Instructors: Marshall Wright (ACA instructor) and Betsy Wright.

Where: 5351 --> Read More]]> Spring is finally here.  It’s time to get out and enjoy our wonderful watershed.  The Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) invites you to learn to kayak in a relaxed setting on May 22nd – 6 PM – 7:30 PM.

Instructors: Marshall Wright (ACA instructor) and Betsy Wright.

Where: 5351 Elkton Trail, Faribault, MN.

Cost: FREE to CRWP members.  To become a member go to the CRWP website.

If you are not a member of CRWP, the cost per person is $10. Please register through CRWP by emailing beth@crwp.net or (507) 786-3913.

Class size is limited to 16 participants.

Kayaking is a popular recreational activity for people of all ages. To enjoy kayaking safely you need knowledge, training and the ability to make informed decisions about wind, weather and waves. Proper boat selection based on the type of activity you wish to pursue in your kayak is an important consideration.

We will explain the different types of kayaks and terminology used to describe boat features and attributes. We will cover materials and boat “fit” and the different paddle designs available. We will have several kayaks for attendees to sit in to get the feel of the cockpit. And we will have a wide range of safety equipment–beyond life jackets (“pfds”).

We will also provide referrals to reputable sources for on-the-water training, outfitting and group touring. If time allows, Marshall will demonstrate a basic kayaking skill set on the water (if the ice is out on Cannon Lake and the air temperature is comfortable for class attendees) or in the pool.

Experiencing the water from the seat a of kayak is special. You are actually “in” the water, which is a unique point of view. Kayaking allows access to areas that can’t be reached by motorized craft or by hiking. It’s a silent sport that leaves a light footprint on the environment. Come learn about kayaking!

This is certain to be one of the coolest events in which I’ve been --> Read More]]> Author Ben Percy will read from his new novel, Red Moon, Monday, May 20, 7:30 pm at the Rueb ‘N’ Stein.
The Counterfactuals will play a set prior to the reading. Refreshments will be served.

This is certain to be one of the coolest events in which I’ve been involved.

In addition to the Red Moon, Ben is the author of two short story collections, The Language of Elk and Refresh, Refresh, a graphic novel based on the short story Refresh, Refresh, as well as the novel, The Wilding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxw1U9lJpwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIoE-WNz82k

From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.

“It’s been a while since a story forced me to abandon my plans for the day. This book has --> Read More]]> Ordinary Grace

From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger comes a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.

“It’s been a while since a story forced me to abandon my plans for the day. This book has all the elements of a great mystery.  The careful plot, skillful placement of evidence, and trajectory of suspense are all immensely satisfying. What sets this story apart is the unsettling detail of family love and the experience of grief.” –Ann Woodbeck, Excelsior Bay Books

“ Set in the early 60’s, it’s a story told from the perspective of 13-year-old Frank Drum when tragedy comes to call on his family. The author has really captured the era, the small town atmosphere, the Drum family and all the other memorable characters that make up this brilliant novel.Ordinary Grace will stay with me for a long time. ” –Kathleen Eddy, Manager, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN

All the dying that summer began with the death of a child . . .

New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson’s Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.

Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother—he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.

Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer,Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God.

William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of twelve previous Cork O’Connor novels, including Northwest Angle and Trickster’s Point, as well as the novel Ordinary Grace. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family.

Orphan Train

“I was so moved by this book. I loved Molly and Vivian, two brave, difficult, true-hearted women who disrupt one another’s lives in beautiful ways, and loved journeying with them, through heartbreak and stretches of history I’d never known existed, out of loneliness toward family and home.” –Marisa de los Santos, New York Times-bestselling author ofBelong to Me and Falling Together

“I loved this book: its absorbing back-and-forth story, its vivid history, its eminently loveable characters. ORPHAN TRAIN wrecked my heart and made me glad to be literate.” –Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys

“Christina Baker Kline writes exquisitely about two unlikely friends . . . each struggling to transcend a past of isolation and hardship. ORPHAN TRAIN will hold you in its grip as their fascinating tales unfold.” –Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times-bestselling author of The Painted Girls

Detailed and beautifully drawn, Orphan Train illuminates a little-known part of America’s history:  Between 1854 and 1929, so-called “orphan trains” transported more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children between the ages of 2 and 14 from the East Coast to the Midwest for foster care and adoption. But their treatment often amounted to indentured servitude. Chosen first were infants, for more traditional adoptions, and older boys, for their manual labor; adolescent girls were typically selected last. While some children quickly found love and acceptance, many walked a harder road.

