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For the new May issue, we three editors each got to take a road trip to a Midwest location of our choosing. As soon as we found out this was happening, we began eagerly scouting potential “hidden gem” towns. Both Andrea Behling and Maija Inveiss started by searching for the best food and drinks within driving distance. I, naturally, Googled bookstores.
As a visitor, I believe there is no better doorway into a town than the local bookstore or library. There is arguably no better measure of a community's health than whether it can sustain an indie bookshop. And if you're lucky enough to find a book about the area you want to visit, it can add the richest layers to any vacation.
I've been known to drag along a stack of history and guidebooks on family trips and read aloud to my captive carload so they better appreciate where we're going. But my favorite is to look up local authors in my destinations and find a novel they've written, especially if it's based in their town. For example, one time on the way to somewhere else, a series of unfortunate events left us stranded for two weeks in Great Falls, Montana. When I learned it was the hometown of the author Pete Fromm, I had two of his novels sent to me there. As we explored our unexpected destination, I felt like I was experiencing the town on an entirely different plane, losing myself in a fictional world with a far deeper and more authentic point-of-view than I would have had I read the books at home. It's difficult to articulate, unless you're a book lover. Then you know.
After scoping out Fair Trade Books and noting the robust events list supporting local authors, I chose Red Wing, Minnesota, for my road trip. I had a wonderful time exploring the town, which you can read about in the new issue along with the amazing dining, drink, recreation and leisure activities we all found in our travels. In Red Wing, be sure to stop by the bookstore and meet the shop dog, and the owner who gives every first-time customer a free book. There's just one catch: She gets to pick it — which I think is absolutely perfect.
Associate Editor Maggie Ginsberg curates this monthly newsletter for Madison Magazine.
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