EST. 2006 .•. St. Paul, Minnesota .•. “Veni Sedi Legi”

Howdy, readers! It was great seeing so many of you on Indie Bookstore Day last week! I know many of you by name at this point, and many more of you by face, and Indie Bookstore Day is the one day a year when we get to see almost everyone! My deepest thanks to each and every one of you for dropping by!

Finally, I'd love if you could take a short (only six questions) poll about your experience on Indie Bookstore Day this year. This will help us make next year even better! (The image below links to a Google form.)

First, hunt for one of the bronze, silver, or gold bookmarks hidden at participating Little Free Libraries using clues that will be posted on the MGCC website and social media! If you are the first to find one of these three special bookmarks, send a picture and the location of the hiding spot to mgcc@macgrove.org to claim a prize. Second, you can find and complete up to six hidden word search puzzles. Take a picture and send it to mgcc@macgrove.org to be entered into a drawing to win further prizes. Both of these activities give you a chance to win a Next Chapter gift card!

What a fun way to get outside and get some new books, all for free. Even if you're not planning to participate, take this as a reminder to refill your nearest Little Free Library.

Next Chapter Booksellers is looking for a part-time bookseller to work weekends. Interested parties should send a resume and cover letter to info@nextchapterbooksellers.com. Benefits include: finally removing this paragraph from the newsletter!

Bite By Bite — Aimee Nezhukumatathil

In Bite by Bite, poet and essayist Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders) explores the way food and drink evoke our associations and remembrances—a layering, a flavor tinged with joy, shame, exuberance, grief, desire, or nostalgia. From shaved ice to lumpia, mangos to pecans, rambutan to vanilla, she investigates how food marks our experiences and identities and explores the boundaries between heritage and memory. Bite by Bite offers a rich and textured kaleidoscope of vignettes and visions into the world of food and nature, drawn together by intimate and humorous personal reflections, with Fumi Nakamura’s gorgeous illustrations.

Long Island — Colm Toibin

Eilis is married to Tony, one of four Italian American brothers, and lives in the same cul-de-sac in Long Island as his huge extended family that lives, works, eats and plays together. Yet Eilis, an Irish woman with two children, has no one to rely on in this still-new country. Then, one day, a stranger appears to tell her that his wife is pregnant with Tony’s child and that when the baby is born, he will deposit it on Eilis’s doorstep. It is what Eilis does—and what she refuses to do—in response to this stunning news that makes Tóibín’s novel so riveting. Long Island is about longings unfulfilled, even unrecognized. The silences in Eilis’ life are thunderous and dangerous, and there’s no one more deft than Tóibín at giving them language.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club — Helen Simonson

It is the summer of 1919 and Constance has been sent as a lady’s companion to a family friend convalescing at a seaside hotel. She is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after rescuing the baronet’s daughter Poppy from a social faux pas. Trouser-wearing Poppy and her friends welcome Constance into their ladies’ motorcycle club. But as Britain celebrates hard-won peace, the freedoms Constance and her new friends gained during the war are being revoked. Whip-smart and utterly transportive, this is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.

All Fours — Miranda July

A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.

Five Broken Blades — Mai Corland

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the god king Joon. He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined, or sold. And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness—from the hired hit man seeking atonement, the lovely assassin seeking freedom, to the prince banished for his cruel crimes. They can agree on murder. But for these five killers—each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal—it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other… but only one can take the crown. Let the best liar win.

Grab an illustrated sprayed-edge edition (pictured above), while supplies last!

Last Entry Point: Stories of Danger and Death in the Boundary Waters — Joe Friedrichs

Hypothermia, lightning strikes, high winds, medical emergencies--the dangers are real in canoe country. Last Entry Point shares tales of tragedy and near-tragedy in the Boundary Waters while offering guidance on how to avoid worst-case scenarios. Experienced paddler and longtime regional journalist Joe Friedrichs interviews people who confronted danger and walked away, as well as those whose loved ones died in the wilderness. These narratives encourage all paddlers and hikers to think through what could happen and prepare for all contingencies so that, ideally, they return with their own tales that are memorable for only the best of reasons.

