Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 1, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 1, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Black Wolf V20, by Louise Penny
2. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
3. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
4. Tom's Crossing, by Mark Danielewski (Boswell ticketed event December 13)
5. King Sorrow, by Joe Hill
6. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan (Ticket sales have ended for November 5 event)
7. The Impossible Fortune V5, by Richard Osman
8. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
9. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
10. The Secret of Secrets V6, by Dan Brown

Lead debut was Louise Penny's latest, which I'm glad to say sold a few more copies than #19 in its first week. While some mystery series can be read out of order, The Black Wolf is a continuation of the plot of The Grey Wolf. From Publishers Weekly: "Penny's talent for nail-biting suspense and quiet character moments fuse with surprisingly topical subject matter to deliver an unputdownable installment of an ever reliable series."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
2. The Uncool, by Cameron Crowe
3. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
4. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
5. Strong Ground, by Brené Brown
6. Expensive Basketball, by Shea Serrano
7. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
8. Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by Joyce Vance
9. The Talisman of Happiness, by Ada Boni
10. We the People, by Jill Lepore.

Our top debut is The Uncool, by Cameron Crowe, but I loved the comment from a buyer of Shea Serrano's Expensive Basketball, so that's what I'm including. He said, "When I worked at Half Price Books, if a book came in looking like this (no dust jacket, cloth binding), it was considered unsellable and we put it straight in the discard bin." He bought it, of course - jacketless is the new jacketed! From Kirkus: "Serrano is great at exploring how fans' memories of their favorite players intermingle with important events from their lives...Infectiously enthusiastic appraisals of NBA and WNBA stars."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
2. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
3. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
4. The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin
5. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
6. The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden (Boswell-run book clubs)
7. Your Name Here, by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff
8. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
9. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
10. Golden Son V2, by Pierce Brown

If you are surprised to see the new book from Helen (The Last Samurai and The English Understand Wool) DeWitt come from Dalkey Archive, you're probably not alone. That said, it's rather an unusual book! From the publisher: "A book of unparalleled scope and vision, Your Name Here is a spectacular honeycomb of books-within-books. In this death-defying feat of ambition, collaborators Helen Dewitt and Ilya Gridneff weave together America's 'War on Terror,' countless years of literary history, authorial sleight of hand, Scientology, dream analysis, multiple languages, emails, images, graphs, into something wondrous and unique."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Lincoln's Counterfeiters, by Andrea Nolen (signed copies)
2. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (signed copies)
3. Rippel, by William Powers
4. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (Schlitz Audubon November 20 event)
5. Roar, by Stacy T Sims
6. The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron
7. The Chaos Machine, by Max Fisher
8. Book and Dagger, by Elyse Graham
9. Meet the Neighbors, by Brandon Keim
10. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya

Selling off the new paperback table is Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, which had okay sales for us in 2024, but notably for paperback success, it continued to sell regularly in 2025. It has wo raves, four positives, and a mixed on BookMarks, including this from Bryn Stole in The Washington Post: "Graham’s account is well-researched and scrupulously footnoted, but she also writes with a pulpy panache that turns the book into a well-paced thriller."

Books for Kids:
1. Dragonborn, by Struan Murray
2. Sole Survivor, by Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely
3. Rock Paper Incisors V3, by Amy Klassen
4. The Free State of Jax, by Jennifer A Nielsen
5. Egg Marks the Spot V2, by Amy Timberlake
6. Skunk and Badger V1, by Amy Timberlake
7. Iceberg, by Jennifer A Nielsen
8. Uprising, by Jennifer A Nielsen
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper V20, by Jeff Kinney
10. Incredibly Penelope, by Lauren Myracle

We are at peak school visit this week with in-person programs from Struan Murray, Jennifer Nielsen, and Amy Timberlake, plus a virtual event with Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely. It's also release week for Jeff Kinney and Partypooper, who visited Milwaukee last year. Murray's Dragonborn is a hot kids book this fall, the latest dragon-centric fantasy, and with sprayed-edge flare too. Says Kirkus: "Come for the dragons but stay for the suspenseful reveals and relatable characters."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 25, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 25, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (signed copies)
2. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
3. King Sorrow, by Joe Hill
4. The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman
5. Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus
6. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
7. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan
8. The Killing Stones, by Ann Cleeves
9. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
10. Alchemised, by SenLinYu

