Gov. Tim Walz invites Minnesotans to ‘start the state’s largest book club’

Gov. Tim Walz has invited Minnesotans to “start the state’s largest book club.”

Saturday the governor, who is self-isolating in the residence on Summit Avenue, on Saturday tweeted a video taken in front of the fireplace of himself, wife Gwen and daughter Hope sharing what they are reading.

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

It isn’t surprising the governor is urging folks to turn to books as they follow his order to stay at home to avoid coronavirus. 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.

Their daughter Hope is reading “Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence” by Patrick Sharkey.

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 Night Watchman” to “The Little Prince,” which an extended family is reading for a virtual book club.

Typical of the warm response was 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.”

To add a recommendation about a book you like, go to Walz’s tweet.