Orphan Train is set in modern-day Maine and early twentieth-century Minnesota.  Kline spends every summer on the coast of Maine and has built a large fan base in the area.  She has also spent 25 years traveling to Minnesota where her husband’s family lives, and has strong ties to the orphan-train riders’ community in the state.

Christina Baker Kline is the author of five novels, including Bird in Handand The Way Life Should Be. Writer-in-Residence at Fordham University from 2007-2011, Kline is a recent recipient of a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship and several research fellowships (to Ireland and Minnesota), and has been a Writer-in-Residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She lives with husband and three sons in Montclair, New Jersey, and spends as much time as possible in northern Minnesota and on the coast of Maine, where she grew up.

Introduction to Kayaking – April 17th – 6 PM

Instructors: Marshall Wright (ACA instructor) and --> Read More]]> While it may not look much like spring today it’s coming soon – really!  Cannon River Watershed Partnership has some fabulous opportunities for you to get outdoors, explore the watershed and celebrate spring. 

Introduction to Kayaking – April 17th – 6 PM

Instructors: Marshall Wright (ACA instructor) and Betsy Wright.

Where: 5351 Elkton Trail, Faribault, MN.

Cost: FREE to CRWP members.  To become a member go to the CRWP website.

If you are not a member of CRWP, the cost per person is $10. Please register through CRWP by emailing beth@crwp.net or (507) 786-3913.

Class size is limited to 16 participants.

Details on the CRWP website Calendar.

Earth Day 5K Fun Run/Walk – April 20th

Time: 8:00 AM (registration), 9:00 AM (Run/Walk)

Registration: $15.00 by April 12, 2013, $18.00 after April 12th

Location: Sakatah Singing Hills Trail at Shager Park,

Faribault, MN. The park is located on Hwy 60 ~ 2 miles west of the Faribault city limits.

T-shirts: Will be available to the first 100 registrants

Registration: www.crwp.net/earth-day-5k/

A time clock will display times at finish, but no official times will be kept.

Proceeds benefit the Cannon River Watershed Partnership.

From award-winning novelist Wendy Webb (The Tale of Halcyon Crane, winner of the 2011 Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction) comes a spine-tingling, modern-day haunted house story set on Lake Superior.

Grace Alban has spent twenty years away from her childhood home, the stately --> Read More]]> The Fate of Mercy Alban

From award-winning novelist Wendy Webb (The Tale of Halcyon Crane, winner of the 2011 Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction) comes a spine-tingling, modern-day haunted house story set on Lake Superior.

Grace Alban has spent twenty years away from her childhood home, the stately Alban House on the shores of Lake Superior — for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother’s unexpected death brings Grace and her teenage daughter home, she finds more than just her own personal demons haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House.

Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters, and a lost manuscript plunge Grace into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House during which a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. That night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years, and Grace realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the hidden passages of Alban House. Her mother was intending to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died. Could it have been murder, or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse? With the help of the disarmingly kind — and attractive — Reverend Matthew Parker, Grace must uncover the truth about her home and its curse before she and her daughter become the next victims.

Wendy Webb is editor-in-chief of Duluth-Superior, an upscale lifestyle magazine. A journalist with two decades of experience, she lives in Minnesota.

The Truth About Love and Lightning

From the author of Little Black Dress comes a new novel about family, lies, and getting what you wish for…

“Seamlessly toggling between decades, McBride delivers a poignant page-turner with flawed but lovable characters.” —Publisher’s Weekly

“McBride’s novel is a gentle reminder of the unexpected and inevitable nature of change.” —Booklist

“A tender story of a mother and daughter in search of the man they love. Part mystery, part romance, it’s an emotional tale of the power of forgiveness. A truly notable book highlighting the importance of family, this novel is a must-read pick.” –MomTrends.com

Susan McBride weaves a tapestry of words, and balances wry humor with a deeply touching narrative in the story of one family, and the history of the lies that built it up. Pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s child, Abby Brink returns home to the family farm on the day of a twister, only to discover a mysterious man, struck by lightning—who ight be the father she’s wished would reappear in her life for years. In the midst of this chaos, Gretchen Brink, Abby’s mother and a compulsive teller of white-lies, becomes the caretaker for Abby and the mysterious stranger—all while nursing a fib that could shatter her family.

