Grand Marais
This is a tiny jewel — both the town and the bookstore.
Drury Lane Books could be right out of hobbit land or a children’s book of nursery rhymes.
It sits right on the edge of the Grand Marais harbor, which is one of the few places along Superior’s rock coastline that offers sailors and boaters a place to launch and live out their seafaring dreams.
This is not a land of deck shoes and big yachts. These are outdoors folks — REI and hiking boots and cars with canoes strapped to the tops. Families, too, who are willing to drive the 100 miles of rocky shoreline through the forested landscape of northeastern Minnesota for a stay in this one bright little town that almost hints of New England or the generous seaside towns of Lake Michigan. But this is neither. It is the great and unpredictable Lake Superior, and no one and no place here can put on airs.
Drury Lane was truly a jewel. Another small, brightly lit, intimate store with colorful titles on wooden shelves. Stores like this and Zenith are such wonderful antidotes to the manufactured literary pretentiousness of Barnes and Nobles and other chain stores. Those stores had their day, shocking everyone with comfortable seating and coffee bars. But now they are little more than shops for greeting cards and puzzles and flavor-of-the-day chick lit and romances. If they serve any purpose, it is as display units for books that people then go home and order from Amazon. They are reaping their just deserts.
But these quirky little gems like Drury Lane are not just bookstores, they are experiences. You want to go in them, not get out of them. They beckon you to linger. You feel you are among friends.
Our reading was at 6. I expected four people and a random dog. But we again had over 30 people jammed in, making it standing room only. I am learning how to present this book, though I fumbled the ball on my choice of readings. But, no matter, I was among friends and the talk and conversation went swimmingly, and I am learning.
I cannot express how much I love these small venues and the folks who show up. I also had the bonus of an intimate engagement with a small sweet dog who was willing to indulge my dog love and dog hunger. Truthfully, I think he enjoyed it as well.
So now it is across the northern forests on the winding two lane roads to my old haunts in Bemidji. 25 years there — almost enough to grow roots that cannot be pulled. And Red Lake, the reservation and people that stole my heart and set me on my writing journey.
I can’t wait.
Love this —- it gives me a smile for the day! Thank you for sharing the wonderful places and people you encounter and the joy of finding such an intimate treasure. (Of course, the dog is an important feature as well.)
Look forward to seeing you in Alexandria.
Ah, the good stuff!
What a wonderful place of books! My cousin lives in Grand Marais and she is the one who told me about you and your writing some years ago. At that time, you had been in Grand Marais and the group had discussed Neither Wolf Nor Dog. I was hooked and still am. I grew up in Wisconsin and now live in eastern PA. Your description of Drury Lane Books was transporting. I wish I could have been there –
Wow, thank you for such a candid and positive description of our bookstore! You have expressed some lovely subtleties about our store and Grand Marais.
However, I think 4 people and a dog is selling yourself short. When the Library showed the movie Neither Wolf Nor Dog a few years ago, it was standing room only. You have many reader fans in this region. Your event had great turnout for us, and we have sold your new book constantly since it became available. Thank you for traveling all the way up here! – Gwen, manager at Drury Lane Books
I miss hosting good folks like you at my former store, Bookin’ It.
I was wondering if you still had your store. I was going to check about doing a reading there.
What a sweet bookstore. Four people and a dog would have been fine. Four dogs and a person would have been better. But instead we had a wonderful crowd and a fine time. I can’t wait to come back.
Can not wait until you share about going to Red Lake. I hope you can visit those folks (and maybe dogs) with whom you grew so close to in previous times. Safe travels!!