🦋 Little Thistle book fair, Ann Patchett review and MN remembers Dolly 
Follow the clues
 
The Thread
 
Guess this writer

As autumn arrives, I have a new game to test your readerly recall. Don’t worry! The mystery character will still appear.

But take a turn with this new challenge. It’s called:  I am a writer.  Who am I?

I am a writer who wrote an epic poem that addresses class and social good and art and my rhymes and phrases are still declaimed in college classrooms.

I am a writer who knew the pain of a chronic illness and endured months of isolation but my work was expansive and imaginative.

I am a writer who married in secret but whose great love is still celebrated by romantics around the world.

I am a writer who can count the ways I inspired some of literature's greats, including Emily Dickinson.

And I am a writer whose work was unfinished when I met my end.
Need I remind you, dear readers, that AI’ing these clues is only cheating yourselves? 🙂

When you have a guess, email me at:  kmiller@MPR.org.

— Kerri Miller, MPR News
 
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Talking Volumes is back!
Hosted by award-winning journalists MPR News Kerri Miller and Catharine Richert, each evening offers an in-depth conversation with an author about their latest books, their creative process and the stories shaping our lives.
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🐛📚 Local bookworm events

  • The Thinking Spot Read with Mata, Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m. Wayzata
  • Cherry Street Books and Country Blossom Farm present Pages + Pie Bingo, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m., Country Blossom Farm Outdoor Tent, Alexandria 
  • Avant Garden Bookstore romance book club, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m., Anoka
  • Zenith Bookstore author talk with William Kent Krueger, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m., Clyde Iron Works in Duluth
  • Little Thistle Brewing Co. book fair, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m., Rochester
  • Foxes & Fireflies Booksellers book signing with Samantha Hayes, Sept. 5 at 1 p.m., Superior, Wis.
  • Tropes & Trifles book release party with Ann Aguirre, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Rolling Chapters pop-up at Coffee Cabin, Sept. 6 at 9 a.m., Cottage Grove
  • Long Live the Bookstore new name launch & book bike unveiling, Sept. 6 at 10 a.m., Minneapolis
  • The Thinking Spot nonfiction book club, Sept. 6 at 2 p.m., Wayzata
  • Black Garnet Books social reading hour, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m., St. Paul
  • The Enchanted Quill spicy book club, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m., North Branch
  • Red Balloon Bookshop The (Not So) Yound Adult Book Club, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m., Zoom
  • Avant Garden Bookstore LGBTQIA+ book club, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m., Anoka
  • Comma, a bookshop romance book club, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Moon Palace Books Sex Science Happy Hour, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m., Fulton Taproom in Minneapolis
  • Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery Sister Wolf Book Group, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m., Park Rapids
  • Story Line Books essentials book club, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m., St. Paul
  • Magers & Quinn Booksellers author talk with Chad Anderson, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., Minneapolis
  • SubText Bookstore author talk with William Kent Krueger, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., The University Club of St. Paul
  • Cream & Amber audiobook walking club, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m., Hopkins
  • Next Chapter Booksellers silent book club, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m., St. Paul
  • Inkwell Booksellers Company story lab, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Well Read Books book club, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m., Elk River
  • Bruyere Books & Tea The Golden Path: A Writing Journey for the Spiritual Seeker, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m., Lindstrom
  • Lake Country Booksellers author talk with Glenn Hayen and Glynae L. Deschene, Sept. 11 at 9 a.m., White Bear Lake
  • Strive Bookstore book reading with Sewit Eskinder, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Once Upon A Crime author talk with Lucinda Berry, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Boneshaker Books zine club, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., Minneapolis
  • The Enchanted Quill birthday party, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m., North Branch
  • Zenith Bookstore storytime with Jonathan Thunder, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m., Duluth
  • Foxes & Fireflies Booksellers book launch with Madilynn Powers and Wyatt Phillips, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m., Superior, Wis.
  • MN Bookstagam meet-up, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m., St. Paul Brewing
  • Drury Lane Books author talk with Ryan Rogers, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., Grand Marais Public Library 
  • The Loft Literary Center author talk with Hieu Minh Nguyen, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., Minneapolis
  • Valley Bookseller Boozy Book Festival, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m., Big Wood Brewery in Vadnais Heights
  • Fox Den Books shelf indulgent book club, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m., River Falls, Wis.
  • Big Hill Books Mischief & Mystery Book Club, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m., Minneapolis
Email sstroozas@mpr.org to have your literary event added to the list.
 
🤔 What's the newsroom reading?

I am an unabashed Ann Patchett fan (isn’t everyone who reads this newsletter?). But I’ll be honest, I wasn’t immediately drawn into Whistler, her latest novel.

To start, the horse on the cover gave me pause since Patchett is at her finest when creating layered, complex characters. But never fear, the horse isn’t the focus of the story. The protagonist is Daphne Fuller, a woman in her 50s who reconnects with her former stepdad she hasn’t seen in decades, ever since a traumatic event both were involved in. I hate spoilers so I won’t give away the rest of the plot. The story starts out slowly because Patchett takes her time developing these nuanced characters, but it’s a slow burn that unfolds in a beautifully satisfying way.

If you’re an audiobook lover, you know that Patchett has the cache to get big stars to narrate her books, including Meryl Streep for "Tom Lake" and Tom Hanks for "The Dutch House." But Patchett narrates "Whistler" herself, and she doesn’t disappoint.

— Laura McCallum, editor
📰 Bite-sized Minnesota book news

  • Sappho's Social Club is hosting its inaugural book fair this month! The Twin Cities based social club is dedicated to creating free and low cost events in the metro. There will be sapphic authors vending, local artists and bookstores including Black Garnet Books, SubText Books and Inkwell Booksellers Company. The fair kicks off at 3 p.m. on Sept. 20 at the New City Center in Minneapolis.
  • Minnesota is remembering Dolly Parton in its own way, including a book giveaway at Valley Bookseller in Stillwater. The store announced on Aug. 26 they were doing a give away for free children's books and that people could contribute to the fund as well. They were able to give away $1,700 worth of books in honor of Parton due to overwhelming donations.
  • Minnesota State University, Mankato graduate James Arlen Anderson has published his first novel. "The Storm Next Door" is set in south-central Minnesota and is described as a slow burn rural crime thriller. 

Are you a local author, bookstore or literary lover? Send your book news to sstroozas@mpr.org and we'll add it to the newsletter.
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