Go back to Jazz-Age Paris or to the top of Mount Everest while looking into fictional accounts of the lives of real historical figures. Galaxie Library staff member Marsha Redman recommends: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain In the 1920s, 20-year-old Ernest Hemingway met and married his first wife, Hadley Richardson.  After a quick courtship and marriage, the two sailed to Paris and became part of the “Lost Generation” along with literary figures such as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and others notables from this era. Through Hadley’s voice, The Paris Wife tells the …

When the Minnesota weather is frightful, these winter-themed reads will be delightful. Check out a few book recommendations from Galaxie Library staff member Jerry Erickson. Snow Play by Birgitta Ralston Winter is here and as everybody who lived through the last one knows, that means snow and lots of it. This year, instead of letting it get you down and staying indoors, embrace the white stuff! The book Snow Play, by Birgitta Ralston, can be your blueprint for fun in the winter wonderland that is Minnesota. Snow Play has 25 fun outdoor projects, such as: a snow cave, ice slide, snow castle, …

A good memoir seems like just the thing to read during the dog days of summer. Check out these recommendations if you agree: "Merle’s Door: Lessons From a Freethinking Dog" by Ted Kerasote A chance encounter between a young dog and a nature writer in the Utah desert has a life changing effect on both the parties involved. Kerasote uses the story of his unique relationship with Merle to explore our deep affinity for our canine companions and what things might look like from their perspective. For anyone who has ever lived with and loved a dog. —Lee Schubert "The Happiness Project: Or, Why I …

For May, we brought you books written with mothers in mind, in honor of Mother's Day. June goes to the dads, with books about dads or for dads in recognition of Father's Day, which is June 19 this year. Fittingly, the Galaxie Library's resident "dad" librarian, Jerry Erickson, provides this month's recommendations: “Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life," by Jim Lindberg Here is a twist on the typical parenting memoir or guidebook. The dad in question is the lead singer of a long-lived California punk band. Pennywise creates loud and raucous music about fighting authority and other parent-…

Editor's note: Once a month, staff at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley will provide their book recommendations and reviews. Let's not beat around the bush: Moms are great (and remember to acknowledge that a little bit extra this Sunday, hint hint). That's probably why there have been some great books written with them in mind, including these picks from Galaxie Library librarian Marsha Redman. "Mom: a Celebration of Mothers from Storycorps," edited by Dave Isay, 2010 In 2003, Storycorps began to collect and archive the personal stories of more than 60,000 participants. This book is a …

You use fewer muscles to smile than to frown. Check out some humorous book recommendations that will make you put on a happy face—no joke. "The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time" by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. HersonIt’s a road trip book. It’s a grammar lesson. It’s "The Great Typo Hunt." In this humorous adventure, two friends travel the country looking for typos to correct in a quixotic attempt to point out the importance of communicating clearly. The rules of the game were that they could only target written errors in public places, they would exempt …

See if picking up any of these March reading recommendations from Galaxie Library staff makes you feel just a little bit luckier, even if just to have a library in your own backyard. "Haunted Ground" by Erin Hart The body of a mysterious red-haired woman is found by two men cutting peat in an Irish bog. Peat bogs preserve bodies, so there is a puzzle to solve. Does she represent an ancient death? Or could she be connected to much more recent events, like the disappearance years before of the wife of a local landowner and their young son? This first mystery by local writer Erin Hart introduces…

Editor's note: Once a month, staff at the Galaxie Library in Apple Valley will provide their book recommendations and reviews. Let's face it: Regardless of your feelings on Valentine's Day, love is a universal theme woven into life, and into many books. Check out one or more of these recommended love stories on Valentine's Day, during February or throughout the year. "A Venetian Affair" by Andrea di Robilant "A Venetian Affair" is based on letters actually found by Robilant's father in the attic of their old palazzo. This “epistolary autobiography” is about the passionate romance between …