April 2009 - Vol 3, Issue 10
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Magers & Quinn has so many books we want to tell you about that we're starting a second monthly newsletter, just to keep you up to date on what's coming into the store.

We'll be letting you know about the newest and best books, as well as tried and true classics and even those one-of-a-kind used and rare books you can only get here.

Here's just a small sampling of what's waiting for you at Magers & Quinn Booksellers. Come in soon to see the full selection.

In the store: $22.45
Online: $22.45 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $23.95


You're going to hear a lot about this book very soon. Robert Goolrick's second book (and first novel) A Reliable Wife is getting rave reviews. Booklist said, "Goolrick twists a familiar story, refashioning it into something completely original. . . . Few have permeated their narratives with gothic elements and suspense to such great effect. . . . The unforeseen conclusion provides a big payoff for readers of this tension-laden debut from a promising new talent."

The novel is set in Wisconsin in 1907. Goolrick spoke to Publishers Weekly recently about why he chose the Midwest for his novel. "I thought of Wisconsin, which I used to visit quite often on business when I was in advertising, and then I've always held Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip very dear to my heart. I think it's a brilliant book. And so I leafed around that book for probably the 500th time and decided to set it there. His book is set in 1896; I wanted it to be a little later, so there would be electricity and automobiles-a little more modern life."

A Reliable Wife is an unusual love story. Ralph Truitt, a wealthy foundry owner, advertises for the titular dependable spouse. Catherine Land answers his call, but she is not all that she appears to be. "Begin reading this novel at your peril," wrote Daphne Merkin, "for it will keep you straining to know what happens next until you come to the last, redemptive sentence."

If you dare, you can read the first chapter here.

Come in today to get your copy of A Reliable Wife. You won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, April 28, 7:00pm, at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis--TALK OF THE STACKS: Tom Robbins discusses B is for Beer

In the store: $15.99
Online: $13.46 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $17.95
Tom Robbins is the best-selling author of short stories, poetry, essays, and eight novels, including Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, Skinny Legs and All, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (which was made into a movie in 1993). His books are often wild, satirical stories with strong social undercurrents and obscure details. Tom Robbins has been called "a vital natural resource" by The Oregonian, "one of the wildest and most entertaining novelists in the world" by the Financial Times of London, and "one of the bravest writers in America" by the Chicago Times. Billed by Robbins himself as "the first children"s book about beer" for adults, B is for Beer is described as a "hallucinogenic hymn to beer, children, and the cosmic mysteries that sustain us all."

Talk of the Stacks is a reading series at the Minneapolis Central Library exploring contemporary literature and culture. Readings are held at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis. Readings are held at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis. The Talk of the Stacks presenting sponsor is U.S. Trust. Additional support provided by Secrets of the City and Magers & Quinn Booksellers.

The programs are free with open seating to the public. Book sales and a signing will follow the presentation. Call 612-630-6174 for more info.
In the store: $13.45
Online: $11.24 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $14.99
The medieval Persian mystical poet Hafez is still revered in his homeland Iran. Robert Bly's translation of his poetry shows us why. Hafez--like the better-known Sufi poet Rumi--was renowned for his lively wit, fierce satire, and romantic tenderness. Bly worked with Islamic scholar Leonard Lewisohn to bring all these strands blazing to life for modern readers. The poet Coleman Barks has said, "Robert understands the wild assertions of Hafez and his transparency. Robert's translations have the nimbleness and daring of the lover. This is the book we have been waiting for."

The Angels Knocking the Tavern Door: Thirty Poems of Hafez is out in paperback this month.

In the store: $40.65
Online: $40.65 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $45.00
Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell collects three decades of correspondance between two of the twentieth century's greatest poets. Alternately erudite and gossipy, candid and loving, their letters are a testament to both their talents and their friendship.

Words in Airwas a Los Angeles Times Favorite Book of 2008--they called it "an exhilarating document on the art of friendship." The Washington Post called it "a book to linger and dawdle over for weeks."
Magers & Quinn Booksellers and mnartists.org are looking for Minnesota writers. We're running two series: What Light is a poetry competition, and miniStories is a flash fiction contest. Submissions will be accepted through April 30. Details are here.

