Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 25, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 25, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson (watch event recording here)
2. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
3. Earth's the Right Place for Love, by Elizabeth Berg (Register for March 27 in-person event here)
4. When in Rome, by Liam Callanan
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
7. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
8. So Shall You Reap, by Donna Leon
9. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
10. Old Babes it the Wood, by Margaret Atwood

This week Penguin Random House has 8 of the top 10 slots on hardcover fiction. One of the two they do not have - and the only one that everyone agrees is hardcover fiction - Mackesy's graphic story is often categorized elsewhere - is So Shall You Reap, the latest mystery from Donna Leon, the investigation of the death of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Mark Sanderson in the Times (UK) wrote: "So Shall You Reap is as witty and wise as anything Leon has written. To read her is to restore the soul.”

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
2. The Devil's Element, by Dan Egan
3. Eat to Beat Your Diet, by William W. Li
4. Reflections!, by Terry Wells-Jones
5. Milked, by Ruth Conniff
6. Am I Pretty When I Fly?, by Joan Baez
7. The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah-Jones with The New York Times
8. A Waiter in Paris, by Edward Chisholm
9. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
10. It's a Good Day to Change the World, by Lauren Schiller and Hadley Dynak, illustrated by Rosy Petri (Register for March 30 in-person event here)

Independent David R. Godine has a hot title in Joan Baez's Am I Pretty When I Fly?:An Album of Upside Down Drawings, notably because we had some signed-by-the-author copies and they were all on hold. From Lana Del Rey, because, why not?: "Am I Pretty When I Fly? shows me a side of Joan Baez I could not have imagined. It is entertaining, moving, ridiculously funny, insightful, and mysterious." Please note we are out of signed copies.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty (NBCC John Leonard Prize winner)
2. The Cat Who Saved Books, by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
3. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
4. Circe, by Madeline Miller
5. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
6. Locklands, by Robert Jackson Bennett
7. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka
8. Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree
9. The Candy House, by Jenifer Egan
10. French Braid, by Anne Tyler

There's no better way to get ready for Independent Bookstore Day (April 29) than by reading a title from our books about bookstore table. The bestselling offering of the season is The Cat Who Saved Books, by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai. From the publisher: "A high schooler is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his father when a talking cat enlists his aid liberating unloved books from neglectful owners.' The author, a doctor by trade, won the Shogakukan Fiction Prize for this novel, which was adapted into a hit film.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Reflections!, by Terry Wells-Jones
2. Vagina Obscura, by Rachel E Gross
3. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
4. We Don't Know Ourselves, by Fintan O'Toole
5. The Fish That Ate the Whale, by Rich Cohen
6. The Athropocene Reviewed, by John Green
7. The Forest Unseen, by David George Haskell
8. The Insect Crisis, by Oliver Milman
9. All About Love, by bell hooks
10. Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest, by Teresa Marrone

Here's a shout out I don't think I've done before - WW Norton and their sister imprint Liveright have three of this week's top ten slots o our bestseller list. Topping them is Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage, which was shortlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Ed Yong, author of the bestselling An Immense World, calls Gross's latest "Science writing at its finest - revelatory, wry, consequential, necessary, and incredibly hard to put down."

Books for Kids:
1. The Sinster Booksellers of Bath, by Garth Nix
2. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix (two editions)
3. Sabriel, by Garth Nix (multiple editions)
4. Just Ask!, by Sonia Sotomayor
5. Unbound, by Joyce Scott, Brie Spangler, and Melissa Sweet
6. Eric Loves Animals, by Eric Carle
7. Terciel and Elinor, by Garth Nix
8. The ABCs of Wisconsin, by Sandra Magsamen
9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt, by Eric Carle
10. Twenty Questions, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Christian Robinson

A great collaboration between Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson, Twenty Questions is, per the publisher, "an interactive series of captivating questions, prompting readers to choose their own stories to fit the thought-provoking illustrations. Brimming with creativity and inspiration, a perfect read-aloud for families or the classroom, intriguing for readers of all ages." Kirkus calls it "Quirky entertainment to jump-start creativity."

