An Official Book Festival Tradition
A wonderful day at a regional book festival
Well, my friends, it’s official. I have attended the Ridges and Rivers Book Festival the past three years, and given that the festival STARTED three years ago, I am officially a founding attendee and my attendance appears to be an annual tradition.
I hereby decree (wish) that this event shall exist in perpetuity and I will let nothing stand in my way of attendance.
Declaring this, of course, means there will be an ice storm next year or a tree will fall on my car the morning of, but I’m deciding to tempt fate anyway.
Two years ago I attended just one author talk, sprinting to see J. Ryan Stradal after a soccer game. Last year, I attended two sessions, sprinting home for soccer after seeing Christina Clancy and a combo session with Carol Dunbar and Nick Petrie.
This year, I was able to make a day of it! When I got the author announcement newsletter, I sat down with it and planned out my reading to make sure I was prepared.
I drove the hour from home to Viroqua, WI, and arrived with enough time to sit and read for a bit at my very favorite Wonderstate Coffee, and then scooted over to the event venue just in time for the first session I was excited about.
Before I talk about the authors, though, I must remind you I love Wonderstate Coffee, their cafes, and everything the company stands for. It is the brand of coffee I brew at home as well. Yes, they ship! And have coffee subscriptions! I was excited on my second visit there on Saturday to also try out a new-to-me Minneapolis kombucha brand ~ Northstar Kombucha. I got the raspberry hibiscus flavor and it was amazing ~ I will definitely be looking for it at my local co-op!
Okay, now for the books!
The first session I attended was with Brian Reisinger, the author of a nonfiction book I told you about a few months ago ~ Land Rich Cash Poor: My Family’s Hope and the Untold Story of The Disappearing American Farmer. I already wrote about how much I loved the book, but getting to hear the author speak to a crowd of farmers and people like me who care deeply about farmers, farms and farm country, was such a wonderful experience. His dad was in the audience, and when Reisinger spoke about his dad’s descent into suicidal depression after the family sold their dairy heard, the entire room was in tears including Reisinger and his father. I know that it shouldn’t be a shock to see men cry openly, but seeing this crowd of middle-aged and elderly male farmers all weep together was something I will never forget.
I originally read this book from the library, but bought a copy and had Reisinger sign it for my husband. If you care about our nation’s food supply, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Next up was a lunch break that I spent at Wonderstate again, and then a very different, but just as well-attended and wonderful, session. I read Northwoods by Amy Pease back it first released in January 2024 and have been recommending it to my fellow Wisconsin mystery readers ever since. I made my husband read it right after I did, and just recommended it as the perfect book for my friend’s husband and he loved it! Yay for crossover appeal! Pease was such a bubbly and warm speaker, and shared so many juicy behind-the-scenes things about her publishing journey. We found out that Northwoods is the first in a trilogy, with book two, Wildwood, releasing in January 2026 - and Pease also has a unique historical romance coming out in October 2025!
Here’s what I said about Northwoods in January 2024:
This title was high on my January TBR and I purposely didn’t read my digital advance copy because I wanted to buy a hardcover that I could share with my husband. I’m so glad I did, because immediately after finishing it I threw it at him and said, “I swear I know what town Shaky Lake is based on but you need to read it and tell me what you think first and ALSO THERE IS A KWIK TRIP IN IT!”. Friends, Kwik Trip is near and dear to those of us in Wisconsin, especially where I live near their corporate headquarters. This is the first book I have ever read with a Kwik Trip and it’s just one of so many things that proves that Pease is as authentic of a Wisconsin author as we’ll ever get. If you like small town gritty mysteries with emotional heft, you will love this story ~ it reminds me a lot of Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series.
Okay, and one other really neat thing about Amy Pease’s session was one of the people who asked a lot of questions ~ William Kent Krueger! She kept referring to him as Kent, which we found out at HIS session later is what he actually goes by. Turns out he did very much already know her and her work, given this blurb I just found on her website for Northwoods! LOVE IT.
And then, the last session of the day! This one was held in a much bigger venue ~ a gorgeous historic theater a few blocks away from the smaller events earlier in the day. I had only read one of William Kent Krueger’s books (Ordinary Grace) prior to this month, but I have been buying his work for my husband for years. I made sure to listen to the newest standalone title, The River We Remember, and read our print copy of Iron Lake, the first book in his Cork O’Connor series ~ originally published in 1999! This is a looooooong-running very-beloved-by-many series, and I bought book two from Dragonfly Books on-site at the festival.
Krueger talked about the power of the written word, his lifelong inspirations, and his deep belief that in this chaotic world, good WILL triumph over evil. He is a very engaging speaker and his talk was humorous and inspiring and made me tear up AGAIN when he talked about his brother.
So, there it is! My three-for-three conference attendance story.
I can’t speak highly enough about the power of small town events and the people who work tirelessly to put them on ~ this kind of experience really does help me remember that while the things that make headlines right now are very horrible and scary, there are truly, deeply, GOOD things happening around us as well. I will be holding this close to my heart in the tough times ahead.
Thanks for stopping by!
