A Boswell Week in Review--Photos from Katy Butler, Graeme Simsion, Fierce Reads, and More.

Tuesday: Katy Butler's daytime visit proves to be a hit, reinforcing this idea that we could be doing more weekday afternoon programming. I'm not thinking it would work for every event, but we thought that there were a lot of retirees dealing with aging parents, plus we might be able to convince some social services folks to come on work time. And of course Knocking on Heaven's Door is a wake-up call for all of us to be more clear about our end-of-life desires. My only fear? Regular afternoon bookings will spur me to schedule two events a day in the store, and I'm not sure Mel and I have the energy to promote so many events per month.

Wednesday: Graeme Simsion poses with a book club that is planning to discuss The Rosie Project. We've had some good luck getting clubs to attend events lately, with several at our Daniel James Brown's talk for The Boys in the Boat. My two suggestions for groups are Jonathan Lethem for Dissident Gardens on June 30th and Elizabeth Gilbert for The Signature of All Things on July 9th.

Thursday: The Shepherd Express comes out. This week's Book Preview is for our fantasy panel on Sunday (tomorrow, June 22, 3 pm) with Sarah Monette/Katherine Addison and Mary Robinette Kowal, moderated by Jim Higgins.  Addison's new novel is The Goblin Emperor while Mary Robinette Kowal's is Valour and Vanity. Several folks at the North Shore Library (see Saturday) were talking about the event. Kowal is a member of JASNA, which further expands the author's reach. The two book reviews are Celeste, by I.N.J. Culbard, and Nijinsky, by Lucy Moore. To read, follow our link and click on either article to enlarge.

 

Friday: The first meeting of The Mysterious Boswell Society convenes.  Needless to say, the members' names are not to be revealed, and some are said to be in disguise in this picture. They will meet monthly to discuss books and do a little knitting too. Membership restricted to those under 18 (excluding Jannis, the coordinator) who can keep a secret. If you'd like to know (I am obviously not a member), their first selection is A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Also Friday: Lake Effect aired a piece on the Wheel Fever exhibit at Old World Wisconsin. The authors, Jesse Gant and Nicholas Hoffman, have already done several events in Milwaukee.  Speaking of bicyles, don't forget that the Downer Classic is next Saturday, June 28.

Saturday:  At the Fierce Reads event at the North Shore Library, Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer Mathieu, Ava Dellaira, and Emmy Laybourne discuss their books (Ruin and Rising, The Truth About Alice, Love Letters to the Dead, Monument 14: Savage Drift, respectively), how they started writing, the books that inspired them, who might play their characters in film, and what they really thought about that Ruth Graham column in Slate. It's my feeling that it was just a hit magnet. There's really no argument there.