Boswell bestsellers - week ending March 18, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 18, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. When in Rome, by Liam Callanan
2. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
4. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
5. Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson (Register for March 22 virtual event here)
6. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
7. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
8. Birnam Wood, by Eleanor Catton
9. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
10. A Day of Fallen Night, by Samantha Shannon

There was extra press on Oprah's 100th book club selection, and that helped Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful pop a little more than it might have. I'm a little confused as to the positioning that the Napolitano pick lifted a struggling author out of obscurity - Dear Edward was a Read with Jenna pick and did quite well at Boswell. Not of course with every reviewer - Bruce Holsinger not only raves ("radiant and brilliantly crafted") about Napolitano's latest (Little Women, with basketball) in The New York Times, but goes into depth about her previous novels.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Good Power, by Ginni Rometty
2. The Devil's Element, by Dan Egan
3. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
4. Enchantment, by Katherine May
5. Once Upon a Tome, by Oliver Darkshire
6. Dinners with Ruth, by Nina Totenberg
7. Sensitive, by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo
8 Femina, by Janina Ramirez
9. The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, by Scott Blackwood
10. The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah -Jones and The New York Times

It's the first week on our bestseller list for Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It. Janina Ramirez is an Oxford lecturer and BBC broadcaster, whose book got three positive reviews in LitHub, all from British sources. Publishers Weekly and Kirkus also reviewed it well - why aren't they listed? Simon Seabag Montefiore (a favorite of our buyer Jason) wrote: "Spellbinding, passionate, gripping and magnificently fresh in tone, boldly wide in range, elegantly written, deeply researched, Femina is a ground-breaking history of the Middle Ages. It brings the world to life with women at its very heart, center stage where they belong. What a delight." Maybe it's because review organs aren't used to history coming from the Hanover Square imprint. Note to The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post - it isn't too late to schedule a review!

Paperback Fiction:
1. The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan
2. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas
5. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
7. The Maid, by Nita Prose
8. The Cabinet, by Un Su Kim
9. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
10. The Cat Who Saved Books, by Susuke Natsukawa

Speaking of Read with Jenna book club picks, The School for Good Mothers released in February and sure enough, we have a local book club reading it - they all came in together to buy the book. It's also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, which will be announced shortly - not on March 17, 2022 as it says on the website, but this coming Thursday. The book got six raves, three positives, and a mixed on LitHub's Book Marks. From Ilana Masad's Washington Post review: "Although the book isn’t billed as a horror novel, I felt consistently spooked while reading, disturbed but propelled on by Chan’s excellent pacing"

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. A World Lit Only by Fire, by William Manchester
2. All About Love, by bell hooks
3. A Brief Welcome to the Universe, by Neil deGrasse Tyson
4. We Should All Be Feminists, by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
5. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann

All books on this week's list are more than a year old in their current format. A recent note from a writer friend: "You wouldn't believe how few copies you have to sell to get on national nonfiction paperback bestseller lists." I believe it.

Books for Kids:
1. Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson
2. Our World of Dumplings, by Francie Dekker, illustrations by Sarah Jung
3. When Sea Becomes Sky, by Gillian McDunn
4. Honestly Elliott, by Gillian McDunn
5. Queen Bee and Me, by Gillian McDunn
6. The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson
7. This Is a Story, by John Schu, illustrations by Lauren Castillo
8. A Place to Belong, by Deborah Lakritz, illustrations by Julie Castano
9. The Moth Keeper, by K O'Neill
10. Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor

 
Not an event and not a school order but the #1 Kids Indie Next Pick for March-April 2023 is The Moth Keeper, a graphic novel from Australian Eisner winner K O'Neill. From Publishers Weekly: "O'Neill fashions a sparkling parable about coming into one's own abilities and learning to persevere through dark times in this inviting fantasy graphic novel...Containing a deeply contemplative aura, this worthy volume explores themes of connection, mythology, personal growth, and tradition."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending March 11, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending March 11, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
2. Tina, Mafia Soldier, by Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, translated by Robin Pickering-Iazzzi
3. Birnam Wood, by Eleanor Catton
4. Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson (Register for March 22 virtual event here)
5. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
6. The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty
7. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
8. The London Séance Society, by Sarah Penner
9. Old Babes in the Woods, by Margaret Atwood
10. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai (MPL April 27 lit lunch info here)

This week's top debut was Birnam Wood, Elenaor Catton's follow-up to the Booker Prize-winning The Luminaries, from back in 2013. Lit Hub has 11 raves, three positives, a mixed, and a pan, from the Los Angeles Times. Many have noted how different the current novel is from the last, but lest you fear that Catton was resting on her laurels, she also adapted the 2020 film Emma, whose theatrical run was interrupted by COVID (and nevertheless has an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes). One of the raves is from Ron Charles in The Washington Post, who writes, "With terrifying intensity, Catton propels these characters to a finale that prefigures the very apocalypse they’re all trying to forestall. It’s a wry indictment of all the poor players who strut and fret their hours upon this stage and then are heard no more."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Devil's Element, by Dan Egan
2. While Time Remains, by Yeonmi Park
3. Profit with Presence, by Eric J Holsapple
4. A Tree a Day, by Amy Jane Beer
5. BFF, by Christie Tate
6. It's Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism, by Bernie Sanders
7. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
8. Saving Time, by Jeny Odell
9. Spare, by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
10. The Intimate City, by Michael Kimmelman

I thought we might have an event washout with the Thursday-night-through-Friday-morning snowfall, but both events and our offsite didn't see much fallout. The Christie + Christi event for B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found (signed copies available) featured several folks who help put together A Mighty Blaze. If you missed our program, you can watch this interview with Tate talking to Megan McCafferty at the Princeton Public Library.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Groundskeeping, by Lee Cole
3. Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty (Info on Boswell book clubs here)
4. The Maid, by Nita Prose
5. Ms. Demeanor, by Elinor Lipman
6. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishigruo
7. The Employees, by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitkin
8. A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske
9, The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley
10. Bookworm, by Robin Yeatman

It is somewhat unusual to see a New Press fiction book on our bestseller list, but The Employees is not just any book - it's shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award for translated literature. Ravn is also known for editing several books by Tove Ditlevsen. Book Marks has two raves, a positive, and a pan from The Atlantic. From Laura Miller in The New York Review of Books: "The most striking aspect of this weird, beautiful, and occasionally disgusting novel is not, as its subtitle implies, its portrayal of working life on the spaceship. Most of Ravn’s characters are too obsessively inward-looking to get up to much in the way of office politics or banter. Rather, it’s the objects themselves - impossible to visualize or fully imagine, so unlike any form of known life that not everyone on board the Six Thousand Ship is sure they’re alive at all. They are utterly alien, and yet for most of the crew members the objects are also comforting, even familiar."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. For the Good of the Game, by Bud Selig
2. In Order to Live, by Yeonmi Park
3. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan
4. Active Hope, by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone
5. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. South to America, by Imani Perry
8. Aftermath, by Harald Jähner
9. All About Love, by bell hooks
10. Owning Grief, by Gael Garbarino Cullen

It's the second week out in paper and the second week on our bestseller list for South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, by Imani Perry, winner of the National Book Award. Book Marks had 5 raves, two positives, and a mixed. I learn of new review organs all the time - one of the raves comes from On the Seawall from regular reviewer Mark Athiakis. From the review: "Imani Perry’s rangy, observant book, South to America, is in large part an attempt to undo that reflex, to expose multiple Souths. Indeed, she argues, conventional wisdom has it exactly backward: the resistance to the diversity of the South reveals a racist instinct to apply uniformity that has infected the rest of the country. Rural Floridians are not Alabamans are not Appalachians are not Black Belters, but north of the Mason-Dixon line, the scapegoating instinct is the same. 'I have learned in the course of my travels that there are ‘Souths,’ plural as much as singular,' she writes."