Susan’s own life is the stuff stories are made of. After being named one of St. Louis Magazine’s top 20 singles, McBride met and married her personal prince-charming, Ed, only to have this highpoint of personal happiness marred by the trauma of her battle with breast cancer. Now, McBride is stronger than ever, a survivor—and a new mother! Ed and Susan welcomed daughter Emily Alice into their family on June 28^th. In the midst of all this familial bliss, it makes sense then that McBride’s latest novel revolves around the bond between a mother and a daughter. In the midst of all this familial bliss, it makes sense then that McBride’s latest novel revolves around the bond between a mother and a daughter.

Susan McBride is the author of women’s fiction, including The Truth About Love and Lightning, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club, as well as the award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries. She calls herself an “accidental cougar” after meeting a man nine years younger in 2005 when she was a St. Louis Magazine “top single.” They were married in February 2008 and live happily ever after in a suburb of St. Louis. She is a six-year breast cancer survivor and often speaks to women’s groups about her experience. In January 2012, she was named one of St. Louis’ “Most Dynamic People of the Year” by the Ladue News. In April 2012, she was given the “Survivor of the Year” Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In late June of 2012, Susan and her husband, Ed, had their first child, Emily. As Susan likes to say, “Life is never boring!”

Join us for a tantalizing --> Read More]]> The Cannon River Watershed Partnership’s annual Winter Thaw – Wine Tasting and Auction that was originally planned for January 27th has been rescheduled to February 17, 2013 from 3:00 – 6:00 PM at the Cannon River Winery, 421 Mill Street West in Cannon Falls.

Join us for a tantalizing wine tasting and auction experience. Enjoy a fabulous afternoon with friends sampling local wines from the Cannon River Winery and local foods from Thousand Hills Cattle Company and more, while bidding on fantastic auction items to support CRWP’s work for clean water.

Tickets are $30 each or two for $50. To purchase tickets contact Leslie at leslie@crwp.net or (507) 786-3915. Tickets will be available at the door as well.

Where: Grand Event Center

Address: 316 Washington Street, Northfield, MN 55057

“Armed with a truckload of new stories Mike Perry returns with an updated version of his popular Clodhopper Monologues. Mike takes to the stage with a microphone and a --> Read More]]>

When: February 22, 2013, 7:30 pm ? 10:00 pm

Where: Grand Event Center

Address: 316 Washington Street, Northfield, MN 55057

“Armed with a truckload of new stories Mike Perry returns with an updated version of his popular Clodhopper Monologues. Mike takes to the stage with a microphone and a passel of stories that range well beyond the pages of this books. Whether discussing vicious chickens, homeless guinea pigs, long underwear for ladies, or getting your feelings hurt by the New York Times, Perry moves easily from the heartfelt to hilarious in an easygoing performance come have called “country stand-up.”

Tickets can be purchased locally at Monkey See Monkey Read, 425 Division Street South, Northfield, MN. Or you can buy tickets online with a credit card.

A novel by Leah Stewart.

“With a playwright’s precise, sometimes excoriating dialogue and an insightful novelist’s judicious use of interior monologue, Stewart crafts a tearful yet unsentimental family coming-of-age story.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A poignant exploration of the meaning of family…the life they’ve lived --> Read More]]> The History of Us

A novel by Leah Stewart.

“With a playwright’s precise, sometimes excoriating dialogue and an insightful novelist’s judicious use of interior monologue, Stewart crafts a tearful yet unsentimental family coming-of-age story.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A poignant exploration of the meaning of family…the life they’ve lived was as much a gift as the life they lost.” –Booklist

“Domestic fiction fans favoring strong, intelligent characters will be intrigued by Stewart’s introspective examination of a family.” –Library Journal

Sometimes home is the hardest place to go.

In the newest novel by the celebrated author of The Myth of You and Me, three grown siblings return to their childhood home and face a family secret that forces them to reexamine their relationships.

