Thank You!

This past holiday season, Magers & Quinn collected books for Reach Out and Read, which promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Books collected at M&Q will go to children and families at well-child visits, in the waiting room, and in the newborn program at the Broadway Family Medicine Clinic in North Minneapolis.

M&Q's generous customers donated a total of 207 books. The are on their way to the clinic and will soon be in the hands of kids and families. Thank you to everyone who made a gift.--David E

Feel Better About Health Care

How is it that all other industrialized democracies provide health care for their citizens as a reasonable cost-something the United States has not yet managed to do? In The Healing of America, New York Times bestselling author T.R. Reid shows how they do it, bringing to bear his talent for explaining complex issues in a clear, engaging way. Join us for a very important and interesting discussion when TR Reid discusses The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care at Magers & Quinn-Tuesday, February 22, at 7:30pm.

In his global quest to find a prescription for American health care, Reid finds that it's not all "socialized medicine" out there. Instead, many industrialized democracies rely on free-market models the U.S. could use to cure a health system that has failed us.

"Important and powerful...a rich tour of health care around the world."---Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times

"Not many writers... can match T.R. Reid's ability to bring a light, witty touch to really serious topics--like health policy."--New America Foundation

T.R. Reid is a longtime correspondent for The Washington Post and former chief of its Tokyo and London bureaus, as well as a commentator for National Public Radio. His books include The United States of Europe, The Chip and Confucius Lives Next Door. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

Details on this event are here.--David E

Tea Obreht in PW

Tea Obreht was the youngest author on last year's New Yorker "Twenty Under Forty" list of writers to watch. And she managed the trick before she'd even published her first novel.

The much-anticipated tome comes out in March. Obreht talked about The Tiger's Wife in Publishers Weekly magazine. She talks about her Yugoslavian heritage and how it affected her book. The full article is here.

You can learn even more when Tea Obreht visits Mager & Quinn. She'll be in the store to read from The Tiger's Wife on March 14, at 7:30pm. Details are here.--David E

All Wall Calendars Are 50% Off at M&Q

All our remaining wall calendars are 50% off. They're great for keeping track of literary events, you know. Get yours while they last.--David E

Sneak Peek

Brad Liening's poem "The President of the World Feels Lonely" is up on MPR's State of the Arts blog. If you like it, you can hear much more when Liening and two fellow poets read from their new work at M&Q. They'll be here Thursday, January 27, at 7:30pm. Don't miss them.--David E

Christian Lander Calls Boulder "A Halfway House For People Who Want To Move To Canada"

The Huffington Post has a quick write-up of Christian Lander's recent appearance in the bastion of whiteness that is Boulder, Colorado. He's on tour, discussing his book new book Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast, from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews.

Of his hosts Lander said, "The typical Boulder white person is generally older than most, as the only people who can afford to own property in Boulder are those who bought it in the 1970's." Local citizens apparently took their licks in stride.

What does the King of Caucasia have to say about the Twin Cities? Find out when he comes to Magers & Quinn--7:30pm, Wednesday, January 19. (Hint: We're on page 95.) Details are here.--David E

The Words Beyond the Words

Bill Johnston is a prolific Polish language literary translator and associate professor of comparative literature at Indiana University. His work has helped to bring English-speaking readers to classic and contemporary Polish poetry and fiction. In 2008 he received the Found in Translation Award for his translation of new poems by Tadeusz Różewicz; this book was also a finalist for the National Books Critics Circle Poetry Award.

Wieslaw Myśliwski's Stone Upon Stone is a grand epic in the rural tradition--a profound and irreverent stream of memory cutting through the rich and varied terrain of one man’s connection to the land, to his family and community, to women, to tradition, to God, to death, and to what it means to be alive. Wise and impetuous, plain-spoken and compassionate Szymek, recalls his youth in their village, his time as a guerrilla soldier, as a wedding official, barber, policeman, lover, drinker, and caretaker for his invalid brother. Filled with interwoven stories and voices, by turns hilarious and moving, Szymek’s narrative exudes the profound wisdom of one who has suffered, yet who loves life to the very core.

You can meet Bill Johnston at Magers & Quinn--7:30pm, Thursday, January 20. Details on this and all our events are here.--David E

Heidi Durrow Comes to M&Q

Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell from the Sky comes to Magers & Quinn Booksellers--7:30pm, Friday, January 21. This searing and heartwrenching portrait of a young biracial girl dealing with society’s ideas of race and class--winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice--will be available in paperback on January 11.

