Governor Tim Walz has invited Minnesotans to “start the state’s largest book club” as they follow his “Stay at Home” order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor, who is self-isolating in the residence on Summit Avenue, tweeted this weekend a video taken in front of the fireplace of himself, wife, Gwen, and daughter Hope sharing what they are reading.
It isn’t surprising the governor is urging folks to turn to books. Both he and his wife, Gwen, are teachers.
In the video, Gwen Walz holds up her current read, “Mississippi Sissy,” Kevin Sessums’ memoir about how he stood the word “sissy” on its head while growing up in that state where he was befriended by Eudora Welty.
Let's start the state's largest book club. What are you reading, Minnesota? 📚
Gwen: Mississippi Sissy
Hope: Uneasy Peace
Gus: Xbox tournament (working on it)
Me: Just finished Cryptonomicon, looking for suggestions. pic.twitter.com/dq7RdoCz4P
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 29, 2020
Hope is reading “Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence” by Patrick Sharkey, and son Gus finished up an Xbox tournament to reveal he’s reading “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” by Matthew Stover.
The governor himself got his thriller groove on with Neal Stephenson’s “Cryptonomicon.”
By mid-morning Sunday, dozens of Minnesotans were offering reading suggestions, everything from Louise Erdrich’s “The Nightwatchman” to “The Little Prince,” which an extended family is reading for a virtual book club.
Typical of the warm response was former Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s communications director Brian McClung’s tweet about reading “Lincoln” by David Herbert Donald. McClung wrote: “The First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment did our state proud then. We’ll get through this together too.”
