Bookstore Hours, Summer 2023

 DOG EARS BOOKS

1993-2023

Celebrating 30 years!

106 Waukazoo St., Northport, MI

 

Summer Hours 2023

 

Monday: By chance or appointment

 

Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (or later)

 

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday:

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

 

Sunday: CLOSED

 

 

 

Please note:

 

When the bookstore is open,

David Grath gallery 

(accessible from inside bookstore)

is also open.

Michigan and the Civil War

Between the years 1961 and 1966 the Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission issued a number of reports on Michigan’s involvement, a century earlier, in the Civil War and the effects of that war on Michigan. Report copies listed below are stapled pamphlets de-acquisitioned from the holdings of the Mark & Helen Osterlin Library at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Michigan. Other than library stamps on top edges, light pencil on a couple of front covers, and Commission stamps on some of the lower front covers, these pamphlets are in nearly pristine condition. Most, in fact, appear unread. Crisp and clean!

I am offering a reduced price of $150 for all eleven items purchased together as a collection. Otherwise, prices below (totaling $195) are for undiscounted individual items.

1. Materials on the Civil War Recommended for Schools - $10

2. Michigan Civil War Monuments - $30

3. Effects of the Civil War on Farming in Michigan - $20

4. Effects of the Civil War on Manufacturing in Michigan - $10 

5. Civil War Tri-State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Encampments 1889-1918 - $10

6. A Wartime Chronicle - $15

7. Michigan Women in the Civil War - $20

8. Baptists of Michigan in the Civil War - $20

9. Congregationalism, Slavery and the Civil War - $20

10. Michigan Labor & The Civil War - $30

11. Effects of the Civil War on Music in Michigan - $10

Michigan Historian to Visit This Saturday

I met Larry Massie a few decades ago, when he was Assistant Director of the Michigan Regional Archives, housed in the library of Western Michigan University, and I was a lowly, aging undergraduate research assistant. The professor for whom I worked was studying farm ownership and rental patterns in the lower tier of townships (four altogether) in Kalamazoo County. The U.S. population census and agriculture census, county tax rolls, and plat maps were the tools I learned to use, becoming familiar enough that I was able to do a little personal sleuthing relative to the Barry County farmhouse where I lived at the time. (Often my son would be with me, sitting under my desk and reading Greek tragedy. Precocious little fellow, he was!) None of that has anything to do with this weekend's book signing, but looking forward to having Larry Massie at Dog Ears Books brings back a lot of memories for me.

Back to my visiting author:

In the intervening years since those old Kalamazoo days, Larry Massie launched himself as an independent historian, making his home in Allegan County. He is the author of 20 books of Michigan history and the first-ever recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Historical Society of Michigan. His personal collection of Michigan books grew so large that he is now a bookseller -- by appointment only.

So I'm looking forward to this Saturday! An author, a bookseller, a book collector, and someone from the "old days" in Kalamazoo. I hope you will be able to join us on Saturday. Larry will be happy to sign his books when you buy them here, too.

What's sweeter than a small town in Michigan?

How about 99 more small Michigan towns?

Northport is small, but the author may be saving us for a future volume, because only Empire represents Leelanau County in the new book, Little Michigan: A Nostalgic Look at Michigan’s Smallest Towns, a book featuring 100 towns with population of 600 or fewer full-time residents, from Ahmeek in the Upper Peninsula to Zeba, also in the U.P. But never fear — lower Michigan holds 84 of the book’s little Michigan towns.

An introductory map of the state shows all 100 alphabetically and geographically. Each book is then given a double-page spread, opening with a rectangle of color photographs, history of the town, additional noteworthy information, and a paragraph on the town as you will find it today. 

Little Michigan is an invitation to venture off the main roads and into Michigan’s past. How many of these small towns were born in the lumbering era? 

Following the Lake Michigan shoreline south from Empire, a reader quickly finds Bear Lake and Beulah. Perhaps a sequel will include Cedar and Maple City? We can hope! 

Little Michigan: A Nostalgic Look at 

Michigan’s Smallest Towns

by Kathryn Houghton

Paper, 239pp with information source notes

$16.95

AND HERE is Here!