Books for Kids:
1. When Sea Becomes Sky, by Gillian McDunn
2. The Golden Egg Book (two editions), by Margaret Wise Brown
3. Honestly Elliott, by Gillian McDunn
4. The Assignment, by Liza Wiemer
5. Queen Bee and Me, by Gillian McDunn
6. Peekaboo Moon, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
7. How Do You Live, by Genzaburo Yoshino
8. Goodnight Moon board book, by Margaret Wise Brown
9. Leeva at Last, by Sara Pennypacker
10. Hot Dog, by Doug Salati

We were lucky enough to work with Gillian McDunn on a day of schools visits for When Sea Becomes Sky. This heartfelt middle grade book had starred reviews from Bookpage and nice writeups from everywhere else. Like Just Harriet and Harriet Spies, this is a mystery set on an island, though Pelican Island is on the North Carolina marsh. Kirkus writes: "The pages shine with love, loss, and a sense of place; autobiographical ties to the story are explained in the author's note. Atmospheric illustrations help bring to life the island setting. A mystery that, as it is uncovered, becomes something much more profound."

Here's what's going on at Boswell this week - March 6 through March 13

Here's what's going on at and around Boswell this week - March 6 through March 13

Monday, March 6, 2:00 pm virtual, 6:30 pm at Boswell
It's the Lit Club meeting!

We're discussing Sorrow and Bliss, by Meg Mason. You can link to the virtual event here. Right now we're not registering folks for the in-store discussion. That may change if we start hitting capacity. Please note that this is not a members book club - you can drift in and out, depending on whether you're intersted in the book.

Future discussions:
Monday, April 3 - Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty
Monday, May 1 - Groundskeeping, by Lee Cole
Monday, June 5 - The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan
Monday, June 26 - Dr. No, by Percival Everett
We are having our July meeting the last week of June to avoid the July 3 fireworks. It is mighty difficult to park near the store then.

Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 pm, at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
At Capacity - Dan Egan, author of The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance

Things to know:
--This event is at capacity. There is no waiting list or stand-by tickets available
--We hope to announce a second program for Dan Egan by the end of the week.
--You can request a signed copy until about 2 pm Tuesday. Personalizations require pre-purchase and are not returnable.

Wednesday, March 8, 4:00 pm, at Boswell
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, star of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Register at veryhungrycaterpillarmke.eventbrite.com

Things to know:
--Our program is a short story time and scavenger hunt
--The Very Hungry Caterpillar is also appearing at Books & Company on March 7
--Very Hungry Caterpillar day is officially March 20. We are celebrating early.
--Everybody seems to love these costume visits. The best part is the photo op. It's never too early to plan your holiday 2023 cards.
--No promises, but we're hoping to have a visit from Dog Man soon.

--I have linked to the classic hardcover, but we have Very Hungry Caterpillar everything.

--Why not visit the Eric Carle Museum this summer? 

Thursday, March 9, 6:30 pm, at Boswell
Robin Pickering-Iazzi, translator of Tina, Mafia Soldier
Register at robinpickeringiazzimke.eventbrite.com

Things to know:
--Maria Rosa Cutrufelli is the author of the book. She is not attending.
--Tina, Mafia Soldier, is getting rave reviews - starred Publishers Weekly and Booklist
--Pickering-Iazzi is a Professor in the department of French, Italian, and Comparative Literature at UWM
--Light refreshments may be served.

Friday, March 10, 6:30 pm, at Boswell:
Christie Tate, author of B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found
Register at christietatemke.eventbrite.com

--In conversation with Christina Clancy, who is always a delightful conversation partner
--Tate's Group was a Reese's book club pick.
--BFF has one rave and three positive reviews. Publishers Weekly notes that "readers will be moved by this outstanding portrait of self-excavation."
--We're so grateful when Chicago authors visit us.

See you at Boswell!

