Proud to say my bottom lip reached far and wide while I was begging for book-ish emails for my lonely inbox. I heard from four readers last week, and four again this week, including a note from a Minnesota author we featured back in August.
David Hakensen said he heard my “lamenting” and thought he’d drop a note to let me know (and all of you, of course) that he will be bringing his Her Place in the Woods: The Life of Helen Hoover biography to North Shore Readers at both the Two Harbors and Silver Bay libraries on October 27.
I know we have Hoover fans who read this column. I can count myself as one too and have Hakensen’s book to thank for it. His thorough and thoughtful depiction of the beloved nature writer who lived on Gunflint Lake in the 1950s really made me feel as if I knew her, and I had been completely unfamiliar with the fascinating writer before.
Hoover’s books, such as The Gift of the Deer and A Place in the Woods, continue to sell across the region. Hakensen credits the University of Minnesota Press for keeping them in print.
“She wrote four books about living among nature and adapting to life in the north woods after having a successful career as a metallurgist in Chicago,” wrote Hakensen. “My biography has reignited interest in Hoover’s career, and I have been attracting nice crowds of folks who have read her work or remember their mom, grandma, or aunt reading her books.”
I told Hakensen I’m not surprised people have shown such interest. Hoover’s blend of curiosity, grit, and gentle observation still resonates with North Shore readers and nature lovers. For more on Hakensen’s release, see Bringing the Northwoods to Life: Hakensen on Helen Hoover from our September 11, 2025 issue at northshorejournal.co.
I hope to make it to the library to meet Hakensen and get my book signed. It’s one of my prized possessions. Next I heard from NSRRU friend Anne Deneen in Grand Marais. Her subject line read, “I’m on a roll!” and indeed she has been, making sure I have something in my inbox again this week.
This time she wrote in about The Book Haters’ Book Club by Gretchen Anthony. It’s based in Minneapolis and is both a mystery and a treasure trove of real book and author recommendations.
“There are twists and turns as one of the co-owners dies suddenly and the owner left behind moves quickly to sell the store,” Deneen said. “There are shady reasons she is selling as well as reasons to protect the other owner who was also one of her best friends.”
She said she wouldn’t be able to give away any more, but enjoyed that the bookstore’s newsletter in the novel included real books and authors based on their customers’ interests. Deneen has taken on reading quite a few of the books mentioned, including The Friend by Sigrid Nunez. It’s a book she tried previously, but it didn’t hook her, even though, as she stated, “there is a dog!”
Giving it another attempt, she had a different reaction.
“I loved it this time around even though it was sad and bittersweet,” she reported.
It’s interesting how a book that didn’t click at one point can become a new favorite later. Anne’s note about The Friend reminded me of that. I’m the same way with music. A song I once skipped suddenly becomes the one I play on repeat. I think stories and songs meet us where we are, and sometimes we’re simply in a different place the second time around.
Deneen’s about to read Hudson Bay Bound by Natalie Warren, another recommendation from the Book Haters’ list. It’s about two women who follow Eric Sevareid’s route to Hudson Bay. As she owns and enjoys Canoeing with the Cree, she’s looking forward to starting on the adventure story soon and is sure she’ll love it. And yes, “there is a dog!” in this one too.
The Reading Farmer wrote in again, and it seems we have more than reading in common. She mentioned that her mother always said she could ride to town on her pouty lower lip. But hey, when it works, it works!
Having been reading a random selection lately, the Reading Farmer was compelled to “address a glaring absence on the TBR.”
“Maybe everyone has already read The Gales of November, but it’s my #1 nonfiction concerning the Great Lakes. It is a fascinating and fast read,” she said. “Great Lakes weather, shipbuilding, engineering, boat culture, not to mention the personal stories of the Fitzgerald’s crew. It’s got it all!”
No, not everyone has read the John U. Bacon book quite yet. There’s me and maybe one other person out there. But, in my defense, it has definitely been sitting on my TBR. I feel a special affection for the Fitz, having been born on the anniversary of the tragedy. (And admittingly always a little too excited to relay that fact about myself.) But I think all of us who live near the big lake carry a kind of fascination for it. The powerful beauty, the stories, the losses, the way it can be both a postcard and a warning in the same breath. I’ll be bumping this one up my list.
After recommending Sarah MacLean’s historical romance series Hells Belles, the Reading Farmer sent me a follow-up the next morning to ensure we mention that it’s a bit “bawdy” and definitely not for kids.
“Victorian-era vigilante women. Early feminists,” the Reading Farmer described. “Smart and funny with a dash of romance.”
She listened to the first in the series, Bombshell, on Libby and reported that the narrator was brilliant.
The Reading Farmer always gives great recommendations. She plants them, waters them, and somehow they sprout overnight in my inbox. Even if they might require a P.S. the next morning.
Lisa reached out from Lutsen to let us know she appreciates our column and loves books and reading. She recently purchased Where the Green Light Shines by Duluth author Ryan Rodgers. She kept it local, purchasing the book from Drury Lane Books shortly before we featured it in our NSRRU. She can’t wait to read it.
Currently, she’s reading Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy, a book she borrowed from the Grand Marais library.
“It’s excellent,” she wrote.
I’ll admit, sometimes titles themselves can intrigue me, and looking into this 2021 novel, it didn’t disappoint. The synopsis says it is about “a biologist who moves to the Scottish Highlands to reintroduce gray wolves and ends up investigating a mysterious local murder.”
As for my reading this week, I’m just about to the end of the book of poetry I’ve been reading. It’s slowed me down on my TBR, but it’s leading me to a lot of reflection. You can’t rush reflections. I can’t wait to tell you all more about it soon.
That said, if it hadn’t been for the four readers who reached out this week, we would not have had a column for you. I am so glad to have some reading friends to fill in the blank pages. Thank you, David, Anne, Reading Farmer, and Lisa, and those who continue to write in. Your recommendations help keep this column moving with a better variety than I could ever supply on my own, despite loving reading just about anything I can get my hands on.
So please, keep writing to me. Send me your favorites, your flops, your “there is a dog!” alerts, your “I’m on a roll!” declarations, your TBR confessions, your Great Lakes obsessions. I promise to read every note, and I vigilantly check my spam these days at sarahwritesnsj@yahoo.com, just in case one of your messages decides to take the scenic route.