A new collection of writing from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, edited by Ron Riekki, with foreword by Thomas Lynch, has been published by Michigan State University Press. Writings collected go back as far as 1918 and include a wide diversity of works. You’ll find Ernest Hemingway and Jim Harrison here, and you’ll also find Janet Lewis, Iola Fuller, Steve Hamilton, Michael Delp, and many more. This is a book for everyone’s Michigan collection, one you will be re-reading for years to come.

And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917-2017, ed. Ronald Riekki

East Lansing: Michigan State University Press

Paper, 347pp, $29.95

New Series from Up North’s Own Elizabeth Buzzelli

You loved her DEAD series (set in northern Michigan), and you laughed your way through the NUT HOUSE murders (set in Riverville, Texas, and published under her pen name, Elizabeth Lee). Now Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli has a new series bound to prove irresistible to booklovers. With the LITTLE LIBRARY mysteries, we are back on home (Michigan) ground again.

A Most Curious Murder introduces us to Jenny Weston, Zoe Zola, Adam Crane, and a whole cast of intriguing characters in Bear Falls, Michigan, and in the second novel, She Stopped for Death, we come back to Bear Falls for another quirky tale. Summer vacation is the perfect time for mysteries, and now is the perfect time to begin collecting this new series by Elizabeth Buzzelli and anticipating Book Number Three. What will she think up next?!

A Most Curious Murder &

She Stopped for Death

by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Hardcover, $25.99 

The first book is also available in paperback, but I need to restock!

When You Cross That Bridge

When Leelanau County residents “go Up North” in their home state, they're usually headed for the Upper Peninsula. If you’ve never crossed the Mackinac Bridge, that alone is worth a trip, but it’s only the beginning. I love the title 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, because I always think that’s the best time to do things, don’t you? I’m also very happy to report that Snowbound Books in Marquette made the shopping section of Kath Usitalo’s new book.

100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die

by Kath Usitalo

Paperback, 146pp, illus., index

$16

Don't Miss Anything Up North

This is the perfect book to have on hand for your visitors who want to know what to do and where to go when they’re in the Grand Traverse area. From Lake Ann to Northport and over to Elk Rapids, with Traverse City as its center, Inside UpNorth is full of ideas for every season of the year. There are also maps, photographs, and other wonderful illustrations (some by Glenn Wolff). In fact, I can’t even begin to cover everything you’ll find in this indispensable guide.

Inside UpNorth: The Complete Tour, Sport and Country Living Guide to Traverse City, Traverse City Area, Leelanau County [and more, says your bookseller]

by Heather Shaw, Jodee Taylor, Tom Carr, and many more

Mission Point Press, paper, 250pp

$16.95

Waterfalls, Anyone? Head North!

Waterfalls of Michigan: The Definitive Guide to the Waterfalls of Michigan, by Phil Stagg, comes in four volumes. Book 1 covers the Eastern Upper Peninsula, Book 2 the Central U.P., Book 3 West Central, and Book 4 the West, including Porcupine Mountain State Park. Phil has also put together a “best of” collection, Waterfalls of Michigan: The Essential Guidebook to Michigan’s Best & Easiest Waterfalls. All books are illustrated in full color, with large, helpful maps and access details. All are paper, very attractively and sturdily bound.

Waterfalls of Michigan, Book 1 – East (Alger, Chippewa, Delta, Luce, Manistee & Presque Isle Counties) $19.95

Book 2 – Central (Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee Counties) $24.95

Book 3 – West Central (Baraga, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw Counties) $29.95

Book 4 – West (Gogebic, Ontonagon Counties & Porcupine Mountain State Park) $24.95

Waterfalls of Michigan: The Essential Guidebook to Michigan’s Best & Easiest Waterfalls – The Collection

$29.95

Featured Young Adult Novels for April

See You in the Cosmos, by Jack Cheng, is the author’s first YA literary venture. The novel’s protagonist is 11-year-old Alex, obsessed with space exploration. He has even named his dog Carl Sagan. Alex’s father has died, his mother has problems, and his older brother isn’t around much, so it’s Carl Sagan (the dog) who is Alex’s chosen companion on a road trip with a constantly changing destination that brings many surprises into the boy’s life.

