Reading the States: Minnesota

Friday, June 15, 2012


State: MINNESOTA

Fiction:
- Peace Like a River* by Leif Enger
- Shiver* by Maggie Stiefvater
- Freedom* by Jonathan Franzen
- Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik          
- Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor
- Main Street* by Sinclair Lewis 
- In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
- On the Banks of Plum Creek* by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Weatherman by Steve Thayer
- Orphan Train* by Christina Baker Kline
- Betsy and Tacy* by Maud Hart Lovelace
- War for the Oaks by  Emma Bull
- Kitchens of the Great Midwest* by J. Ryan Stradal 

Nonfiction:
- Under a Flaming Sky* by Daniel James Brown
- Minnesota: A History by William E. Lass
- The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
- How to Talk Minnesotan by Howard Mohr
- Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country by Louise Erdrich
- The Music of Failure by Bill Holm

Authors Known for Writing in or about the State:
- Garrison Keillor
- John Sandford (Prey series)
- Jon Hassler

Authors Who Lived Here:
- Sinclair Lewis 
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Louise Erdrich
- Leif Enger
- Al Franken

Great Bookstores:

7 comments:

Jeanne said...

My favorite by Landvik is Welcome to the Great Mysterious. She had a middle period when I think she was at her best.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

You are so great about detailing all of these books per state!! Minnesota is one of those states I would love to visit but it just seems so tough to get to.

Peace Like a River is on my must read shelf. One day...

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Jeanne - I haven't read her, but maybe I'll try that one.

Trish - Thanks! The Huz and I are actually going there for the first time this year. We're taking a roadtrip out to Glacier Park in Montana and we're staying a few days in St. Paul/Minneappolis. There's so much to do in those cities! And Peace Like a River is really good.

Care said...

Sounds like a lovely trip. TripleD has been to MinneStPaul so many times, I would need a week or more to eat at all the restaurants I want to try. I've been to the mall - woohoo.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Care - You'll have to let me know if there are any sights or restaurants we should check out!

Dale said...

I lived in Hibbing (Mesabi Iron Range) for a year when I was a kid - which was a while ago. I remember lots of birch trees and snow and visits to Duluth to see Lake Superior. I've heard great things about Leif Enger but haven't gotten around to reading anything, yet. Some day soon, maybe.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Dale - I really enjoyed Peace Like a River, but I haven't read any of his other work.