Eloise Hempel is on her way to teach a class at Harvard when she receives a devastating phone call. Her sister and her husband have been killed in a tragic accident, and Eloise must return home to Cincinnati to take their three children out of the hands of her own incapable mother. She and her children move back into her mother’s century-old house and, after her mother leaves, pours her own money into its upkeep.

Nearly two decades later, Eloise is still in that house with now-grown children, still thinking about the career and life she left behind, even as she pushes the kids to get a move on. With a child leaving for New York City for a promising ballet career, Eloise has plans to finally sell the house and start a life that’s hers alone. But when her mother creates a competition for which of them gets the house and Claire turns out to have a life-changing secret, their makeshift family begins to fall apart.

The History of Us is a heartrending story of loss, sibling relationships, and the life you make in the path not taken.

Leah Stewart is the author of the novels Husband and Wife, The Myth of You and Me, and Body of a Girl. The recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, she teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Cincinnati and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children.

The book is available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

Interested applicants may apply --> Read More]]> We are seeking an enthusiastic, sales-oriented individual to join our team. Prior customer service experience and recent cash handling skills are required. Position is available at our Premier Banks Northfield location. Position will average 30 hrs/ wk. including Saturday mornings. Schedule may vary every week.

Interested applicants may apply in person or send resume to Premier Banks, 112 East Fifth St., Northfield, MN 55057 or e-mail resume to hr@premierbanks.com.

For additional info, visit our website:  www.premierbanks.com EOE

Basma Kavanagh, a visual artist, printer, and poet, will read --> Read More]]> Minnesota Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen and Canadian poet and graphic artist Basma Kavanagh will read from their work at Monkey See, Monkey Read on Saturday, January 19th, at 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Basma Kavanagh, a visual artist, printer, and poet, will read from her recent books Distillo (Gaspereau Press, 2012) and A Rattle of Leaves (Red Dragonfly Press, 2012). Kavanagh is in Minnesota during the month of January as an artist-in-residence at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts.

Her poetry displays a profound commitment to the natural world, so much so that her descriptions of both flora and fauna often feel like potent elixirs or ritual charms, rather than words on a page. Her artwork can be viewed at http://www.basmakavanagh.ca/

Joyce Sutphen, the current Poet Laureate of Minnesota and English professor at Gustavus Adolphus College, will be reading from her forthcoming collection After Words (Red Dragonfly Press, 2013), her fifth full-length collection and an obvious companion to her last collection First Words (Red Dragonfly Press, 2010).

These two books center around the poet’s family and life on a rural Minnesota farmstead. From these down-to-earth, Minnesotan themes, Sutphen crafts poems that are approachable yet deeply steeped in the tradition of English literature.

“There’s much to relate in this worthwhile read, from funny family and workplace tales to thoughtful musings on faith, mortality, and loyalty.” –Publishers Weekly

“Pandl’s Restaurant in Milwaukee is a Midwest tradition: What makes Julia Pandl’s memoir shine is not only its charm and --> Read More]]> Memoir of the Sunday Brunch

“There’s much to relate in this worthwhile read, from funny family and workplace tales to thoughtful musings on faith, mortality, and loyalty.” –Publishers Weekly

“Pandl’s Restaurant in Milwaukee is a Midwest tradition: What makes Julia Pandl’s memoir shine is not only its charm and humor but also its insider’s look at how high standards and love equals extraordinary food. In Memoir of the Sunday Brunch, she cooks up a delicious story that deserves a wide audience.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

For Julia Pandl, the rite of passage into young-adulthood included mandatory service at her family’s restaurant, where she watched as her father—who was also the chef—ruled with the strictness of a drill sergeant.

At age twelve, Julie was initiated into the rite of the Sunday brunch, a weekly madhouse at her father’s Milwaukee restaurant, where she and her eight older siblings did service in a situation of controlled chaos, learning the ropes of the family business and, more important, learning life lessons that would shape them for all the years to come. In her wry memoir, she looks back on those formative years, a time not just of growing up but, ultimately, of becoming a source of strength and support as the world her father knew began to change into a tougher, less welcoming place.

Part coming-of-age story à la The Tender Bar, part window into the mysteries of the restaurant business à la Kitchen Confidential, Julie Pandl provides tender wisdom about the bonds between fathers and daughters and about the simple pleasures that lie in the daily ritual of breaking bread.