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 4, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 4, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. A Day of Fallen Night, by Samantha Shannon
2. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
4. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty
8. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett
9. Babel, by RF Kuang
10. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

This week's top debut is Samantha Shannon's A Day of Fallen Night, the prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree. We have staff recs from Oli ("I'm obsessed, and you should be, too!") and Jen (" Samantha Shannon delivers another exquisite fantasy novel you won't be able to put down!") Three raves on Book Marks from Book Page, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly ("masterful").

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. How Far Do You Want to Go?, by John Catsimatidis
2. Enchantment, by Katherine May
3. Sensitive, by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo (Register for March 16 virtual event here)
4. It's Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism, by Bernie Sanders
5. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
6. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
7. Waco, by Jeff Guinn
8. A Waiter in Paris, by Edward Chisholm
9. Good for a Girl, by Lauren Fleshman
10. Wisdom of the Wild, Sheri Mabry

If you search around, you'll see that many bookstores have done virtual events with Katherine May for Enchantment, including one with Pico Iyer that aired yesterday (no recording yet) and another tomorrow with Priya Parker (you can register here through New York's Oblong Books). Enchantment has three raves (Book Page, Christian Science Monitor, Tricycle) and a positive from Kirkus. From Helen McAlpin at the Monitor: "Another beautiful, determinedly uplifting volume that manages to transcend typical self-help books."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Librarian of Burned Books, by Brianna Labuskes
2. Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree
3. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
4. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
6. The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley
7. Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez
8. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen
9. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
10. A Man Called Ove/Otto, by Fredrik Backman

Out for two weeks is The Librarian of Burned Books, by Brianna Labuskes. From the publisher: "A WWII historical novel about three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war. Based on the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime - a WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as weapons in the war of ideas." From Barbara Conaty in Library Journal: "Terrific research buttresses strong writing that will keep readers riveted."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Dancing with History, by George Lakey
2. All About Love, by bell hooks
3. Lactation at Work, by Elizabeth Hoffmann
4. South to America, by Imani Perry
5. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
6. Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
7. Aftermath, by Harald Jähner
8. Thoughtfully Fit, by Darcy Luoma
9. Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela
10. The Good Country, by Jon K Lauck

We had a strong hardcover sale for Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955, but I'm happy to say we so had a sales pop in paperback too, which is not as common. The Book Marks score is seven raves, eight positives, and one mixed. The book received the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2019. It was also shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Cundill History Prize. Translator is Shaun Whiteside.

Books for Kids:
1. We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michael Goade
2. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Septys
3. The Assignment, by Liza Wiemer
4. What's Coming to Me, by Francesca Padilla
5. Chlorine Sky, by Mahogany L Browne
6. Every Day's a Holiday, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Husna Aghniya
7. Peekaboo Farm, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
8. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt, by Eric Carle (Register for March 8 in person costume event here)
10. The Left Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix (Register for March 24 in person event here)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt is a life-the-flap book. Call me jaded, but I don't think Eric Carle, who passed away in 2021, actually wrote it. It's fun anyway.

What's with the pre-publication events? Katherine May and Matthew Desmond

One change that a lot of our customers may have noticed over the last few months is that we have several pre-publication, open-to-the-public events. This is not to say that this didn't happen in the past, but for the most part, these kinds of programs would be by accident. In one case, a book's publication was delayed several times, and we finally came to the conclusion that we should just hold the program and take pre-orders. It worked, but we try not to make it a habit.

With the rise of virtual programs, pre-publication events have become more common. I think there are several reasons for this:

1) Publishers are already doing pre-publication virtual events for bookstores and media. They are already in the groove.

2) Website pre-orders are much more common than they used to be. Independent bookstores realized that our online competitors did a great job of soliciting these orders, and many bookstores have active pre-order campaigns. But it was COVID that really exploded the practice. And that means publishers aren't as worried about losing sales.