Top debut this week is Joe Hill's King Sorrow, sort of tieing in with the film release of Black Phone 2, which was based on a Hill short story. This is his first long-form novel since 2016's The Fireman. The advances are all spectacular. From Kirkus: "Hill, son of the master, turns in a near-perfect homage to Stephen King." From James Gardner in Library Journal: "The novel evokes elements of the revenge plot, fantasy quests, and thrillers featuring shadowy organizations to tell an outstanding tale about how power corrupts. Hill's fans will love it, as will those who like King's more fantastical works, such as Fairy Tale."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You, by Neko Case
2. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
3. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
4. Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by Joyce Vance
5. Nobody's Girl, by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
6. The Social Lives of Birds, by Joan E Strassmann (signed copies)
7. Slow Birding, by Joan E Strassmann
8. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
9. Separation of Church and Hate, by John Fugelsang
10. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat

Several new releases had news-generated pops - Giving Up Is Unforgivable and Nobody's Girl - while Separation of Church and Hate doubles its sales after bubbling below the top ten for several weeks. The blurbs are a mix of celebrities (Nick Offerman, Yvette Nicole Brown, Willie Nelson) with a sprinkling of politicians (Bonnie Watson Coleman) for this bestselling book . The Publishers Weekly and Booklist were very positive, but the Kirkus reviewer didn't take to it, calling it a "grating screed" and complained about its objectivity.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Starsong, by Patricia Skalka (signed copies)
2. Maze, by Ali Hazelwood
3. Mockingbird Court, by Juneau Black
4. Same, by Hannah Rosenberg
5. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
6. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
7. Sunburn, by Chloe Michelle Howarth
8. The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden
9. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
10. Writers and Lovers, by Lily King

The Safekeep is the Boswell Lit Group selection for December 1. I am finally getting the hang of keeping up our newly revised upcoming book club selection page. The novel won the Woman's Prize and had three raves and three positives on BookMarks. From Lori Sonderlind in The New York Times: "What a quietly remarkable book. I’m afraid I can’t tell you too much about it...I would have liked this book in any case, just for the pleasure of reading it. But the story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. In the Room at the Top of the World, by Ben McCormick
2. Crux, by Jean Guerrero
3. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
4. Hatemonger, by Jean Guerrero
5. Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, by Patty Loew
6. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
7. A World in Books, by Kenneth C Davis
8. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
9. Best American Essays, by Jia Tolentino
10. Read This When Things Fall Apart, edited by Kelly Hayes

With series editor Kim Dan Kupperman, Jia Tolentino did the final selection for this year's Best American Essays 2025. Contributors include Eula Biss, Sarah Aziza, Khalil Abu Sharekh, Christian Lorenzen, Hannah Keziah Agustin, and Jarek Steele, the former co-owner of Left Bank Books.

Books for Kids:
1. The Rose Field V3, by Philip Pullman
2. Partypooper V20, by Jeff Kinney
3. Sole Survivor, by Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely
4. The Poisoned King V2, by Katherine Rundell
5. Bunn's Rabbit, by Alan Barillaro
6. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by René Greaf
7. Goodnight Moon board book, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrations by Clement Hurd
8. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone, by Gideon Sterer, illustrations by Emily Hughes
9. A Snow Day for Amos McGee, by Philip Stead, illustrations by Erin Stead
10. The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole, by Cecilia Heikkilä

The third volume of The Book of Dust has a strong opening week, though Jason thought it would have been multiples higher in the UK. The Rose Field. No BookMarks round-up for this one, though I suspect there are lots of British reviews, plus our Milwaukee-bred Dan Kois in The New York Times, who reflects on Lyla, in light of naming his daughter after her: "If the resolution of this book’s grand philosophical inquiries sounds familiar notes, that doesn’t decrease its power, or its correctness. Pullman, as ever, is a humanist, and keenly interested in what gives people spirit, will, the spark of life"

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 18, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 18, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
2. State Champs, by Hilary Plum
3. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
4. The Unveiling, by Quan Barry (signed copies)
5. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)
6. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
7. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
8. Always Remember, by Charlie Mackesy
9. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
10. Twice, by Mitch Albom

