Build a Walz? Read a Book!

Welcome to the slingshot of presidential politics! The Guv and his daughter Hope hit the rides at the Minnesota State Fair.

Dear Wags,

It’s Tim Walz Tuesday, so prepare be pummeled with trivia. Did you know Mankato’s silver fox makes a mean tater tot hot dish and collects specialty coins? Did you know he once staffed the Minnesota State Fair’s all-you-can-drink milk booth, which is an actual attraction and not a threat? He’s country enough to get under the hood of an International Harvester Scout, but cosmopolitan enough to explain it in Mandarin. His favorite drink is Diet Mountain Dew—buckle up for more Mountain Dew pandering! Best of all, the army vet is a reader—of geeky sci-fi novels and Eric Schlosser’s chilling nuclear history, Command and Control.

Walz is a beguiling national figure because he drips folksy authenticity wherever he roams. He doesn’t look or sound like a political careerist, which is exactly what makes him a political star. Nobody quite saw this coming. Let’s see where it goes.

It’s that kind of summer. Filled with more head-spinning turns and nauseating plunges than the rides at Walz’s favorite state fair. Just don’t hit the milk booth before climbing aboard. Now, here’s what we’re reading.

Yours Ever,

BKP

And So I Roar by Abi Daré

In The Girl with the Louding Voice, Daré introduced us to Adunni, a Nigerian girl rebelling against the constraints of village life. In her sophomore novel, we meet Adunni again, now living in Lagos with Tia, the woman who rescued the plucky 14-year-old from indentured servitude. Things take a turn when Tia learns a secret that forces her to choose between the child and resolving an old mystery. The author delivers a sharp double act, switching between the voices of the educated Tia and her spirited charge. Both are smart, sympathetic, and strong protagonists. 

House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias

Iglesias (The Devil Takes You Home) has already won Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker awards, and this tale is deliciously dark and twisty. A group of friends in Puerto Rico become enmeshed in crime, violence, and vengeance, but things get really dicey when Hurricane Maria hits. Bimbo, Paul, Tavo, and Xavier plot to kill the person who murdered Bimbo’s mother, but they have to contend with the 2017 storm and Papalote, a ruthless drug lord. The author mixes island mythology into a fast-paced plot. Orishas—divine spirits who originated in Yoruban faith—fuel Bimbo’s thirst for bloodshed. It makes for an evocative thriller.

Hum by Helen Phillips