Roll Call: Bakopoulos, McInerney, Carver, Dregni

These would be Tweets, but I feel bad about abbreviating...

He was once Wisconsin's, but Iowa has him now. Dean Bakopoulos picks his musical faves in The New York Times Paper Cuts blog.

I can't wait to read his new novel, My American Unhappiness, still now in the Ingram database, but sure to show up very soon...I can feel it!

What is in the database from Dean? A novel called Harmony, with a pub date of September 2009 and one copy on order. I think this might be an old incarnation of MAU.

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Booksellers recently got a note from Jay McInerney about the 25th anniversary edition of Vintage Contemporaries and Bright Lights, Bit City, the breakout book from the launch that brought "second person" to the masses.

Since one of Raymond Carver's collections was also among the launch titles, it of course comes up in Carol Sklenicka's new biography (Thursday, 7 PM). Do you know how acquiring editor Gary Fisketjon come across McInerney's work?

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I'm finally breaking down and buying the store a projection screen. We had one at one point at Schwartz, but alas, it disappeared. We'll need it for Friday, when Eric Dregni shows slides of his Italian adventure for Never Trust a Thin Cook. I can't remember how we handled his Norwegian slides for In Cod We Trust. I think we made him bring his own.

There are Not Many Places to Buy the new Kurt Oppens: An Aspen Legacy Book, but We've Got it Because of Our Event This Monday

Being that one thing I haven't done a good job with yet is getting our web site fulfillment in order, it's a bit surprising that we just took a phone order for the new book, Kurt Oppens: An Aspen Legacy from New Mexico, edited by Nancy G. Thomas and Jane Vial Jaffe.

But the caller told us the book is very hard to find. In fact, based the web searches that come up, you'd think we're the only store in the country promoting it.

This is all do to Steve Basson, retired principal bassoonist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He came to me and asked if we'd put together an event, with him talking about this wonderful new book about Oppens, inspiration for classical musicians and fans alike.

These are some of the smartest essays on classical music you'll read. The writing is (to quote the editors) "Learned, for sure, but unstuffy--at times deeply serious and challenging or wryly humorous and disarming. His notes are rich with metaphor, as when he refers to the 'newness' of Mozart and Beethoven as 'the eighth day of Creation' or speculates that the muse at Brahm's cradle 'must have sung to him in sonata form.'"

We're doing our best to build up a program that celebrates the performing arts, whether with our Florentine Opera previews, our talk with Norman Gilliland for Scores to Settle, or our tango concert last summer.

This should be a very interesting event. Or call us for a copy at (414) 332-1181. You're not likely to find a copy in too many other places.

Farmers and Artisans Market Tomorrow, next Friday, and Sunday, 12/13

Angela is a long-time customer (Schwartz and now us) who is full of ideas. Having a previous life as a foodservice rep, she now sells plants and soap and other goodies at farmer's markets. To me, she's like Milwaukee's own Maryjane Butters (alas, I show a picture of the jacket of the Maryjane book for reference, but we don't have a copy in stock).

Though I passed for this year on selling books at one of the local farmer's markets, her thought to bring a market to our store seemed to interesting to pass up.

With the local market season coming to an end, there were a lot of vendors who had no place to sell their wares. And from selling at Zeidler Square, Brookfield, and other markets, Angela had the contacts to put this together.

We've got maple syrup, mittens, jewelry, handmade cards and more. Ela Orchards will be set up outside in our vestibule. All vendors have their market certifications and permits, and use to-code coolers when necessary.

Not every vendor could do every market, so for example, Scott Buer of Bolzano Artisan Meats will only be at Friday's market, sampling Speck prosciutto and other dry-cured meats, in conjunction with our talk/slideshow from Eric Dregni, based on his book Never Trust a Thin Cook.

Oh, and here's another thing. Like the Dwellephant program last spring, we're not charging booth space or taking a percentage of gross. Not that I don't need the revenue, but so do these folks, and I'm taking the chance that this will build traffic, community, and relationships. And hey, we've got the space. We'll see if it works!

If you're thinking of making a day of it, you might want to go to the world-famous Art Vs. Craft program at the Humphrey Rites Masonic Center on Van Buren Street, on the northeast corner of downtown. Faythe Levine, the organizer, is force behind the documentary Handmade Nation. Hey, we've even still got a few signed copies of her book.

And if you're going to Art Vs. Craft from out of town, we're pretty much a straight shot northeast along Prospect, a little over 2 miles away. Back when I lived on Juneau and Van Buren, I used to walk to Downer Avenue pretty regularly. It's about 45 minutes. Obviously, it depends on the weather. We're also on the same bus line, the 30. But it's only door to door if you take the "Downer" 30. The "Maryland" 30 (they alternate) means a 5 minute walk east on Webster Avenue (where you'd get off, it's the stop after Bradford. Ask the driver.)

Just to sum things up, here's when we're hosting the vendors:

Saturday, November 28th, 11 AM-4 PM

Friday, December 4th, 5 PM-8 PM

Sunday, December 13th, 12 Noon-4 PM.

