Minnesota Reads

The weird world of book signing: Now, though, an American publisher is short-circuiting the process. His company has posted an advertisement on Craigslist, the internet listing site, asking for 14 volunteers who can fake the signatures of two big-name authors of a forthcoming book; each successful applicant will be paid $25 for every 200 books [...]

Keith Gessen’s All the Sad Young Literary Men is the story of three Ivy League educated bumbly fumblers who wander around talking about Russian history and trying to juggle complex adult women with another woman on the side. They have aspirations: a dissertation! a Zionist epic! more google hits! And they seemingly have a sort [...]

The other day Mighty Girl, Maggie Mason wrote about the eight books that changed her. Since I read the post I’ve been thinking about what books have changed me, the ones that shook my foundation or rocked my world. It’s a tough question and I’ve been pondering it for a few days. My go to [...]

Christa is one of my favorite writers and I’m so honored that she’s going to participate here. Her blog blah-blah-blahler should zoom to the top of your must-read list. Not only is Christa the funniest woman in Duluth, but she’s also wry and observant, and she sees life a little bit differently than everyone else [...]

The Strib’s new Book Editor Laurie Hertzel introduces herself to readers. The Internet Writing Journal complies a list of the the best author blogs. {via} This week’s New Yorker features “Awake” a story by Tobias Wolff that I haven’t read yet, however I did make the mistake of reading the Joshua Ferris one from last [...]

Last week I ventured out to Magers & Quinn to listen to David Carr read from his memoir, The Night of the Gun. It was a great, great reading. If you weren’t one of the lucky hundred or so people to be there Thursday night, don’t worry, he’s reading tonight in St. Paul. I’d do [...]

I take a lot of shit from the comic book geeks in my life for my unflagging support of Superman. He is the best superhero of all time. It’s not a popular position to take. Everyone’s all Batman’s the best, he’s mysterious and conflicted. Oh, oh The Dark Knight. This summer has not been easy. [...]

Kelly is a writer and a high school English teacher who is on her way to becoming a funeral director (I know!). Her short stories are quiet, controlled and very, very twisted (she once wrote about a woman who add cremains to a hotdish). Someday someone will be smart enough to publish one of them [...]

MN Speakers discuss the books they’re reading this summer and how they keep track of them. I just found James Joyce’s short story Araby online. I loved this story so much as like a college sophomore that I decided I would name any future daughter Araby. Thankfully, I have yet to reproduce. The Strib has [...]

The Night of the Gun, David Carr’s memoir haunted me while I was reading it. At night I would dream about the book and Carr (and oddly, various Minnesota journalists), during the day I’d think about the book and the issues it represented. Carr is a reporter for the NY Times who spent many, many [...]

The NY Times compiles a nice collection of books ads. What surprised me were the ads featuring the authors smoking. Apparently smoking is totally literary. Girl Detective (one of my favorite Minnesota readers) reviews Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. The Rake’s Max Ross reviews Chris Adrian’s short story collection A Better Angel. Minn Post covers local-author [...]

Jodi Chromey is, well, me. It’s weird to write a brief bio-blurb about yourself. But really, I just want to set the precedent. I decided I’d go first, as a way to show all you readers (and future interview victims subjects what this’ll be like. So yes, Jodi Chromey, the writer responsible for I Will [...]

I’m not going to read the Strib’s review of David Carr’s The Night of the Gun, because I’m currently reading the book and really enjoying it. Sometimes I think if I read reviews they influence how I perceive the book. I like to come up with own ideas first and then see how right or [...]

If I had done my research, I could have saved myself the time I wasted reading Netherland by Joseph O’Neill. All the reviews that have raved about it go on and on about the lushness of the prose and the beauty of the blah blah blah. I don’t know what the blah blah is because [...]