Books

Barnes & Noble in Woodbury offers many romance and relationship books. Here are two recommendations this Valentine’s season.

Someone to Love by Mary Balogh: Orphan Anna Snow has found out that she’s inherited a great fortune. Unwelcome in her new surroundings, a love affair is sparked with a gentleman in her new town. Read more about Love Novels for February

February is I Love to Read Month, and Ann and Clara Radke are doing their part by delivering books to children who don’t have access to them. The sisters created Bound to Be, a nonprofit with a goal of collecting 5,000 books and delivering them to food shelves and family crisis centers in Washington County. “We collect books from people who have books at home that they don’t use anymore, so that they can find their way to people who don’t have books,” says fifth-grader Ann Radke. Read more about Sisters Start a Local Nonprofit to Improve Child Literacy Rates in Washington County

With more than 60,000 books from almost every genre, The Book Corner provides customers with books and audiobooks that they cannot find at larger bookstores. Dawn Maurer, owner of the bookstore, started the business 24 years ago as a way to share her passion with other book lovers. Read more about A Book for Everyone

Local resident Andrea Gribble is the founder of #SocialSchool4EDU, a social media consultancy that partners with and serves schools, students, parents and the local community. As an advocate and speaker, Gribble often talks to students about being safe and kind online. But as a mother of two and stepmother of four, she realized she needed to bring these concepts into her own home. When she couldn’t find a book to share with her children, she decided to write one of her own, titled The Von Awesome Family in a Digital Daze. Read more about Let’s Talk Technology

Longtime Woodbury resident and author Brian Freeman is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his publishing career, alongside his character Jonathan Stride’s career, in his acclaimed thriller series. The series’ latest addition, Goodbye to the Dead, gives readers a look back at Stride’s past and lets them get to know more about his younger years as a Duluth, Minn. detective. Read more about Ten Years of Twists

Barnes & Noble manager Chris Quick shares his book suggestions for spring gardening inspiration:

Best Garden Plans for Minnesota and Wisconsin  by Don Engebretson & Don Williamson
Discover 472 flower and plant varieties that are ideal for our Midwestern climate. Color pictures are included alongside planting tips and instructions to give you clear direction on taking care of your flower gardens. ($16.95) Read more about Books: Principles of Planting

Fathers, sons and sports: it’s a typical scene on any weekend of the year, in any city. When Woodbury resident Jeffrey Tousignant was at a weekend baseball tournament in St. Paul with his son, Ben, he didn’t realize the tournament would link him with a far more rare phenomenon—a father-son book club. Read more about Woodbury Book Club For Boys

Donna Chicone moved to Woodbury more than 30 years ago, when it was starting to develop and thrive as a city. Nowadays, Chicone enjoys Woodbury’s naturally beautiful trails while she walks her two Portuguese water dogs, Jazz, age 10, and Jive, age 6, of whom she is a proud pet parent. They’ve been her inspiration and her business brand as she follows her passion for encouraging other pet parents, particularly those with dogs. Read more about Pets in a People World

A Woodbury resident for more than 30 years, author Brian Freeman has been making a living at writing for the last decade. “A good story has the power to lift you out of current circumstances and take you somewhere different,” he says. “Sharing that with readers is what gets me up every morning.” West 57 was released last August and strays from Freeman’s usual dark thrillers. Witty and romantic, readers navigate alongside New Yorker Julie Chavan through life, love and friendships. Read more about Books: Love and Thrill

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing -by Marie Kondo
“The basic organizing concept from the book is to only surround yourself with things that inspire joy and by deciding what you want to keep, not necessarily what you want to throw away,” Bennis says. Bennis also mentions there are currently 80 people on the waiting list to receive this book in the Washington County library system. Read more about 3 Great Reads for a Healthier You