Two Locations One in North Dakota and One in South Dakota-Zandbroz Variety

A bookstore that has so much!

In 1988, Jeff and Greg Danz had a dream. They would open a store that they would want to shop. So they bought an empty turn of the century building in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The brothers spent a year restoring the building and developing the concept for what would become Zandbroz Variety.  When the doors opened in May of 1989, Zandbroz was a bookstore with an eclectic mix of other inventory, an old fashioned soda fountain and coffee bar. The store was a hit and a couple of years later a second location was opened in Fargo, ND.  Zandbroz Variety started in a world before Barnes and Noble, Starbucks and internet shopping were part of the landscape. That of course all changed and so too Zandbroz has evolved and changed –twenty six years later and we are still here.  

 

Visit in Fargo, North Dakota and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota or online.

http://www.zandbroz.com/index.html

Both stores look charming and fun!

(All info downloaded from website)

North Dakota Library System

For North Dakota, I usually have a hard time filling that state.  Not sure why because I know there’s writers and readers up there.  My great grandmother’s family was in North Dakota at some point.  I know this because I own a couple things from there, a book and a plate, and her name and the city where she lived at the time are written on those. 

Still, I have a hard time filling North Dakota so here’s a call out for next year to anyone wishing to occupy this spot.

Lack of a volunteer that knows something more about the state than I do gives me the opportunity to promote another library system and, as luck would have it, North Dakota Library System has an event coming up that benefits those who would normally be on the cusp of the digital age and might need a little help getting the hang of electronic systems.  

You can find more about that here: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=9851&EventID=340947&PK=

Summer Summit Workshop

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2018’s Summer Summit meeting offers a delightful blend of high-quality programming and lively discussions with your peers. All are welcome, but do note that the first hour will be relevant only to public library administrators. We are happy to announce that we’re partnering with AARP for an afternoon workshop on providing technology training to older adults.

Link to the Library’s homepage here: http://www.library.nd.gov/index.html

They’ve got loads of information and services plus, as I’ve been promoting occasionally this year, a virtual check-out option. 

With the changes caused by electronic communications and shopping and, well, everything,  I’m glad most libraries are getting into the virtual world but also, its great to hear classes and event are still being coordinated in the physical buildings. No matter how much people move the electronic direction, they will always need that face to face.

(All info downloaded from http://www.library.nd.gov/index.html)

Flashback-North Dakota! Lori Orser's Land

I’m told by people from other states that North Dakota is a “fly-over” state, as opposed to a destination state. People fly over, looking down at fields and pastures, or drive across the state on I-94 at the posted 75 mph, not really bothering to look. Nobody comes to North Dakota, unless they’re coming home. And you know what? That’s all right with me. We North Dakotans like our prairie home pretty much just the way it is.

North Dakota is my home; I was born and raised here, got my BA at the University of North Dakota, and reluctantly left to get an MA in Lawrence, Kansas (where my “accent” was laughed at by all the other linguistics students. Apparently I sound more like Lawrence WELK, than Lawrence KANSAS). Actually North Dakota has two major accents: Norwegian, and “German from Russia” (not to be confused with German from Germany). We also have a small group of Icelanders, and in the west, a group of Ukrainians. Their architecture, traditional religions, and food add a, dare I say cosmopolitan?, touch to the state. After a move to Nevada, where I stayed for 12 unforgettable years, with entirely new landscapes and a lot of life’s ups and downs, until I decided it was time to go home. 

People who read about our winters here ask how anyone in their right mind would want to live in a state that has snow from October to April (in good years). My answer is, it’s home, and that’s what most North Dakotans say. I could list statistics like most of the durum wheat in the world comes from North Dakota (that Italian pasta you’re eating? Made from ND wheat!); how we have more four-year colleges (and graduates) per capita than any other state; how our state is always in the top five safest states lists, usually at the top. But that’s not why I love my state.  I could never live in a bustling city. I like clean air, and elbow room. I like people saying “hello” or “good morning” when they pass you on the street, even if they don’t know your name. I like knowing all my neighbors, and who to call when I have any problems. I’ve heard of “Minnesota Nice,” but I think “North Dakota Nice” is nicer (OK, I’m biased).

