Best Of

Best Books Based In Minnesota

January 19, 2015 / 7:00 AM CST / CBS Minnesota

The Minnesota book market has been quite lively lately. Some new non-fiction are about the state and some new fiction novels take place in Minnesota. In case you missed it, an earlier article listed three contemporary non-fiction books and two more timeless tomes all about Minnesota and Minnesotans. See more at Best Books About Minnesota.

"What's Great about Minnesota?"
Nadia Higgins
www.lernerbooks.com

For less than a meal at McDonald's, you can get all you need to know about Minnesota's top 10 places to visit. The lakes, the woods and the history — it's all there in a captivating approach striving to arouse inquisitiveness in young readers. The vivid descriptions are then summarized in a single Minnesota by Map section. Minneapolis resident Higgins has authored around 60 books, mostly for school libraries.

"Only the Dead"
Vidar Sundstøl
www.upress.umn.edu

The University Press' newly released mystery novel, "Only the Dead," is the second in Sundstøl's Minnesota Trilogy Series. Images of weather and wilderness on the rugged Lake Superior North Shore so palpable you can touch serve stark contrast to the ephemeral murder mystery whirling around Scandinavian immigrants and the indigenous Native Americans. You will want to read the first novel, a Riverton Prize winner, "The Land of Dreams," before you light upon the shorter second tract. Norwegian crime novelist Sundstøl shares great insights into allegiance to family and culture as he weaves two tales into a psychological thriller. Start reading now, before the third book in the trilogy, "The Ravens," comes out April 2015.

"The Road Back to Sweetgrass"
Linda LeGarde Grover
www.upress.umn

LeGarde draws the reader into her beautiful awareness of the hearts of three American Indian women, their culture and their environment. The smell of sweetgrass, the imagery of fry bread bubbling in fat and the making of meals are but a few of the symbols of heritage set in the middle of a turmoil created by the change in Federal Indian policy in the 1970s. Grover accurately portrays contemporary American Indian life right up to the present, punctuated by sadness and hopefulness throughout their tumultuous life on a fictional reservation.

"Perfectly Good White Boy"
Carrie Mesrobian
www.carriemesrobian.com

Known for raw language and unabashedly confronting the untold side of life and relationships with candor, in her award-winning book, "Sex & Violence," Carrie Mesrobian writes another great novel. Her first book won the 2014 Minnesota Book Award for Young People's Literature. "Perfectly Good White Boy," recommended for ages 13 to 18, was published in October and should get a lot of the same attention. Set in a fictional suburb of the Twin Cities, "Perfectly Good White Boy" deftly portrays a 17-year-old in his last year of high school, delving into the inner turmoil facing teens having to make life's choices. Carrie Mesrobian is homegrown and now living in a suburb of Minneapolis. She was a high school Spanish instructor, but you will now find her teaching creative writing at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

"Modern Spirit: The Art Of George Morrison"
W. Jackson Rushing III and Kristin Makholm
www.mmaamorrison.org

"I seek the power of the rock, the magic of the water, the religion of the tree, the color of the wind, and the enigma of the horizon," George Morrison said of his abstract landscapes. Morrison's artistic skills cover a wide range of genres and media and are well represented in the 130 color and black-and-white photographs showcased in the book, 2014 winner of The Friends of the Saint Paul Library Minnesota Book Awards. His modernist style drew wide appreciation during his lifetime. The authors are Kristin Makholm, Executive Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art and W. Jackson Rushing III, Professor of Art History, University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History.

Robin Johnson was born in Annandale, Minn. and graduated from Richfield High School and then the University of Minnesota where he studied Political Science, Business and Industrial Relations. A writer for Examiner.com, he also consults with a variety of organizations and individuals helping them develop and grow. His work can be found at Examiner.com.