Magic Pill — Johann Hari

In 2023, Johann Hari started to inject himself once a week with Ozempic, one of the new drugs that produces significant weight loss. He wondered: can these drugs really be as good as they sound? Finding the answer to this high-stakes question led him on a journey from Iceland to Minneapolis to Tokyo, to interview the leading experts in the world on these questions. He found that along with the drug’s massive benefits come twelve significant risks. He also found that these drugs radically challenge what we think we know about shame, willpower, and healing. Are the drugs a liberation or a further symptom of our deeply dysfunctional relationship with food? Magic Pill is an essential guide to the revolution that has already begun.

The Year of Living Constitutionally — A.J. Jacobs

As he did for the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs gets inside the minds of the Constitution's framers by living as closely as possible to the document's original meaning. The book blends unforgettable adventures—delivering a handwritten petition to Congress and battling redcoats as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment group—with a crash course on the Constitution and the benefits and perils of living like it’s the 1790s. As politicians and justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret this storied document, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how it fits into our democracy today.

The Situation Room — George Stephanopoulos

George Stephanopoulos, legendary political news host and advisor to President Clinton, recounts the history-making crises from the place where twelve presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White House Situation Room. No room better defines American power, yet none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Stephanopoulos takes readers through dramatic turning points, including a vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack, and a first-ever account of January 6th from the staff inside the Sit Room. The Situation Room is the definitive look at the room where it happened, and those who have made history within its walls.

Two new bookmarks debuted on Indie Bookstore Day! One celebrates Manga Club, which has been meeting for over a year and a half, and one shows our mystery/thriller enthusiast David in an act of clandestine bookselling. Pick one up for free next time you're in the store!

2025 Linnea Calendars are here, and they look delicious!! Pour yourself some OJ and get a head start on next year!

Recent author appearances at NCB: Left, Richard Ebert stopped by Friday to sign his debut thriller Silentcide: The Art of Undetected Killing! You can read about his experience writing and self-publishing Silentcide in the latest issue of The Annandale Advocate. Right, Sally Franson was also in recently... with her young assistant! Grab a signed copy of A Lady's Guide to Selling Out before we sell out!

Did you see our new display on IBD? "13 Books For 13 Lyrics"! Can you guess the artist?

As always, our newsletter can't fit everything, so check out the other new arrivals and recent bestsellers on our website!

Christi Furnas (Crazy Like A Fox: Adventures In Schizophrenia), In Conversation With Caitlin Skaalrud

Fox Foxerson's got a new roommate. Fox Foxerson's got a new job. Fox Foxerson's got a date. Fox Foxerson would rather be making art. As the oppressive weight of the everyday beats down on Fox, it doesn't seem like anyone can help — definitely not the nurses and doctors at the hospital, who don't seem to take notice of anything Fox tries to tell them. This autobiographically-inspired graphic novel explores mental health and schizophrenia in a surprising and emotionally honest story with a fantastical cast of animal characters.

Christi Furnas is a queer cartoonist, illustrator, oil painter, and disability rights advocate. She has exhibited in galleries across Minnesota and in New York City. Christi lives with her partner in Minneapolis. This is her debut graphic novel. Its protagonist, Fox Foxerson currently has an advice column in Dispatch, a Twin Cities publication covering arts and culture. Caitlin Skaalrud is a cartoonist, comics instructor, self-publisher and aspiring astrologer based in Minneapolis. A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design's comic art program, she remains a working cartoonist and active in the Twin Cities comic scene as a organizer of Autoptic Festival, a bi-annual celebration of independent art. Her debut graphic novel, Sea Change: A Choose-Your-Own-Way Story, was awarded one of the last Xeric Foundation Grant for Self-Publishing in 2012.

J. Ryan Stradal (Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club), In Conversation With Kate Gibson

The Lakeside Supper Club has been in Mariel's family for decades, but her mother Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between them that never healed. Her husband Ned is also an heir—to a chain of diners—and he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. When Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, can they find a way to rebuild? In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage.

