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March is Women’s History Month
Women's History Month highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The theme for 2024 is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” This theme recognizes women who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.
During the month of March, we’ll have a display featuring Women’s History. Stop in and take a look! Also look at Rebekah’s suggestions for reading on the topic of Women’s History Month.
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We will be closed, Easter Sunday, March 31.
Here's hoping for a warm, sunny day!
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Paper Bag Princess
March 1, 9:30
Saturday, March 2nd is the official Paper Bag Princess day, but it's never too early to start standing up to dragons, so we'll do so on Friday, March 1. We'll read The Paper Bag Princess and do a stand-up-to-dragons-themed activity.
If you can't make it on Friday, come see us anytime on Saturday and we'll offer you crowns and activities.
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Chili Challenge
March 6, 11:00 to 1:00
On March 6, plan to have lunch with your friends and neighbors at the American Legion, 900 1st St E. 22 varieties of chilis will be available from 11:00 to 1:00 for $1 per serving. Dessert and water will also be available, and there will be a quilt raffle.
The event benefits the Hubbard County Food Shelf. As you may have heard, food shelf use is up, and the Chili Challenge is a great—and tasty—way to support the Food Shelf. Donations during March are especially important.
The Hubbard County Food Shelf is a local non-profit close to our heart! Bob and Tom are volunteers there. We’ll be at the Chili Challenge with a crock pot of chicken chili that Chef Tom calls “Snow White with a Bite.”
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 Registration is now open for our Spring Retreat
April 6, 10:00 to 4:00
We could be spring cleaning, but we’d much rather hang out for a day, talking about books and eating a meal someone else has prepared. Join us!
  Our theme will be Mothers and Daughters and we’ll each have read the same two books ahead of time. We’ll move beyond the sentimental mother daughter relationships oftem depicted on Mother’s Day cards and in Hallmark movies to grittier and more challenging relationships.
The books will be Daughters of the New Year and Nonfiction: A Novel.
Both books are available in the store.
The cost of the retreat is $50, plus books.
 We’ll be at Northern Pines Retreat Center, just north of town at 20033 County 1, Park Rapids, Minnesota 56470.
For complete details and registration materials, call the store, 218-237-2665.
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Two New Books We HAVE to tell you about!
The Women
Kristin Hannah
The war in Viet Nam was the defining occurrence of my generation—and Kristin Hannah captures the era perfectly in The Women—the clothes, the music, the attitudes about the war and the military. The main character is naïve, idealistic Frankie McGrath, who enlisted as an Army nurse in the late sixties. The first portion of the book deals with her time “in country,” and reading it is like binge watching M*A*S*H. Different war, same story. When Frankie returns home after two tours of duty, she discovers that her parents are embarrassed by her service (her dad told people she was studying in Florence) and that the country in general is unaware of the presence of female GIs in Viet Nam.
Frankie experiences a difficult re-entry to civilian life, and this story makes up the last half of the book.
In some ways, the book was hard to read (my husband is a Viet Nam vet) but it’s a great story with wonderful characters, and beautifully written.) I highly recommend it!
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The Hunter
Tana French
YAY!!!!!!!! THE NEW TANA FRENCH BOOK WILL BE OUT MARCH 5th!!
Tana French is, hands-down, my favorite mystery writer and her latest, The Hunter, comes out this month!
The Hunter takes us back to the world of the characters inThe Searcher.
While French’s books can be read individually as stand-alones, in this case, I recommend reading The Searcher before The Hunter.
Trey’s dad has returned to the village with a partner and a get-rich scheme. While Trey’s mom has grudgingly allowed her husband back in their home, Trey bounces from home to Cal’s to Lena’s, per usual.
When a murder occurs, everyone in the village suspects each other and they choose sides. I don’t want to give too much away, but if you’ve read and liked Tana French’s past books, you’ll love this one too.
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Zoom event with Tana French, which was a true delight. When asked which character is the hardest to write, Tana French said in this case it was Trey’s dad. She said to write a character, she gets into his/her head and that’s tricky with “bad guys” because no one (fictional or otherwise) ever thinks they’re in the wrong. Trey’s dad is full of bad ideas and swagger (a bad combo in real life, an ideal combo in fiction.) She also said her favorite bits to write are bar/pub banter, and it’s pure delight to read in this book. Oh…….and it seems that even after writing two books with Trey, Cal, and Lena, Tana French is not quite done with these characters, so stay tuned for more to come. 
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Need a hanging file folder?
We’ve been going through our files (yes, it’s crazy) and have 3 boxes of extra hanging file folders. We’d love to share—stop in to pick some up.
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Centennial Flavors
Welcome back to Cookbook Corner!
This month’s cookbook is Centennial Flavors: Celebrating 100 Years of Service. The Junior League of San Antonio produced this cookbook as part of their centennial celebration. Nice little blurbs about San Antonio and the Junior League appear throughout, but don’t take over the recipes. The recipes themselves are well written and easy to follow. Included are recipes from apps to beverages, breads, and desserts, from upscale recipes to down home cooking. It’s a great looking book all around, and one you shouldn't miss.
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Book Groups
