Rural Route Bookstore

Books about Farm Life, Small Town Life, the Midwest, and Scandinavian-Americans

Featuring the Heartwarming Humor of "Those Lutheran Ladies"

NOT ALL OUR INVENTORY IS LISTED, SO E-MAIL US AT QUESTIONS@RURALROUTEBOOKSTORE.COM
TO ASK IF WE HAVE A PARTICULAR BOOK OR CD.

Orders received on the web site order form are usually filled sooner than those phoned in, and the order form ensures that addresses and items ordered will be accurate.

To listeners of The Great Afternoon Smørgåsbord on radio KBRK - 1430 AM out of Brookings, SD:

Thanks for listening & laughing & being one of Grant's fans. For your convenience, CDs he often refers to or plays on air can be found on this site.

The direct link for the Growing Up Lutheran audiobook (a set of 3 CDs) we have been talking about this month is here.

To audiences who are now enjoying the sequel of "Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping" at Circa '21 in Rock Island, IL, but are on a charter bus and don't have time to buy books before departure, thanks for your calls. The plays are based mainly on the book, Growing Up Lutheran, by Nelson & Martin, but also draw upon some of their other books. Their books are found here.

The soundtracks, in CD format, of the music are found here.

Browse around Rural Route Bookstore, watch for frequently posted new books and tapes, and use the link on the bottom of the left side for your requests &/or comments.

New and Recently Released

Look for the "new" symbol throughout the site for other new books, CDs and products.

Keeping Watch by Kathryn A. Sletto
                                   Subtitled, "30 sheep, 24 Rabbits, 2 Llamas, 1 Alpaca and
   a Sheperdess with a Day Job"

This book, being released this month by MN Historical Press, has such an angelic-sounding title, but remember, it wasn't angels or wise men keeping watch over their flocks by night; it was shepherds. There were no harps playing and no gifts of gold, frankincense, or myrrh out in the pasture. The same situation is found today in Central Minnesota. Sletto's randomly-acquired flock gifts her with mud, muck and manure, and surrounds her with distant sounds of despairing bleats and ferocious growls, which gives true meaning to the Biblical phrase, sore afraid.
Read more about this wonderful book.

FA - 05 Hardcover                    $24.95

Sunday Afternoon on the Porch: Reflections of a Small Town
   in Iowa, 1939 — 1942

Photographs by Everett W.Kuntz    Text by Jim Heynen

If you find yourself getting more and more interested in "recent" history as you get older, if you prefer the clarity of black and white photos, and if you are one of many fans of Jim Heynen's writing, you will truly appreciate this book of wonderful, "lost" photography by Iowan Everett W. Kuntz.

I had the privilege of meeting his wife and son last year and heard firsthand about Kuntz from them. Just before graduating from high school in Ridgeway, IA in 1939, Kuntz spent his entire savings of $12.50 on a 35mm Argus AF camera and made a case for it from a worn-out boot, scraps from a tin can, and a clasp from his mother's purse. Wherever he went for the next several years — around his parents' farm or to town on Saturday night — his camera was his constant companion as he captured rural and small town life in the 40s.

However, Kuntz never had the money to print his early photos. Eventually, though, he purchased movie reel film in bulk from a mail-order house, rolled his own film, and developed it in a closet at home. Kuntz married, raised a family, and worked as an electrical engineer in the Twin Cities, and over 2000 negatives remained undeveloped in a box. When he became ill with cancer in the fall of 2002 — sixty years after he had developed the last of his bulk film — he opened his "time capsule" and finally printed the images from his youth. Kuntz brought his childhood and hometown back to life just as he was to depart from it. He died in 2003 leaving the rest of us a great treasure, and his wife and son are now some of his greatest fans.

MEM - 4 Hardcover $29.95

Gift Packs

Three gift packs are available, two with Scandinavian-American classic novels. These novels may also be purchased individually by using the code for the specific book on Immigration. For a description of these books, go to our Immigration page.  The third gift pack is a wonderful gift for nature lovers.

Vilhelm Moberg's four novels about Immigration

GP - 01 Paperbacks $68.00

Ole Rølvaag's immigration trilogy

GP - 02    Paperbacks    $54.00

"The Boat of Longing," not a part of the trilogy, is also available, and that book can be found on this page.

Nature Gift Pack

Four small books with beautiful photography and essays

GP - 03 Hardcover books with photographed paper jackets     $36.00 if the four books are purchased together.

For a description of these books, go to our Nostalgia page. These small (5" X 7") "coffee table" books may also be purchased individually by using the code for the specific book on Nostalgia.

Check the different categories at Rural Route Bookstore for gift ideas. If you still can't decide, why not order a gift certificate from Rural Route Bookstore. Just make sure you include the amount when you place your order online.

Order by using the 'Place an Order' form or you may order by phone (800 494-9124). For payment and shipping charges, see 'Place an Order.'

All Caragana Press products are available at wholesale prices to qualified retailers, organizations, churches, schools, and libraries. Call 800 494-9124 for details.

Scandinavian-American and Rural Humor Books