The Wildwood Chronicles

 Wildwood

If you are a fan of adventurous fiction filled with sassy kids and crazy battles in other worlds, you would be a fan of Wildwood by Colin Meloy. Or perhaps you just think it's cool reading a book by a rock star. (he is the lead singer of The Decemberists, you know). Or maybe both suits  you.

Whatever the reason may be to bring your attention to this fine book and its sequel, Under  Wildwood, I don't care. Just read them! They are delightful! Illustrated by Meloy's wife, Carson Ellis, you are taken to places that are vivid and imaginative. 

 Under Wildwood

Aren't the covers wonderful?

Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy

They even made our window display in a feeble attempt to win a contest they had going on the Wildwood blog for booksellers. Check it out here. After terrifying myself hanging a bunch of crows from very high ceiling rods, I accepted the fact that the prize may not be mine but atleast the books will get some added attention. 

Cheers!

Sumner Library Used Book Sale

We here at Magers and Quinn are very pleased to help sponsor the Sumner Library Used Book Sale. Please stop by Saturday, October 27 between the hours of 10 and 4 for wonderful book deals, most priced $1.00 or less. They will also have hundreds of DVDs and CDs.

611 Van White Memorial Blvd. Minneapolis, MN.  612-543-6875

A little bit about Sumner Library from their website:

A significant architectural and cultural landmark since 1915, Sumner Library was freshly renovated and expanded in 2004. It's now a state-of-the-art, fully accessible library with a strong collection of books, media, and community resources.

The new adult reading room blends in with the historic building, which features restored original woodwork and furnishings. The library is named for Charles Sumner, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who was an outspoken abolitionist. With expanded space on the lower level for programs and literacy tutoring, the library is a community focal point and important gathering place where people meet, learn, research, and read.

Architecture

·     Built 1915

·     Expanded in 1927, 1939, and 2004

·     Minneapolis Historic Preservation Commission historic designation and listed on National Register of Historic Places

·     Two levels; 14, 600 sq. ft.; parking lot entered from 7th Ave.

Artwork

Sedimentary by Seitu Jones and George Roberts highlighting cultural heritage through wood and words.

Special Features

·     Gary N. Sudduth African American History and Culture Collection

·     Cargill Room and Nellie Stone Johnson Room for gatherings

·     North Side Learning Center provides tutoring program in lower level.

 

Just Hanging around

  Today we had some unique visitors. 

Photographer, Jordan Matter stopped by with some amazing women dancers and took some promotional shots for his upcoming book, Dancers Among Us. (due out November 2012)

 The photographer himself in action.

We were all just a little bit in awe.

Don't try this at home.

Or at our store.
Leave it up to these professionals. 

What's the word?

Our copies were here and now they are gone!

Tell us, dear readers, what do you think of this highly anticipated adult novel by J.K. Rowling?

Folks around the store seem to be quite pleased.

All things Local

We have a whole assortment of local authors that fill our shelves. 

Whether it's Adult books...

or Teen books...

 or even for the little ones....

We have a great variety of books by local authors or books about Minnesota.

Michael Chabon

 

In case you did not make it to the Talk of the Stacks event on Friday night, we have signed copies of 

Telegraph Avenue here.

A book I'm excited about

 

Mary Casanova, Frozen (University of Minnesota Press)

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Sadie Rose hasn’t said a word in eleven years—ever since the day she was found lying in a snowbank during a howling storm. Like her voice, her memories of her mother and what happened that night were frozen.

Set during the roaring 1920s in the beautiful, wild area on Rainy Lake where Minnesota meets Canada, Frozen tells the remarkable story of Sadie Rose, whose mother died under strange circumstances the same night that Sadie Rose was found, unable to speak, in a snowbank. Sadie Rose doesn’t know her last name and has only fleeting memories of her mother—and the conflicting knowledge that her mother had worked in a brothel. Taken in as a foster child by a corrupt senator, Sadie Rose spends every summer along the shores of Rainy Lake, where her silence is both a prison and a sanctuary.
One day, Sadie Rose stumbles on a half dozen faded, scandalous photographs—pictures, she realizes, of her mother. They release a flood of puzzling memories, and these wisps of the past send her at last into the heart of her own life’s great mystery: who was her mother, and how did she die? Why did her mother work in a brothel—did she have a choice? What really happened that night when a five-year-old girl was found shivering in a snowbank, her voice and identity abruptly shattered?
Sadie Rose’s search for her personal truth is laid against a swirling historical drama—a time of prohibition and women winning the right to vote, political corruption, and a fevered fight over the area’s wilderness between a charismatic, unyielding, powerful industrialist and a quiet man battling to save the wide, wild forests and waters of northernmost Minnesota. Frozen is a suspenseful, moving testimonial to the haves and the have-nots, to the power of family and memory, and to the extraordinary strength of a young woman who has lost her voice in nearly every way—but is utterly determined to find it again. (Mary Casanova's website)

If you are looking for a perfect blend of history and suspense, this is a great read. Good for readers young and old, local author Mary Casanova has written a gem.

