Annual Trade Show! Sally and jen went to the annual fall trade show! They met authors! Got new books! Hung out with colleagues and publishers and authors and oh my! And they can’t quit talking in capital letters!!! Maybe we should just show you in pictures…… Jen with fellow bookseller Kate Rattenborg (owner of Dragonfly Books) and author Kate DiCamillo   Jen with author Mary Cassanova giving a shout-out to Hannah, who was unable to attend the show.         Sally with Garrison Keillor But enough about us—on to the books! Of all the books we heard about at the Trade Show, here are some that stood out. (Perhaps because we got to talk with the authors. Booksellers are groupies—what can we say!) Copies of all these are in stock at Beagle Books & Bindery, many of them signed.     The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye. Peter’s first book, Safe from the Sea, was hugely popular at Sister Wolf last summer. His new book, The Lighthouse Road, is a beautifully crafted tale of hardscrabble settlers on the North Shore of Lake Superior at the beginning of the 20th century. The novel evokes a visceral sense of place while telling a universal story. We’re thrilled that Peter will be with us on Nov. 17, reading and signing! The event will be next door to Beagle Books, at Bella Café. Appetizers provided, cash bar.   Come meet this engaging author and get copies of his books! Sally, Jen, and Peter Geye Dancers Among Us by Jordan Matter Dancers Among Us celebrates life in a way that's fresh and surprising and yet universal. This is a book of photographs of dancers leaping, spinning, lifting, kicking—all the midst of daily life: on the beach, at a construction site, in a library, a restaurant, a park. Click this link to see the photographer at work. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless by Jeremy Jackson. I Will Not Leave You Comfortless is the intimate memoir of a young boy coming to consciousness in small-town Missouri. The year 1984 brings ten-year-old Jeremy first loves, first losses, and a break from the innocence of boyhood. In that pivotal year, his grandmother  dies and his sister leaves for college, life-altering events  which leave his shaken. Narrated from several points of view that give the reader a rich and wide vision of the family, Jackson’s ten-year-old voice is the pivot around which the story turns. In many ways, Jackson’s style is a hybrid of the novel and the personal narrative. This book was a Midwest Connections pick for September. December Dread by Jess Lourey What’s not to like about a series of humorous mysteries set in Battle Lake MN? Jess Lourey, a favorite author of our customers, is back with the latest in the Mystery by the Month Series. With Christmas just over a week away, 'tis the season for grinning sales elves on TV, maddeningly jolly Muzak, and a guilty Nut Goodie addiction. But for Mira James and other Battle Lake-area women, the holidays are marred by something far worse—a serial killer leaving candy canes as his calling card. His target? Thirty-something brunettes who look just like Mira. When a woman from her high school graduating class becomes his latest victim, Mira plows through a case of online dating turned deadly with Mrs. Berns at her side. Will she earn her detective stripes... or end up deader than the Ghost of Christmas Past? Visiting Tom by Michael Perry Beloved author Michael Perry returns with the tale of Tom Hartwig, an old-timer best known locally for building and firing homemade cannons. Famous for driving a team of oxen in local parades, Tom has an endless reservoir of stories dating back to the days of his prize Model A. The book is written with Perry’s characteristic blend of humor, insight, and heart. The Round House by Louise Erdrich Sally thinks Erdrich’s latest book is her best. Read it and see if you agree! In the spring of 1988 Geraldine Coutts, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota, is attacked. On that day, her son Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. While his father,  a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning. Written with undeniable urgency, and illuminating the harsh realities of contemporary life in a community where Ojibwe and white live uneasily together, The Round House is a brilliant and entertaining novel, a masterpiece of literary fiction. Louise Erdrich embraces tragedy, the comic, a spirit world very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in our own world today. Read this! Hans Weyandt We know that readers love lists of books, and this book is full of them! Offering  lists of favorites that have flown under the radar but off of bookstore shelves, this volume includes booksellers' top 50 books, anecdotes, and interviews about the life of being a bookseller, reader, and engaged citizen. Weyandt is the owner of Micawber’s Book in St. Paul. Minnesota’s Railroads Steve Glischinski Traveling from Winton to Worthington, Noyes to Winona, tracking the transition from steam to diesel and the mergers that created today's mega railroads, Minnesota Railroads gives readers a richly textured picture of railroading's past and future and its impact on life in Minnesota.