Read
Environmentalist and children’s book author Lisa Westberg Peters ventures into new territory with Fractured Land: The Price of Inheriting Oil, an exploration of oil leases on North Dakota land her grandfather purchased in the 1940s. After her father’s death, Peters heads west to Williston to find out about the family oil wells. She produces a memoir rich with family and geological history written in a cheeky style. Peters chronicles her internal struggles as a conservationist with fracking as she journeys into the strange world of trucks, trains and oil rigs. —Phyllis Alsdurf
Excelsior Bay Books
36 Water St., Excelsior
952.401.0932
A long-time Minnetonka resident, Phyllis Alsdurf is a journalism professor at Bethel University in St. Paul. She is the author of the children’s book It’s Milking Time (Random House, 2012).
Drink
Wine and Champagne have long been associated with style, but my two drinking rules are: Drink what you like, and try new things. Create your own style with wines you haven’t tried, cocktails that are new and beers you haven’t heard of. Here are some ideas: If you normally drink Cabernet or Merlot, try a red blend (Fog Mountain Field Blend, $12.99). If you don’t like Chardonnay, try a Viognier (La Forge Viognier, $11.99). Oh, and if you happen to like an ice cube in your red wine, why not? —John Farrell, III
Haskell’s
12900 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka
952.544.4456
John Farrell, III is the V.P. of sales and merchandizing for Haskell’s. His family business has been locally owned and operated since 1934.
Listen
Almost a year after its original release, Boy From The North, from Norwegian siren Monica Heldal, hit stateside, bringing with it a smooth ebb and flow of acoustic guitar and subdued percussion. But Heldal’s vocals are the focal point here. She carefully dances above the underlying instruments, dropping her words off with a Scandinavian twang that sets the record apart from the more recent explosion of four-on-the-floor-addicted folk pop. There’s dynamism on tracks such as “In Flight,” which builds to a rock-ish electric guitar solo and the mostly instrumental “The Road Not Taken,” but the tracks largely melt together, creating an easy listen that’s not too exciting. —Alex Skjong
Barnes & Noble
13131 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka
952.546.2006
Alex Skjong has written for a number of publications in the Twin Cities, Chicago and Atlanta.