Thanksgiving Post--Food, Family, Books, Thankfulness

I've been trying to think of a good Thanksgiving post. The store is closed for the day, but my family gets together these days outside of Phoenix, and I just don't feel comfortable being away for the weekend. That said, hi Merrill, Gus, Claudia, Les, Adam, Jocelyn, Chris, Mom, and several of Merrill's friends. My sister Merrill is currently reading Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright-Sided that I sent her as a gift, and liking it. She's not a fake positivity kind of person, so this is just another example of matching the right person with the right book. We still have some signed copies for the realistic people on your gift list.

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My friend Linda at Galaxy Books in Hardwick, Vermont recently sent me a nice email about how things have been going. (If you linked, notice we use the same template for our web site, but hers is in a soothing royal blue. She helped start a community restaurant in Hardwick, which is just part of the community's focus on local agriculture. In a holiday that is a celebration of food and bounty, it seemed like folks would like to see this piece from Dan Rather reports, which was originally shown on HDNet. Please consider watching this--it's very inspiring.

Broken record time. I was thinking of my favorite book that puts me in the Thanksgiving spirit and that is Michelle Huneven's Jamesland. It was out of stock for a while, but they must have done a reprint to take advantage of the publication of Blame. I was happy yesterday to talk to my friend Christy, and it's one of the few novels she's read this fall. We did a little sigh about the talents of Michelle Huneven and then moved on to talk about civic activism and the differences between being a volunteer and working for an organization. Jobs are jobs, and even with good ones in great fields, you get bogged down in the drudgery and the politics and the turf wars.

So is that the case owning the bookstore? Honestly, 14 hour days fly by, and not in a bad way. As you know, I am almost always tense and worried about something. What's the new competition going to do to my business? Why aren't businesses opening on our block? What are we going to run out of? Can we pay all our bills? (note to creditors, yes because we are still being very cautious), but thankfully, that doesn't get in the way of me loving every minute.

Thank you for helping make our first 237 days a wonderful experience. And Happy Thanksgiving.

Carver, Carver, Carver! Carol Sklenicka Appears for the new Raymond Carver Bio on December 3rd

A surprising amount of visitors to Boswell have books coming out. Sometimes I hear from them closer to pub date and sometimes I don't. Last summer, Carol Sklenicka stopped by to say that she had written a book on Raymond Carver that would be coming out at the end of the year. She had some connections to Milwaukee and might I be interested in doing an event?

So now we have an event scheduled, and what a coup this is. For Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life, just got a glowing front page New York Times Book Review write up. You can read it here.

I am not one to read too many 500+ page books (and I am teased about this by Jason), but I read every word of this. Carver's life was the stuff of novels--hardscrabble, hard-drinking, lots of moving and job changes and family troubles and a tough marriage, albeit one clearly filled with love. Sklenicka connects these details with his stories and poetry and it made me want to go back and read Carver again, which I guess is the goal of any good literary biography.

But in this case, I want to read him twice, with and without the Gordon Lish edits. We've got Carver backlist in stock, newly jacketed no less.

The event is Thursday, December 3rd, 7 PM.

There's some Milwaukee connections in the story as well. Carver did spend at least some time as an artist-in-residence at UWM, and local writer C.J. Hribal got one of Carver's last blurbs for his novel Matty's Heart. That book's unavailable right now, but we sell his current novel, The Company Car. Oh, and I'm selling it at Sugar Maple on Monday, December 14th, at Sugar Maple for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. That starts at 6:30 PM.

Bocuse d'Or Competition on "Top Chef" is the Perfect Opportunity to Discuss the New Book Knives at Dawn.

Do you watch "Top Chef" regularly? I've been a bit bored this season because it seemed obvious by the 2nd episode who the top four would be. And only one tie-in challenge to the new Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook? Don't they want to sell books? I certainly heard more about the Glad family of products.

But I'd been holding out for last week's episode. It was the competition where they held a mini Bocuse d'Or. I've been waiting for the episode all season, as it was mentioned in the new book, Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse D'Or Competion, by Andrew Friedman.

The Bocuse d'Or is an international culinary competition where chefs representing countries battle it out to see who can do the best job creating two specialized platters, one of meat and the other of fish. The terms of the competition are very French, which may be the reason why the French do well every year. On the other hand, the French don't compete in the International Culinary Olympics, because one year they did very poorly. Or so I'm told. Seems like sour crepes to me.

So last year, the Americans made a concerted attempt to do better, recruiting Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud to the board. This is the story of that year of training, filled with insider stories, gossip, strategies. It's foodie porn to the max. Of course, if you heard about the competition (or perhaps saw it on cable), you already know how it turned out, but half the fun is getting there.

I won't spoil last week's "Top Chef" episode, where the prize included a place at the 2010 competition tryouts. (Reading this book, I learned that season 3 winner Hong tried out in 2009.) But I will say that the results were far from the elaborate platters described in the Knives at Dawn.

