Two events with cohosts - Anders Morley and Rónán Hession - and two more that we are cosponsoring - Ronald H Balson and Danielle Trussoni

Here's what's happening at Boswell this week - two events with cohosts and two more that are cosponsored. What's the difference, you ask? The issue is who's running the event. We're running the former and we're participants in the latter. So if there are questions about a cosponsored, we don't always know the answer.

 

Tuesday, February 9, 7 pm CST
Anders Morley, author of This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter
in Conversation with Olivia Raasch - Virtual Event

The Urban Ecology Center and Boswell Book Company present Anders Morley for a discussion of his memoir of the year he decided to strap on cross-country skis to travel across Canada in the winter alone. He'll chat with Olivia Raasch, the Community Programs Educator and Volunteer Coordinator at the Washington Park Urban Ecology Center branch. Anders Morley contributes regularly to New Hampshire Magazine, and his work has appeared in a variety of other publications including The Globe and Mail, Northern Woodlands magazine, and The Aurorean.

A passionate skier since he was a child, Morley dreamed of going on a significant adventure, something bold and of his own design. This Land of Snow is about that journey and a man who must come to terms with what he has left behind, as well as how he wants to continue living after his trip is over. It is an honest, thoughtful, and humorous reckoning of an adventure filled with adrenaline and exuberance, as well as mistakes and danger. Along the way readers gain insight, both charming and fascinating, into Northern outdoor culture and modern-day wilderness living, the history of northern exploration and Nordic skiing, the right to roam movement, winter ecology, and more.

Writing for Booklist, Brenda Barrera calls This Land of Snow a “captivating memoir about backcountry adventures and one man’s journey of self-discovery - and an eloquent ode to the harsh beauty of winter.”

Register for this event here.
Donate to the Urban Ecology Center here.

Tuesday, February 9, 7:30 pm
Ronald H Balson, author of Eli's Promise
A Virtual JCC Event, cosponsored by Boswell

Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center presents a conversation with the National Jewish Book Award winner Balson, author of a decades-spanning novel that will captivate readers with its story of the Holocaust and its aftermath. This masterful work of historical fiction spans three eras, from Nazi-occupied Poland to the American Zone of post-war Germany, to Chicago during the height of the Vietnam war. Balson considers the human cost of war, the mixed blessings of survival, and the enduring strength of family bonds.

Here's what Pam Jenoff said about Eli's Promise: "National Jewish Book Award winner Ron Balson returns triumphantly with Eli's Promise, a captivating saga of the Holocaust and its aftermath spanning decades and continents. Readers will not be able to put this book down, but will turn the pages compulsively with heart in throat, eager to learn the fate of the Rosen family. Balson's meticulous historical detail, vivid prose and unforgettable characters further solidify his place among the most esteemed writers of historical fiction today."

Ronald H Balson's The Girl From Berlin won the National Jewish Book Award and was the Illinois Reading Council's adult fiction selection for the Illinois Reads program. He is also the author of Karolina's Twins, The Trust, and Once We Were Brothers.

Visit the Tapestry Arts and Ideas event page at the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center for more information.

Wednesday, February 10, 3:00 pm
Danielle Trussoni, author of The Ancestor
in Conversation with Kimberly Hensle Lowrance and Chris Lee for A Virtual Cosponsored Event

A Mighty Blaze presents the latest installment in their Authors Love Bookstores series, a conversation with the New York Times horror columnist Trussoni. Her latest novel The Ancestor is, per Paul Tremblay, "A lushly written, dream-like modern gothic with as many dark turns and twists as the Montebianco family tree has branches." Trussoni, host Kimberly Hensle Lowrance, and Boswellian Chris Lee will talk about Trussoni's books and writing, new books they're all excited about, and their love of bookstores.

And here's Chris Bohjalian writing about The Ancestor: "The Ancestor is a wonderful shape-shifter of a novel. One minute you'll suppose you're in a haunted house: think Shirley Jackson. The next, you're transported into the sort of world Mary Shelley might have created for Frankenstein. Danielle Trussoni is an immensely gifted literary descendant of both storytellers -- they are among her ancestors - which is one of the many reasons why I savor her work so very much."

In addition to The Ancestor, Danielle Trussoni is the author of the novels Angelology and Angelopolois, as well as the memoirs Falling through the Earth and The Fortress. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, where she writes the horror column.

Visit the Facebook page for A Mighty Blaze to view this event.

Don't mind waiting? Preorder the paperback, on sale April 13.  

Friday, February 12, 2 pm
Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul
in conversation with Daniel Goldin for a Virtual Event

Boswell presents an afternoon with Rónán Hession, finalist for the Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year award as well as the British Book Awards 2020 Debut Book of the Year. Hession will chat with Boswell proprietor Daniel Goldin. Cohosted by CelticMKE.

In this charming and truly unique debut, popular Irish musician Rónán Hession tells the story of two single, thirty-something men who still live with their parents and who are, well, nice. They take care of their parents and play board games together. They like to read. They take satisfaction from their work. They are resolutely kind. And they realize that none of this is considered normal.

Here's our buyer Jason's take on Leonard and Hungry Paul: "Here’s a story of two best friends who are attempting to move beyond the bubble they have kept themselves inside with the same routines ruling them. Leonard’s mother has passed away, and he is caught a bit off guard when he realizes a woman has taken an interest in him. Hungry Paul is comfortably still living with his parents, though his sister is getting married and attempting to get him to move on with his life. Through their friendship with each other (and Hungry Paul’s parents and sister) these two socially insecure men are able to move onward without changing who they are or what they believe. A heartwarming tale that will cause you to smile and laugh as you read. It did for me."

Is this our final word on this event? It is not!

Register for the event here.
Don't mind waiting? Preorder the paperback edition, on sale May 11.

More info on the Boswell upcoming events page.