3) The virtual event itself is only the first part of the marketing plan. Especially if the event is a unique conversation, we're generally about to record the program and use the recording to solicit book sales. When the book comes out, we'll do another round of marketing for the book.

That's the case for our joint Porchlight Book Company program for Katherine May's Enchantment. Our conversation with Katherine May and Sally Haldorson was last Monday, but the book comes out on February 27 (or tomorrow, for those reading this blog in a timely fashion). Wintering was a phenomenon when it was released, and it's likely that Enchantment will follow suit. Booklist called May's latest, "Beautifully written and profoundly reasoned, this introspective search for meaning will appeal to readers seeking wholeness and community." Here's the link to watch the enchanting Enchantment conversation.

If you'll remember, our first virtual event (also with Porchlight) was for The Electricity of Every Living Thing, which was actually the paperback edition of May's first book, which was published by Melville House. The paperback came out after Wintering, which is still in hardcover, and is published by Riverhead.

This brings us to this week's virtual event with Matthew Desmond. The author of Evicted returns with Poverty, by America. Evicted was and is a phenomenon, having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the subject of many community reads programs, and the bestselling book for Boswell the year it came out. We were lucky enough to host Desmond, who then returned to town several times speaking to nonprofit groups.

Matthew Desmond's new book enlarges the scope of Evicted to look at not just the unhoused, but the unfed, the unjobbed, and the unsupported. It's a little different in terms of structure, as it is not based on fieldwork - more thesis, less stories. And unlike Evicted, it has a detailed prescription for improvement. I mentioned the difference to one Evicted fan, and she said, "Doesn't matter. I'm reading it anyway."

Matthew Desmond is not coming to Milwaukee this time, at least that we know of. I won't be surprised if he's in town eventually. There are certainly a lot of people who'd love to see him. But for now, we're lucky to have this prepublication event as part of the Random House Spiritual Thought series, that looks at what faith groups can do to combat poverty. For this event, Demond is in conversation with Esau McCaulley, whose own book, How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South, will be published by Convergent (like Crown, Desmond's publisher, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group of Penguin Random House) next September. We're not running the program, the way we do for so many virtual events, but we are the designated bookseller.

And when Poverty, by America comes out, we'll make sure you get a copy. As a bonus, we're getting 80 signed bookplates for the first folks who preorder either through us or from the Eventbrite ticketing site.

Here's a nice quote from the Time Magazine website: "[Poverty, by America] shows how wealthy and middle class Americans knowingly and unknowingly perpetuate a broken system that keeps poor people poor. It's not an easy problem to fix, but through in-depth research and original reporting, the acclaimed sociologist offers solutions that would help spread America's wealth and make everyone more prosperous."  

Register for the March 2 event here.

(Some) Boswell bestsellers for the week ending February 25, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending February 25, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
2. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
3. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. Victory City, by Salman Rushdie
5. How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
6. Someone Else's Shoes, by Jojo Moyes
7. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
8. Really Good Actually, by Monica Heisey
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
10. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews

Our big debut this week is Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You, which follows up her prize-winning The Great Believers. Makkai is the featured speaker of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Lunch on April 27. Tickets are going on sale in early March. According to Book Marks, this was also the best reviewed fiction book of last week, with nine raves and three positive reviews. And we're not talking review organs you've never heard of, but Tom Nolan in The Wall Street Journal, who called the book "enthralling," and Ron Charles in The Washington Post, who wrote: "All of this makes I Have Some Questions for You a kind of meta murder mystery that deconstructs its own tropes. Bodie’s voice, so nakedly candid and bravely confessional, is absolutely convincing. I felt as captivated as though someone were whispering this whole novel just to me. By the end, it’s not the brutality of Thalia’s case that’s so terrifying, it’s the commonness of it."