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Speaking of Keller, to my knowledge, there are still tickets available to the hors d'oeuvres reception at Lake Park Bistro on Wednesday, December 2nd, at 4:30. Tickets are $85 and include a copy of the book. Call (414) 962-6300. The dinner at Bacchus is sold out, alas. It's also not too late to get a copy of the $50 Ad Hoc at Home signed by the chef/author--for that you contact us at (414) 332-1181. I don't think Keller will sign Knives at Dawn, though fans of his will certainly enjoy reading it. On second thought, who knows?

I, Expert of Nothing, Weigh in on SuperFreakonomics

I was and am a big fan of Freakonomics, except for the interludes that came out of the New York Times Magazine article. It's one field where I was glad other folks rushed to market with me-to product. I read much of that and liked it too.

Well, there actually was one book that I thought was pretty junky. In it, folks would write in problems and the book would have answers that used economic theory to answer them.

Problem 1--These answers were not based on studies but on personal reasoning. I can come up with answers too, but if I don't come up with proof that the answers are correct, than who cares?

Problem 2--The answers were not written by the author, but by the author's students. He just edited them.

Honestly, how was this book reviewed seriously? How did it get a follow up? Blame my cowardice on not listing the title or author.

So now Superfreakonomics is in. Authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner ofter lots of juicy material on finding terrorists and alternatives to dominant theory on global warming effects and cures. Fascinating tidbits on Sudhir Venkatesh's new work on the economics of prostitution. Interesting studies on altruism, and am a big fan of cheap and simple fixes. I did enjoy reading it. Was amused that both Levitt/Dubner and Malcolm Gladwell were chasing the same research of one particular scientist.

However:

Caveat 1--I understand hiding footnotes in the back, but I wish the author's had more often at least cited the scientists involved in the studies. There's an implication that more work is Levitt's than is actually the case.

Caveat 2--At 200 pages, this was way too short! Especially if you are exploring other folks work, why can't we have more? I was left very hungry for another chapter or two.

Caveat 3--Come speak at Milwaukee (2 hours north, maybe 2.5 if you live by the University of Chicago) and let me sell books. I am hungry for a big event and have no pride about begging.

Could "The Most Beautiful Book in the World" be the Book we Rec to Folks Who Loved "The Elegance of the Hedgehog"? I Finally Read it to Find Out

Yes, I heard that my friend Lanora at Next Chapter Bookstore in Mequon was very hot on The Most Beautiful Book in the World. No sordid secrets here, as she told me directly. As the pile of books is always very tall, I did what I normally do and started telling folks about the good rec from another bookseller.

It's a lovely surreal jacket, and it's from Europa, so it has the lovely French flaps and paper that is much thicker than newsprint. It has an Indie Next rec so you know at least some other indie booksellers have been behind it.

I bought my copy at Harvard Bookstore on one of my trips to Mom. I often try to buy books when I visit other bookstores. I think its important for booksellers to keep it real when thinking about how much the books cost and what it takes to shell out cash for a place you like. And I like Harvard Bookstore, so that wasn't difficult. I also bought some postcards. I wish I had a postcard rack, but the best ones are Nouvelles Images at Beans and Barley and I'd rather send folks down there for a nice meal and postcard experience (Note to Lynn: why not a combo package? Buy a meal and postcard and get the stamp free. Just kidding).

Oh, am I writing a blog about Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's The Most Beautiful Book in the World? And have I been writing his 2nd name with only one M? I have. Sorry.

But what I'm really looking for is my next Elegance of the Hedgehog. Do I have it here?

"Wanda Winnipeg" is about a woman who has everything who catches a glimpse of her old crush from her childhood years, a struggling artist with pretty much nothing. "A Fine Rainy Day" follows a woman whose practical negativism is subsumed when she meets a plain but upbeat suitor (don't read this to Barbara Ehrenreich at bedtime!) And the protagonist of "The Intruder" is surprised by an old woman sneaking into her house, and not just once.

So anyway, this collection has been a big hit in Europe. One of the stories, "Odette Toulemonde", was a film in 2007. Now it appears that the story did not become the film. Instead, it was inspired when Schmitt was directing a film. His contract forbade him to ski, and it was suggested that he do no other writing during the tenure of his project. As it was only suggested, he ignored that advice and adapted the film he was directing into a story, and wrote others as well.

These are almost fables in their conception. They are stories with twists, of folks who find happiness or peace or truth after long journeys in the wrong direction. The author himself spells it out in one story, by describing a book of people who follow the route of other people's happiness instead of their own. Oh, and by that, I don't mean making other people happy, but the tried and true routes (money, fame, beauty) to personal contentment. I'm not giving anything away here to tell you that the author thinks there are some flaws in that strategy.

So here's the thing. This is the classic case where you shouldn't listen to my personal taste. I love nostalgia and pathos and twists, but Schmitt's stories provide a very high dosage of each, a bit more than my taste. Barbery sort of skirted the edges, pulling me back when I felt I was falling into a pit of emotion. Some Schmitt's stories I did enjoy quite a bit. But will it work for folks who liked Elegance of the Hedgehog? My unequivocal answer: yes, for some of them.

Oh, and perhaps the style is the author's, but if the writing reminds you a touch of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, it might be because Alison Anderson is the translator of both. Here's a list of Schmitt's other books in France.