It's only about three weeks until the Booker Prize is announced. One title on the shortlist is The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which has had several weeks in our top ten since its September release. Desai received the prize for The Inheritance of Loss back in 2006. The new book has 12 raves, a positive, and two mixed on BookMarks. From Alexandra Jacobs in The New York Times: "Almost 20 years in the making, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai, is not so much a novel as a marvel. In an era of hot takes and chilly optimized productivity, here is sweet validation of the idea that to create something truly transcendent - a work of art depicting love, family, nature and culture in all their fullness - might take time."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon (signed copies)
2. The Promise of Heaven, by David Jeremiah
3. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
4. Heartland Masala, by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji (signed copies)
5. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
6. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
7. The Art of Gluten Free Bread, by Aran Goyoaga
8. We the People, by Jill Lepore
9. Little Woodchucks, by Nick Offerman
10. Schott's Significa, by Ben Schott

First week out for Andrew Ross Sorkin's 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - and How It Shattered a Nation with a BookMarks tabulation of three raves, a positive, and a mixed in The New York Times, where Sorkin is a columnist. One rave is from Judge Glock in The Wall Street Journal: "Although Mr. Sorkin offers hints that the crash looms larger in our memory than it did in the moment, his focus is on portraying the lives of the people who lived through it. It is one of the best narrative histories I’ve read." I think BookMarks removed the WSJ links because they are always paywalled. But I hit paywalls from other newspaper links, so maybe there's another reason.

Paperback Fiction:
1. American Dawn V2, by Matthew J Flynn
2. Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
3. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Juneau Black
4. Mockingbird Court V6, by Juneau Black
5. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
6. Sunburn, by Chloe Howarth
7. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
8. The Empusium, by Olga Tokarczuk
9. The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna
10. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali

David Sedaris came to Milwaukee for his biennial (I want to say biannual, but apparently that could also mean twice a year) visit to the Pabst Theater and this time, his book pick was Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, her follow-up to Fleischman Is in Trouble. The paperback appears to be flying off the shelves in the Northeast, at least according to Edelweiss. It had 13 raves, 3 positives, 3 mixed, and two pans, including one from the Times Literary Supplement, which is paywalled, which ruins my earlier theory.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, by Patty Loew
2. In the Room at the Top of the World, by Ben McCormick (Boswell October 20 event)
3. Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris
4. Happy Go Lucky, by David Sedaris
5. The Best of Me, by David Sedaris
6. In the Shadow of Man, by Jane Goodall
7. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
8. Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
9. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow
10. Puerto Rico, by Jorell Melendez Badillo

You may not know that the Americans and the British have different rules on songs charting on music bestseller lists from one artist, and if you do, apologies for repeating. The UK limits the artist to the three biggest hits from one album, while there are no restrictions on the Billboard Hot 100, which is why Taylor Switft held the top 12 spots this past week. I like the British rules better, so that's why only three David Sedaris books place here. Otherwise I'd just list six Sedaris books in the top ten and four more from 11-15. With no brand new book to sell, the top adult title (we sold more of Pretty Ugly in kids) was Holidays on Ice - it's late enough in the year to be thinking about this.

Books for Kids:
1. Steam Train Dream Train: Next Stop Christmas, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
2. Steam Train Dream Train, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
3. Pretty Ugly, by David Sedaris, illustrations by Ian Falconer
4. Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue, by Sheeri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
5. Giving Good, by Aaron Boyd
6. Squash and Pumpkin: #Squashgoals, by GG McQueen, illustrations by Michael Slack
7. Brownie the War Dog, by Kelly Nelson, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
8. Valiant Vel, by Jerrianne Hayslett, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
9. Rock Paper Incisors V3, by Amy Timberlake, illustrations by Jon Klassen (Boswell October 27 event)
10. Buffalo Dreamer, by Violet Duncan