 

I’ve also heard that we have no scenery, and I’m reminded of a joke. Ole and Lena went to Colorado (Ole and Lena figure in most North Dakota jokes, just as they do in Minnesota, but outs are Norwegian and theirs are mostly Swedish), and when they returned, Sven asked them what they thought about the scenery. “I don’t know,” said Ole. “You couldn’t really see it with all dem mountains in da way!”

The plains have a subtle beauty all their own. In late spring, when the grass moves with the wind, you can see why settlers called their wagons “prairie schooners;” the grass does move with a current like the sea. Even the National Forest here is a National Grassland. When flax is in bloom, there appear to be beautiful blue lakes, albeit oddly square, across the state. In the prairie pot-hole regions of central North Dakota, the wetlands, you’ll find teeming wildlife, including waterfowl of all kinds, and small animals you might not even see unless you get out early and stay very quiet. Beavers, mink, and other small former victims of trappers share the land with deer and antelope, not to mention a garden of wild flowers, including orchids like yellow ladyslipper, and a rainbow of penstemon varieties. Turtle Mountain, a glacial remnant in north central North Dakota, rises like a fortress over the prairie, and is home to the only state forest in the state, as well as one of the four reservations located here. 

West of the Missouri, there are the Missouri breaks, an area of stream-filled ravines and buttes,  green in the spring, and golden by late summer. Keep going west and you’ll reach the badlands, a geologist’s dream of stratigraphy exposed by thousands of years of winds. There you’ll find bison – both “domesticated” (ha! Like you can domesticate a buffalo!) -- and running wild in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Mule deer and antelope thrive, despite predation from mountain lions. The bighorn sheep are hard to spot because they’re good at hiding, and can nimbly hop up the side of a butte that no human would try to climb. Prairie chickens, pheasants, wild turkeys, ruff grouse, and other birds dot not just the west, but the entire state. Watching this land change with the seasons fills my heart.  And believe me, you haven’t seen a sunset until you’ve seen a prairie sunset. 

 

My writing reflects my home, I hope. We are a small state in terms of people, but a large state in terms of land, ancestry, micro-environments, history, and myth. I try to incorporate landscape and myth in all my work. My first book, Spooky Creepy North Dakota is a collection of ghost stories, mysteries, and myth and legend from across this state. My fiction in progress attempts to include the land and the weather as characters, or at the very least, a constant presence throughout the book. And a good dose of nice, too.

Lori Orser's Site:  https://www.amazon.com/Lori-L.-Orser/e/B0050OKTJ8

North Dakota Reads

My neighboring North Dakota has many authors…it’s also one of the hardest states to fill on my blog so, instead of someone volunteering for the main post, I found this pretty cool website cruising information about the state.

I was pretty impressed and you’ll want to take a look http://www.readnd.org

Welcome to Read North Dakota!
Discover our state's literary heritage and find out about 
upcoming book-related events

North Dakota Literature

The partners of Read North Dakota have researched and evaluated books written in and about North Dakota, but we are eager recognize writers who missed our attention. 

Read North Dakota
418 E. Broadway, Suite 8
Bismarck, ND 58502-2191

 Here’s a call out to all North Dakota Writing Professionals—contact me to fill this spot in 2017.  Have a great day and enjoy the ND view!

(All info downloaded from http://www.readnd.org)

GREETINGS from North Dakota and Author Aeryn Traxx

I’m not a native of the state but am very pleased to call this place home for the past 18 years. It’s true we only have two seasons up here- winter and NOT winter. But honestly the state is beautiful no matter what day of the year you might want to drop in. We are one of those states hip deep in history. You can’t go more than a few miles before you see one of those little signs “point of interest straight ahead”. I’ve been waiting for them to put one of those at the end of my street but I think they lost my request to be a point of interest. Teddy Roosevelt had a huge impact on the state during his lifetime. When not in the white house or traveling abroad he was in or around North Dakota and his two ranches. “It was here the romance of my life began” is supposed to be a quote about his love of this state. We owe a great debt to Teddy and even today we have the town of Medora that is only open during the summer. It has a dinner show and a very quaint atmosphere. It’s not hard to imagine what life was like back before running water. Our primary source of income these days is oil but we’ll always have Teddy’s legacy to share when the well runs dry.

