits the Kensington Rune Stone
In his book, “Myths of the Rune Stone,” David M. Krueger examines the role the rune stone played in the formation of a Minnesotan cultural identity.
How’d they pull that off? Cathy de Moll and the unbelievable logistics of arctic exploration
Cathy de Moll describes the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that made the International Trans-Antarctica Expedition possible.
J. Ryan Stradal deconstructs Midwestern cuisine in his food-loving, anti-foodie novel
Eva Thorvald, the central character of his novel, has a “once in a lifetime palate.” She cooks food so exquisite people that people weep over their plates.
Faith Sullivan’s new Harvester novel pays homage to British humorist
“Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse” follows schoolteacher Nell Stillman for six decades, during which Sullivan afflicts her with a variety of horrors.
Catherine Madison discovers her father’s untold Korean War story
After her father’s death, Madison was cleaning out his office and discovered an Army manila envelope labeled “The Whole Story!” hidden under a drawer.
