Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 26, 2023
Hardcover Fiction:
1. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
2. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
3. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. The Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
7. Somebody's Fool, by Richard Russo
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. Whalefall, by Daniel Kraus
10. Yellowface, by RF Kuang
In celebration of the MTV Books imprint not making as much sense with Simon and Schuster being sold by Paramount to private investment firm KKR, their Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, hits our top ten in its third week. From the starred Booklist: "Prolific, best-selling (he also cowrote the screenplay for The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Doro) Kraus presents a moving character study disguised as a riveting, cinematic survival thriller. Jay is a high-school senior dealing not only with the loss of his local-hero and diving-legend father, Mitt, but also his unresolved anger with their complicated relationship."
Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
2. Necessary Trouble, by Drew Gilpin Faust
3. The Wager, by David Grann
4. Is Math Real?, by Eugenia Cheng
5. Underworld, by Susan Casey
6. What an Owl Knows, by Jennifer Ackerman
7. England's Jews, by John Tolan
8. Magnolia Table V3, by Joanna Gaines
9. Wisconsin Supper Clubs: Another Round, by Ron Faiola
10. Cosmic Scholar, by John Szwed
Just out this week, former Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust's Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury, is out of stock at all Ingram warehouses. Checking in at BookMarks, they rate the book two raves and four positives, though I should note the raves are from trade publications Shelf Awareness and Publishers Weekly. From the latter: "Faust pulls off a brilliant synthesis, grounding the macro stresses of the period in her quest to distance herself from her culture of origin and sharpen her political sensibilities." And yes, that means that with Cosmic Scholar, we have two FSG books in our top 10.
Paperback Fiction:
1. A Death in Door Country, by Annelise Ryan (click here to register for Ryan's Boswell event for the follow-up book to this title - Thurs, Dec 14)
2. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
3. Bride of the Tornado, by James Kennedy
4. The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty
5. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
6. The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides
7. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
8. Red, White, and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston
9. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
10. Lark Ascending, by Silas House
Also out of stock at all Ingram warehouses is Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa. Four positives and a mixed (Los Angeles Times), but these Japanese novels are, from my perspective, more likely to break out from social media. From Shelf Awareness: "Originally published in Japan in 2010 and adapted into a film the same year, Yagisawa's comforting, quotidian international bestseller arrives in a welcome translation by Eric Ozawa; perhaps ironically, Ozawa is a New York University professor who's also a Granta-level literary author. Here, Yagisawa's effortless, unembellished prose ensures a leisurely read, although not without the occasional, realistic reminders of entrenched sexism, privileged posturing, and mental health challenges."
Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
2. All About Love, by bell hooks
3. The Philosophy of Walking, by Frederic Gros
4. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
5. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
6. A Year in the Woods, by Torbjorn Ekelund
7. American Prometheus, by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
8. Milwaukee Bucket List 2e, by Barbara Ali
9. Don't Trust Your Gut, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
10. Happy-Go-Lucky, by David Sedaris
So many nonfiction books in hardcover crash in paperback, but when something takes off, either nationally (All About Love, The Body Keeps the Score) or locally (The Philosophy of Walking, A Year in the Woods), they can keep on selling off our front tables for a long time. Since the paperback release, Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life, has two recs, from Kay and me, plus apparently an intriguing premise for browsers. Now published in Persian, per the Tehran Times. I like the Iranian jacket!
Books for Kids:
1. Out and About, by Liza Wiemer, illustrations by Margeaux Lucas
2. Peekaboo Pumpkin, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
3. Ghost Book, by Remy Lai
4. Pawcasso, by Remy Lai
5. Bluey: Pool, from Penguin Random House
6. Wombat, by Philip Bunting
7. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
8. Peekaboo Apple, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. Peekaboo House, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
10. The Crayons Go Back to School, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
I guess this is the way things are supposed to work. At Children's Institute, the bookseller gathering that was in Milwaukee this past June, booksellers were treated to many, many presentations by folks from the sales and marketing departments. I took to a picture book called Wombat, by Philip Bunting, and it became part of my presentation for our recent Educators Night. Considering how many freebies we had for teachers, I think it's doubly impressive that the book made our weekly bestseller list. Trust Kirkus, when the reviewer says, "Readers will go batty for this one."
Sunday, August 27, 2023
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