“Meander North” is a collection of essays from Marie Zhuikov, who finds inspiration in the Midwest and especially the Northland landscape.

Zhuikov has a long-standing blog, “Marie’s Meanderings,” where she explores everything from nature to art to wine.

“I’m a lifelong Duluthian, a fifth-generation Minnesotan, so it’s kind of steeped into my skin,” Zhuikov said. “But I travel a lot too. So I like to write about my travels and things like that. But the book is mainly about living up here.”

“Meander North” was a finalist for the Midwest Book Award in the Nonfiction – Nature category.

“I don’t write letters much anymore in this age of email and things, so I think this has taken the place of letter-writing for me,” Zhuikov said. “So it’s just a love letter to America.”