Sunday, February 25, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending February 24, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending February 24, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Road from Belhaven, by Margot Livesey (signed copies)
2. The Price You Pay, by Nick Petrie (WFB event Feb 26)
3. The Women, by Kristen Hannah
4. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
5. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
6. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
7. Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar
8. True North, by Andrew J Graff
9. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
10. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

Since we've already covered all then titles in previous bestseller blogs, let's find another quote from one of the 2023 novels that is still selling well. From Mark Athitakis in the Los Angeles Times: "North Woods, the fifth novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason, has become one of the fall’s most acclaimed books on the strength of its innovation as a sweeping and stealthy historical saga. But it is also another tree-stuck story: Set in a patch of a Massachusetts forest, it follows the fate of multiple residents of a house across nearly three centuries. Some familiar themes of the genre apply: The tragedy of environmental devastation, the beauty of the natural landscape, nature’s stubborn capacity to endure well past human folly. But because Mason’s novel operates in such a robust variety of styles and voices, it is - perhaps more than its arboreal literary brethren - an unusually spectacular showcase of the various powerful responses that nature provokes in us, from wonderment to utter derangement."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
2. The Little Frog's Guide to Self Care, by Maybell Eequay
3. The Comfort of Crows, by Margaret Renkl
4. Supercommunicators, by Charles Duhigg
5. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
6. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
7. My Name Is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand
8. The Art of the Grimoire, by Owen Davies
9. Oath and Honor, by Liz Cheney
10. Life After Power, by Jared Cohen

Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, has a new book out this week - Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. A blurb from Adam Grant points people in the right direction. And all the advance trade reviews are positive. This from Library Journal: " A how-to-guide and useful overview for readers wanting to communicate more effectively. Along with David Brooks's recent How To Know a Person, a timely primer for creating deeper connections with others."

My friend John sent me a video of Barbra Streisand accepting the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.   

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
2. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai
3. Who Moves the Dead, by T Kingfisher
4. The Shamshine Blind, by Paz Prado
5. Dune, by Frank Herbert
6. Babel, by RF Kuang
7. Chain Gang All Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
8. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
9. The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
10. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, by VE Schwab

It's the first week out for I Have Some Questions for You in paperback. The book was the featured title of the 2023 Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Lunch and had 14 raves and 6 positives on BookMarks. Since I find it hard to find quotes from the St Louis Post Dispatch, I can't resist using this from Jennifer Alexander: “Makkai combines skilled storytelling with abundant human insight. [I Have Some Questions for You] is so well-plotted and thought-provoking that readers may struggle with conflicting impulses to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next or to stop and think about what it all means.”

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. The Way Home, by Ben Katt (signed copies)
2. Wisconsin for Kennedy, by BJ Hollars (Boswell event March 19)
3. Dopamine Nation, by Anna Lembke
4. The Hundred Years War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi
5. Murdle, by GT Karber
6. The Fight for Black Empowerment, by Kareem Muhammad (Boswell event March 18)
7. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
8. Last Call at the Hotel Imperial, by Deborah Cohen (CEA event info March 20)
9. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
10. Endurance, by Alfred Lansing

So many nonfiction paperback reprints fall flat in sales, and many don't even see the light of day. But a book like Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence has hugged the bestseller lists tight for over a year, after strong but not bestseller-blasting sales in hardcover. Here's an interview of Anna Lembke conducted by Mary Beth Maslowski in Psychiatry Advisor.

Books for Kids:
1. Just Gus, by McCall Hoyle
2. A Pack of Your Own, by Maria Nilsson Thore
3. Art Club, by Rashad Doucet
4. Slugfest, by Gordon Korman
5. Treasure Island: Runaway Gold, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
6. Forever Twelve, by Stacy McAnulty
7. Above the Trenches, by Nathan Hale
8. The Mona Lisa Vanishes, by Nicholas Day
9. Cranky, by Phuc Tran, illustrations by Pete Oswald
10. Mr S, by Monica Arnaldo

Jen and I spent a morning last week presenting kids books to area school librarians. This week's bestseller list has some of our picks. At the top is Just Gus from McCall Hoyle, part of the Best Friends Dog Tales from Shadow Mountain, which has been a Boswell bestseller for the last year. School Library Journal notes: "As a read-aloud to the canine obsessed in the early grades or just an engaging tale for dog lovers, Hoyle quietly unleashes a barking good tale. Its charm is due to Gus and to a real love of dogs." Jen also talked up the next book in the series, Millie.

A more recent pick is Art Club, a graphic novel by SCAD Professor Rashad Doucet. From Booklist: "Adults are often challenging to please, especially when they think they know what's best for you. Dale and his friends face a daunting challenge as they endeavor to convince Vice Principal Ruffin that art is as meaningful and valuable as any other profession. With the guidance of Miss Je'Nae, this misfit group collaborates to resurrect their school's art club and explore ways to make it profitable."

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