"A heartbreaking debut . . . keeps the reader in thrall."--Boston Globe

Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on their Chicago rooftop. Forced to move to a new city, with her strict African American grandmother as her guardian, Rachel is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring a constant stream of attention her way. It’s there, as she grows up and tries to swallow her grief, that she comes to understand how the mystery and tragedy of her mother might be connected to her own uncertain identity.

"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky can actually fly. . . Its energy comes from its vividly realized characters, from how they perceive one another. Durrow has a terrific ear for dialogue, an ability to summon a wealth of hopes and fears in a single line."--New York Times Book Review

Details on this and all our events are here.--David E

Meet Whitey

The author of Stuff White People Like is back with a new collection of Caucasian foibles--7:30pm, Wednesday, January 19, at Magers & Quinn.

If you thought you had white people pegged as Oscar-party-throwing, Prius-driving, Sunday New York Times–reading, self-satisfied latte lovers--you were right. But if you thought diversity was just for other races, then hang on to your eco-friendly tote bags. Author and veteran white person Christian Lander is back with fascinating new information and advice for dealing with the Caucasian population.

Sure, their indie-band T-shirts, trendy politics, vegan diets, and pop-culture references make them all seem the same. But a closer look reveals that from Austin to Australia, from L.A. to the U.K., indigenous white people are as different from one another as 1 percent rBGH-free milk is different from 2 percent. Where do skinny jeans and bulky sweaters rule? Where is down-market beer the nectar of the hip? What are the capitals of vintage board games, Vespa scooters, Birkenstocks, and Frisbee sports? If you want to know the places cute girls with bangs and cool guys with beards roam and emo musicians and unpaid interns call home, you’d better switch off the Adult Swim reruns, put down that copy of The Onion, pick up this book, and prepare to see the white.

Christian Lander is the creator of the popular blog StuffWhitePeopleLike.com and the author of the New York Times bestselling book Stuff White People Like. A one-time Ph.D. candidate and acclaimed public-speaking instructor, he has traveled extensively in the United States and Europe, living among white people and studying their native customs. He presently resides in Los Angeles, where he enjoys such local pleasures as Ray Ban Wayfarers, skinny jeans, yoga, interior design, and crippling debt.

Details are here.--David E

We're #3--and #7!

Central Connecticut State University’s annual study ranking the most literate cities in the United States has been released, and the results are good for the Twin Cities. Statisticians compiled numbers for newspaper circulation, bookstore sales, magazines subscriptions, educational attainment, library usage, and the Internet availability.

Minneapolis ranked third on the list, and St Paul was number 7. Washington, DC, was in first place. New York City didn't crack the top ten. Details are here.--David E

On the Day You Were Born

Get in the wayback machine and see what books were topping the New York Times' bestseller list on the day you were born--or any other day in history. The Australian book search site BibliOZ.com does the legwork for you. Check your birthday bestsellers here.--David E

Forgotten Bookmarks

A kind Facebook fan pointed out an excellent blog: Forgotten Bookmarks displays the weird and wonderful things you can find in a used book. The unidentified owner photographs not only the bookmark, picture, of other foundling, but also the book in which it was located. See all the entries at www.forgottenbookmarks.com, and visit www.facebook.com/magersandquinnbooksellers for more news and conversation.--David E

Gained in Translation

The Star Tribune recently reviewed Stone Upon Stone, an epic novel of life in Poland during and after the Second World War, by Wieslaw Mysliwski. They drew particular attention to the book's verbal artistry: "The life he leads is told in a blast of sentences. Sometimes a character's dialogue goes on and on without paragraph breaks for several pages. This abundance of verbal explosion can get tiring at times, but can also be exhilarating."

How does one bring such a wordy, expressive novel from Polish into English? What is the translator's role in creating (or recreating) an author's style for an audience so removed from the book's original readers? Find out when Bill Johnston, translator of Stone Upon Stone comes to Magers & Quinn. He'll be in the store Thursday, January 20, at 7:30pm. Details on this and all our events are here.--David E

Snooki Gets Snarked

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that A Shore Thing was released into the world yesterday. The novel by The Jersey Shore's Nicole Polizzi--aka Snooki--promises "hot guidos, cool clubs, fried Oreos, and lots of tequila." But does it deliver?

Literary mavens can get a sneak preview: the esteemed book journal that is the New York Post has published excerpts. (You know you're going to look. Go on.) And popeater.com has paired the choicest morsels with related gems from Hemingway, Steinbeck, Didion, and Faulkner--the better to place Snooki's oeuvre in its proper context within the writing world.

Before you ask, no, we don't have any copies of in the store. But we'd be glad to order one for you. And we won't judge you.--David E

All the News That's Fit

The January edition of M&Q's monthly email newsletter is online--click here to read it. Find out about the big, new January books, events at M&Q this month, what our book clubs are reading, and much more.

You can browse back issues and sign up to have the M&Q newsletter delivered to your inbox every month right here.--David E

New Years News

M&Q will close a bit early on New Year's Eve. We'll shut the doors at 9:00pm (instead of our usual Friday closing time of 11:00pm).

Ah, but then we'll be open from 10:00am until 11:00pm, Saturday, January 1, for our customer appriciation sale. Everything in the store will be 25% off the marked price. (No further discounts or coupons apply.) Come in and pick up the books you didn't get for Christmas--at bargain prices.

Not everything is in a book...

...but everything worth reading is in one.--David E

25% Off Everything at Magers & Quinn on New Year's Day

Magers & Quinn Booksellers is having a customer appreciation sale. We'll be open from 10:00am until 11:00pm, Saturday, January 1. Everything in the store will be 25% off the marked price. (No further discounts or coupons apply.)

Come in and pick up the books you didn't get for Christmas--at bargain prices.

The Big Bang Book Club Stares Down Winter

The Big Bang Book Club discusses Winter World : The Ingenuity of Animal Survival--Tuesday, December 28, at 7:00pm.

Our subject this month is Winter World : The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. Award–winning writer and biologist Bernd Heinrich’s book is an intimate, accessible and eloquent illumination of animal survival in winter. Unlike humans, animals are adaptable to an amazing range of conditions. From flying squirrels to grizzly bears, torpid turtles to insects with antifreeze, the animal kingdom relies on some staggering evolutionary innovations to survive the coldest season.

The Big Bang Book Club mixes arts and science into a heady brew. It is sponsored by Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Secrets of the City (the daily digest of Twin Cities culture), and duplex restaurant.barDetails are here.--David E

Holiday Hours

Magers @ Quinn Booksellers will close at 4:30pm on Friday, December 24. We will be closed all day December 25.

We open again at 10:00am on Saturday, December 26.

Happy holidays, everyone!

For S-Shocks

Sara Gruen's smash hit novel Water for Elephants will soon become a movie. A defanged Robert Pattinson stars as Jacob Jankoski, who joins the circus during the Great Depression. Reese Witherspoon plays the object of his affection, Marlena Rosenbluth, equestrienne. There's no indication as to who plays Rosie, the titular elephant.



Water for Elephants (the movie) will be released April 15. The book is available right now.--David E

De-Recycling

The good folks at the University of San Francisco have reversed the normal process--they've turned books back into a tree. See more on their Flickr stream.--David E

Saturday Signings: Minnesota 101

Magers & Quinn Booksellers presents "Saturday Signings." Every Saturday in December, great local authors will be available to make your book a unique present--at Magers & Quinn Booksellers. Signed books are one-of-a-kind gifts. No one else can give your dad a copy of Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn dedicated to him by the author. Or a copy of Drink This with a personal recommendation from Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl.

Magers & Quinn Booksellers makes it easy for you to get personalized gifts for everyone on your list. Every Saturday in December, authors will be in the store signing copies of their books. The events are free and open to the public.

Bonus signing!--12:00pm, Saturday, December 18--Meet the authors of Minnesota 101: Everything You Wanted to Know About Minnesota and Were Going to Ask Anyway

Well-known Minnesotans weigh in on one of the nation’s most livable states. Crime historian Paul Maccabee spills the beans on gangsters in Minnesota, Howard Mohr tells us five ways even you can talk like a Minnesotan, Annette Atkins gives up the five things that make Minnesota Minnesota, and celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern dishes on hotdish and other favorites. From great parks, Minnesota shorthand, and outstanding theater to Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, and Minnesota“nice,” it’s all here.

Whether you're a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor to the Gopher State, there is no more complete book about Minnesota. If you love Minnesota, you'll love Minnesota 101: Everything You Wanted to Know About Minnesota and Were Going to Ask Anyway.

Support Rain Taxi

Rain Taxi's annual online benefit auction is underway. Offerings include signed first editions, beautiful broadsides, rare chapbooks, seminal graphic novels, quirky collectible books, and this year’s Rain Taxi Quilt. Browse the full selection here.--David E

Saturday Signings: Kevin Kling & Peg Meier

Magers & Quinn Booksellers presents "Saturday Signings." Every Saturday in December, great local authors will be available to make your book a unique present--at Magers & Quinn Booksellers. Signed books are one-of-a-kind gifts. No one else can give your dad a copy of Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn dedicated to him by the author. Or a copy of Drink This with a personal recommendation from Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl.

