What Twin Cities independent bookstore owners are reading this fall
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'Tis the season to curl up inside with a good book, but with so many options, it's tough to know where to start when looking for a new read.
- To narrow it down, I asked five Twin Cities independent bookstore managers and owners what they've been reading themselves. Here's what they recommend.
🤫 Birchbark Books manager Penny Weiland: "Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology" edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
- "Each of the 28 short stories is unique in its dark, eerie way, and some of my favorite Native authors have stories in here as well as newer voices. I highly recommend this book as the darkness outside envelops us all."
✍️ SubText Books manager Tommy Fortin: "The Magician" by Colm Tóibín
- "This fictional account of Thomas Mann's life, which slowly reveals the nuanced life he was forced to live as a closeted gay man who rose to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929, is family drama of the highest sort."
👻 Magers & Quinn manager Mary Ware: "Everything Under" by Daisy Johnson
- "A lexicographer with an eccentric upbringing goes on a quest to find her mother who disappeared when she was a teenager, all while being stalked by an ominous creature. It's moody and a little spooky, perfect for fall."
🗡 Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore owner Don Blyly: "Sword Catcher" by Cassandra Clare
- "In a world where most magic has disappeared, an orphan is brought into the palace of a troubled kingdom to be the 'sword catcher,' or body guard and body double, of the prince. An intricate world filled with interesting characters and lots of plotting against the ruling family."
📚 Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers' Mayah Bonnette: "Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers" by Anna James, illustrated by Paola Escobar
- "This series for middle grade readers takes place in a library where the main protagonist can jump through books and meet the characters. It's anyone who works in a bookstore's dream!"
Plus: What's trending on BookTok
"BookTok," a subcommunity on TikTok where users recommend literature, has become a powerful tool for both authors and readers to promote and find new trendy reads.
- I asked Zoë Jackson, a prolific BookToker over at @zoes_reads and reporter at the Star Tribune, what she's loving this fall.
⏳ "Death Valley" by Melissa Broder: "It follows a woman lost in the desert who is preemptively grieving her father's imminent death. It's both a unique meditation on grief and one of those books that's trippy enough in terms of magical realism that the ending is sort of unclear — which we love to debate about on BookTok!"
🌹 "Rogue" by Mona Awad: "A new release! One of her earlier books 'Bunny' took BookTok by storm a couple years ago and has had incredible staying power. Apparently cool girls are dressing as a 'bunny' this Halloween."
🧛♀️ "Carmilla" by J. Sheridan Lefanu: "Sapphic vampires are huge on TikTok this spooky season. It's so fun seeing classics have revivals on the app — this one is on my to-be-read!"
Where we're hunting this fall
If you're like me, the thrill of digging for a new book can be just as enjoyable as the read itself. Here are three used bookstores I can (and will) easily spend an afternoon in.
🐇 Nat's Uptown Books
Why I love it: Tucked away in the Wedge neighborhood of Minneapolis, Nat's is small but mighty. Books are piled literally everywhere, including in waist-high stacks on the floor, and after a good dig I'm guaranteed to find something interesting.
- Pro tip: Nat's is only open on weekends, but it's worth a stop just to pet Zorro — the shop bunny who hangs out in the window on off days.
🔎 Midway Used & Rare Books
Why I love it: This two-story bookstore along University Avenue in St. Paul has an excellent mix of used copies and hard-to-find reads, plus a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels.
- Pro tip: If you want to keep the hunting energy going, Ax-Man Surplus Stores is just a few blocks away. It must be seen to be believed.
🛸 The Book House in Dinkytown
Why I love it: If you like to get lost in a maze of books, this is the spot for you. Though I've been a regular for over six years, I seem to discover a new section every time — and I always find something interesting on the free book cart outside.
- Pro tip: This is a great stop for collectors of unusual books. I'm a fan of the metaphysical section, which covers dreams, aliens, cults, ESP and mind control.