Boswell bestsellers for the week ending June 10, 2023
Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Memory of Animals, by Claire Fuller (Register for June 12 Boswell event here)
2. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
3. The Celebrants, by Steven Rowley
4. All the Sinners Bleed, by SA Cosby (Register for June 15 Bowswell event here)
5. Yellowface, by RF Kuang
6. Good Night Irene, by Luis Alberto Urrea
7. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. Happy Place, by Emily Henry
10. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
If The Guncle is a play on Auntie Mame, The Celebrants is perhaps inspired by The Big Chill. It's our top non-event debut (Fuller's book club + traditional event combo is higher) for the week, and in addition to being the Today Show Read with Jenna pick, it's also got three positive reviews on BookMarks. Alexis Burling in the San Francsico Chronicle writes: "While sentimental moments abound, there are plenty of funny surprises, too — the kind that happen among soulmates who know each other’s quirks and can finish each other’s sentences...What we’re left with is a recipe for embracing life and all that comes with it by looking death in the eye and moving forward. After all, Rowley writes, 'It’s what makes living so valuable.'" Blurbers often help position a book; here they include Laura Dave, Shelby Van Pelt, and Emma Straub.
Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Country and Midwestern, by Mark Guarino (signed copies available)
2. Pageboy, by Elliot Page
3. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
4. The Wager, by David Grann
5. Bread Head, by Greg Wade (Register for June 13 Boswell event here)
6. Love and Lemons Simple Feel Good Food, by Jeanine Donorfio
7. Outlive, by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford
8. Afrofuturism, by Kevin M Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill
9. Built to Move, by Kelly Starrett and Juliet Starrett
10. Sit in the Sun, by Jon M. Sweeney
I would generally expect to say here that the Madison event for Eliot Page and Pageboy was sold out, but the tickets for the June 12 Barrymore Theatre event are first come, first serve - here's more info. The event, sponsored by Wisconsin Book Festival and A Room of One's Own, is free and includes a book, courtesy of the Cheryl Rosen Weston estate. Here's a profile of Page by Emily St. Martin in the Los Angeles Times.
Paperback Fiction:
1. Notes on a Execution, by Danya Kukafka
2. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
3. The Mountain in the Sea, by Ray Nayler
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. The Boyfriend Candidate, by Ashley Winstead
6. Dr. No, by Percival Everett
7. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
8. Sea Change, by Gina Chung
9. The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, by Bianca Marais
10. Fellowship Point, by Alice Eliott Dark
The hardcover edition of The Mountain in the Sea did very well, what with it being a finalist for the Nebula Award, the Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize, and the Locus Award, as well as being a favorite of our buyer Jason. But there's no question that the first week pop on the paperback was partly due to the new striking cover. Now that's the way to reposition a paperback! Jeff VanderMeer called The Mountain in the Sea "a first-rate speculative thriller, by turns fascinating, brutal, powerful, and redemptive. The book poses profound questions about artificial and nonhuman intelligence, and its answers are tantalizing and provocative."
Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin, by Kristine Hansen (signed copies available)
2. The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants, by Neil Diboll (Register for June 17 Boswell event here)
3. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan
4. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
5. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
6. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
7. Oberos Unidos, by Jesus Salas (June 17 Mitchell Street MPL event - no registration necessary)
8. We Don't Know Ourselves, by Fintan O'Toole
9. Slenderman, by Kathleen Hale
10. Quietly Hostile, by Samantha Irby
After a nice run in hardcover (a local angle, an event, staff recs from Chris and Parker, a best nonfiction book of 2022 by Crime Reads) for Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls, the paperback (official pub date is June 11 but it's not a hard on sale) has a nice first week of the new paperback table. From Mae Anderson in AP News: “Hale’s compassionate look at the case is a compelling yet harrowing read that reveals how a seemingly innocent childhood friendship could lead to such a devastating outcome.”
Books for Kids:
1. Brighter Than the Sun, by Daniel Aleman
2. The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers
3. Gertie the Darling Duck of World War II, by Shari Swanson, illustrated by Renee Graef
4. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Renee Graef
5. The Alchemy of Moonlight, by David Ferraro
6. Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, by Judy Blume
7. Bluey: The Beach, from Penguin Young Readers licensing
8. Bluey: The Pool, from, well, see above
9. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems
10. Have you Seen My Invisible Dinosaur, by Helen Yoon
School summer reading orders are not always counted for the list, but when it's a brand new book like Daniel Aleman's Brighter Than the Sun, an exception is made. The publisher called this follow-up to Indivisible a "timely and thought-provoking story about a teen girl shouldering impossibly large responsibilities and ultimately learning that she doesn't have to do it alone." Lisa Krok at School Library Journal writes: "The stream-of-consciousness narrative grabs the hearts of readers and is perfect for building empathy as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door. A strong purchase for YA collections."
Sunday, June 11, 2023
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