We are also the epicenter of some really amazing scientific finds. A few years ago we were fortunate to find the first “Dino Mummy”. They named him “Dakota” and he was featured on all the NatGeo channels. For nearly a year everyone was abuzz about the first and only dino autopsy. Since then more and more fossils have been unearthed giving scientist valuable data about what dinosaurs REALLY looked like. I’m not sure there will ever be a definitive answer about what they looked like as each generation of explorers

find more and more clues but it is exciting to be in the middle of all the discoveries.

In addition to all the official accolades we also have the unofficial ones of being the state with the most car farms and abandoned farm houses. I’m sure we’re going to end up on some vintage car TV show or pickers delight hour with all the treasures we have hidden in the overgrown brush. It was the prospect of what I could find in an abandoned farm house that gave me the idea for my book “The Ghost Story”. Between General Custer’s old home front and a leaning three story farm house at the end of a dusty dirt road I found while exploring my characters sprang to life.

I have incorporated the sights and smells in my book hoping to convey some of what I was lucky to experience. Beeswax and polish smells from the antique wood stairwell transported me for a short time back to the olden days when candles were made out of tallow and laundry hung on the line to dry. I hope I have made you all curious about my state and how I have added a touch of the past in “The Ghost Story” at the Barnes and Noble online Nook bookstore. A sequel is in the works and should be in the
Barnes and Noble bookstore in December 2016.

Nook Book:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/the-ghost-story-aeryn-traxx/1026636840?ean=2940149581689

Website:  http://www.aeryntraxx.webs.com/

Bio: Aeryn Traxx writes gay romance with a hint of the paranormal. Along with three dogs and a life partner she has put roots down in small town North Dakota, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the big city. After a lengthy break from writing Aeryn is back and hopes to have a follow–up novel ready for fans of “Were is He” by 2016.
Aeryn gives two journal pen and pencil gift sets to the lucky people who comment and win the draw!  Good luck!
(all info provided by author)

From North Dakota: Lori Orser:

I’m told by people from other states that North Dakota is a “fly-over” state, as opposed to a destination state. People fly over, looking down at fields and pastures, or drive across the state on I-94 at the posted 75 mph, not really bothering to look. Nobody comes to North Dakota, unless they’re coming home. And you know what? That’s all right with me. We North Dakotans like our prairie home pretty much just the way it is.

North Dakota is my home; I was born and raised here, got my BA at the University of North Dakota, and reluctantly left to get an MA in Lawrence, Kansas (where my “accent” was laughed at by all the other linguistics students. Apparently I sound more like Lawrence WELK, than Lawrence KANSAS). Actually North Dakota has two major accents: Norwegian, and “German from Russia” (not to be confused with German from Germany). We also have a small group of Icelanders, and in the west, a group of Ukrainians. Their architecture, traditional religions, and food add a, dare I say cosmopolitan?, touch to the state. After a move to Nevada, where I stayed for 12 unforgettable years, with entirely new landscapes and a lot of life’s ups and downs, until I decided it was time to go home. 

People who read about our winters here ask how anyone in their right mind would want to live in a state that has snow from October to April (in good years). My answer is, it’s home, and that’s what most North Dakotans say. I could list statistics like most of the durum wheat in the world comes from North Dakota (that Italian pasta you’re eating? Made from ND wheat!); how we have more four-year colleges (and graduates) per capita than any other state; how our state is always in the top five safest states lists, usually at the top. But that’s not why I love my state.  I could never live in a bustling city. I like clean air, and elbow room. I like people saying “hello” or “good morning” when they pass you on the street, even if they don’t know your name. I like knowing all my neighbors, and who to call when I have any problems. I’ve heard of “Minnesota Nice,” but I think “North Dakota Nice” is nicer (OK, I’m biased).

