“Let’s make litter out of these literati!”

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Lenny: “That’s too clever, you’re one of THEM!” –The Simpsons

As you may (or very well may NOT) have noticed, Minneapolis was recently named America’s Most Literate City. Yet another reason why the lakey city is so great: laudable reading habits. (Note: Whereas most publications say something like Minneapolis “bumped” or “ousted” Seattle for the number 1 bookworm city, the Minneapolis Star Tribune says supplanted. Why “supplanted?” ‘Cause we so literate.)

On a related note, my parents and I went to Garrison Keillor’s bookstore (Common Good Books) during my visit home. It’s a charming enough place but I found the vanity relics (“This is the desk at which Garrison Keillor wrote [some books], in his New York City apartment”) a little off-putting. Also, the Javier Marias selection was woefully slim.

I give them points, though, for prominently displaying books from local publishers, like Milkweed’s Cracking India and Coffee House’s Firmin. Also, there’s a very reading-and-writing-conducive coffee shop upstairs where they hold readings with local writers. My mom and I totally slayed a New York Times crossword puzzle there.

While on the subject of Minnesota and books: I miss Minnesota Public Radio’s Talking Volumes. I know that I could listen on the web, but that’s not as good as actually attending the tapings at the Fitzgerald Theatre. Watching a writer speak in that antique little gem of a theatre is a fun night out. (Rumor has it that Isabel Allende was enchanting.) And while I know that famous writers are easy to come by in New York, it is so much more special in small, unassuming St. Paul.

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Filed under Javier Marias, Minneapolis, Minnesota, St. Paul, books, public radio