We'll have the live ticket link on our upcoming events page.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Great Escape, by Saket Soni
2. It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, by Bernie Sanders
3. The Climate Book, by Greta Thunberg
4. Young Forver, by Mark Hyman
5. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
6. Beaverland, by Leila Philip
7. B.F.F., by Christie Tate (Register for March 10 in-person event here)
8. The Half Known Life, by Pico Iyer
9. Wintering, by Katherine May (Enchantment comes out on Tuesday!)
10. Iron and Blood, by Peter H Wilson

Bernie Sanders, with the help of Madisonian John Nichols, offers in It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, per the publisher, "a blueprint for addressing and changing the growing income and wealth inequalities in America." Zoe Williams in The Guardian writes "...his book is easily as frustrating and depressing as it is galvanising and uplifting; reading one story or statistic after another, about growing inequality, child poverty, financial insecurity – 77% of Americans are now anxious about their financial situation – one’s very lack of surprise reinforces a sense of hopelessness."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Adventure Zone V5: The Eleventh Hour, by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Justin McElroy, with illustrations by Carey Pietsch
2. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
4. Night of the Living Rez, by Morgan Talty
5. The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley
6. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka
7. The Maid, by Nita Prose
8. The Thursday Night Murder Club, by Richard Osman
9. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna

When I'm writing up titles, our inventory database includes the lead writer but no featured cowriters or illustrators. I would update our info on The Eleventh Hour, the latest Adventure Zone entry, but I simply don't have enough room. Per the publisher: "Based on the blockbuster podcast where the McElroy brothers and their dad play a tabletop RPG, and illustrated by cartooning powerhouse Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour is a thrilling new chapter in this #1 New York Times bestselling series." About this entry, though you'd hardly start here: "The Bureau of Balance has located yet another Grand Relic, and this time it’s...time? A small mining town called Refuge has been locked away behind an arcane bubble, and somewhere inside it the Temporal Chalice is causing unknown mayhem."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan (The March 7 event is at capacity)
2. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
3. The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
4. All About Love, by bell hooks
5. Dancing with History, by George Lakey (Register for February 27 in-person event here)

Yes, we're at capacity on Dan Egan's Schlitz Audubon Nature Center program for The Devil's Element. Needless to say, interest has been reawakened in Egan's previous book, The Death and life of the Great Lakes. In just two months of 2023, we've sold more than half of what we old of the book in all of 2022. We're hoping to be able to announce another program soon.

Books for Kids:
1. The Assignment, by Liza Weimer
2. City of the Dead V4: City Spies, by James Ponti
3. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
4. Legendborn V1, by Tracy Deonn
5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt, by Eric Carle (Register for Very Hungry Caterpillar visit on March 8 here)

This week's list includes older bulk orders and combining that with not a great weather situation, several of this week's bestseller lists are abbreviated. One series that popped well this week with a new release is James Ponti's City of the Dead, volume four in City of Spies series. He's visited Milwaukee for school visits for a past entry, and it looks like he'll be back for the newest. I don't think there will be a public event, but we'll let you know if that's changed. Of the series, People Magazine's reviewer called it "Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight." I should also note that Ponti is an Edgar Award winner!

Boswell bestsellers, week ending February 18, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending February 18, 2023

Hardcover Fiction
1. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
3. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
4. Babel, by RF Kuang
5. Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin
6. Victory City, by Salman Rushdie
7. How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
8. House of Eve, by Sadeqa Johnson
9. Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh
10. Someone Else's Shoes, by Jojo Moyes

New this week if The House of Eve, by Sadeqa Johnson, the Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine book club pick. We've started featuring four of the book club picks in our book club case - Reese, Oprah, Jenna, and GMA, which doesn't have a person's first name attached. Carole V Bell reviewed The House of Eve in The Washington Post: "Johnson’s talents are in full bloom in this layered story with two distinctive and compelling young Black women at the center — both ambitious and talented strivers, who face a minefield of challenges in pursuit of their dreams."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. How to Lead Your Family Business, by Julie Charlestein
2. The Climate Book, by Greta Thunberg
3. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
4. A Waiter in Paris, by Edward Chisholm
5. A Random Walk Down Wall Street 50th Anniversary Edition, by Burton G Malkiel
6. Feels Like Home, by Linda Ronstadt
7. The Wise Hours, by Miriam Darlington
8. Rest Is Resistance, by Tricia Hersey
9. The Lives We Actually Have, by Kate Bowler
10. What's for Dessert, by Claire Saffitz

