Small Business Saturday/Indies First!

At Beagle and Wolf, we rolled out the blue carpet for you! We had refreshments, and offered a free book with any purchase and complimentary gift wrapping. We gave away great prizes, and two authors were in the store to sign their books. AND we offered a 20% discount on any in-store book listed in our holiday catalog.

Trick or Treat
October 31

We had lots of spooky or adorable
visitors stopping by for goodies!

Fall Reading Retreats

Our fall retreats are a chance to get away for a relaxing weekend, talking about books with a great group of women, eating food someone else has prepared, all at a leisurely pace. We all read the same three books ahead of time.


Our theme this year was “Seasons in Women’s Lives.” Our books were:

• Brood, Jackie Polzin
• Bright Precious Thing, Gail Caldwell
• Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Kathleen Rooney

Watch for our spring retreat!

We were thrilled to welcome our friend Peter Geye back to Park Rapids! His latest book, The Ski Jumpers, was released last month. On October 1 we hosted him at Bella Caffé. Peter spoke with our own Brita, read from The Ski Jumpers, and signed copies of his books. Here’s a link to Kerri Miller’s recent conversation with Peter on Minnesota Public Radio.

 

 

 

 

See Sally’s review of The Ski Jumpers.

Art Leap
September 24 and 25

Art Leap was an open studio event that offered 24 sites and featured more than 90 artists at studios and other locations in Hubbard and Becker counties.

Visitors hopped from studio to studio, learned processes, appreciated skills, and supported the artists. Fall’s natural beauty inspired visitors, as it does the artists, as they passed lakes and traveled country roads. 

View or download the Event Guide for the 2022 Art Leap.

Fall Theological Conference
September 20

The Northwest Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Church in America held a Fall Theological Conference at the Shooting Star Events Center in Mahnomen. The event centered on the book Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization.

The authors of the book, Elaine Enns and Ched Myers, were the keynote speakers for the event, and were at Beagle and Wolf afterwards for a signing.

Their book is part memoir, part social, historical, and theological analysis, and part practical workbook. It invites Christians (and other people of faith) into a discipleship of decolonization. How are our histories, landscapes, and communities haunted by continuing Indigenous dispossession? How do we transform our colonizing self-perceptions, lifeways, and structures? And how might we practice restorative solidarity with Indigenous communities today?

Terry Smith
September 13

Terry Smith—and Beagle and Wolf—were at the Armory for Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning.

Smith was the program, sharing highlights of his 37-year career in law enforcement. He is the author of the book Code 4, and we sold copies. (The book is also available in the store.)

At the end of the summer we fill our shelves with new non-book merchandise for fall. But first, we needed to empty those shelves! Items we have in small quantities were on sale Labor Day weekend.

Long before there was a Duluth, Minnesota, the massive outcropping that divides the city emerged from the ridge of gabbro rock running along the westward shore of Lake Superior. A great westward migration carried the Ojibwe people to this place, the Point of Rocks. Against this backdrop—Misaabekong, the place of the giants—the lives chronicled in Linda LeGarde Grover’s book unfold, some in myth, some in long-ago times, some in an imagined present, and some in the author’s family history, all with a deep and tenacious bond to the land, one another, and the Ojibwe culture.

Within the larger history, Grover tells the story of her ancestors’ arrival at the American Fur Post in far western Duluth more than two hundred years ago. Their fortunes and the family’s future are inextricably entwined with tales of marriages to voyageurs, relocations to reservation lands, encounters with the spirits of the lake and wood creatures, the renewal of life—in myth and in art, the search for meaning in the transformations of our day is always vital. Finally, in one man’s struggles, age-old tribulations, the intergenerational traumas of extended families and communities, and a uniquely Ojibwe appreciation for the natural and spiritual worlds converge, forging the Ojibwe worldview and will to survive as his legacy to his descendants.

We loved learning more about the history of Linda's people. We’ll also had copies of her other books available. AND, her publisher sent a door prize! It’s a copy of The Sky Watched.

This book of Linda’s poetry will be reissued on October 25, but you can register to win it this month!

William Kent Krueger
August 26

We were excited to welcome William Kent Krueger with his latest book just three days after the book wa released!

See Sally's review of Fox Creek.

Lori Mier

Former Park Rapids resident Lori Mier was with us with her children’s book, Merin and Her Very Bright Star.

The book is a heartfelt story of loss and resilience from the author's direct experience. Merin loses her parents and struggles with the juxtaposition of missing them yet not remembering who they are. She seeks answers to impermamemce and takes comfort in the predictability of the evening star that she sees every night. The character of Merin teaches children that they are not alone, and is a beautiful example of moving forward from loss even without finding all of the answers. This is a comforting and relatable read for those who are grieving. It is also a segue to introduce children to the benefits of therapy and the healing power of the natural world.