Winning poems and stories will be posted on mnartists.org and on magersandquinn.com. Winning authors will be invited to record audio versions of their work, which will be posted online and distributed through iTunes. Twenty authors in each category will be chosen between June 2009 and March 2010. Three of those twenty grand prize winners will be selected. Grand prize winners will be able to submit a second work to be posted online and will receive a small cash prize.

So sharpen your pencils and start writing. Full details on both competitions are here.
The National Book Critics Circle announced its 2009 award winners earlier this month. They are Details are here in Publishers Weekly.
February's Events
Visit our events page

for full details.


March 24 BIG BANG BOOK CLUB discusses Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin-7:00pm at Grumpy's Bar & Grill, 1111 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis,

March 27 William Dietrich (The Dakota Cipher) 7:30pm

April 4 Jon Ginoli (Deflowered:My Life in Pansy Division) 7:00pm

April 14 BOOKS & BARS discusses Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami--Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, doors open at 6:00pm, discussion begins at 7:00pm

April 17 Joshua Beckman (Take It) 7:30pm

April 18 Loree Rackstraw (Love as always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him) 5:00pm

April 18 Sara Barron (People Are Unappealing) 7:00pm

April 19 Bill Carlson (The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland) 4:00pm

April 19 Suzane Adam (Laundry) 6:00pm

April 20 Katrina Uhly, Darlyne Bailey, and Kelly Mcnall Koney discuss their book Sustaining Our Spirits: Women Leaders Thriving for Today, 7:30pm

April 21 TALK OF THE STACKS: "The News of Books"--7:00 pm at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

April 23 Greg Brick (Subterranean Twin Cities) 7:30pm

April 28 TALK OF THE STACKS: Tom Robbins discusses B is for Beer--7:00 pm at the Minneapolis Central Library, Pohlad Hall, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

April 28 The BIG BANG BOOK CLUB discusses Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku--7:00pm at Grumpy's Bar & Grill, 1111 Washington Ave S, Minneapolis

April 29 Christian Moerk (Darling Jim)7:30pm

May 3 Steve Vander Ark (The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials) 5:00pm
Saturday, April 4, 7:00pm--Jon Ginoli discusses his memoir Deflowered: My Life in Pansy Division

In the store:$16.95
Online: $12.71 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $16.95
Deflowered is Jon Ginoli's journey of self-discovery, musical passion, and drive to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud queer core punk rock band to hit the semi-big time. Set against the changing decades of music, we follow the band from its inception in San Francisco, to its search for a music label and a permanent drummer to its current status as indie rock icons. We see the highs--touring with Green Day--and the lows--homophobic fans--of striving for acceptance and success in the world of rock. Featuring behind-the-scenes photographs and replete with the requisite tales of sex, drugs, groupies, band fights and label battles, this rollicking memoir is also an impassioned account of staying true to the artistic vision of queer rock'n'roll.

Saturday, April 18, 5:00pm--Loree Rackstraw discusses her memoir Love as Always, Kurt: Vonnegut as I Knew Him

In the store: $25.00
Online: $18.75 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $25.00
Love as Always, Kurt is a chronological narrative about Vonnegut, stemming from his forty-year friendship with Rackstraw--which began in 1966, when she was a graduate student in his fiction writing class at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. What started as a brief love affair between the then-unknown author and his student soon matured into a joyful, lifelong friendship. In the book, Rackstraw distills four decades of her memories and Vonnegut's letters.

Based on their long correspondence and reunions, Love as Always, Kurt includes reflections on how family, politics, war, personal events and crises influenced Vonnegut's psyche, values, actions, and writing. Rackstraw provides compelling insight--revealing little-known details about Vonnegut's life and his creative process--making this an intimate behind-the-scene portrait.

Sunday, April 19, 4:00pm--Author and photographer Bill Carlson discusses his new book The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland

In the store: $29.95
Online: $26.95 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $29.95
The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland features an archive of original, previously-unpublished photographs shot by gifted and then 17-year-old photographer Bill Carlson on August 21,1965, the day the Beatles came to Minneapolis, with commentary from those who were there, including Larry Kane, Tony Barrow, Bill Diehl, and the fans. Forty-years later, award-winning cinematographer Carlson unearthed his collection of 140 never-before-seen photographs documenting one day in the life of the Beatles on their tour in the Midwest.