Julia Pandl was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she still lives and works. Memoir of the Sunday Brunch is her first book. When she is not writing and otherwise working, she moonlights as a stand-up comic.

A Christmas Home

The touching sequel to the beloved novel A Dog Named Christmas.

On Sunday, November 29, 2009, more than 12.5 million families fell in love with the television adaptation of the novel A Dog Named Christmas. Within forty-eight hours after the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie aired, the initial run of twenty thousand DVDs sold out. Two years later, when Christmas with Tucker, the prequel to the McCray family stories, was released, it was described by Dean Koontz as ”a perfect Christmas read,” by A. J. Jacobs as ”lovely and poignant,” and by Publishers Weekly as ”cute, hopeful, and heartwarming.” Now, the much-anticipated third installment, A Christmas Home, will prove to be yet another holiday classic.

Watching their children move out and live independently is a difficult task for many parents — but for George and Mary Ann McCray, it’s nearly impossible. Even though Todd, their disabled son, is in his twenties, George and Mary Ann fear that he cannot thrive without their support and supervision. But Todd is determined to be his own person — and he has a dog named Christmas and an entire community ready to help him find his way.

Gregory Kincaid lives on a farm in eastern Kansas with his wife, two cats, and two dogs, including Rudy, adopted from a local shelter. When not writing, he is a practicing lawyer and pet-adoption advocate.

The books are available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

1. --> Read More]]> We picked 20 of the coolest books in the store and will be discounting them 20% November 23 through the end of the year. The list has a little bit of everything. Four fiction, six non-fiction, five picture books, and five young adult novels. Here they are:

1. Visiting Tom: A Man, a Highway, and the Road to Roughneck Grace by Mike Perry

2. Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King

3. Mighty Fitz: the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Michael Schumacher

4. One for the Books by Joe Queenan

5. Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday by Jordan Matter

6. Minnesota  Book of Skills: Your Guide to Smoking Whitefish, Sauna Etiquette, Tick Extraction, and More by Chris Niskanen

7. Illuminations: a Novel of Hildegard Von Bingen by Mary Sharratt

8.  Poe’s Lighthouse edited by Christopher Conlon

9. The Fall of Alice K. by Jim Heynen

10. Dear Life by Alice Munro

11. Frozen by Mary Casanova

12. Keeping Safe the Stars by Sheila O’Connor

13. Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman

14. Son by Lois Lowry

15. Fourmile by Watt Key

16. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

17. Black Dog by Levi Pinfold

18. Children of the Northlights by Ingri & Edgar Parin D’aulaire

19. Boot and Shoe by Maria Frazee

20. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: the Great Pancake Adventure by Matthew Luckhurst

The books are available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

Fans of Henry You’re Late Again will love Mary Bleckwehl’s latest book. Henry You’re Hungry Again is another wonderful story with great illustrations by Brian Barber.

Do you get crazy hungry like Henry? And what do YOU eat when you get really hungry? Healthy --> Read More]]> Henry You’re Hungry Again

Fans of Henry You’re Late Again will love Mary Bleckwehl’s latest book. Henry You’re Hungry Again is another wonderful story with great illustrations by Brian Barber.

Do you get crazy hungry like Henry? And what do YOU eat when you get really hungry? Healthy stuff like nuts? Or the best vegetable in the world–BROCCOLI? Not Henry! He prefers candy and fries, thank you! And a lot of it.

And what’s wrong with that? Nothing, if you don’t mind feeling shaky in gym class and having your teeth rot out. But what if your family and your teachers get the same idea to be sweet-aholics? Will everyone tumble into a junk food pit and never return? Or will someone come to the rescue?

Food is important, laughter is too! Get your dose today with HENRY! you’re hungry AGAIN?

Visiting the Visitors

Packy Mader will sign copies of his books during Winter Walk Thursday, December 6, 2012.

Some of the most wondrous gifts cost nothing. This is a story of such gifts.

On a silent and magical Christmas Eve night, three children and their grandparents bear gifts down the starlit path to a stable. They take this peaceful, wintry journey to thank the visitors of centuries ago for their historic and holy visit. The children deliver simple gifts and sincere gratitude to the visitors in tribute for that long-ago night honoring a newborn babe.

