"In his wonderful new book Peter Smith has assembled a year’s worth of short pieces that prove the true power of story lies not in the ability to reveal but to conjure. Visceral and poignant, these beautiful tales each catch and release a moment. Suddenly memories begin to flood like the Mississippi River in springtime. As he does on Minnesota Public Radio, whether it’s a crisp autumn day under a Hudson’s Bay blanket, a Little League game, or perhaps the best opening line ever in ‘Meditation on a Lawnmower,’ Peter reminds us that a year—a lifetime—is made of episodes, times with those we love, community, and family. In Peter’s world we are verbs not nouns, always changing, living, experiencing, and yet like the seasons, bound to come around again. These little gems, or at times more like Pop Rocks, burst forth; we belong." —Kevin Kling "I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Peter for a long, long time.  A great guy—and it turns out—a great writer.  His radio commentaries on life in Minnesota are real jewels." —Gary Eichten "Smith’s prose can have the flavor of Bill Bryson or of that old Minnesota standby Garrison Keillor. Other parts of Almanac are infused with an autumnal quality that’s movingly elegiac. Smith’s little volume is, overall, heartfelt and appealing." —Star Tribune