Drury Lane Books, sweet little indie bookshop in Grand Marais

It’s always a pleasure to get the Drury Lane Books newsletter from Grand Marais.  It’s worth crossing the border to visit this sweet little indie bookshop by the lake. Every time I visit, I am impressed by their excellent selection: a mix of best sellers, old favourites, local works, thrillers and mystery. And for those interested in the flora and fauna of the boreal forest, the store’s non-fiction selections are superb.

Their top-seller list may give you a few ideas for summer reading.

In fiction: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K Rowling

The Road Back to Sweetgrass by Linda LeGarde Grover

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

Safe from the Sea and Wintering by Peter Geye

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith Sullivan

Larose by Louise Eldrich

Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichue

In non-fiction:

Rock Pickers Guide to Lake Superior’s North Shore by Mark Stensaas

Hiking the North Shore by Andrew Slade

Fascinating Fungi of the North Woods by Cora Mollen and Larry Weber (this must be the only bookstore on the continent where a book about fungi makes the best-seller list.)

Get Poor Now, Avoid the Rush: The Life and Times of Henry Buckberry Gilk by Paul Buckberry Gilk.

Waterfalls: Minnesota’s North Shore by Eve and Gary Wallenga

The Children’s best sellers continue the northern theme:

Goodnight Loon by Abe Sauer

Wake Up, Island by Mary Casanova and Nick Wroblewski

Antler, Bear, Canoe by Betsy Bowen

Agate by Joy Morgan Dey and Nikki Johnson

North Woods Girl by Aimee M. Bissonette and Claudia McGehee

Every Saturday evening, a visiting author reads and, on full moon evenings, local writers join a group around the fire to read from their works.

The newsletter lists fourteen book clubs, an amazing number for such a small community. Their picks include Canadian works such as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (no surprise), Dear Life by Alice Munro and The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.  (Yes, still in print and selling well after all these years.)

 The No Guilt Book Club is reading Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry and Quiet: The Hidden Power of Introverts by Susan Cain. The West End Beer and Book Posse is involved with American Gods by Neil Gaiman and A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman.  The intriguingly titled group, The 801 Book Club, picked Between the World and Me by Ta-Neshisi Coates, Someone by Alice McDermott and Small Good Things by Jodi Picoult.

I would recommend My Antonia by Willa Cather, (lovable classic of the old west); The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (life in North Korea), and Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, (mysterious clues to odd events). Three books I remember with pleasure.