Illustrator Andrew Holmquist’s striking combination of glowing yellow interior scenes and deep blue exterior scenes captures the iconic images in a perfect light. The characters in the stable fill the page with such presence and quiet majesty that readers might catch themselves holding a breath.

Author Patrick “Packy” Mader continues his theme of heartwarming intergenerational stories from rural traditions with Visiting the Visitors, which joins a small stable of books celebrating growth of self and relationships: Opa & Oma Together, Oma Finds a Miracle, and Big Brother Has Wheels.

This is Packy’s best work yet. Andrew Holmquist’s stunning illustrations compliment this beautiful story.

The books are available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

“To be submerged in the frothing, watery world of Peter Geye’s The Lighthouse Road is to be baptized anew in the promise of American letters. I defy you to bear witness to the tormented tenderness of Odd Eide, to suffer and love and row beside --> Read More]]> The Lighthouse Road

“To be submerged in the frothing, watery world of Peter Geye’s The Lighthouse Road is to be baptized anew in the promise of American letters. I defy you to bear witness to the tormented tenderness of Odd Eide, to suffer and love and row beside him in his skiff, without throwing down your nets.

Here is an epic that spans more than generations. Here is an epic that spans the topography between hell-dark bear dens and moonlit lake water. Here is a novel that charts the whole of the human heart.” —Bruce Machart, author of The Wake of Forgiveness

Against the wilds of sea and wood, Thea Edie, a young immigrant, settles into life outside Duluth in the 1890s, still shocked to learn that her resident family has fallen apart and that she is adrift; in the early 1900s, her orphan son, now grown, falls in love with the one woman he shouldn’t and uses his best skills to build them their own small ark to escape. But their pasts travel with them, threatening to capsize even their fragile hope.

In his triumphant return, Peter Geye crafts another deeply moving tale of a family defined in part by the rough landscape in which they live, and in part by the rough edges of their own breaking hearts.

Peter Geye received his BA from The University of Minnesota, his MFA from the University of New Orleans, and his PhD from Western Michigan University, where he was editor of Third Coast. He was born and raised in Minneapolis and continues to live there with his wife and three children. He is the author of the award winning novel, Safe from the Sea.

“Jeremy Jackson’s swirling memoir is built upon layers of well-chosen detail—it remembers theweather, the geography, the history of plowed earth, the coal-smoke taste of coffee, and the aching love between the lines of handwritten letters.

The result is like peering through a new lens at a familiar hillside, or walking through the pastures of your childhood and discovering they were bigger, not smaller, than you recall—now that is the mark of a generous writer.”—Leif Enger, author of Peace Like a River and So Brave, Young, and Handsome

With storytelling informed by a profound sense of place and an emotional memory startlingly vivid, Jackson stands poised to join the ranks of renowned memoirists the likes of Tobias Wolff. Readers young and old will be transported and transformed by his unforgettable coming-of-age tale.

I Will Not Leave You Comfortless is the intimate memoir of a young boy coming to consciousness in small-town Missouri. The year 1984 brings ten-year-old Jeremy first loves, first losses, and a break from the innocence of boyhood that will never be fully repaired. In that pivotal year, he loses his grandmother and his sister leaves for college, life-altering events by which he is forever shaken.

Narrated from several points of view that give the reader a rich and wide vision of the family, Jackson’s ten-year-old voice is the pivot around which the story turns. In many ways, Jackson’s style is a hybrid of the novel and the personal narrative.

Jeremy Jackson is the author of two novels, Life at These Speeds and In Summer. A graduate of Vassar College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives in Iowa City. Jackson is also the author of young adult novels under the name Alex Bradley, and cookbooks, includingThe Cornbread Book, which was nominated for a James Beard Award. He has written about food for the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post.

“Destined to become a classic” –Susan Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of One Good Dog

An inspiring story of how a single act of kindness can transform your life.

Rosalie MacKenzie is headed nowhere until she sees Smokey, a Siberian husky suffering --> Read More]]> An Echo through the Snow

“Destined to become a classic” –Susan Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of One Good Dog

An inspiring story of how a single act of kindness can transform your life.

Rosalie MacKenzie is headed nowhere until she sees Smokey, a Siberian husky suffering from neglect. Rosalie finds the courage to rescue the dog, and—united by the bond of love that forms between them—they save each other.