 

I’ve also heard that we have no scenery, and I’m reminded of a joke. Ole and Lena went to Colorado (Ole and Lena figure in most North Dakota jokes, just as they do in Minnesota, but outs are Norwegian and theirs are mostly Swedish), and when they returned, Sven asked them what they thought about the scenery. “I don’t know,” said Ole. “You couldn’t really see it with all dem mountains in da way!”

The plains have a subtle beauty all their own. In late spring, when the grass moves with the wind, you can see why settlers called their wagons “prairie schooners;” the grass does move with a current like the sea. Even the National Forest here is a National Grassland. When flax is in bloom, there appear to be beautiful blue lakes, albeit oddly square, across the state. In the prairie pot-hole regions of central North Dakota, the wetlands, you’ll find teeming wildlife, including waterfowl of all kinds, and small animals you might not even see unless you get out early and stay very quiet. Beavers, mink, and other small former victims of trappers share the land with deer and antelope, not to mention a garden of wild flowers, including orchids like yellow ladyslipper, and a rainbow of penstemon varieties. Turtle Mountain, a glacial remnant in north central North Dakota, rises like a fortress over the prairie, and is home to the only state forest in the state, as well as one of the four reservations located here. 

West of the Missouri, there are the Missouri breaks, an area of stream-filled ravines and buttes,  green in the spring, and golden by late summer. Keep going west and you’ll reach the badlands, a geologist’s dream of stratigraphy exposed by thousands of years of winds. There you’ll find bison – both “domesticated” (ha! Like you can domesticate a buffalo!) -- and running wild in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Mule deer and antelope thrive, despite predation from mountain lions. The bighorn sheep are hard to spot because they’re good at hiding, and can nimbly hop up the side of a butte that no human would try to climb. Prairie chickens, pheasants, wild turkeys, ruff grouse, and other birds dot not just the west, but the entire state. Watching this land change with the seasons fills my heart.  And believe me, you haven’t seen a sunset until you’ve seen a prairie sunset. 

My writing reflects my home, I hope. We are a small state in terms of people, but a large state in terms of land, ancestry, micro-environments, history, and myth. I try to incorporate landscape and myth in all my work. My first book, Spooky Creepy North Dakota is a collection of ghost stories, mysteries, and myth and legend from across this state. My fiction in progress attempts to include the land and the weather as characters, or at the very least, a constant presence throughout the book. And a good dose of nice, too.

Lori L. Orser was born in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Lori went to the University of North Dakota in frozen Grand Forks, majoring in anthropology (including some cross-listed Native American Studies courses) and German; she went on to Kansas University in Lawrence for an MA in linguistics. Her thesis research on the Michif (also spelled Metchif)language spoken on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa allowed her to spend time in an area she loves while hearing and recording a number of traditional stories, both Chippewa/Cree and French-Canadian. You'll find a couple of these in Spooky Creepy North Dakota.

Visit her here:  http://www.amazon.com/Lori-L.-Orser/e/B0050OKTJ8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
(First posted 2012)

North Dakota

I don’t normally post a link to someone’s blog…I’d rather have them stop here at mine but, you have to see this.

 It’s a blog with pictures and real time stories of daily life in North Dakota. She’s a musician, link to her Face Book page from the blog, and he’s a spot on cowboy-hat, horse and all.  They live on a ranch that looks like it came straight from times long past—but in color!  

 http://veederranch.com    I kid you not, you’re going to get stuck reading about our Northern neighbor and scrolling through vibrant pictures of that quiet state that boarders Canada. 

Take the visual tour of the pages, I did.   I’ve never been that direction North, one of my kids almost moved there once but didn’t.  With this blog, it’s almost like actually visiting. 

Awesome photography, the writing’s fair but descriptive and there are some great pages that really get into the state of North Dakota.  

Please stop by http://veederranch.com

(Photos from http://veederranch.com)