For Beatles fans, photography aficionados, and history buffs, The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland (with a Foreword by Larry Kane) brings together several remarkable stories: First, the Beatles "phenoms" who changed music and culture forever. Second, world-class photographer, Bill Carlson, who shares his story of getting into Met Stadium backstage and talking to George about his new Rickenbacker 360/12 guitar. Lastly, let's not forget the over 25,000 screaming, shouting, cheering, swooning, clapping, crying, and singing Minnesota fans transformed by what they experienced that day--captured in the 140 intimate photographs never seen before... until now.

Thursday, April 23, 7:30pm--Greg Brick discusses his book Subterranean Twin Cities

In the store: $18.95
Online: $14.21 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $18.95
We tend to send things underground that we are not interested in ever seeing again. Sewage. Garbage. In the past, we have used the underground to age such provisions as cheese and beer. In Subterranean Twin Cities, geologist, historian, and urban speleologist Greg Brick takes us on an adventurous, educational, and-thankfully--sanitary tour beneath the streets and into the myriad tunnels, caves, and industrial spaces that make up the Twin Cities' fascinating and surprisingly vast underground landscape.

In this groundbreaking tour, the first of its kind of the Twin Cities, Brick mines the stories that lie below the city surface. Beginning with an accessible history on the geology of the area--including the giant cone-shaped mollusk Endoceras, whose thirteen-foot-long fossils are found in the Mississippi gorge--Brick guides us into a series of astounding firsthand expeditions. We follow him into St. Paul's historic Carver's Cave, with its stories of sunken treasure; through the many caves constructed for brewing, cheese ripening, and mushroom farming; and into the world of nineteenth-century show caves for tourists. We even find ourselves in the "Shangri-la" of urban caves: the extensive Schiek's Cave seventy-five feet beneath the busy streets of downtown Minneapolis.

In the store: $12.55
Online: $10.46 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $13.95
The second meeting of the Big Bang Book Club will be Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00pm, at Grumpy's (1111 Washington Av. S., Minneapolis). We'll be discussing Neal Shubin's book Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-billion-Year History of the Human Body.

"With infectious enthusiasm, unfailing clarity, and laugh-out-loud humor, Neil Shubin has created a book on paleontology, genetics, genomics, and anatomy that is almost impossible to put down. In telling the story of why we are who we are, Shubin does more than show us our inner fish; he awakens and excites the inner scientist in us all."-Pauline Chen, author of Final Exam

"The antievolution crowd is always asking where the missing links in the descent of man are. Well, paleontologist Shubin actually discovered one. . . . A crackerjack comparative anatomist, he uses his find to launch a voyage of discovery about the evolutionary evidence we can readily see at hand. . . . Shubin relays all this exciting evidence and reasoning so clearly that no general-interest library should be without this book."-Booklist (starred review)

The Big Bang Book Club will meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Check out our events page for details on future meetings--and on all the great events at Magers & Quinn.

PS: If you can't wait to start talking science, visit the Big Bang Book Club group on Facebook. Post your questions, thoughts, and comments for other club members to think about.
The blog Largehearted Boy pointed out a posting on the blog How to Japanese which speculates about the recently announced novel by Haruki Murakami--puportedly titled 1Q84. It has been announced in Japanese, anyway; I can't find mention of an English edition as yet. There's not a lot of hard news as yet, but Murakami fans (this writer included) are already salivating at the prospect by another book by the author of Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood.

Stay tuned.
The next meeting of the Twin Cities' most unusual and interesting book club is Tuesday, April 14. Books & Bars meets at Bryant-Lake Bowl, 810 W Lake Street, in Minneapolis. Doors open at 6:00pm; the discussion begins at 7:00pm.

In the store: $13.45
Online: $11.21 (plus S/H)
Publisher's price: $14.95
April's book is Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. It's a fascinating blend of Greek tragedy and Japanese daily life. John Updike called it a "real page-turner, as well as an insistently metaphysical mind-bender."

Books & Bars is not your typical book club. We provide a unique atmosphere for a lively discussion of interesting authors, fun people, good food and drinks. You're welcome even if you haven't read the book.

Visit booksandbars.com for details and to talk to fellow members

Magers & Quinn is the largest independent bookstore in the Twin Cities. Stop in today or check our inventory on our website any time.

We'll be back soon with word on our upcoming events.

Until then,
David Enyeart
Magers and Quinn Booksellers

Call us: 612/822-4611
Or visit our website: http://www.magersandquinn.com
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