14th Annual Chili Challenge
March 4, 11:00 to 1:00

Join us at the American Legion for lunch and to raise money to support the important work of the Hubbard County Food Shelf. Our own Chef Tom will be there with Beagle and Wolf’s chili—Fahrenheit 451.

Just a reminder...

...that now you can buy ebooks AND support Beagle and Wolf Books! Learn more at bookshop.org/ebooks!

Follow the simple instructions and please name Beagle and Wolf Books as your bookstore. 

Let us know about your experience and be sure to ask us if you need help.

AND, we continue to offer audio books through Libro.fm.

Registration is open for our Spring Retreat
April 12, 10:00 to 4:00

Whether you retreat with us every year or are ready to take the plunge, join us for a fun get away!

Our theme is "Who Am I, Really?” and we’ll each have read the same two books ahead of time.

The books are The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker, and Wintering by Katherine May.

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson moves from present day Minnesota, when Cecily is the widow of a beloved town doctor and matriarch to four generations of her own family, and the 1930s, when Cecily is a seven-year-old orphan sold to a traveling circus. In Wintering, Katherine May examines the reality of the cold times in our lives, showing that wintering can’t be avoided, but need not be feared.

The cost of the retreat is $50, plus books.

We’ll be at Northern Pines Retreat Center, just north of town at 20033 County 1, Park Rapids, Minnesota 56470.

For complete details and registration materials, call the store, 218-237-2665, or email sally@beagleandwolf.com.

Black Woods Blue Sky
Eowyn Ivey

I’ve never outgrown my love of fairy tales! Black Woods Blue Sky is a satisfying retelling and updating of Beauty and the Beast, with a dash of magic realism and a powerfully evoked setting, the Alaskan wilderness.

Birdie, who works at a lodge in a remote area, is the single mom of Emaleen. Her boss is concerned about them, but the job is a dead end and there’s no hope of anything better for either Birdie or Emaleen.

Birdie becomes infatuated with a man named Arthur. His face is scarred and disfigured, he speaks in the present tense, and he lives alone in a cabin in the wilderness, all of which make him mysterious. Soon, Birdie and Emaleen move to the cabin with Arthur.

While Arthur’s primitive lifestyle appeals to Birdie, she immediately begins changing it, deep cleaning the cabin and cooking meals which she doesn’t seem to realize Arthur doesn’t eat. Arthur comes and goes, spending long periods of time away from the cabin. But the setting is beautiful, and Birdie loves picking berries, hiking, and mushroom hunting.

Emaleen realizes more about Arthur’s nature and shape shifting than Birdie, which leads to a tragedy.

—Sally

33 Place Brugmann
Alice Austen

Have you ever lived somewhere where others lived before you? Have you wondered about their stories, their lives? When American playwright Alice Austen lived at 33 Place Brugmann in Brussels, that’s exactly what she did. In 33 Place Brugmann she has richly imagined residents of the apartment building just before and during the Nazi invasion of Brussels during World War II. The stories of the residents, told in their own voices, are intertwined in this stunning debut novel. Each person is vividly drawn. There’s Charlotte, an art student whose mother has died. Cherished by her father, she is also folded into the Raphael family; an art dealer, his wife, and their two children. Miss Hobert is the nosy neighbor; Masha the Jewish seamstress hiding in plain sight in the maid’s room of the building. Austen’s knowledge of the building shows in her insight into how voices traveled, and which floorboards creaked, lending the book an air of authenticity. While art and philosophy are included, the book is primarily a powerful story of how ordinary people lived through an extraordinary time.

—Sally

Note: this book will be released March 11.

The Quiet Librarian
Allen Eskens

May 1, 4:00

Allen Eskens, a Minnesota author with many fans at the store, will be with us to talk about his new book, The Quiet Librarian. (Note that it’s a rare weekday event.)

Here’s Lee’s review:

This is really, really good … one of those “I could not put it down” books.

Hana Babic is a middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants to be able to live without disturbance. She appears a bit dowdy, with her worn cardigan sweaters and long skirts, and she performs her work without fanfare.

When she learns that her best friend has been murdered, she knows that danger is coming from their shared past as young militia members fighting with the Bosniak forces against the Serbs in the early 1990s. In fact, she was not just a soldier: She was the much-feared Night Mora, with a huge bounty on her head. Now, she must leave the quiet librarian behind.

This is an outstanding novel of historical fiction, as the chapters alternate between Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Minnesota. And it is also an excellent mystery and thriller.