Ask a Bookseller: ‘It Wasn't Meant to Be Perfect’ by Gaelynn Lea

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers across Minnesota to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. Eric Plumb of Amazing Alonzo Bookstore in Duluth recommends the memoir "It Wasn't Meant to Be Perfect" by fellow Duluthian Gaelynn Lea. Lea is a composer, musician, speaker and disability advocate whose accolades include winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016 and composing and recording the score for “Macbeth” on Broadway. Writing in a conversational style, Lea traces her love of music and the many paths on which it has taken her. Plumb enjoyed learning about Lea’s collaborations with other Duluth musicians, including Alan Sparhawk from Low and blues musician Charlie Parr. If you can, Plumb says, listen to the audiobook, which incorporates some of her music interspersed with her story. Listen to Lea’s interview with MPR’s Kelly Gordon, which aired on Minnesota Now.Plumb recommended the memoir at a live Ask a Bookseller event at the Zeitgeist in Duluth last week. Find summer reading recommendations from North Shore bookstores and libraries here. Gaelynn Lea: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert