Unholy Communion
Thomas Rumreich

This past summer, an author and his wife stopped in the bookstore one day and told me about the author’s book, Unholy Communion. I agreed that we’d carry the book. Later, they contacted me again and let me know that an independent film had been made based on the book and it would be showing IN PARK RAPIDS!

We coordinated with the movie theater owners, who graciously agreed to allow us to sell copies of the book in the lobby after the showing of Unholy Communion.

At that point, I figured I’d dip into the book and see what I think. Reader, it’s so dang good. It’s a mystery/thriller, but it’s also a book written with a lot of compassion and tenderness and is clearly the heart’s work of the author.

In the book, a priest is discovered murdered, then another, then another……the common thread among the men(aside from being priests) is a history of pedophilia. The reader figures out fairly quickly in the book who-done-it, but of course it takes law enforcement a little bit longer. In the meantime, characters are fleshed out, relationships among them unveiled, and a full-bodied story blooms. Read this book so we can talk about it!

The Red Tent
Anita Diamant

Do you ever not get around to reading a book that EVERYONE ELSE read and LOVED? Me too. I joke sometimes we should start an “Oops I Missed It” book club. So, when a copy of The Red Tent came through our doors, I snatched it and decided I would no longer have to say, “I never read that” (and read a great book in the meantime).

I probably don’t need to give you a description of the book since apparently all of you have already read and loved it, but for any closeted-never-read-Red-Tenters out there, here goes…….. In this modern (ahem) interpretation of the biblical story of Dinah, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and trials of women in biblical times. In the Bible, Dinah's life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.

The Red Tent begins with the story of the mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through childhood, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.
So far I’m enjoying it!

Ashes to Ashes
Thomas Maltman

For many, going to an Ash Wednesday worship service and being marked with an ash cross on the forehead is a familiar experience. It was to congregants at the Lutheran Church in Andwhen, Minnesota,--until they discovered the ashes wouldn’t wash off. “Why not,“ they wondered. “What does it mean?” Eventually, when Pastor Breen couldn’t provide an explanation, most went back to their daily lives.

Not Basil, though. When the ashes didn’t wash off his forehead, he made a vow to restore his family through prayer and fasting. The modern-day part of the story revolves around Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan. Or, as they think of themselves, “a gay, a goth, and a giant.” Each has complicated family relationships, which are explored as the story progresses. Their story is set in 2020, as concerns about the pandemic are just beginning to grow, even in their small town in southwestern Minnesota.

Braided with their stories are fragments from the Saga of Brynhild from the fourteenth century, the Kensington Runestone, and the discovery of possible remains of a long dead Viking.

Interestingly, I received an advance copy of the book last Ash Wednesday!
 
For more information about the Kensington Runestone, visit the museum.

This is a great book for those who like stories which combines a variety of elements, and those interest in the ways past events influence the present.

Love, Dignity & Parkinson’s
Terri Pease

You may know that my husband has Parkinson’s, and you can accurately guess that I’m always looking for information and resources about this horrible disease. Recently I came across the book, Love, Dignity & Parkinson’s, and had Jen order it for me. When it came, I was a bit dismayed by its small size. It’s written by the widow of someone who had Parkinson’s, and packs much good information for caregivers in its pages. And to be truthful, I appreciate the brevity and clarity in the book.

If you’re a caregiver for someone with Parkinson’s, I’d welcome the chance to share experiences with you.

Doni has been busy welcoming her first grandchild,
Leo Michael, to the world.

Tell Me Everything
Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, titular characters in earlier Strout novels, are important in this one but the protagonist is Bob Burgess. He’s identified by Lucy as a sin eater, one who takes on the sins of everyone around, but not really sins; sorrows. He’s a big-hearted man who doesn’t know his own worth. 

If you’ve read one of Kitteridge’s other books, I’ll just say that she’s done it again. If you haven’t, you might want to start with an earlier one, perhaps Pulitzer Prize winner Olive Kitteridge. But I’m sure this new one would stand on its own.

The Husbands
Holly Gramazio

Lauren, a single woman, comes home to find a strange man in her apartment, one with keys who claims to be her husband. Her apartment has changed. It’s painted a different color and there’s a wedding picture. Lauren panics, then deals with him until he happens to go into the attic and comes back… as a different husband. Who changes into another new husband when he climbs up the steps to the attic. 

Every time she gets a new husband she gets a whole new life: her job changes, and sometimes her friends. They’re always there, but things about them are often quite different. 

What would you do if you could change your life by just convincing your husband to fetch something from the attic? This book is great fun!

The Miniaturist
Jessie Burton

A young bride stands on the steps of her new home in Amsterdam in October, 1686. Her husband left on a trading journey before their wedding night; and he isn’t there to meet her on her arrival in the city. Instead, she is met by her new sister-in-law, a formidable character, and two servants. The man servant was formerly enslaved, an object of curiosity and contempt; and a cheeky young woman who speaks her mind much more than any servant in the small town the bride knows.

Soon after he finally shows up, her husband presents her with an ornate cabinet that contains a replica of most of the rooms in the house. She finds a miniaturist to provide tiny objects to start to fill the rooms. But more objects are delivered than are requested, and they have uncanny accuracy in matching the contents of the actual house. How does this happen? What does it mean?