Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Written by a recent Minneapolitan, it’s the glory days before the pandemic, and Sally Milz, a longtime writer at The Night Owls (a thinly veiled spoof of SNL) is perfectly happy to be a single gal pulling overnights in the writers’ room and pitching dozens of sketch ideas that may or may not hit the stage—until singer/songwriter Noah Brewster, one week’s host and musical star, waltzes into her office with a sketch of his own. They develop the story, and, shockingly enough, a charming friendship-turned-romance that flips on and off through the next few years. It’s cute, it’s digestible, but is it too soon for the pandemic plot in the last third? You decide. penguinrandomhouse.com
Yours Truly by Abby Jiminez
The Nadia Cakes founder–turned–romcom writer’s latest, about two doctors vying for the same promotion who develop a connection while passing notes back and forth throughout the hospital (what, doctors can act like third-graders too), resulting leading lad Jacob donating a whole entire kidney to leading lady Briana’s brother, is one of her best—and a solid choice for a rip-through-in-one-day post-holiday read. It’s cute, it’s sweet, but it also delicately delves into a few total-real-life storylines and elements that most romcoms swiftly avoid. hachettebookgroup.com
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
Loyal MSP readers will already know we loved this one. Former Minnesotan J. Ryan Stradal’s latest novel, about three generations of women and family invariably trying to save—or leave behind—their longtime northern Minnesota supper club that holds a more complicated history than the family itself, goes straight into the Minnesota canon. “I grew up a huge fan of supper clubs,” Stradal told us in the spring. “But I find it can be hard to explain to people who didn’t grow up there just what the appeal is. And so in writing this book I really wanted to capture my impression of them and the people who own, manage, and work in them.” And boy, did he. penguinrandomhouse.com
Eastcliff: History of a Home by Karen Fults Kaler
When Karen Fults Kaler and her husband, former U of M president Eric Kaler, lived at Eastcliff—the U’s presidential home—she could hardly believe the stories people would tell her about the property. Since the presidential family has hosted events and parties multiple times a week for decades, people like Helen Keller, Clark Gable, and the Dalai Lama have filled its halls. A hallway was once used as a shooting range. And tall tales, like rumors of Prohibition speakeasies, haunt the property 101 years after its inception. Want all the juicy stories—and gorgeous design details? Read on. upress.umn.edu
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
The Macalester creative writing professor’s speculative fiction novel follows Joanna and Esther, estranged half-sisters working to guard their family’s magical library—and a dark secret—is an unforgettable debut. Sure, there’s the luscious escapism into another, fantastical, world, but the family bonds—between parents and children, sisters and sisters—will stay with you long after you leave the world Törzs so carefully, lovingly constructed. harpercollins.com
Culturemaking by Houston White
North Minneapolis entrepreneur Houston White, whose ventures include the Get Down Coffee Co. and his barbershop, among others, has written the playbook for his business and community investments in Culturemaking: When Creative Entrepreneurship and Community Building Collide, available exclusively at Target. target.com
The Gospel of the Hold Steady by Michael Hann
This tome of a book, an oral history filled with photos, tells the complete Hold Steady story through interviews by the British rock journalist, warts and all. theholdsteadymerch.net
America Fantastica by Tim O’Brien
The Minnesota-born author of The Things They Carried is back with his first novel in two decades, that doesn’t shy away from America’s fraught political moment. harpercollins.com
The English Experience by Julie Schumacher
The University of Minnesota English professor is back with the final book in her academic trilogy: where one professor is pulled in at the last minute to lead a January-term group of eleven clueless undergraduates studying abroad in London. Inspired by real life, perhaps? Who’s to say? julieschumacher.com
Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others by Amy Thielen
This book will elevate your hosting game. Written by the northern Minnesotan cook, author, and former host of Heartland Table on the Food Network, it’s filled with casual menus, loose traditions, and sage advice to keep it cool when your kitchen is hot and someone’s pulling into the driveway. wwnorton.com