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Ask a bookseller
Emily Bright

Minnesota booksellers talk recommendations, BookTok and how Gen Z is saving bookstores

A collage of six book covers
From left to right: “Black Woods, Blue Sky” by Eowyn Ivey, “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros, “There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension” by Hanif Abdurraqib, “James” by Percival Everett and “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman.
Courtesy images

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Summer is winding down, but that doesn’t mean the causal beach read is going anywhere. MPR News host and newscaster Emily Bright spoke with three booksellers from Minnesota about current trends and their favorite reads during a live conversation at the Minnesota State Fair.

Pallas Erdrich, co-manager of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis; Char Klimek, owner of Hearthside Books in Watertown; and Amy Erickson, owner of Bluebird Books in Detroit Lakes, discussed romantasy, BookTok and how Gen Z is saving bookstores.

Click the audio player above to listen to their full discussion and check out the book recommendations below.

Emily Bright is on her show
MPR News Ask a Bookseller host Emily Bright during her live show at the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 27.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

Pallas Erdrich, Birchbark Books

  • “The Truth According to Ember” by Danica Nava

  • “Black Woods, Blue Sky” by Eowyn Ivey

  • “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer 

  • “Dahlia’s Make a Difference Day” by Jackie Brown

  • “Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs” by Jamie Loftus

  • “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers

  • “VenCo” by Cherie Dimaline

  • “There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension” by Hanif Abdurraqib

Char Klimek, Hearthside Books

  • “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros

  • “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas

  • “First Casualty“ by AJ Powers

  • “Skyward” series by Brandon Sanderson

Amy Erickson, Bluebird Books

  • “Trash, Trolls and Treasure Hunts” by Thomas Dumbo

  • “Find Your Beat: Walk in the Rhythm of Life” by Tim Eggebraaten

  • “The Thursday Murder Club” by Richard Osman

  • “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman

  • “James” by Percival Everett

  • “The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty” by Valerie Bauerlein

  • “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson

  • “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond

Ask a Bookseller airs Saturdays at 7:35 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. after the weather chat. For the latest book and literary news, sign up for the Thread, our weekly newsletter by Kerri Miller.