The Twin Cities for Bookish Sorts
Club Book 2012 Winter/Spring Season
An extensive and impressive season begins next week for Club Book, the free author speaking series that travels the outer ring of the metro. Each event is held in a surrounding suburb of the Twin Cities with a local host. You will find award-winning and bestselling authors in small branch libraries and occasional auditoriums. These events are great opportunities to get up-close and personal with your favorite authors.
Ready, set, go!
The first event is next week, Wednesday, Jan 18 at 7pm. Deborah Harkness, author of the bestselling A Discovery of Witches, will be at the Central Park Amphitheater in Woodbury. This is hosted by the Washington County Library.
Then Stewart O’Nan arrives on Wednesday, Feb 1 at 7pm. This author of 13 novels, including Snow Angels and Last Night at the Lobster, will discuss his newest novel. The Odds: A Love Story at the Southdale Library in Edina.
Calling all foodies for an evening with Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift on Tuesday, April 3 at 7pm. The host and producer of the radio show “The Splendid Table” will share their new co-authored cookbook, The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Weekends at Prior Lake Library.
On Tuesday, April 10 at 7pm, join celebrated author and animal/social activist Rita Mae Brown with her newest mystery, The Big Cat Nap: The 20th Anniversary Mrs. Murphy Mystery. This will be held at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley.
Local news hounds will delight to see Don Shelby on Saturday, April 14 at 2pm as he presents his book The Season Never Ends: Wins, Losses, and Wisdom of the Court. This will be held at the Rum River Library in Anoka. Shelby has seemingly reincarnated himself since his retirement from the airwaves, playing Mark Twain on a riverboat last summer and now as an author.
Celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 22 at 2pm with Richard Louv. Louv, journalist and author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, will talk about the importance of interacting with nature. This takes place at the Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka.
Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm join three-time Newberry Honor recipient and author of Our Only May Amelia, Jenni Holm. She will talk about her writing, including Babymouse, a graphic novel series for kids. This will be at the New Brighton Library.
On Thursday, May 3 at 7pm, join novelist David Rhodes, acclaimed author of Rock Island Line and The Easter House, as he discusses his newest novel, Driftless. This will be held at the Stillwater Library.
On Monday, May 7 at 7pm, join essayist and author Anne Fadiman to celebrate the 15th anniversary of her bestselling and award-winning culture exploration The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. This will be held at the Highland Park Library Auditorium.
The season is rounded out on Thursday, May 17 at 6:30pm with Julie Schumacher, who will discuss her newest young adult book, The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls. This will take place at the Chanhassen Library.
All Club Book events are free and open to the public. For more information on library locations, check the Club Book website. Be warned: seating can be limited so get there early if you don’t want to be disappointed. Doors open 45 minutes prior to presentations, and books are available for sale and signing.
Talk of the Stacks
And not to be outdone, Talk of the Stacks has three more nonfiction authors on tap for the spring:
Tuesday, January 31, 7pm
Gabrielle Hamiltonis the chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village. She received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Food & Wine. She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and the Food Network, among other television programs. Her memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter, is an unflinching and lyrical memoir about her unconventional journey as a cook for the last twenty years.
Tuesday, February 21, 7pm
David Treuer, acclaimed author of Little, The Hiawatha and The Translation of Dr. Apelles, has received a Pushcart Prize, the Minnesota Book Award, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bush Foundation for his work. In Rez Life, his first full-length work of nonfiction, Treuer uses his novelist storytelling skills and eye for complex and subtle detail to examine Native American reservation life, past and present.
Tuesday, March 27, 7pm
Benjamin Buschis a decorated U.S. Marine officer who served two combat tours in Iraq, an award-winning photographer and short film director, the son of celebrated novelist Frederick Busch, and an acclaimed actor from the HBO series The Wire. His new memoir, Dust to Dust, takes the reader on a journey of his life exploring life and death, war and peace, childhood and revelations of adulthood.
All Talk of the Stacks events are held at the Minneapolis Central Library downtown, in Pohlad Hall. They are free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first served. Doors open at 6:15 and the presentations start at 7pm, followed by book sales and signing.
These events are coordinated by the Friends of the Hennepin County Library (formerly the Library Foundation of Hennepin County). Club Book is sponsored by the Metropolitan Library Services Agency with media sponsorship by Minnesota Public Radio and is funded by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Okay, that’s the scoop. Now get on out there and see some authors! If you cannot make it to at least one of these this season, you are not trying.
As usual, please pass this on to anyone you know that may be interested. Your support helps keep this column going. It can’t happen if nobody’s reading! Subscribe above and you will get the latest as soon as it’s posted.
Comments