I still have more to pack but I needed a break, so I came up to the roof of my house. I love lying down on the hood of a car like Dr. Arroway in the movie Contact but my mom doesn’t drive anymore, so I just come up on our ladder to the roof. I usually come up here at night so that way I’m closer to the stars, even though it’s only one story closer. 

The protagonist of American Street, by Ibi Zoboi, is a girl who has made a different kind of voyage. When Fabiola Toussaint, born in the United States, leaves familiar Port-au-Prince with her mother, she thought they would reach a new home together, but in the airport in New York her mother is detained, to be sent back to Haiti, and the frightened daughter must fly on to Detroit alone to meet her cousins in what feels like strange new land.

Darkness seeps into every crack and corner of this Detroit. Even with a few lampposts dotting the streets, I can’t see the breadth and depth of this city that is my birthplace, that is now my home. I squint to see if the big mansions I’ve seen on American TV will glow of sparkle in the dark. I hope to catch a glimpse of the very tops of the tall buildings, but the car is moving too fast—with its fancy seats, too-loud music, and the scent of shiny new things.
 

Ibi Zoboi’s American Street, then, is set in Detroit, while Jack Cheng, author of See You in the Cosmos, grew up in Michigan. I’ve given you a taste from the beginning of each story, with everything yet to come for Alex and Fabiola, in hopes you will want to journey along with them.

American Street, by Ibi Zoboi

Hardcover, 314pp, $16.99

See You in the Cosmos, by Jack Cheng

Hardcover, 324pp, $17.99

Island Getaway, Anyone?

Did you know there are around 35,000 islands in the Great Lakes? How many have you visited? Of the ones you haven’t explored, which would be your #1 pick – or don’t you know? This book may help you decide.

Complete with maps and color photographs and arranged geographically, Great Lakes Island Escapes tells you how to get to each island and how to get around on it once you’re there. What to see, where to stay, websites and addresses are also included, but I especially appreciate the “Parting Thoughts” for each island visit the author made.

I'd like to visit Beaver Island

and revisit Harsen's Island

It’s winter. It’s time to dream. Let your spirit fly away!

Great Lakes Island Escapes: Ferries and

       Bridges to Adventure 

by Maureen Dunphy

Detroit: A Painted Turtle Book

Paper, 427pp w/ index & illus.

$29.99

Visit Montana, Stay in Michigan – or Both?

This little anthology from Elk River Books is called by Pete Fromm “the most important book you’ll buy this year, or maybe any other.” I’ll just say that it’s a collection of essays, fiction, and poetry by a stunning cast of writers. You’ll recognize many of the names, including that of Leelanau County's most famous author, Jim Harrison. Other than showcasing beautiful writing, however, Unearthing Paradise is a call to arms at a time when public natural resources are more than ever in need of protection from destructive private exploitation. You don't want to miss this book.

Unearthing Paradise: Montana Writers

      In Defense of Greater Yellowstone

edited by Marc Beaudin, Seabring Davis,

      And Max Hjortsberg

with Foreword by Terry Tempest Williams

Paper, 179pp, $15

And if staying here to face Michigan cold with Up North courage (not to say sisu and steal a march from the Yoopers), while at the same time catching up with fictional Sheriff Ray Elkins, you’ll want to pick up the latest Aaron Stander novel, Gales of November. What dangers and puzzles will the sheriff meet this time? Read and find out!

Gales of November

by Aaron Stander

Paper, 25pp, $17.95

My advice is to buy and read both books, because by now we've barely gotten started on winter, and there is going to be a lot of good reading weather ahead.

Thursday afternoon excitement: sunshine!

Michigan ROCKS!

I’m thrilled to announce that I now have, back in stock and even autographed by one of the co-authors, the popular, much-desired, and for a time elusive Michigan Rock Picker’s Guide. Since Partners Book Distributing went out of business, the former publisher of this book dropped it, and the copyright went back to the authors, who have now had it reprinted in color better than the original.

Lake Michigan Rock Picker’s Guide

by Bruce Mueller & Kevin Gauthier

Paperback, 80pp, $15.95

And that’s not all. For intrepid adventurers whose Michigan experiences extend as far as the “Sunrise Side” and the Upper Peninsula, I also have a couple copies each of Lake Huron Rock Picker’s Guide and Lake Superior Rock Picker’s Guide – same amateur-friendly information, same beautiful color, and same great price. 