Greta Thunberg's The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions, was postponed from its original publication and is finally out now. This is a pretty common occurrence. From the publisher: "In The Climate Book, Greta Thunberg has gathered the wisdom of over one hundred experts - geophysicists, oceanographers and meteorologists; engineers, economists and mathematicians; historians, philosophers and indigenous leaders - to equip us all with the knowledge we need to combat climate disaster." From BookMarks, two raves, four positives, and a mixed from The Guardian. The starred Kirkus called it "brilliant and alarming."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Swimmers, by Julie Otsuka
2. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka (We're now #12 on Edelweiss)
3. Heart Bones, by Colleen Hoover
4. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske
6. Dead Silence, by SA Barnes
7. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Banen
8. Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez
9. Bookworm, by Robin Yeatman
10. The Maid, by Nita Prose

Rachel C. and Oli are both crazy for Freya Marske's new series, which starts with A Marvellous Light and continues with A Restless Truth. Our Romance Book Club read Marske's first and plans to read the second when it goes into paperback. #3 is A Power Unbound, and let's just say we're hoping to put together a virtual event in conjunction with that release. On BookMarks, A Marvellous Light has six raves plus a positive and a mixed (from Locus), from trade and specialty reviewers. Library Journal writes: "Marske’s debut is a delightful blend of Edwardian fantasy and romance, with enough twists and questions to have readers clamoring for the next in the planned series." This is a Tordotcom book, but I wonder if the series will move to the new Bramble imprint.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. We Don't Know Ourselves, by Fintan O'Toole
3. Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
4. How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith
5. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
6. Happening, by Annie Ernaux
7. These Precious Days, by An Patchett
8. Tools, by Phil Stutz and Barry Michaels
9. A Short History of Queer Women, by Kirsty Loehr
10. Hit Girls, by Jen B Larson

The UWM Festival of Films in French is playing this week and the opening film was L’événement, based on the Nobel Prize winner's Happening, her 2001 memoir. More on the film at the UWM website. The rest of the schedule is here. From Emily Eakin's 2001 New York Times review: "Ernaux's books are unsparing in detail, pitiless in tone. In contrast to those of so many of her confession-minded peers, her shock tactics feel principled, driven less by narcissism or the need for self-justification than by some loftier impulse: a desire to capture the past as it was, undistorted by faulty memories, moral judgments or decorative literary flourishes."

Books for Kids:
1. Just Harriet, by Elana K Arnold
2. Harriet Spies, by Elana K Arnold
3. Every Day's a Holiday, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Husna Aghinya
4. A Place for Pluto, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Melanie Demmer
5. A Boy Called Bat, by Elana K Arnold
6. Moving to Mars, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Erin Taylor
7. Eric Loves Animals, by Eric Carle (Register for Very Hungry Caterpillar costume visit on March 8 here)
8. How Do You Live, by Genzaburo Yoshino
9. Three Questions, by Jon J Muth
10. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef

Just out this week is Eric Loves Animals (Just Like You). From the publisher: "Explore the animal kingdom through the eyes of Eric Carle with this alphabetized treasury of animal illustrations, featuring beloved classic characters as well as exclusive, never-before-seen art...This impressive collection of art has been crafted with those young fans in mind, as an alphabetical offering of creatures in all shapes and sizes, with peek-through holes, gatefolds, and other surprises to discover. Fan-favorites, like the famous Hungry Caterpillar and Grouchy Ladybug, sit alongside never-before-seen hippos, ostriches, and jellyfish. With 172 pages of sketches, drawings, paintings, sculptures, and collages to pore over, and narrated in Eric's own words about animals, nature, and art, children and children-at-heart are sure to lose themselves in the rich visual world of Eric Carle's animal oeuvre."