J. Ryan Stradal is the author of bestselling Kitchens of the Great Midwest, which won the ABA Indie's Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year. His second novel, the national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota, won the WILLA Literary Award for Fiction. His third and newest novel, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, was a Heartland Booksellers Award finalist, and became a national bestseller the first week of its release. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian, among other places. Born and raised in Minnesota, he now lives with his family in California. Kate Gibson is one half of the pair hosting ABC Audio podcast The Book Case with Kate and Charlie Gibson, which combines her love of authors, reading, and her father. She is currently obtaining a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences from St. Kate’s University. Prior to that, she pursued a career in television as a culinary show producer and executive in public media. She is the high-strung and devoted mother of two amazing children and the wife of a talented audio engineer and producer.  

See the calendar on our website for more!

Book club titles are 15% off through the date of the meeting!

Manga Club: In This Corner of the World

Come to Next Chapter Booksellers at 5pm on the second Saturday of every month to eat some mochi and talk manga with other otaku! Hosted by our resident manga expert Graham, the Manga Club (マンガクラブ, lit. manga kurabu) provides a forum to casually discuss a new title every month. For our May meeting, we'll be discussing In This Corner of the World, Fumiyo Kouno's beautiful and heartbreaking story of civilian life in WWII Japan, which was adapted into a film by animation studio MAPPA, currently on Netflix. This is a longer one, and our first historical fiction. If you can't read it, watch the movie and show up anyway! See you there, space cowboy!

Enemies To Readers: The Bookbinder's Guide to Love

Whether or not you are already in love with romance novels, or are seeking a new relationship with the genre, Enemies to Readers invites you to join us every last Thursday at 5pm to discuss the latest read, as well as our continuing passion for tropes and spicy reads. Our May pick, we'll be reading Alisha Rai's Partners in Crime! Mira's got a solid career, good friends, and a lot of distance between her and her dysfunctional family. All that’s missing is a stable romantic relationship, but no one is quite right, including her ex Naveen. When Mira walks back into his life to settle her dead aunt’s affairs, he’s determined to keep things professional. But instead, Naveen and Mira find themselves in a mad dash through Las Vegas to escape jewel thieves, evade crime bosses, and untangle the mess her family left behind. As her past comes back to haunt her, Mira despairs of finding someone who might understand her… but maybe, over the course of one wild night, she’ll find that he’s right by her side.

Join us for First Chapter Story Time Saturdays at 10:30am, when Michael or a special guest reader will share a couple favorite picture books from our children’s section, followed by an activity related to the story! Children of all ages are invited. Enjoy a story, browse our books, and instill a love of reading in your tykes! This week, Michael will read Touch the Sky by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Chris Park and Ready to Soar by Cori Doerrfeld! Perfect airy reads for a (hopefully) beautiful spring day!

V For Vendetta — Alan Moore & David Lloyd

So here you are in this city

With a shattered heart, it seems

Though when you arrived you thought you'd have

The holiday of your dreams

You'd cry yourself to sleep if you could

But you've been awake all night

Well, here's something you need to do

At the first hint of morning light

Walk right across the deserted city

To the Boulevard Amsterdam

And wait there for waht the citizens here

Refer to as the Breakfast Tram

Climb on board

You'll soon manage

To find at the far end

Of the carriage

The most wonderful buffet

There's everything

You'd want to eat

You can take a feast

Back to your seat

Whatever you can fit onto your tray

And the mist on the windows will start to fade

As the sun climbs higher in the sky

And you can sit back with your cafe au lait

While outside the waking city clatters by

So things didn't quite meet expectations

But you're bound to conclude

Upon reflection

There's no reason you should give a damn

Just treat yourself

To a cinnamon pancake

Very soon

You'll forget your heartache

When you have breakfast on the morning tram

So, like, this is about the last scene in The Unconsoled, right?

I can't believe he wrote a song about that.

2. Order online or over the phone (at 651-225-8989) for in-store pickup. We'll let you know when your books are ready, then you can swing by and pick them up at your leisure.

Me and Jad all day hauling coolers in from the trucks. "That's one down." He whistles tunelessly, airy like the wind between the reeds. If he doesn't learn how to actually whistle I am going to kill him. I am going to kill him. Fifteen years working with a man and habits become a certain violence. "Yep," he says. "Yessir." Sweat clogs my coveralls. In the humidity, it has no place to go. "That'll do yah. Yep." Life is tedious, but mercifully it is brief.