What Books are Folks Talking About in Southeast Wisconsin This Week?

1. On Lake Effect this week, Daniel James Brown's appearance on Lake Effect chronicles the 1936 Olympic crew race that gave the American underdogs a gold medal. This former Boswell visitor now has a multi-week #1 in The Boys in the Boat. Lake Effect reminded viewers that Wisconsin was one of the few centers of rowing outside the Northeast, and sure enough, it was the crew crew that came out in the best numbers for Brown's appearance.

2. One highlight from Kathleen Dunn's week is her interview with Deborah Rhode, author of What Women Want: An Agenda for the Women's Movement. The author, a lawyer and Stanford, has written extensively on gender and legal issues. While there is much that is still to be done, it's kind of amazing how much things have changed. At her alumni reunion from Yale, they featured strip tease artists and when someone asked the provost Yale's official position, Rhode says the reply was "The second was better than the first."

3. David Saks returned to the Joy Cardin show to talk about the bacon boom. Yes, he is the author of The Tastemakers, one of my favorite books of this year. This is his second appearance on the show for the book, but specifically this is tied into a recent article he wrote for Bloomberg Business Week, "The Bacon boom was not an accident." Hope you're enjoying Madison's Baconfest, going on right now.

4. Will Stotts, Jr. reviews Marilynne Robinson's Lila in Dial/Urban Milwaukee. It's centered in Gilead, Iowa of Robinson's previous novels, this time featuring the wife of Reverend John Ames. He writes: "Lila is a story of faith and forgiveness that will stir many hearts. Not a traditional romance, love is still central to its message."

5. In the Shepherd Express, David Luhrssen reviews A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience, which revisit the Salem witch trials from "legal, political and social perspectives." I'm sure you never contemplated that among the suspected, the wealthier were likelier to receive reprieves. Author Emerson W. Baker calls it a turning point in American history.

6. And finally, Ben Merens appears on Morning Blend for his new book, People are Dying to be Heard. This is an expanded version of his audiobook of the same name. His first piece of advice? Listen to yourself.