Minnesota Books

I finished three books on my recent trip to Minneapolis and am off on another work trip soon, so I am squeezing in this little blog.

Rift Zone: Poems (by Tess Taylor)

For the RHC category "an author local to you" comes this amazing book of poetry by El Cerrito resident Tess Taylor. (It turns out we know people in common, which I didn't discover until I was talking to some other local poets at a school event.) I learned a lot about micro-local history and was blown away by the poems. If I had time, I'd dig up some quotes, but she has a lot listed on her website and I recommend them so highly.

The Honjin Murders (by Seishi Yokomizo) 

A "locked door mystery" originally published in 1946, but more recently translated into English. I enjoyed the atmosphere and characters here, and the mystery did keep me guessing, but the solution was beyond preposterous, really.  I'm going to keep exploring Japanese mysteries though until I find one that's both atmospheric and satisfying. Recommendations welcome!

The Dos and Donuts of Love (by Adiba Jaigirdar) 

The "reality show" at the center of this book is incoherent - Great British Bake-Off exists, and this is called Junior Irish Bake-Off, but it's structured like Masterchef, and the hosts are Gordon Cramsey, Padma Bollywood, and Marie Cherry? Really? The filming and editing process makes no sense. And on top of all of this, the romance falls totally flat.  Unfortunately this is a miss for me, although the fat positive and Bangladeshi-Irish representation are wonderful.