Sunday, April 1, 2018

Here's the blog post with the Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 31, 2018 (now updated)

Here's the post with the bestsellers.

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin
2. The Temptation of Forgiveness, by Donna Leon
3. To Die But Once, by Jacqueline Winspear
4. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
5. The Punishment She Deserves, by Elizabeth George
6. Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
7. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman (event at Lynden 6/6)
8. Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate
9. Collected Stories, by Carol Wobig
10. Alternate Side, by Anna Quindlen

The March mystery madness continues with three high-profile writers in the top five. If you'd like to see Jacqueline Winspear talk about To Die But Once, visit Anderson's in Naperville on April 6 for Winspear's visit. On the other hand, you'll just have to head north on I-43 to see Gail Honeyman for the paperback release of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. The book received the Costa Prize for first fiction and was just shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction (Please come up with a sponsor or just name it after someone). It's also a Reese Witherspoon book club selection. Tickets here.

Let's give a shout out for Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, which is still flying high six months after publication. In fact, it has gained altitude. Ng is the ambassador for Independent Bookstore Day on April 28.

Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Home of the Braves, by Patrick W. Steele
2. The CEO Next Door, by Elena L. Botelho
3. Baseball Italian Style, by Lawrence Baldassaro
4. Dear Madam President, by Jennifer Palmieri
5. Educated, by Tara Westover
6. The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein (Community Advocates 10th anniversary dinner at April 26. Tickets here.)
7. Common Good, by Robert B. Reich
8. The French Art of not Giving a Sh*t, by Fabrice Midal
9. Milwaukee City of Neighborhoods, by John Gurda
10. Prairie Fires, by Caroline Fraser

Nice to see Prairie Fires still making sales waves in hardcover. The paperback isn't scheduled till next November. She's been doing a second round of publicity, including this piece in Jezebel.

Blair Guild writes up Jennifer Palmieri's conversation with Elaine Quijano for Dear Madam President on CBS News: "Palmieri believes that President Trump's election served as a catalyst in the mobilization of American women."

Fox News begs to differ in several stories, including this from Tom Fitton.

Paperback Fiction
1. Collected Stories, by Carol Wobig
2. The Salt Before It Shakes, by Yvonne Stephens
3. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
4. Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
5. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
6. The Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
7. Death Stalks Door County, By Patricia Skalka (event at Boswell Thu May 17, 7 pm)
8. Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee
9. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
10. East West, by Mohsin Hamid

Several mysteries pop on the paperback list as well, including Patricia Skalka's Death Stalks Door County and Anthony Horowitz's The Magpie Murders. Alison Flood in The Guardian called the latter "a fiendish whodunit with red herrings aplenty." Skalka's Death Rides the Ferry has a pub date of May 8.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. The Body Is Not an Apology, by Sonya Renee Taylor
2. And These Are the Good Times, by Patricia Ann McNair
3. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
4. A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking
5. Conversations with Dad, by Deborah Wenzler Farris
6. Urban Ecology, by Ken Leinbach (event at Boswell Wed 4/25, 7 pm)
7. Blood in the Water, by Heather Ann Thompson
8. Everybody Lies, by Seth Stephens Davidowitz
9. Janesville, by Amy Goldstein
10. Altar in the World, by Barbara Taylor

Stephen Hawking's passing led to a pop in sales for A Brief History of Time, which is topping national bestseller lists. Here's The New York Times obituary from Dennis Overbye. This makes me nostalgic for when Bantam was a powerhouse publisher and not just a mystery imprint.

Books for Kids
1. Hollow Earth V1, by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman
2. Bone Quill V2, by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman
3. Book of Beasts V3, by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman
4. Conjuror V1, by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman
5. Nephilim V2, by John Barrowman and Carole E Barrowman
6. Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
7. The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani
8. Hello Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly
9. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
10. Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell

This week sees the winners of both the Newbery and Caledcott on the list - Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello Universe and Wolf in the Snow, by Matthew Cordell. Both have new books coming in 2018. There's no time for a public visit, but three lucky schools in the area are getting a visit from Kelly for her new book You Go First. Yes, you can order a signed copy.

Here's what's featured in Journal Sentinel

1. The TapBooks page features Mike Fischer's review of Lorrie Moore's See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary. He notes that Wisconsin looms large in this connection. More: "Like Munro, Moore is the sort of feminist who refuses to be pigeonholed; she's too expansive for that." Nice to see a shout out to one of my favorites, Bobbie Ann Mason.

2. Marco della Cavo profiles Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State killer. This national bestseller was finished after the author's death. McNamara, married to Patton Oswalt, died of an arterial blockage in 2016. The critic praises the author's "poignant prose." And don't forget, if you like true crime/memoir hybrids, we've got two in April, from Dorothy Marcic (April 16) and Cutter Wood (April 26). More on the upcoming events page. This feature was originally in USA Today.

3. The Sparsholt Affair, the new novel from Alan Hollinghurst, is reviewed by Mark Antitakis. He writes: "Hollinhurst has taken a sizable risk in constructing a narrative whose main character is undefined - or, more precisely, only roughly sketched by others. The novel's dividends are there, but they're often subtle." Originally from Newsday.

4. From the Chicago Tribune comes a feature on Luis Alberto Urrea, whose new novel is The House of Broken Angels. Christopher Borrelli writes: "Luis Alberto Urrea is about to become, finally, arguably, after decades of books and trails of critical hosannas, a major figure. As in a household name." Urrea is also on the front page of today's New York Times Book Review. Don't forget, he's the feature at the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Lunch. Tickets here.

5. Speaking of breakout articles, Liam Callanan got a nice writeup in the Arizona Republic about Paris by the Book, in conjunction with his appearance at Poisoned Pen on April 5. It's not in online edition for the same reason why a lot of our Journal Sentinel features are print only.

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