Midwest Connections-The River Queen

The River Queen
by Mary Morris
Was $24.00, Now 20% off

I just finished reading this book. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Not that I was expecting a bad book, but Morris is a very entertaining writer. This is a great summer read for the armchair traveler.

In 2005, Morris, a travel writer, set off down the Mississippi in a
battered old houseboat called the River Queen, with two river
rats named Tom and Jerry —and a rat terrier who hated her.
It was a time of emotional turmoil for Morris, who in this
book describes living like a pirate and surviving a tornado. Because of
Katrina, oil prices, and drought, the
river was often empty and Morris experienced it as Joliet
and Marquette had four hundred years earlier. The River Queen
is a bittersweet travel tale told in the very real voice of a smart,
sad, funny, gutsy, and absolutely appealing woman.

Midwest Connections-Devils in the Sugar Shop

Devils in the Sugar Shop
by Timothy Schaffert
Was $14.95, Now 20% off

One of our goals at Monkey See, Monkey Read is to point out some offbeat books that don’t get a lot of media attention. Books that fly below the radar. Small press books. Quirky books. Little guy books. Devils in the Sugar Shop is just such a book. Give it a try, I think you’ll like it.

This diverting novel reveals rare characters: Ashley, who teaches erotic writing workshops but doesn’t realize her husband is
cheating on her; Peach, a 20 something who runs the local
bookstore; Plum, who has a yen for a tallish tattooed photogra-
pher; and Deedee, who operates a sort of sex-based Tupperware
party. Another friend, visual artist Viv, has been the victim of
an art stalker.
Over the course of one improbably packed
evening, a mis-sent e-mail brings everyone together.
Schaffert walks an uneasy line between the amusing, the sexy,
and the altogether scabrous.

Midwest Connections-In Search of Mockingbird

In Search of
Mockingbird

Loretta Ellsworth
Was $16.95, Now 20% off

Staff Pick. I loved this book and so did my daughter. recommended for the 10-14 crowd. Loretta Ellsworth lives in Lakeville, MN.

Sometimes the things that need to be discovered aren’t so easily
found at home. Erin is certain that this is true in her case. A
book is all that connects Erin to her mother, who died
when she was a baby. But how much can Erin really
learn about her mother from a tattered copy of To Kill a
Mockingbird? On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin decides
it’s time to find out. And so begins her bus journey from
Minnesota to Alabama in search of Harper Lee. In Search
of Mockingbirdis full of quirky characters, strange coinci-
dences, and wild adventures.

Midwest Connections-Hick

Hick
by Andrea Portes
Was $14.95, Now 20% off

This first-person narrating voice
is fast-paced, powerful and
unquestionably authentic. In
addition to the voice, what
makes this debut novel
extraordinary is that,
although the worst things
imaginable befall a 13-
year-old girl, she is never defeated by them.
Luli always fights back. Set as a
coming-of-age novel, the story
tracks the real perils teenagers
so often face. And it does so
with wit, energy and spirit. This
is a book that will grab the
reader from the first page, writ-
ten by a cultural force in the
hippest parts of Los Angeles.

Join the Monkey Club

The Monkey See,
Monkey Read book club
will meet at 7 p.m.,
Monday, May 14 in the
store. The book to be
read is the literary classic
Winesburg, Ohio by
Sherwood Anderson.
New paperback copies
are on sale for 20 percent
off. The book club is free and open to the
public. Give us a call or just show up!

Backward Bush Keychain clocks

Perhaps the hottest seller at The
Monkey this spring isn’t, in fact, a book.
Rather, we’ve sold so many Backwards
Bush keychain clocks that we’ve had to
place reorders. (Rest assured, as of this
writing, we have plenty on sale.)

Customers, it seems, are often buying
two —one for themselves, another for
an equally anxious friend.
Just $9.99 for a clock that, mercifully,
keeps ticking down.

Bestselling New Books At Used Book Prices

By Jerry Bilek
Ape in Charge
The orange neon sign that hangs from
my window at night says “Used
Books.” It’s true. I am a used-book dealer

and proud of it. But Monkey See,
Monkey Read is more than used books.
We sell new ones, too.

That has been the case from the
moment I first opened the front door
and joined this wonderful downtown
community. It’s just that I have had to
find a balance between the predomi-
nantly used inventory I specialize in and
how many latest-greatest new books to
carry. I think I have found way to do that
and I hope, loyal and appreciated cus-
tomers, that you will find it useful.
As you’ll notice next time you walk
through the door — hopefully during
one of these gorgeous spring afternoons
that are made for walks down Division
Street —and look at the first bookshelf
you see, I have created a display of best-
selling new books.
The idea is simple. Regularly, I have
customers who come in and ask “Do
you have the new Oprah pick?” or
“How about that book by Kim
Edwards I keep hearing so many peo-
ple talk about?” The new display pro-
vides a place for those bestselling titles
that aren’t yet readily available on the
used-book market.
This is not strictly a national best-
seller list. I chose popular titles with a
particular eye on those with local
appeal (The Summer of Ordinary Ways,
for example). I also keep on hand new
books I am reading and loving. Deep
Economy comes to mind.
Blink is new in paperback —I have
that. The Glass Castle has been hot for
months. That’s on hand, too. You want
Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical
Thinking? How about the hilarious
Marley and Me? Check. Check. If you’re
going to the cabin this summer, maybe
bring Doug Ohman’s Cabins of Minnesota.
And, yes, we have that new Oprah
pick: The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Edwards’ riveting read, The Memory
Keeper’s Daughter,is here, too.
I think the best part is that all those
titles are on sale for 20 percent off. So I
offer new books that cost barely more
than they would if they were used.