Public Tour: Inspired by Books

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is running a series called Public Tour: Inspired by Books, and it's a good one to keep on your radar if you like reading as much as you like wandering through galleries. The premise is simple: a museum guide takes a group through the collection and connects the art on the walls to a popular book, with a new title chosen every month. It's a guided tour, so you don't have to know your way around the museum to get something out of it.

For the next few months, the books are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in October, My Friends by Fredrik Backman in November, and Get the Picture by Bianca Bosker in December. Each one is a completely different starting point—a classic gothic novel, a contemporary story, and a non-fiction look at the art world—so the tours will take you to very different corners of the museum depending on which month you drop in. If you've already read the book, it's a chance to see it reflected in the art; if you haven't, it's a way to experience the story through the collection.

There are plenty of slots to choose from, so you can fit it in around your schedule. The tours run the last three Tuesdays of each month at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM, and the last three Thursdays at 11:30 AM and 6 PM. That 6 PM Thursday slot is particularly handy if you're coming straight from work. They all start at the Information Bar in the General Mills Lobby on the first floor, and they're free. If you've got a book club that's looking for something to do, the museum also offers these as private bookings. The next one is Frankenstein this October, with My Friends following in November and Get the Picture in December.