Magers & Quinn Booksellers makes it easy for you to get personalized gifts for everyone on your list. Every Saturday in December, authors will be in the store signing copies of their books. The events are free and open to the public.

1:00pm, Saturday, December 18--(Minnesota) Nice Books

• Kevin Kling, storyteller and author of Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn and The Dog Says How
  
• Peg Meier, author of Wishing for a Snow Day: Growing Up in Minnesota; Too Hot, Went to Lake; and Bring Warm Clothes

Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn is a romp through a yearful of holidays. A wiener dog with an amazing capacity for destruction impresses the whole family and contributes to their collection of favorite disastrous Christmas stories. A Choctaw and a nun go trick-or-treating on Halloween. A boy makes a frightening decision every year when he chooses which classmate gets the "Be Mine" Valentine. Kevin takes his mom to a Fourth of July demolition derby–and then he takes an epic trip around the bases at a ball game on Memorial Day.

"Kevin Kling's stories are not merely delightful. They are surprising, wise and redemptive. He is one of our great national treasures."--Krista Tippett, public radio host and founder of Speaking of Faith and host of Being

Kevin Kling is a playwright and storyteller, and his commentaries can be heard on public radio. his plays and adaptations have been performed around the world. He lives in Minneapolis.

Minnesota history comes alive in Wishing for a Snow Day: Growing Up in Minnesota. Beloved pets. Holiday rituals. Schoolyard antics. Teenage perspectives on a world at war. Childhood is a mixed bag of challenges and joys wherever one grows up. In Minnesota, youthful memories may be arranged seasonally: making snow angels in January, swatting mosquitoes in July. They may be tinged with a nostalgic glow or imprinted by lessons hard won.

In this new collection, Peg Meier explores the themes of childhood—the bitter and the sweet. Thanks to Minnesotans who took the time to write, whether as children in the moment or as adults looking back, Meier unearthed a wealth of material on the subject, ranging from diary entries to reminiscences to newspaper columns, along with plenty of photographs.

Peg Meier is a longtime and award-winning reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

I Don't Have a Problem. I Have a Poster.

Grant Snider is selling his poster "Confessions of a Book Fiend" for only $15.00. What book lover on your list wouldn't love one? Get one here.

Tip of the hat to Wessel & Lieberman for the news.--David E

No Emergency

We don't let a little snow stop us. We're open, despite the snow.--David E

Hug Your Books

Commune Design's groovy hand bookends will set you back a steep $680.00, but M&Q can get you the books for cheap, so it balances out, right? Get a pair here.--David E

Sneak Preview

Bink and Gollie is just about the cutest kids book of the year. Library Journal loved it: "My suggestion is that you create a Bink and Gollie section in your library. Clear a whole shelf off in your room and display your copies of this book proudly." It made the New York Times' list of Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010.

If you're still not convinced, check out this preview video and see what we mean:



You can meet author Alison McGhee--and get a copy of the book inscribed to your own Bink or Gollie--Saturday, December 11, from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. She'll be joined by Steve Brezenoff, author of the young adult novel The Absolute Value of -1. Steve's book is a fantastic choice for older readers on your list.

Details are here.--David E

Not-So-Ugly Mug

If--somehow, inexplicably, improbably--you are buying a gift that is not a book, might I suggest this curvaceous little eco-mug? It's 100% biodegradable corn plastic, grown and manufactured in the U.S. Even the inks are lead-free.

And there's a slogan which we heartily endorse.

Buy one here.--David E

Field Trip

Members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School Book Club visited the Loft last weekend to take part in "Second Story," the Loft’s reading series for writers of young adult and children’s literature. They heard readings by Pete Hautman and Steve Brezenoff. A good time was had by all, as you can see in this picture.

You can find more events at loft.org.--David E

Whodunnit

Minnesota's Ojibwe history comes to life when Anton Treuer discusses his new book The Assassination of Hole in the Day--Monday, December 13, 7:30pm, at Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

On June 27, 1868, Hole in the Day the Younger left Crow Wing, Minnesota, for Washington, DC, to fight the planned removal of the Mississippi Ojibwe to a reservation at White Earth. Several miles from his home, the self-styled leader of all the Ojibwe was stopped by at least twelve Ojibwe men and fatally shot. Hole in the Day’s death was national news, and rumors of its cause were many: personal jealousy, retribution for his claiming to be head chief of the Ojibwe, retaliation for the attacks he fomented in 1862, or retribution for his attempts to keep mixed-blood Ojibwe off the White Earth Reservation. Still later, investigators found evidence of a more disturbing plot involving some of his closest colleagues: the business elite at Crow Wing.