Soon Rosalie and Smokey are immersed in the world of competitive dogsled racing. Days are filled with training runs, the stark beauty of rural Wisconsin, and the whoosh of runners on snow. Rosalie discovers that behind the modern sport lies a tragic history: the heartbreaking story of the Chukchi people of Siberia. When Stalin’s Red Army displaced the Chukchi in 1929, many were killed and others lost their homes and their beloved Guardians—the huskies that were the soul and livelihood of their people.

Alternating between past and present, telling of a struggling Chukchi family and a young woman discovering herself, An Echo Through the Snow takes readers on a gripping, profound, and uplifting dogsled ride to the Iditarod and beyond, on a journey of survival and healing.

Andrea Thalasinos, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology at Madison College. Her respect for huskies grew while she was running her own sled team of six dogs. She helped found a dog rescue group in the upper Midwest for displaced northern breeds. Andrea lives and writes in Madison, Wisconsin. An Echo Through the Snow is her first novel.

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures

The enchanting story of a Midwestern girl who escapes a family tragedy and is remade as a movie star during Hollywood’s golden age.

“Emma Straub’s beautifully observed first novel explores the fraught trajectory of what has become a staple of the American dream:  the hunger for stardom and fame.  Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures affords an intimate, epic view of how that dream ricochets through one American life.” –Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad

“Emma Straub is a magician, full of  brilliance and surprise.” –Lorrie Moore, bestselling author of A Gate at the Stairs

In 1920, Elsa Emerson, the youngest and blondest of three sisters, is born in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin. Her family owns the Cherry County Playhouse, and more than anything, Elsa relishes appearing onstage, where she soaks up the approval of her father and the embrace of the audience. But when tragedy strikes her family, her acting becomes more than a child’s game of pretend.

While still in her teens, Elsa marries and flees to Los Angeles. There she is discovered by Irving Green, one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, who refashions her as a serious, exotic brunette and renames her Laura Lamont. Irving becomes Laura’s great love; she becomes an Academy Award­-winning actress—and a genuine movie star. Laura experiences all the glamour and extravagance of the heady pinnacle of stardom in the studio-system era, but ultimately her story is a timeless one of a woman trying to balance career, family, and personal happiness, all while remaining true to herself.

Ambitious and richly imagined, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures is as intimate—and as bigger-than-life—as the great films of the golden age of Hollywood. Written with warmth and verve, it confirms Emma Straub’s reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in fiction.

Emma Straub is from New York City. Her fiction and nonfiction have been published byTin House, The Paris Review Daily, Slate, and Cousin Corinne’s Reminder. She is a staff writer for Rookie. Emma lives with her husband in Brooklyn, where she also works as a bookseller.

Silhouette of a Sparrow

“Tight and purposeful…a positive breath of fresh air.” —Kirkus Reviews

A first novel for young adults that wonderfully evokes the historical period of the 1920’s, a love of birding, and a girl’s coming-of-age and sexual awareness.

In the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology and visiting the famous new amusement park—a summer of fun before she returns for her final year of high school, after which she’s expected to marry a nice boy and settle into middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of equally oppressive guardians—her father’s wealthy cousin and the matron’s stuck-up daughter. Only a liberating job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocating boredom of traditional femininity.

Silhouette of a Sparrow is a coming-of-age story about a search for wildness in a confining time, and a simultaneous quest for security in an era full of unrest. It is the tale of a young woman’s discovery of the science of risk and the art of rebellion, and of course, the power of unexpected love.

Molly Beth Griffin is the recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Grant, a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center in the Twin Cities. Her first picture book, Loon Baby, came out from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2011.

All books are available at Monkey See Monkey Read in downtown Northfield.

We --> Read More]]> Join the Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) at locations in Cannon Falls, Dundas, Faribault, Northfield, Medford,  Morristown, Owatonna, Waterville and Welch to clean up the shores and water.  The last three years we have pulled 63,000 pounds of trash from our rivers and lakes with YOUR help. 

We need you to continue our work for healthier water and healthier communities. Walking and canoe access sites will be available. Groups from across the watershed are participating in this annual cleanup.  Make a difference in your community and have fun! 

Details on our clean-up page or by contacting Leslie Kennedy at 507-786-3915 or leslie@crwp.net. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7F6P4npaxc