Who says you need an ocean for a beach read? Here are some newish books from Midwestern writers that we’re looking forward to curling up with by our salt-free seas.
“Beneath the Bonfire: Stories” by Nikolas Butler
Ten short stories set in Wisconsin and Minnesota featuring people struggling with each other, with the land, with change, and with themselves.
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“Summerlong” by Dean Bakopoulos
The simmering tensions lying just beneath the surface of a contented marriage come to the fore one summer in an Iowa college town.
“What Burns Away” by Melissa Falcon Field
A burned out wife and mother reconnects with her high school boyfriend as an escape that may lead to the destruction of her life.
“A Reunion of Ghosts” by Judith Clare Mitchell
Three sisters enter a suicide pact to shake the curse of their ancestors in a dark but comic novel.
“Leaving the Pink House” by Ladette Randolph
Fixing up a derelict farmhouse in Nebraska leads Ladette Randolph on a journey through all the houses and spaces she’s ever called home in this memoir.
“Kitchens of the Great Midwest” by J. Ryan Stradal
Left to raise his baby daughter Eva on his own, Lars Thorvald is determined to pass on his love of the food and flavors of Minnesota.
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