On August 12 we hada triple header!

Chris Norbury

Minnesotan Chris Norbury is the award-winning author of the suspense-thriller Matt Lanier series.

The books feature Matt Lanier, a southern Minnesota farm-kid-turned-professional-musician whose comfortable middle-class world is turned upside down by a conspiracy of powerful, ambitious, violent men.

Lanier used to be a world-class musician. Now he’s a homeless fugitive suffering from PTSD and wrongly accused of murdering a cop. He survives by playing guitar on the streets of Minneapolis for spare change. The first two books in the series were also available.

Christine Husom

We were pleased to welcome Christine Husom back to the store! She signed books from her two series, both set in Minnesota. Husom uses her real-life experiences in the criminal justice system, and interest in what motivates people to commit crimes, to write intriguing plots with compelling characters. She served with the Wright County Sheriff’s Department and trained with the St. Paul Police Department where she gained firsthand knowledge of law enforcement policies and procedures.

One of her series is the Winnebago County Mystery series. The other, a cozy series, is the Snow Globe Shop Mysteries.

Simon Hargreaves

Simon Hargreaves was in the store to sign copies of Maxwell Cooper and the Legend of Inini-Makwa. Hargreaves is the pen name of the manager of a local resort. You may know him...

"Only draw what is real." This is the rule given to fourteen-year-old art prodigy Maxwell Cooper by his father and is the only way Max's father will allow him to attend the prestigious boarding school Apogee Art Academy. It's also a rule Max decides to defy.

During their first night of vacation at Bear Tooth Point Resort, Maxwell draws a portrait of a local legend just to spite his father: the monster known as Inini-Makwa. But the land of Bear Tooth Point is steeped in Ashotii spirit magic, and when guests begin disappearing Max is confronted with a terrifying reality. The monster from his drawing has come to life!

Now, with Inini-Makwa targeting his family, Max must find a way to reverse the magic and destroy the creature before she kills everyone he has ever loved.

Find Waldo in Park Rapids!

Where’s Waldo? In Park Rapids, of course! The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs visited 17 locations throughout our community this July. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2022, Find Waldo Local is a great summer vacation activity and a wonderful way to support local businesses.

Participants picked up a “Find Waldo Local in Park Rapids!” stamp cards, which contained the names of all the sites; with each Waldo they spot, they can get their card stamped or signed by the participating shop. To make things a little more challenging, there was be one slightly different Waldo hiding in Beagle and Wolf Books. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twelve or more businesses entitled diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing for Waldo books and paraphernalia.

Once again, in celebration of Waldo’s longevity and popularity, Candlewick Press teamed up with hundreds of independent bookstores across the country for some hide-and-seek fun designed to encourage residents to patronize their local businesses. The hunt lasts for the entire month of July.

Author Fest
June 18

After a two year hiatus, Author Fest, our annual celebration of Minnesota authors and their books, came back! It's always a great chance to visit with authors, meet new authors, get signed books, and hear authors read. There were signings throughout the day.

Children's Book Week
May 2 to 8

“How do you Book?” was the 2022 Children’s Book Week slogan. The thought-provoking theme asks children to think about what they read, where they read, and how they read.

All used picture books were be 25% off. We have a great selection, and this is an economical way to add to your library at home or in the classroom!

Independent Bookstore Day
April 30

Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day celebration that takes place at indie bookstores across the country. We had birthday cake (it’s been seven years since we combined Beagle Books & Bindery and Sister Wolf Books!), exclusive merchandise produced just for the day, some great prizes, a free book with every purchase, AND the new Indie Bookstore map was available! We’re not in this logo, but we are in the map itself!

Jeanne Cooney signed copies of her new book.

Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, was the Independent Bookstore Day Ambassador!

Indie Bookstores
are our jam!

Spring Retreat
April 23
Northern Pines Campground

We enjoyed a day outside our normal routine with a lively group of readers! We all read The Fox and I and Pax ahead of time to explore the theme “Uncommon Friendships” through discussing them.

We met at the comfortable Fireside Room at Northern Pines Campground, just north of Park Rapids.

 

Hop Downtown
April 14 to 16

Week of the Young Child

Night In/Morning In

Our popular winter event for readers was back! There were a few COVID inspired twists, but Sally and Jen still recommended books they think would be great for book group discussion or individual reading.

The event features:

Book recommendations

A 10% discount on the books we recommend January 15 to 21

Book related swag  and prizes (for in-person attendees only)