This week's top 10 is event heavy, with the exception of Buffalo Dreamer, which is part of the current Battle of the Books promotion. I generally don't include quantity orders that are not part of author events when the book is more than a year old, but in this case, there was more than one purchase in the week, so National Book Award Finalist Buffalo Dreamer (which really just missed the cutoff as it's from August 2024) makes the top 10. From Tracy Cronce in School Library Journal: "Beautiful descriptions of traditional Native American culture and dress make scenes vivid for readers as Summer's family rides horses, picks berries, prepares meals, and shares stories, even ones that have remained unspoken."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 11, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 11, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
2. A Mouthful of Dust, by Nghi Vo (signed copies)
3. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
4. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
5. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
6. The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman
7. Venetian Vespers, by John Banville
8. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
9. Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
10. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)

It looks like Penguin Press will be happy with the first week of sales for Shadow Ticket, though we're only able to get a glimpse of the independent sales channel. Our midnight release party had a decent turnout, and, witht he help of the Milwaukee setting, we're #4 on Edelweiss for the week. The BookMarks reviews were polarized - 11 raves, 6 positives, 6 mixed, and 4 pans. From Sam Sacks in The Wall Street Journal, on reflecting on the final image: "Readers will have to decide whether this is reflexive Pynchonian paranoia - the endless search for meaningful patterns - or an earnest warning from an author who has seen the world catch up to his wildest imagination."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Flash Teams, by Melissa Valentine and Michael Bernstein
2. Milwaukee Flavor, compiled by Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
3. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon (Boswell October 17 event)
4. Copaganda, by Alec Karakatsanis
5. The AI Con, by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna
6. Paper Girl, by Beth Macy
7. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
8. Enshittification, by Cory Doctorow
9. We the People, by Jill Lepore
10. Heartland Masala, by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji (Discourse/Boswell October 13 event)

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America is from Beth Macy, author of the bestselling Dopesick. She has four raves and three positives from BookMarks, including this from Leigh Haber in The Washington Post: "The portrait that emerges is of a rural county wracked by division, abandoned by industries that once supported its economy, and enduring unprecedented spikes in poverty, homelessness and addiction, as well as declines in literacy and other educational measures. In other words, Urbana, in Macy’s estimation, is a microcosm of what has been happening in rural areas throughout the country."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Mockingbird Court V6, by Juneau Black (signed copies)
2. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
3. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
4. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
5. Twilight Falls V5, by Juneau Black
6. Burning Bright, by Nick Petrie
7. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
8. Playground, by Richard Powers
9. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
10. The Bog Wife, by Kay Chronister

We had a nice sale on Kay Chronister's The Bog Wife in hardcover, and the paperback is off to a good start. It had four positives and a pan from Publishers Weekly, which as I've said before, has taken the crown of the bad boy of the trades away from Kirkus. Set on a West Virginia cranberry bog (who knew?), it's got this nice write up from Alana Quarles in Library Journal: "Recalling Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, the physical decline of the Haddesleys' ancestral home becomes an allegory and monument to the destruction of their family line and their familial drift from one another, but ultimately their unyielding devotion to the land and each other ensure its survival."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. A Sheepdog Named Oscard, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
2. Usual Cruelty, by Alec Karakatsanis
3. Building the Milwaukee Bucks, by Jordan Treske
4. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (Schlitz Audubon November 20 event)
5. The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, by Ross King
6. How to Dream, by Thich Nhat Hanh
7. Poets and Dreamers, by Tamara Saviano
8. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya
9. Lincoln's Counterfeithers, by Andrea Nolen (Boswell October 29 event)
10. The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron

Off the new paperback table also comes The Shortest History of Ancient Rome: A Millennium of Western Civilization, from Kingdom to Republic to Empire - A Retelling for Our Times from Ross King, who last year had The Shortest History of Italy. From Kirkus: "King achieves an uncommonly dense work of compression, telescoping events and fashioning brief character studies in surveying the arc of ancient Rome, from its origins to its collapse. But he also demonstrates how the facets of empire still inform the West: in our politics, cultures, laws, and self-image."

