Hearing an author read is fun!

Meeting and visiting with one is fun too!

(Above from The Bookstore at Fitger’s Eventbrite invitation)

Last week, I attended two author events, and I could have attended more if I didn't have conflicting engagements.

I feel lucky to live in a town with so many events around books. 

One event that I attended that was quite fun was a more intimate gathering of five Minnesota authors and about ten guests or readers (if you don't count bookstore employees.)

The event was Tuesday Night Author Talk, part of a series. That night, we heard from five "amazing Minnesota best-selling writers who are all women." Jennifer Jubenville, Store Manager at The Bookstore at Fitger's on the Lake, organized the event.

This is how Jennifer pitched it on social media: “Our popular Tuesday Night Author Talks series is back with an all-star line-up! Kristi Belcamino, Jess Lourey, Mindy Mejia, Sarah Stonich, and Wendy Webb will be joining us to talk about their writing process, unique challenges that they face as women writers and anything else that comes up in the discussion.”

We sat around a table and introduced ourselves and what we liked to read.

Yummy food is fun, too!

Above is a screenshot of a photo of most of us from Bookish Mamma Bear’s Instagram. I’m on the very right-hand side.

The five women authors gathered that night were all crime, thriller or mystery writers.

Two guests were "fangirls," voracious readers with Instagram accounts who post about what they read. Their Instagram handles are midwestbookqueen and bookish_mamabear . One woman was a librarian who made a 2 ½ hour drive from Mercer, WI. Another woman is a journalist with Publishers Weekly. Everyone there was interesting. It was fun to get to know what others like to read and why.

And, of course, it was fun to talk to the authors. 

The other event I attended on the previous Saturday was part of the Indigenous Writers series with Minnesota Poet Laureate Gwen Westermann and Linda LeGarde Grover. Gwen’s latest book is Songs, Blood Deep. Linda LeGarde Grover writes stories about fictional people living in fictional reservations and towns in Minnesota. She says writing fiction gives her the freedom to say things that she couldn't say if she were writing nonfiction. Her latest book is A Song over Miskwaa Rapids, A Novel

Ivy Vaino (podium), Jill Doerfler (in yellow), department head of American Indian Studies, UMD, Linda LeGarde Grover and Gwen Neil Westerman are sitting to the very right of the stage.

Gwen told stories and read her poems. Although I'm not a huge fan of poetry, I really enjoyed listening to her read her poems. I purchased her book. There was a drawing for books. If you happened to have a sticker on your chair you won a free book.

Above is an intimate gathering of the AAUW Lit Group to discuss Ethel Ray Living in the White, Gray and Black at the Nordic Center.

I joined my AAUW lit group at the Nordic Center on Thursday to discuss Ethel Ray's Living in the White, Gray and Black. This was a biography and coming-of-age story about a woman born in Duluth in 1899.

My favorite genres are narrative nonfiction, memoir, biography and historical fiction.

What are YOUR favorite genres? Please take the poll below or comment.