Going Fast!

I thought everyone would have a copy of Ken Scott's Back Pages by now, but after more than one request I knew I had to restock. Now there's one left for the first lucky customer to get here and claim it.

Back Pages of Leelanau County
from Ken Scott & the Leelanau Enterprise
Hardcover, $40


Another book that seemed far from Northport to me was Storm Struck: When Supercharged Winds Slammed Northwest Michigan, by Robert Campbell and photographs by residents and visitors.

Most of the August 2015 storm was concentrated in and around Glen Arbor, but the book was requested this far north, too, so I arranged to stock it, and now there is a single copy of that available, too.

Storm Struck: When Supercharged Winds Slammed Northwest Michigan
by Robert Campbell
Softcover, 107 pp/illustrated, $22.50

Up and Down -- and Beyond -- the M-22 Shoreline

Vintage Views Along M-22

Including Sleeping Bear Dunes

M. Christine Byron &

Thomas R. Wilson

Hardcover, $40

Another dream book from Byron & Wilson, a memory lane of images from old photographs, vintage postcards, and vintage advertising posters. How long have you been traveling M-22? How much do you recognize still today from the old pictures? You’ll laugh and learn and love your way through these pages.

Omena!

I have to emphasize that it includes not only the National Lakeshore but, dear to my heart, scenes north of the top of M-22, along M-201 and up along the lake- and bayshores of Leelanau Township. Yes, Northport is here, along with Raff's Fish Camp, the old girls' camp, and so much more between Northport and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.

Northport!

Many pages are in full color. 

Sleeping Bear Dunes in the old days

If you don't already have this book, you know you want it!

Take a Trip (or More than One) with Robert Downes

Biking Northern Michigan:

The Best & Safest Routes

in the Lower Peninsula,

2^nd edition,

by Robert Downes

Paper, $14.95

Travels with My Wife:

7 Months Around the World

by Robert Downes with Jeanette Wildman

Paper, $14.95

This season is seeing a lot of maps in books from northern Michigan authors. Kind of makes a reader’s feet itch for the road. Bob Downes has updated his Biking Northern Michigan Book and also takes us overseas in a new book, Travels with My Wife.

You’ll wonder how much time Bob and Jeanette spend at home in Traverse City, but you may also find yourself inspired by their ambitious trip from Australia through Asia and the Near East to Europe. Yes, there is a map showing the route, with each chapter giving rich details of their foreign experiences. And if you can’t take the trips yourself, enjoy them vicariously in the pages of Bob’s books.

New Book on Michigan Waterfalls

Waterfalls of Michigan: The Definitive Guide to the Waterfalls of Michigan, by photographer Phil Stagg, when complete, will be a four-volume work, but Book 1 is at Dog Ears Books now. It covers four counties in the Upper Peninsula (Alger, Chippewa, Delta and Luce) and two in the lower (Manistee and Presque Isle). The color photographs are beautiful, and information clearly and beautifully laid out.

For each waterfall included, Stagg provides what he calls a data table full of vital information for hikes wanting to explore. How difficult is the climb? Is it dangerous? Do you need boots? What about access? And more. There are also detailed maps to get you there.

136 pp., paper, $19.95

Inauguration Day

This is the first post of what will be a much less wordy blog than my original (and still lively) Books in Northport. Here goes! Post #1:

Today's news is a book that just arrived, moments ago, hot off the presses, right in time for our long-awaited spring hiking season. Definitely a must for the Up North home library, a great gift for hostess or guest or to mark a vacation or anniversary or -- the list goes on.

I'm happy to note that while M-22 trails are the main thrust of the book, the author went out of his way, into and through Northport, to include trails between our village and the end of the peninsula. I particularly love the way each map shows elevations, so you can see at a glance how much climbing you'll be doing.

The Trails of M-22: 40 of the Most Beautiful Paths Along Michigan's Most Beautiful Highway, by Jim DuFresne, is going to be a sizzling hot seller this summer in Leelanau bookstores! The price is good, too -- $19.95, and it's in full color, produced and printed in Michigan!