Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops to Close on March 31st

The announcement has been made. After 82 years in the Milwaukee area, the Harry W. Schwartz bookshops are closing on March 31st. Here's a piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with much of the story.

That said, there is good news to be told. Lanora Hurley, manager of our Mequon shop, will be opening a new bookstore, Next Chapter Bookshop, in the same location as her current shop.

And I will be opening Boswell Book Company, most likely in the Downer Avenue location, soon after Schwartz closes. Yes, though the Schwartz name will be retired, I have been given permission to take over our signature icon of James Boswell, the remarkable man who penned The Life of Samuel Johnson, considered by many to be the first modern biography.

And yes, this classic is just recently available in a new edition from Penguin. And yes, I am going to finally read it. And yes, I start too many sentences with a conjunction.

The stores will continue to operate with a few policy changes for the meantime. We wanted to give our booksellers and our customers enough lead time to adjust to the news.

So the blog continues. There are still books and book trends to be discussed. But most of all, I will be writing about my new enterprise. Returning to Boswell's Wikipedia entry, the writer noted that Boswell has become part of the English language to mean "constant companion and observer." I hope both my blog and future bookstore fit the bill.

I am filled with a grab-bag of emotions--sad, nervous, grieving, excited, frightened, hopeful. Perhaps the hopeful will be a little stronger when my loan is finalized.

More to come.