While most historians concentrate on the Ojibwe relationship with whites to explain this story, Anton Treuer focuses on interactions with other tribes, the role of Ojibwe culture and tradition, and interviews with more than fifty elders to further explain the events leading up to the death of Hole in the Day. The Assassination of Hole in the Day is not only the biography of a powerful leader but an extraordinarily insightful analysis of a pivotal time in the history of the Ojibwe people.

“The Assassination of Hole in the Day is a masterful history, and more. Anton Treuer illuminates the character of a controversial and charismatic Ojibwe leader from within Ojibwe culture, and tells a powerful story of loss that reverberates in the present.”--Louise Erdrich

Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is the author of Ojibwe in Minnesota and several books on the Ojibwe language. He is also the editor of Oshkaabewis Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language.

Details are here.--David E

Saturday Signings: Alison McGhee & Steve Brezenoff

Magers & Quinn Booksellers presents "Saturday Signings." Every Saturday in December, great local authors will be available to make your book a unique present--at Magers & Quinn Booksellers. Signed books are one-of-a-kind gifts. No one else can give your dad a copy of Kevin Kling's Holiday Inn dedicated to him by the author. Or a copy of Drink This with a personal recommendation from Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl.

Magers & Quinn Booksellers makes it easy for you to get personalized gifts for everyone on your list. Every Saturday in December, authors will be in the store signing copies of their books. The events are free and open to the public.

1:00pm, Saturday, December 11--Books children of all ages

• Alison McGhee, author of Bink and Gollie, Julia Gillian and the Art of Knowing, Falling Boy, and many more books for young readers
  
• Steve Brezenoff, author of The Absolute Value of -1

Meet Bink and Gollie, two precocious little girls--one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible. Setting out from their super-deluxe tree house and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving painfully bright socks, an impromptu trek to the Andes, and a most unlikely marvelous companion. No matter where their roller skates take them, at the end of the day they will always be the very best of friends. Full of quick-witted repartee, Bink and Gollie, the brainchild of Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and award-winning author Alison McGhee, is a hilarious ode to exuberance and camaraderie, imagination and adventure, brought to life through the delightfully kinetic images of Tony Fucile. For ages 4 to 104.

Noah, Lily, and Simon have been a trio forever. But as they enter high school, their relationships shift and their world starts to fall apart. Privately, each is dealing with a family crisis--divorce, abuse, and a parent’s illness. Yet as they try to escape the pain and reach out for the connections they once counted on, they slip--like soap in a shower. Noah’s got it bad for Lily, but he knows too well Lily sees only Simon. Simon is indifferent, suddenly inscrutable to his friends. All stand alone in their heartache and grief. In his luminous YA novel The Absolute Value of -1, Steve Brezenoff explores the changing value of relationships as the characters realize that the distances between them are far greater than they knew.

Not You, Personally, Of Course

From Falling and Laughing.--David E

A Second Chance to See Dave Zirin

If you didn't make it to M&Q last month to hear Dave Zirin discuss his book Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, you missed an excellent evening of sports, politics, and humor. But don't go pulling your hair out just yet. Through the miracle of technology, you can see his remarks online--courtesy of Our World in Depth.

Our World In Depth appears on Minneapolis Television Network (MTN) Channel 17 on Saturdays at 9pm and Tuesdays at 8am, after DemocracyNow! And it's on St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) Channel 15 on Tuesdays at 5pm, midnight and Wednesday mornings at 10am. You only need basic cable.



Keep up with events at Magers & Quinn by visiting www.magersandquinn.com or sign up for or monthly email newsletter here.--David E

Reach Out and Read Book Drive

Magers & Quinn is collecting books for Reach Out and Read, which promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Books collected at M&Q will go to children and families at well-child visits, in the waiting room, and in the newborn program at the Broadway Family Medicine Clinic in North Minneapolis.

You can participate by donating new or gently used books at the drop off at Magers and Quinn. Below are some great choices, available at bargain prices at Magers & Quinn.

Boardbooks--$2.99 each

Illustrated Books and Early Readers--from $4.99

Young Adult Books--from $3.99

Sing It

From a blog whose name--while funny--isn't one I'm going to type on a work computer.--David E