Yellow Tiger

Covers often vary widely in the US and UK markets. What works in one country doesn't always work in the other. But the two covers for The Tiger's Wife could hardly be more different. While the US cover is dark and dare I say moody, the UK model is bright and sunny. Same book inside. Go figure.--David E

Vote Early and Often

City Pages is collecting votes for its 2011 "Best of the Twin Cities" issue. You can vote for Best Lake and Best Weatherman and... I don't know... Best Bookstore (New) and Best Bookstore (Used) and Best Bowling Alley. Did I mention Best Bookstore? I'm sure that's on the list somewhere. [Editor's note: See items #51 and #52.]

Anyhoo, it would really be super if you voted. I'm sure there's a weatherman out there who'd really appreciate your support.--David E

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Can we pick them, or can we pick them? Hot on the heels of a rave review of Moonwalking with Einstein--whose author Joshua Foer will be reading at M&Q on March 24--New York Times has written a love letter to another author who will be reading at our store this month. In her review today, Michiko Kakutani calls Tea Obreht's debut novel The Tiger's Wife "a richly textured and searing novel." It's also "a hugely ambitious, audaciously written work."

The Tiger's Wife is on sale now. Tea Obreht will be at M&Q on Monday, March 14, at 7:30pm. Come early to be sure you get a seat. This one's going to be big.--David E

Try to Remember

The New York Times reports on the first reading by Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein. Foer read last night at Brooklyn's Freenlight Bookstore. "Mr. Foer said that Wednesday’s reading was the first he had ever done. 'You get to see my schtick before it gets honed,' he told the audience."

The schtick is to bring audience members forward and lead them through the "memory palace" technique, which makes it easier to remember a list of arbitrary words. Says the Times, "Despite having to remember such vague words as grace and sesquipedalian, the audience remembered all seven words perfectly."

Try your luck when Joshua Foer comes to Magers & Quinn. Repeat after me, he'll be at Magers & Quinn... at 7:30pm... on Thursday, March 24. Write it down if you have to.--David E

Discover New Fiction

Peter Grandbois reads from his novel Nahoonkara--Tuesday, March 15, at 7:30pm, at Magers & Quinn.

"Peter Grandbois is a splendid writer I intend to follow very closely.”--Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize Winning author of A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain

Set simultaneously in the farm country of Wisconsin and a small mining town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado during the nineteenth century, Nahoonkara, the new novel by Barnes and Noble “Discover Great New Writers” and Border’s “Original Voices” author Peter Grandbois follows the lives of three brothers as each strives to re-create himself despite the forces that work to determine his identity. Though told from the point-of-view of many characters, the novel revolves around Killian, the oldest of the three, as he attempts to recapture a childhood as ephemeral as a dream. While Killian’s brother Henry strives to make the town prosperous and his brother Eli prays to maintain the town’s spiritual center, it becomes clear as the novel progresses that the center will not hold. Violence, lust, and greed tear at the fabric of the town until the only possibility for healing arrives in the form of a snowfall that lasts for three months, burying the town.

"Vividly drawn, exquisitely crafted, Nahoonkara bespeaks not just the promise of its author, but also his undeniable power."--Laird Hunt, author of Ray of the Star

Peter Grandbois is the author of The Gravedigger (2006), a Barnes and Noble “Discover Great New Writers” and Borders “Original Voices” selection as well as the hybrid memoir, The Arsenic Lobster (2009). His essays and short fiction have appeared in magazines such as Boulevard, Narrative, Post Road, Gargoyle, Zone 3, Eleven Eleven, The Denver Quarterly, Word Riot, Pindeldyboz, and The Writer’s Chronicle, among others, and have been short listed for the Pushcart Prize. He serves as associate editor for Narrative magazine and is an assistant professor at Denison University in Ohio.

Details are here.--David E

Citizen Reviews: The Tiger's Wife

We continue our occasional series of customer reviews with Ben Paulson's impressions of the debut novelist from the youngest author on last year's "20 under 40" list from The New Yorker.