Books for Kids:
1. Three Blue Hearts, by Lynne Kelly
2. Song for a Whale, by Lynne Kelly
3. The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly
4. White Lies, by Ann Bausum
5. Richard Scarry's Halloween Cards and Trucks
6. The Wishing Leaf, by Kallie George
7. Spy School Blackout V13, by Stuart Gibbs
8. Jessi Ramsey Pet Sitter graphic edition V18, by Ellen T Crenshaw
9. Ghosts and Ghouls, by Ondrej Navratil, illustrated by Martin Soljdr
10. Skunk and Badger, by Amy Timberlake (Boswell October 27 event)

If it isn't clear enough from the list, we hosted Lynne Kelly for school events this week. Her new middle grade novel, Three Blue Hearts, about a boy who discovers a beached octopus, should appeal to fans of her bestselling Song for a Whale. From Publishers Weekly: " Interspersing lightly scientific marine biology-related asides among emotionally earnest first-person narration and conversations between Max and his new friends, Kelly tells a gentle, sweet-hearted tale of a tween managing personal responsibility and finding his own voice."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 4, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 4, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Phoebe Variations, by Jane Hamilton
2. The Impossible Fortune V5, by Richard Osman
3. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)
4. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
5. The Killing Stones, by Ann Cleeves
6. Martha's Daughter, by David Haynes (signed copies)
7. Circle of Days, by Ken Follett
8. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
9. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
10. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Coming around the same time as the Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club is the fifth book in the series, The Impossible Fortune. From Library Journal: "The crime, though ingeniously plotted, with many red herrings, is not the main attraction. It's the growing love and respect among the Thursdays and their kith and kin, including a few criminals and cops, that is the biggest draw." It's a good week for mysteries, as Ann Cleeves has the first in her Perez and Reeves series with The Killing Stones, though i's a spinoff, of sorts, of the Shetland series.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
2. Vanishing Treasures, by Katherine Rundell
3. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
4. We The People, by Jill Lepore
5. History Matters, by David McCullough
6. Copaganda, by Alec Karakatsanis
7. Awake, by Jen Hatmaker
8. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
9. Little Frog's Guide to Life, by Maybell Eequay
10. The Art of Gluten-Free Bread, by Aran Goyoaga

The host of the For the Love podcast, chronicles her divorce after 26 years and its aftermath in her new memoir Awake. Previously published by Christian presses, the publisher is expecting a mainstream breakout in the vein of Glennon Doyle or Mel Robbins, who also blurbed the book. From a starred Booklist: "The questions Hatmaker asks herself - what excites her, and what does she care about--will resonate with readers facing their own challenges."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
2. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
3. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
5. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
6. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
7. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski
8. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
9. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett
10. Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune

I always think of Mary Oliver being published primarily by Penguin Press and Beacon, but another formerly Boston-area-based imprint also released her work at one point. What were once DaCapo titles are now Grand Central. Little Alleluias: Collected Poetry and Prose is collected from three books in the early 2000s, per the publisher - the book-length poem The Leaf and the Cloud, the collection What Do We Know, and essays from Long Life.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. I Live Underwater, by Max Gene Nohl
2. A Sheepdog Named Oscar (Boswell October 30 event)
3. How to Stand Up to a Dictator, by Maria Ressa
4. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
5. So Many Books, by Gabriel Zaid
6. Revenge of the Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
7. The Unvanquished, by Patrick K O'Donnell
8. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
9. There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib
10. Didion and Babitz, by Lili Anolik

There's a new edition (new jacket, new introduction) of So Many Books, 2nd Edition: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance, from the Mexican poet Gabriel Zaid (a variation on Mary Oliver's repackaging above), translated by Natasha Wimmer. Our buyer bought a stack for our front table, and it worked. But there are only 5 copies on hand and one on order at the Ingram warehouses, including Jackson. Where are the books for restocking?

Books for Kids:
1. The Poisoned King V2, by Katherine Rundell
2. Billy Jean Peet, Athlete, by Andrea Bety, with illustrations by David Roberts
3. Impossible Creatures V1 (2 editions), by Katherine Rundell
4. Rosie Revere, Engineer, by Andrea Beaty, with illustrations by David Roberts
5. Aaron Slater, Illustrator, by Andrea Beaty, with illustrations by David Roberts
6. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
7. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford
8. Secrets of the Purple Pearl V2, by Kate McKinnon
9. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
10. Peekaboo Pumpkin, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius

Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo is the sequel to a very beloved picture book (and #1 NYT bestseller) that is what must be known in the business as the "new sibling sequel." From Kirkus: "Fluffalo mentors the loving Puffalo, including the baby in his daily activities and fielding (some of) Puff's many questions. Readers with younger siblings will appreciate the subtle acknowledgment that Fluffalo's new role can be taxing, but overall, the tale affirms the joy of mentoring, while the colorful, stylized art perfectly complements the upbeat verse. It's easy to imagine an older child reading this story to a younger one at bedtime. An endearing ode to big siblinghood."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 27, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 27, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
2. Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus
3. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
4. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
5. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
6. Kaplan's Plot, by Jason Diamond (signed copies)
7. The Phoebe Variations, by Jane Hamilton (Boswell September 30 event)
8. Will There Ever Be Another You, by Patricia Lockwood
9. This Inevitable Ruini V7, by Matt Dinniman
10. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown

Alchemised is a reimagining of Manacled, a very popular online fanfiction based on Harry Potter and The Handmaid's Tale. It's in the Dramione category, where Hermione and Drago are paired up. More in this Rolling Stone article. From Booklist: "SenLinYu weaves a tale of political intrigue with centuries of depth and nuance. Many readers will be fascinated by the story of a healer during a brutal war. While some readers may find the world and the many characters complicated or hard to follow, many will be drawn into the complex morality of two broken people finding love during a war."

It's a tough week to write up, when The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is already on the Booker shortlist and What We Can Know has been reviewed as McEwan's best in years.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
2. The Trauma of Money, by Chantel Chapman
3. Good Things Happen, by Samin Nosrat
4. History Matters, by David McCullough
5. Strong Ground, by Brené Brown
6. Replaceable You, by Mary Roach
7. The Art of Gluten Free Bread, by Aran Goyoaga
8. All the Way to the River, by Elizabeth Gilbert
9. Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
10. Arctic Passages, by Kieran Mulvaney

Kamala Harris's 107 Days did better than we expected on the first week. It's competitive week, as we also saw good first week sales for Replaceable You (which I read and enjoyed) and History Matters, and that doesn't include all the books with huge sales at places other than Boswell. From the Publishers Weekly on David McCullough's collection: "Pulitzer Prize winner McCullough, who died in 2022, extols the importance and craft of writing history in this resonant collection of 20 speeches, essays, and interviews selected by his daughter Dorie McCullough Lawson and his longtime researcher Michael Hill...The historian's admirers will find this an enjoyable and warmhearted valedictory hymn to the American spirit."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, by VE Schwab
2. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
3. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
4. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
5. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
6. Burning Bright, by Nick Petrie
7. Tear It Down, by Nick Petrie
8. The Empusium, by Olga Tokarczuk
9. Sunburn, by Chloe Howarth
10. Best Short Stories 2005: The O Henry Prize Winners, edited by Edward P Jones

The O Henry collection is not to be confused with Best American Short Stories 2025, which comes from HarperCollins. The new Best Short Stories 2025: The O Henry Prize Winners collection has entries from Wendell Berry, Gina Chung, Dave Eggers, Zak Salih, Ling Ma, and Chika Unigwe. Edward P Jones is the editor of this volume, while Jenny Minton Quigley is the series editor.I can't find any stories or reviews on the new collection, just bookstores that are selling it.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Dancing in a Disabled World, by Maureen McCue
2. Don't Say Please, by Jayasuriya Sahan
3. Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, by Patty Loew (MPL October 18 event)
4. City on Mars, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
5. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
6. Alignment, by Katie Keller Wood
7. Chainsaw Love, by James Card
8. A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
9. The Chaos Machine, by Max Fisher
10. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow

From the new paperback table comes a July release, A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? had strong hardcover sales and good reviews, with four raves and a positive on BookMarks. From Kirkus: "An entertaining illustrated assessment of space settlement...Despite the optimism of SF writers and the current crop of adventurous billionaires, the authors believe that space settlements would probably replicate the conflicts and divisions of Earth-bound societies: Humans, after all, remain human...A fun, informative read that puts the pop into popular science."