 

Baby Lit. Oh yes.

Aren't these divine?

Why wait until high school or college to discover the classics?

Start at birth!

Board book versions for your little one.


BabyLit Books Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
Dracula
Alice in Wonderland
Romeo and Juliet
A Christmas Carol

Get them now before our staff with kiddos of their own snatch them up. I'm included in that bunch. I've been eyeing that Dracula one ever since I discovered it this afternoon.


No pressure.

Molly Ringwald

  
Look who stopped by our store today. Molly Ringwald. 

No big deal. It's cool.

(oh my god. oh my god. oh my god)

She is in town promoting her wonderful book, When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories.

New: $22.49
Pub. price: $24.99
Hardcover

Harper Collins

See her tonight at 7:00 at Common Good Books.

If you can't make that, we have signed books!

Rare Book School

What's that, you say? Rare Book School?

Yes, it exists.

Check out this article from the New York Times about this school at the University of Virginia. Here's a snippet. 

"For five weeks each summer Rare Book School brings some 300 librarians, conservators, scholars, dealers, collectors and random book-mad civilians together for weeklong intensive courses in an atmosphere that combines the intensity of the seminar room, the nerdiness of a “Star Trek” convention and the camaraderie of a summer camp where people come back year after year."

The whole article

Boy, what nerdy delight that would be.

Here at Magers and Quinn, we know a few things about rare books. We have more than a few and a whole host of staff members who could throw down in a rare book battle.

Next time you are in, take a gander upstairs and see what rare delights we have on our shelves.

Great Staff = Awesome Books to Recommend

We are a diverse bunch here at Magers and Quinn. 

 

One way we can show it is to display our personal book recommendations.

From philosophy to Stephen King, our staff will introduce you to some fabulous books.

Take a look.

Yum, Winter Vegetarian.

American Psycho? Crazy! Let the Great World Spin...what a good book.

Oh hey, it's my pick! How did that get it's own picture? 

If you stop on in, we'll be more than happy to talk your ear off about them and many others. 

 

Ever wonder...?

...what goes on behind those employee doors?

 or down the stairs to our basement?

(cue ominous music)

Okay, it's not that scary but it is busy. A well oiled machine of order packing, internet business, wholesale madness and lots and lots of books. And a little dust too. 

We have a few books.

Some orders packed up, ready to go.

Thank goodness we have this guy running the show. Cool, calm, confident. 

We can't forget our spooky elevator. (okay, that's just my opinion. Blame it on too many horror movies as a child) It gets the job done, if you are nice to it. 

We'd show you more but then we'd have to...well, you know. We can't let out ALL of our secrets.

 








 

Magers and Quinn T-shirts!

  If you follow us on Facebook, you may have seen these. They are our new T-shirts! $19.99

Just a reminder. 

They are pretty awesome.

Read this!

Read this! Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores

I think you become officially famous if you are in a book. Our former store manager, Jay D. Peterson is featured in this little gem.

Page 91.

Check him out.

Oh and Hans Weyandt, co-owner of Micawber's Books in St.Paul is featured as well. That's pretty cool too.

Coming Soon from Robert Bly

Robert Bly's News of the Universe

 "Haydn Reiss
News of the Universe reveals how poet, translator, activist and gadfly Robert Bly has influenced America's cultural landscape over the last fifty years. A farmer's son, a graduate of Harvard, a Navy veteran, an outspoken critic of the Vietnam war, Bly was among the first to translate Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke, Rumi and introduce them to an American audience. Working with Joseph Campbell, and Bly's bestseller Iron John, provided a renewal into the study of mythology and ritual. Now in his 85th year, Robert Bly has done the hard spadework to lift morale in unsettling times. A film for all lovers of poetry, ideas and imagination." -from San Francisco Film Society

We were honored to have the Bly family at our store recently. A film is in the works, News of the Universe and we got to be a part of it. Stay tuned for more details and a video clip.

Back to School

 

 BACK TO SCHOOL!

It's not a bad thing, folks! Especially when you can get some neat books that we have on display in the kids section. We have story books about school and a whole assortment of acitivity books to get kids back on track.

 

On a stick?

It's the last day of the State Fair. If you didn't get a chance to go, come on over and experience this little book delight.

On a Stick!

Less calories.

Taschen Books on Sale! Spend your Labor Day with us!

Look at this amazing spread!

A $50 deal!! Get it before it's gone!

We have some beautiful books on sale. We would love to see you stop by and take a peak. They won't last long!