Summer by the Book, 2003
MPR hosts recommend and review their favorite titles
(Originally published in Minnesota Monthly Magazine.)
June 2003

Julie Amacher, MPR classical music host

In This Mountain
by Jan Karon
Viking Press, 2002
ISBN: 0142002585
This is the seventh in a series of books set in the fictional southern small town of Mitford, North Carolina. One thing that grabs me about this book, and the entire series, is the intimate way in which Jan Karon introduces us to each character. But then, everybody knows everybody in a small town, and Mitford is no exception.While this book is lighthearted and even laugh-out-loud funny, it also reveals the hardships people face no matter where they live.

Stephanie Curtis, host of Sound Money

The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
Everyman's Library, 1992
ISBN: 0802130119
Written in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and promptly banned for its anti-Stalinist message, this satire follows the devil-disguised as a magician-as he visits Moscow and wreaks havoc in the lives of downtrodden Russians, middlebrow poets and petty bureaucrats.You don't need to be a student of Soviet history to find this novel-finally published in the late '60s-both hilarious and sad.

Gary Eichten, host of Midday

An American Summer
by Frank Deford
Sourcebooks Trade, 2002
ISBN: 1570719926
It's a very sweet story, set in the summer, well written and easy to read. Made to order!

Jon Gordon, host of Future Tense

Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Harcourt, 2002
ISBN: 0151008116
This book tells the story of Pi Patel, an Indian boy adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger. It's a far-fetched tale that tempts you to believe. It's a fast-paced survival tale, and a meditation on religion that draws a surprising but engaging metaphor between zoology and theology.

Leigh Kamman, host of The Jazz Image

Brown: The Last Discovery of America
by Richard Rodriguez
Viking Press, 2002
ISBN: 0670030430
In his stream of essays and narratives, Rodriquez takes us through the process and struggle of finding a place in American society. His words, which translate this experience, might be compared to Duke Ellington and his performance of "Black, Brown and Beige." When reading Rodriguez's book, I've gone back and played "Black, Brown and Beige." Perhaps you would want to try that when you read it.

Bill McGlaughlin, host of Saint Paul Sunday

Dvorák In Love: A Light-Hearted Dream
by Josef Skvorecky
W.W. Norton & Company, 1988
ISBN: 0393305481
Skvorecky, an émigré to Canada after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, builds his beguiling novel on an artful combination of historical figures and invented ones, in a style that may be familiar to fans of E.L. Doctorow. We see turn-of-the-century America from New York to Chicago to St. Paul to Spillville, Iowa, get a glimpse into the creative world of one of the most influential musicians ever to visit these shores and a bittersweet answer to a question that has perplexed concert-goers for a century or more: Why does Dvojrák Cello Concerto end, not with a bang, but with a love song?

Brian Newhouse, host of Minnesota Orchestra

Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
by Michael Perry
HarperCollins, 2002
ISBN: 0060198524
The writer is a volunteer firefighter/EMT in New Auburn, Wisc. The collection of 13 essays is about the fears and triumphs of his duties, and running through the book is Perry's deep love for his people and place. This is small-town tragedy and comedy about heroism. The writing is tight and evocative as a fine novel.

Krista Tippett, host of Speaking of Faith

The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
HarperCollins, 1998
ISBN: 0060175400
This is one of the loveliest and most thought-provoking books I have read in the past few years. It is an engrossing story, beautifully told. It evokes another world (that of Africa), which I love in a novel. And there is even pithy theology between the lines. A pleasure.

For more of Krista's recommendations, visit the Speaking of Faith book list.

Suzanne Vega, host of American Mavericks

The Stranger
by Albert Camus
Knopf, 1988
ISBN: 0394533054
This book remains one of my favorites. It is such an interesting story and character, so unlike anything that was written before, cool writing style, and the story pulls you forward and still leaves you questioning the nature of man in general. It's the classic existentialist novel, along with Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre.

John Zech, classical music host host

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore
William Morrow, 2002
ISBN: 0380978407
It follows the life of Jesus (called Joshua), as told by Levi (called Biff): the one person who was (supposedly) with him for the 20 or so years that don't appear in the Bible. The story is humorous, but also thoughtful about how Jesus might have "gotten to be like that."