Books for Kids:
1. Kat and Mouse: I Like Cheese, by Salina Yoon
2. Penguin and Pinecone, by Salina Yoon
3. Tiny T Rex and the First Day Oopsies, by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrations by Jay Fleck
4. Spooky Lakes Coloring Book, by Geo Rutherford
5. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford
6. Tiny T Rex and the Impossible Hug, by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrations by Jay Fleck
7. How's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
8. Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell (Boswell October 1 ticketed event)
9. Peekaboo Pumpkin, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
10. Little Bat board book, by Maggie Fischer, with illustrations by Yi-Hsuan Wu

For those who are concerned that the deluxe limited edition phenomenon has been limited to older audiences, this week's bestsellers feature a deluxe edition of Howl's Moving Castle, a 1986 novel that was adapted into 2004 Japanese animated film. From the publisher: "Luminous new jacket artwork and full-color endpapers by artist Devin Elle Kurtz.Digitally printed edges.Shimmering foil stamping on the case.Striking black-and-white interior artwork by internationally bestselling author Stefan Bachmann." Book as object!

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 20, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 20, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Apostle's Cove, by William Kent Krueger
2. Among the Burning Flowers, by Samantha Shannon
3. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
4. Jams, by Percival Everett
5. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
6. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
7. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
8. How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
9. The Phoebe Variations, by Jane Hamilton (Boswell September 30 event)
10. The Academy, by Elin Hilderbrand and Stacy Cunningham

Top debut this week is Among the Burning Flowers, coming in a regular and deluxe edition.Samantha Shannon's prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree received this review in Library Journal: "A testament to humankind's endurance and unending hope for a better future, this brief foray into Shannon's fantasy world adds a few additional layers to events mentioned in her other books."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Why Fascists Fear Teachers, by Randi Weingarten
2. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
3. Born in Flames, by Bench Ansfield (signed copies)
4. We the People, by Jill Lepore
5. Arctic Passages, by Kieran Mulvaney 
6. Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism, by Stewart Reynolds
7. All the Way to the River, by Elizabeth Gilbert
8. They All Came to Barneys, by Gene Pressman
9. Baldwin: A Love Story, by Nicholas Boggs
10. Art Work, by Sally Mann.

Samin Nosrat returns with Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love, the first big cookbook of fall, at least for us. It's been eight years since Salt Fat Acid Heat. Booklist has a starred review: "Adventurous home cooks will appreciate the firm foundation of knowledge that ultimately offers the freedom and confidence to experiment and create special foods to share."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Women Who Stand Between, by Jeannée Sacken (more signed copies coming soon!)
2. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
3. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
4. Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar
5. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Rizdén
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
7. All Fours, by Miranda July
8. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
9. The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier
10. Go As a River, by Shelley Read

Vintage went with a very different look for The City and Its Uncertain Walls. I don't usually expect a book like that to have a cover change. I would call the BookMarks review profile polarizing - 10 raves, a positive, 4 mixed, and 6 pans. Most of the raves were with the advance trades - some of which, but certainly not all of them, do not publish bad reviews, so why would you index them? That said, some consumer-facing reviewers gave raves too - Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Slate.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Going for Zero, by Carl Elefante
2. Reading for Our Lives, by Maya Payne Smart
3. Common Ground, by Eileen Flanagan (signed copies)
4. Palaces for the People, by Eric Klinenberg
5. Poverty by America, by Matthew Desmond
6. 2020, by Eric Klinenberg
7. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
8. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
9. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy Waldman and Peter Jest
10. AI Snake Oil, by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor

There was a bit of a theme to some of this week's events. After selling books for Carl Elefante at the PastForward conference for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, we had two more authors who would slot in the Urban Studies category, Bench Ansfield at Boswell (see above) and Eric Klinenberg at Milwaukee Public Library, which worked hard to bring the author here to speak about 2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed and Palaces for the People, which among other things, celebrates libraries. 

Books for Kids:
1. If We Were Dogs, by Sophie Blackall
2. Spooky Lakes Coloring Book, by Geo Rutherford
3. Dream, by Barbara O'Connor
4. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford
5. Leafy Landmarks, by Michelle Schaub
6. Wish, by Barbara O'Connor
7. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
8. Kat and Mouse: I Like Cheese, by Salina Yoon
9. The Poisoned King V2, by Katherine Rundell (Boswell October 1 event)
10. Tiny T Rex and the First Day Oopsies, by Jonathan Stutzman, illustrations by Jay Fleck

There was no time in the schedule for a public event with Sophie Blackall, but we were grateful to have two school visits for If We Were Dogs. From Kirkus: "Cheerful, lightly hued colors fit the whimsical mood, while expressive body language allows the art to tell the story with a minimum of words. Ending on a surprising note, with a sweet compromise between the two main characters, the tale gives both kids the freedom to embrace their own preferences and styles - while still enjoying their game."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 13, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 13, 202

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Life, and Death, and Giants, by Ron Rindo (signed copies)
2. So Far Gone, by Jess Walter (signed copies)
3. Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
4. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
5. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan (OFS Lunch November 5)
6. Clown Town, by Mick Herron
7. Culpability, by Bruce Holsinger
8. How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
9. James, by Percival Everett
10. The Phoebe Variations, by Jane Hamilton (Boswell September 30 event)

Top non-event debut this week is Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown. There's high quality paper on this printing, which is unusual for a thriller. That said, the list price is higher than the deluxe editions that are sprouting everywhere. BookMarks has two postives, two mixed, and one pan from the Times of London.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. All the Way to the River, by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. What's on Her Mind, by Allison Daminger (signed copies)
3. Art Work, by Sally Mann
4. A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever, by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer
5. Listening to the Law, by Amy Coney Barrett
6. Dark Renaissance, by Stephen Greenblatt
7. Living in the Present with John Prine, by Tom Piazza
8. Baldwin: A Love Story, by Nicholas Boggs
9. Abundance, by Ezra Kleina and Derek Thompson
10. Arctic Passages, by Kieran Mulvaney (Shorewood Library September 15 event)

Have you noticed how many of the New York Times lists will be packed with new releases in the top ten? That's rare for us - only one or two generally break through onto our bestseller list, but this week, fully six of our top ten have September 9 on sale dates. Top debut is Elizabeth Gilbert's All the Way to the River, which has three raves, two positives, two mixed, and one pan on BookMarks as well as the Oprah Book Club seal. But it also shows that these BookMarks ratings are subject to interpretation - at least one of my coworkers thought that one of the mixed reviews was a pan.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Jackie, by Dawn Tripp
2. Death Stalks Door County, by Patricia Skalka (Boswell October 21 event)
3. The Women Who Stand Between, by Jeannée Sacken (Boswell September 19 event)
4. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
5. Archipelago, by Natalie Bakopoulos (signed copies)
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
7. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
8. Candide, by Voltaire
9. Dear Committee Members, by Julie Schumacher
10. Death at Gill's Rock, by Patricia Skalka

Thanks to a professor having Boswell sell books for his class, I've read fully half the books in this top 10, which is more unusual than it used to be. Thanks, Dear Committee Members! No new releases on this list, but our recent event with Jackie pushed our ranking on paperback sales to #1 on Edelweiss. Congrats to Milwaukee Reads!

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya
2. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow
3. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event - a NYT bestseller!)
4. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5. Common Ground, by Eileen Flanagan (Boswell September 15 event)
6. Spice, by Roger Crowley
7. On Our Best Behavior, by Elise Loehnen
8. Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green
9. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
10. Pox Romana, by Colin Elliott

Despite our prominent book club recommendation, we are only #19 on Edelweiss in sales for When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, as this book has been huge in the Northeast and it's not doing to shabby in the West either. But while it's not us, nice to see a Midwest store is #1.

Books for Kids:
1. Over in the Garden, by Janna Matthies, illustrations by Tisha Lee
2. Spooky Lakes Coloring Book, by Geo Rutherford
3. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford (Boswell September 16 event)
4. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
5. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
6. Where's the Leaf Thief board book, by Alice Hemming, illustrations by Nicola Slater
7. What Feelings Do at Night, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Aleksandra Zajac
8. No Bad Parts, by Richard Schwartz and Bethany Hegedus, illustrations by Kate Fedos
9. Incredibly Penelope, by Lauren Myracle (Wauwatosa Library October 2 event)
10. Dream, by Barbara O'Connor

Barbara O'Connor visited area schools for her new book Dream. Expect a higher placement next week. From Booklist: "In this stand-alone book that features several returning characters and a familiar setting (from Wish - 2016), the strongest asset is O'Connor's ability to let Idalee tell her story in her own, distinctive voice, while creating secondary characters who are interesting and equally true to life. An involving chapter book, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains."