Read Minnesota Books in New York City
Read the first newsletter from Read Minnesota Books
Hello and happy spring! And welcome to the first Read Minnesota Books newsletter! I’m back from a spring break trip to New York City where my family and I visited several bookstores and came back with as many new books as our carry-on backpacks would allow. More on that below, but first:
Some local updates
I wrote an essay for The Loft Literary Center’s blog about how rejection motivated me to start Read Minnesota Books. I’m teaching a class called Podcasting for Writers at the Loft on Saturday, April 18, from 10:00am - 2:00pm. If you’re interested in starting a podcast or expanding your writer platform through podcasts, this is a great, one-time workshop! Register soon because spots are filling up fast.
I also wrote a review for Minnesota Monthly of Laurie Hertzel’s new memoir Ghosts of Fourth Street: My Family, A Death, and the Hills of Duluth. She has an event at Magers & Quinn with Read Minnesota Books guest Kao Kalia Yang, tonight, Monday, April 6, at 7:00pm.
Read Minnesota Books guest Misty Heggeness will present her book Swiftynomics at Magers & Quinn this Thursday, April 9, at 7:00pm.
Read Minnesota Books is sponsoring Rain Taxi’s 2026 Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport, which takes place April 22 - 26.
My Bookstore Tour of NYC Starts at MSP
Every time I fly (which is not often) I get to the Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport early so I can browse at Open Book, which is an amazing little bookstore in Terminal 1’s main shopping area.
Open Book specializes in fun merch, like this Read Local shirt, and great recommended reading displays, like a shelf full of books by immigrant writers.
On my family’s first full day in Manhattan, we happened upon a McNally Jackson branch near the South Street Seaport Museum. I enjoyed browsing the store’s selection of literary magazines and this display of books by immigrant women authors. I didn’t buy anything for myself because I spent the day’s book budget on the novels my kids picked out (don’t feel sorry for me; I have a huge and well-stocked to-read list).
In Brooklyn, we visited the Central Library and took in the Printing Black America: Du Bois’s Data Portraits in the 21st Century exhibit. Here’s one of the prints. As a Minnesota bookstacker and podcaster, I must point out the sparse landscape of Black bookstores in the Upper Midwest, with that lone open faced book near the top of the Mississippi River representing Black Garnet Books in St. Paul.
At the end of the day we visited one of Emma Straub’s Books Are Magic bookstores, the location on Smith Street. Here I bought a paperback copy of Stag Dance by Torrey Peters for myself, more books for my kids, and some Books Are Magic merch. Brilliant store name.
On another day of the trip, back in Manhattan, I stumbled on a bookstore located in the Chelsea Market building, but it was so crowded and full of gimmicky gifts, I didn’t stay long and left empty-handed.
The Strand! My family visited New York City on a trip a few years ago, and this was a very memorable stop for one of my kids, so we made a repeat trip. Here, I bought more books for my kids, a t-shirt, a sticker, and a special little item from the rare books room.
I definitely recommend planning a trip around a city’s best book stores. Last year I was quoted in a Minnesota Star Tribune article about how to make reading a bigger part of your life, and my advice was to “buy books when you travel; they make great souvenirs.” Just be sure to leave enough room in your carry-on.
Sounds like a very literary trip for you and the kiddies. Who knows, maybe in 20 years' time, they'll repeat this NYC pilgrimage. :)
I’m off to NYC in two weeks to receive a book award - I’ll visit some of the stores you mentioned!