I dare your reading blues to withstand three of the most adventurous and true stories I can think of!
The first is rolling off the publishing presses next month.
David Grann, a writer who steers clear of adventure, is nonetheless the master of describing what happens to humans under the most extreme conditions.
His book “The Lost City of Z” was an exceptional book about the pursuit of a mirage-like treasure against all odds.
His new book, “The Wager,” chronicles competing tales of an 18th century shipwreck of a vessel on a secret mission and the court-martial that followed.
He writes in the author’s note: “I have spent years combing through washed-out logbooks, the moldering correspondence, the half-truthful journals and the surviving records from the troubling court-martial.”
The second adventurous must-read is Blair Braverman’s “Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North.”
Braverman, who lives in northern Minnesota, published this terrific memoir, travelogue and adventure story in 2016 and if you’ve somehow missed it, make a note to read it this weekend.
We accompany Braverman back to Norway after she’s had a miserable experience there as a high school exchange student.
This time we see her come to terms with a foreign, insular and strange life.
And my last true adventure story is “The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean” by Susan Casey, published in 2010.
Casey introduces us to the people who pursue and survive some of the world’s biggest waves: surfers, ships captains and scientists.
She writes: “The ocean doesn’t subscribe to the orderly explanations that we would like it to. It’s a mosh pit of variables.”
We've all endured a long, snowy winter in Minnesota, so Minnesota Public Radio and The Star Tribune are celebrating with two esteemed Minnesota authors at two special Talking Volumes events this spring. First, on May 6, Kerri Miller will interview CatStronauts author Drew Brockington. Brockington’s books about space-traveling cats and kittens are beloved by kids worldwide. Join us as he discusses the newest book in CatStronauts series, "Waffles and Pancake: Failure to Lunch." Kerri and, Drew will take the stage at the Dr. Charles H. Mayo Presentation Hall at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester at 2 p.m. on May 6.
Get your tickets today.
We head north to Duluth for our second spring Talking Volumes event. Kerri will interview William Kent Krueger at Mitchell Auditorium at the College of St. Scholastica. Krueger has just published a new novella , "The Levee," which he will discuss alongside his long, Minnesota-based backlist of great novels on May 18 at 7 p.m. Get your tickets today.
Jamila Minnicks’ debut novel is a stunner. “Moonrise Over New Jessup” uses fiction to tell the stories of real all-Black towns that flourished in the American South a century ago, thanks to a policy of separate but equal.
The recommendation comes from Shannon Daniels of Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Mich., who says Jessica Au's novel "Cold Enough for Snow" was her top staff pick this year.
This Friday, on Big Books and Bold Ideas, Keltner joined host Kerri Miller to talk about his new book, “Awe.” They delve into his research, talk about how music triggers wonder, and discuss how awe can help us lead healthy and happy lives, both individually and collectively.