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

It's difficult to find a synonym for the word nice that doesn't sound in some way backhanded. The term itself is probably exactly what I'm looking for, but it carries with it a certain patronizing air, perhaps an unspoken accusation of quaintness and, if nothing else, it suggests a definite lack of effusion. Nonetheless, it seems the pitch perfect word to describe Téa Obreht's debut novel, The Tiger's Wife, because its restraint aptly reflects that of Obreht's writing. You see, The Tiger's Wife may be wonderfully composed, confidently coy, and, at times, entrancing. But effusive it is not. In The Tiger's Wife, Obreht offers us the story of Natalia, a young doctor from a war-eroded Balkan country, travelling across a neighboring border to deliver medical aid to an orphanage. En route, she learns that her beloved grandfather has died in a clinic inexplicably far from their home. The novel that unfolds is Natalia's quest to understand the mysteries surrounding his death. This investigation begins literally but, over time, it shifts into something slightly more existential, as Natalia begins to examine and retell the stories that her grandfather has passed on to her. The first of these stories describes an escaped tiger that haunted the pastoral village of his childhood. The second recurrent tale is of the "deathless man," an unwillingly immortal man whose life intersects her grandfather's from time to time. It's this strange mix of traumatic reality and magical realism that gives The Tiger's Wife its strength. Obreht embeds this ethereal world of mythology into a contemporary backdrop of conflict and loss. She does so with such unflinching simplicity and deliberate pacing that the novel's oscillations between dreamlike folklore and lyrical truth quickly blur into a charming and surreal meditation on the nature of mourning and mortality; on truth and myth; on the nature of storytelling itself. In The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht has given us an eloquent novel that is as charming as it is quietly confident. Delving into the patchwork narrative of this novel is a pleasure, and the world of The Tiger's Wife, is at once strange, captivating and resonant. Which brings me back to my point: The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht may be a nice book; but it is a really, really nice book. Please pick up this novel and read it. Do something nice for yourself.

Ben Paulson lives in St. Paul, where he obsesses about books, zombies and breakfasts.

Inner Beauty

"Book surgeon" Brian Dettmer operates on old books--bending the, removing portions, and ultimately exposing their inner workings. He adds nothing.

See more of Dettmer's work here.--David E

Is Joshua Foer the New George Plimpton?

The hard-to-please Michiko Kakutani might just have a crush on Joshua Foer. How else to explain her fullsome praise for the young author? To wit, "Joshua Foer tackles the subject of memory the way George Plimpton tackled pro football and boxing." And "His narrative is smart and funny and, like the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, it’s informed by a humanism that enables its author to place the mysteries of the brain within a larger philosophical and cultural context."

Those are heady comparisons for Mr Foer, and the New York Times is hardly alone in its plaudits. The Washington Post called the book "passionate and deeply engrossing." The Seattle Times said it's a "inspired and well-written debut book about not just memorization, but about what it means to be educated and the best way to become so, about expertise in general, and about the not-so-hidden "secrets" of acquiring skills."

Joshua Foer will be at M&Q to read from Moonwalking with Einstein on Thursday, March 24, at 7:30pm. Details are here.--David E

Catch A Rising Star

The youngest author on last year's "20 Under 40" list from The New Yorker comes to Minneapolis. Tea Obreht reads from her much-anticipated first novel The Tiger's Wife, at 7:30pm, Monday, March 14, at Magers & Quinn.

“Téa Obreht is the most thrilling literary discovery in years.”--Colum McCann

“A marvel of beauty and imagination. Téa Obreht is a tremendously talented writer.”--Ann Patchett

The Tiger's Wife begins in a Balkan country mending from years of conflict, when Natalia, a young doctor, arrives on a mission of mercy at an orphanage by the sea. By the time she and her lifelong friend Zóra begin to inoculate the children there, she feels age-old superstitions and secrets gathering everywhere around her. But Natalia is also confronting a private, hurtful mystery of her own: the inexplicable circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. After telling her grandmother that he was on his way to meet Natalia, he instead set off for a ramshackle settlement none of their family had ever heard of and died there alone. A famed physician, her grandfather must have known that he was too ill to travel. Why he left home becomes a riddle Natalia is compelled to unravel.

“A novel of surpassing beauty, exquisitely wrought and magical. Téa Obreht is a towering new talent.”--T. C. Boyle

Téa Obreht was born in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia in 1985 and has lived in the United States since the age of twelve. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, and The Guardian, and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. She was named by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty and included in the National Book Foundation’s list of 5 Under 35. She lives in New York.

Details on all the events at M&Q are here.--David E

Two Poets at M&Q

Minneapolis' poetry scene is as vibrant as ever. Come hear for yourself when two local authors read from their new work--4:00pm, Sunday, March 13, at Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

Sharon Chmielarz’s fifth collection poetry is a cornucopia of small, lyric poems on various topics, encompassing Chopin and Pushkin, dolphins and cows, zippers and gourds, bar scenes and garden scenes.

"In The Sky Is Great, The Sky Is Blue, Sharon Chmielarz is singularly herself with her sharp eye, her quick ear, and her knowledge that 'one becomes full by merely remembering.'”--Tim Nolan, author of The Sound of It

Dylan Garcia-Wahl's poetry weds romanticism with a thoroughly modern sensibility. In Becoming, the poet travels from jazz bars to the Ganges, from the Boundary Waters to the boudoir, subtly tracing the outlines of the human condition.

"Dylan Garcia-Wahl's Becoming lingers with a reader, worldly, sparse and nuanced."--Bryan Thao Worra Details are here.--David E

"One of the most exciting new writers of her generation"

Entertainment Weekly gives The Tiger's Wife a grade of A, calling its young author Tea Obreht "one of the most exciting new writers of her generation." They also said, "In her spectacular debut novel, The Tiger's Wife, the Belgrade-born, New York-based writer spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop." The full review is here.

The Tiger's Wife will be published Tuesday, March 8. Tea Obreht will be at Magers & Quinn on Monday, March 14, at 7:30pm. Don't miss her.--David E

Drawn to Reading

Meet two author/artists at M&Q. Ron Tanner discusses Kiss Me, Stranger: An Illustrated Novel--:30pm, Monday, March 7. He will be joined by local graphic artist Lars Martinson.

Featuring over fifty illustrations by the author, Kiss Me, Stranger is a comical and tragic commentary on war, violence, and consumerism. Set in an unnamed country sometime in the past, present, or future, Kiss Me, Stranger is the story of one woman's attempts to keep her family together while a civil war rages around her. Penelope, her husband and her fourteen children live in a small war-torn country built atop a landfill. After her husband and eldest son are drafted by opposing factions in the war, Penelope and her remaining children, desolate and nearly starving, are forced to scavenge for scrap--comprised of discarded consumer goods such as computers, televisions and automobiles--in the bombed-out city. When the government scrap collector makes an unreasonable demand in already unreasonable circumstances, Penelope slaps him across the face, leading to her arrest. Her subsequent escape sends her family on a journey literally into the heart of the landfill, where they come face to face with the stupidity, destruction and at times, dark humor, of war and modern consumer society.

"Ron Tanner's Kiss Me, Stranger would be remarkable for the eerie simplicity of the text alone, but his seemingly guileless illustration flip this impressive book into another dimension, well outside the spectrum of post-apocalyptic narratives than runs from Riddley Walker to The Road."--Madison Smartt Bell

Ron Tanner’s awards for fiction include a Faulkner Society gold medal, a Pushcart Prize, a New Letters Award first prize, a Best of the Web Award, and many others. His stories have appeared in dozens of literary magazines, including The Iowa Review, West Branch, and The Quarterly. His collection of stories, A Bed of Nails, won both the G.S. Sharat Chandra award and the Towson Prize for Literature. He teaches writing at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland, and directs the Marshall Islands Story Project.

--------

Lars Martinson's Tonoharu (Parts One and Two) tell the story of Dan Wells, an assistant junior high school teacher in the rural Japanese village of Tonoharu. Isolated from those around him by language and cultural barriers, he leads a solitary existence, until the day an unrequited crush extends him a dinner invitation. What follows shakes up Dan's quiet life and expands his social circle into unexpected quarters. But do these new associates exert an influence that is beneficial, or detrimental?

Lars Martinson was born on Mother's Day, 1977. He has met a princess, seen a five-legged cow, and eaten raw octopus eggs. From 2003 to 2006 he taught English in Fukuoka, Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. In 2007 he received the prestigious Xeric Grant. He lives in Minneapolis. You can learn more at www.larsmartinson.com.

Details on this and all our events http://www.magersandquinn.com/includes/templates/magersandquinn/images/upcoming2.jpgare here.--David E

Author Geography

Tea Obreht talked to The Book Page about her peripatetic childhood (Yugoslavia, Egypt, Atlanta), her life in Ithaca, New York, and why she hasn't moved to the Big Apple. Obreht also discusses her writing process--and how TC Boyle helped her overcome writer's block.

The interview is here. The Tiger's Wife will be published March 8. Obreht will read from the book at M&Q on March 14.--David E

Best. Author Bio. Ever.

Most flap copy isn't great prose. But this blurb from an old copy of The Charles Addams Mother Goose is a gem of understated humor.--David E

A Candid Talk About Inappropriateness

Scott Edelstein discusses Sex and the Spiritual Teacher at Magers & Quinn, Thursday, March 3, at 7:30pm.

Sex and the Spiritual Teacher: Why It Happens, When It’s a Problem, and What We All Can Do looks at the complex of forces that tempt otherwise insightful, compassionate, and well-intentioned teachers to lose their way--and that tempt some of their students to lose their way as well. It analyzes why most of our current efforts to keep spiritual teachers from transgressing usually don’t (and in fact can’t) work--and, perhaps most importantly, it suggests a set of practices and structures that can build community, encourage healthy student-teacher relationships, increase trust and spiritual intimacy between teachers and their students, and help authentic spiritual teachers stay happily monogamous or celibate. Sex and the Spiritual Teacher is for anyone who is or might become part of a spiritual community: students, teachers, clergy, lay leaders, and even casual visitors. It’s a reader-friendly, no-nonsense guide to making spiritual life safer and fuller for all of us--one person, relationship, and community at a time.

“Profound and compassionate. Anyone who has a spiritual teacher--or hopes to have one some day--should read this book.”-–Natalie Goldberg, bestselling author of Writing Down the Bones

Scott Edelstein has studied happily and productively with several spiritual teachers, including Toni Packer, Dainin Katagiri, Tim McCarthy, and (currently) Steve Hagen. As the friend of several spiritual teachers, he has also spent much time with them “off duty,” sometimes serving as confidant. He is a longtime practitioner of both Buddhism and Judaism, and a committed proponent of serious spirituality in all forms and traditions. Scott’s short work on spiritual topics has appeared in Shambhala Sun, American Jewish World, The Writer, the anthology What About God?, and elsewhere. He is also the author of 15 other books on a wide range of subjects. Learn more at www.sexandthespiritualteacher.com.

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

Snow Day

Due to weather, tomorrow's reading by TR Reid has been canceled. Our apologies for any inconvenience.--David E

Ouch

Publishers Weekly has posted a filing from Borders' bankruptcy petition. It lists the 200 stores the chain will close in the next months. Among the local casualties are four of the seven stores in the Twin Cities: Minnetonka, Richfield, St Paul, and Maple Grove.

The full list is here (.pdf). Or see them on a map.--David E

Contraction

Shelf Awareness has a nice summary of Borders' announced "reorganization." Under the protection of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company will shutter around 200 stores and lay off a number of employees. Details are here. For even more, you can visit www.bordersreorganization.com--David E

Think Spring

It's not a crocus or the first robin of spring, but the dollar book cart is back on the sidewalk in front of Magers & Quinn.--David E

We Pick 'Em

We love all our books equally here at M&Q. But as with our children, we can't help but have a few favorites. So to bring a little extra attention to some of the gems you might otherwise overlook, we've instituted a "Staff Picks" shelf.

At last, you can vicariously live the life of a bookstore employee. All the thrills, none of the paper cuts.--David E

A New Book from Roberto Bolano

The Paris Review has announced that they will publish The Third Reich, a new novel from Roberto Bolano, in its next four issues. Even better, Bolano's translator Natasha Wimmer told Granta that the new work is "a buoyant novel, ominous at moments but mostly just funny." Judge for yourself: the Wall Street Journal has published a brief excerpt here.

Many thanks to Slate.com's Brow Beat blog for the catch and for the links.--David E

For the Horsey Set

M&Q has a selection of illustrations from Diseases of the Horse available now. They're all in good shape and suitable for framing. Prices range from $9.99 to $12.99. Get them while they last.--David E

A Meeting About Better Meetings

“Meetings are a waste of time” is a sentiment many of us share, which is tragic because meetings bring us together as human beings. To achieve the kind of meaning or breakthrough results most of us really yearn for when we gather, the key quality needed is authentic engagement: a genuine expression of what is true for us, and an attentive listening to what is true for others. On Wednesday, February 16, at 7:30pm, Craig Neal visits M&Q to help end this cycle, when he discusses his new book The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations

As cofounders of Heartland Inc., Craig and Patricia Neal have led over 170 of their acclaimed Thought Leader Gatherings with leaders from over 800 diverse organizations. Their new book shares for the first time the unique and powerful Art of Convening model, developed in these gatherings and refined over six years of intensive trainings, which brings authentic engagement and meaning to any group that comes together for any purpose.

Convening goes beyond facilitating. Convening creates an environment in which all voices are heard, profound exchanges take place, and transformative action results.
Convening works in any setting and can be adapted to virtually any group process. With this book you have all the tools you need to develop this essential life and leadership skill, one that will lead to improved outcomes in your organization, community, family, and relationships.

Craig Neal is a passionate change leader, publishing executive, organizational executive, and guide. From the 70s to the 90s Craig held executive positions with Garden Way, Inc, Rodale Publishing, and as Associate Publisher launched Harrowsmith and Eating Well magazines. He’s the founder and former publisher of the Utne Reader.

Details are here.--David E

Silver-Tongued

Just in time for V-Day, Flavorwire has posted its list of "30 Literary Quotes That Just Might Get You Laid." The encouraging phrases range from Oscar Wilde (“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”) to Dorothy Parker (“I require only three things of a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid.”) to Sam Lipsyte (“Stuff me in a tutu and let’s screen experimental videos all day.”).

Read all thirty quotes here, and start practicing for the 14th.--David E

Yes Dogs Allowed

Well-behaved dogs are always welcome at Magers & Quinn. You don't have to leave your canine co-shopper out in the cold when you want to browse our shelves. You can both come on in.--David E

Counting the Days

M&Q still has a few calendars and planners to keep you organized throughout 2011. Wall calendars are now 50% off. Dayplanners are 25% off--including Moleskines.

Get yours while they last.--David E

It Was Indeed a Blast

Minnesota authors met Minnesota readers at last weekend's MinnPost Book Club Blast. See what you missed--or find your own smiling face--in these pictures of the event.



You can see all the pictures here.--David E

Remembering John Berryman

John Berryman was renowned as a teacher at the University of Minnesota, but he also won the Pulitzer for 77 Dream Songs, and his influence as a poet nationally and even internationally was enormous.

On February 17 a group of John Berryman enthusiasts will gather to celebrate the poet's writings and teaching with readings of his poems and remembrances by students and others who knew him. Come to the Red Room at the Loring Pasta Bar Cafe (327 14th Ave SE) at 7:00pm, to celebrate Berryman's life as a poet and an inspiring teacher. Ben Kreilkamp will read a selection of poems from Berryman's book Dream Songs. There will also be recollections from Kate Donahue, Michael Dennis Browne, Richard Kelly, Michael Mann, Judith Koll Healey, and others.

Admission is free. Details are at www.bookhouseindinkytown.com.--David E

Books for Cooks--M&Q at the Food & Wine Experience

Magers & Quinn is pleased to be the official bookseller for the 17th annual Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Experience. We'll be at Target Field on March 5 and 6--along with some of the Twin Cities top restaurants, brewers, and wineries.



Sample fine wines, specialty beers, and gourmet cuisine in the warmth and comfort of Target Field. With more than 200 companies showcasing wine, beer, and food samples from the Midwest and across the country, you're sure to find a variety of tastes to delight your palette.

You can also meet authors at Magers & Quinn's booth. Stop by, say hello, and meet

• James Norton, author of Minnesota Lunch: From Pasties to Bahn Mi
  
• Janice Cole, author of Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading With 125 Recipes
  
• Shelly NC Holl, author of The Minnesota Table
  
• Robin Asbell, author of New Vegetarian and The New Whole Grains Cookbook, and
  
• Ana Micka, author of The Fresh Girl's Guide to Easy Canning and Preserving

Details and tickets are available now at www.foodwineshow.com. See you there.--David E

Poetic Meter for Your Feet

Via the invaluable Boing Boing comes word of the perfect project for a winter's night. Sanguine Gryphon's knitting pattern lets you make a pair of socks bearing the first lines of the oldest known copy of Beowolf, so your feet can be both warm and cool all winter long.

Details are here.--David E

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