Sunday, March 5, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 4, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending March 4, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. A Day of Fallen Night, by Samantha Shannon
2. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
4. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
7. The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty
8. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett
9. Babel, by RF Kuang
10. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

This week's top debut is Samantha Shannon's A Day of Fallen Night, the prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree. We have staff recs from Oli ("I'm obsessed, and you should be, too!") and Jen (" Samantha Shannon delivers another exquisite fantasy novel you won't be able to put down!") Three raves on Book Marks from Book Page, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly ("masterful").

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. How Far Do You Want to Go?, by John Catsimatidis
2. Enchantment, by Katherine May
3. Sensitive, by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo (Register for March 16 virtual event here)
4. It's Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism, by Bernie Sanders
5. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
6. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
7. Waco, by Jeff Guinn
8. A Waiter in Paris, by Edward Chisholm
9. Good for a Girl, by Lauren Fleshman
10. Wisdom of the Wild, Sheri Mabry

If you search around, you'll see that many bookstores have done virtual events with Katherine May for Enchantment, including one with Pico Iyer that aired yesterday (no recording yet) and another tomorrow with Priya Parker (you can register here through New York's Oblong Books). Enchantment has three raves (Book Page, Christian Science Monitor, Tricycle) and a positive from Kirkus. From Helen McAlpin at the Monitor: "Another beautiful, determinedly uplifting volume that manages to transcend typical self-help books."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Librarian of Burned Books, by Brianna Labuskes
2. Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree
3. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
4. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
6. The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley
7. Olga Dies Dreaming, by Xochitl Gonzalez
8. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen
9. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
10. A Man Called Ove/Otto, by Fredrik Backman

Out for two weeks is The Librarian of Burned Books, by Brianna Labuskes. From the publisher: "A WWII historical novel about three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war. Based on the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime - a WWII organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as weapons in the war of ideas." From Barbara Conaty in Library Journal: "Terrific research buttresses strong writing that will keep readers riveted."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Dancing with History, by George Lakey
2. All About Love, by bell hooks
3. Lactation at Work, by Elizabeth Hoffmann
4. South to America, by Imani Perry
5. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
6. Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
7. Aftermath, by Harald Jähner
8. Thoughtfully Fit, by Darcy Luoma
9. Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela
10. The Good Country, by Jon K Lauck

We had a strong hardcover sale for Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955, but I'm happy to say we so had a sales pop in paperback too, which is not as common. The Book Marks score is seven raves, eight positives, and one mixed. The book received the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2019. It was also shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Cundill History Prize. Translator is Shaun Whiteside.

Books for Kids:
1. We Are Water Protectors, by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michael Goade
2. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Septys
3. The Assignment, by Liza Wiemer
4. What's Coming to Me, by Francesca Padilla
5. Chlorine Sky, by Mahogany L Browne
6. Every Day's a Holiday, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Husna Aghniya
7. Peekaboo Farm, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
8. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt, by Eric Carle (Register for March 8 in person costume event here)
10. The Left Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix (Register for March 24 in person event here)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Easter Egg Hunt is a life-the-flap book. Call me jaded, but I don't think Eric Carle, who passed away in 2021, actually wrote it. It's fun anyway.

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