Boswell bestsellers for 2022

Here are our bestsellers for 2022. 

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
2. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
3. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
4. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub
5. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
6. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Runaway, by Nick Petrie
8. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
9. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
10. A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny
11. Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout

12. The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd
13. The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy
14. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
15. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
16. Liberation Day, by George Saunders
17. The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O'Farrell
18. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
19. Marrying the Ketchups, by Jennifer Egan
20. The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan
21. Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng
22. Last Summer on State Street, by Toya Wolfe
24. Search, by Michelle Huneven
24. Less Is Lost, by Andrew Sean Greer
25. Signal Fires, by Dani Shapiro

26. The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty
27. Violeta, by Isabel Allende
28. Danger on the Atlantic, by Erica Ruth Neubauer
29. Carrie Soto Is Back, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
30. The Good Left Undone, by Adriana Trigiani
31. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
32. Lapvona, by Ottessa Moshfegh
33. Fairy Tale, by Stephen King
34. Upgrade, by Blake Crouch
35. Fox Creek, by William Kent Krueger
36. Time Is a Mother, by Ocean Vuong
37. The Women Could Fly, by Megan Giddings
38. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
39. Ithaca, by Claire North
40. Lark Ascending, by Silas House

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Happy-Go-Lucky, by David Sedaris
2. What's for Dessert?, by Claire Saffitz
3. Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown
4. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
5. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
6. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
7. Bad Vibes Only, by Nora McInerny
8. The Constitution in Jeopardy, by Russ Feingold and Pete Prindiville
9. Path Lit by Lightning, by David Maraniss
10. The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah Jones and The New York Times Magazine
11. Crying in the Bathroom, by Erika L. Sanchez
12. Slenderman, by Kathleen Hale
13. Slaying the Dragon, by Ben Riggs

14. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
15. Dinners with Ruth, by Nina Totenberg
16. Modern Classic Cocktails, by Robert Simonson
17. The Book of Boundaries, by Melissa Urban
18. Reading for Our Lives, by Maya Payne Smart
19. What If 2, by Randall Munroe
20. Atomic Habits, by James Clear
21. The Philosophy of Modern Song, by Bob Dylan
22. The Midwest Survival Guide, by Charlie Berens
23. Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
24. Painting Can Save Your Life, by Sara Woster
25. The Dawn of Everything, by David Graber and David Wengrow

26. The Book of Joy, by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams
27. The Book of Days, by Patti Smith
28. Half-Baked Harvest Every Day, by Tieghan Gerard
29. Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday, by Nick Viall
30. Surrender, by Bono
31. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, by Deb Perelman
32. Life on the Mississippi, by Rinker Buck
33. And There Was Light, by Jon Meacham
34. Mother Noise, by Cindy House
35. How We Live Is How We Die, by by Pema Chodron
36. Go-To Dinners, by Ina Garten
37. Stay True, by Hua Hsu
38. Bar Menu, by André Darlington
39. Dinner in One, by Melissa Clark
40. Cinema Speculation, by Quentin Tarantino

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
3. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
5. It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover
6. Verity, by Colleen Hoover
7. Circe, by Madeline Miller
8. Send for Me, by Lauren Fox
9. The Coyotes of Carthage, by Stephen Wright
10. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
11. Once Upon a December, by Amy E. Reichert
12. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
13. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
14. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

15. The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
16. The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel
17. The Court of Thorn and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
18. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
19. Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Rónán Hession
20. The Thursday Night Murder Club, by Richard Osman
21. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
22. The Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead
23. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna
24. Bunny, by Mona Awad
25. The Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
26. The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

27. The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett
28. My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh
29. The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, by Bianca Marais
30. Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
31. It Starts with Us, by Colleen Hoover
32. The Anomaly, by Herve Le Tellier
33. A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik
34. The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner
35. All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthon Doerr
36. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
37. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
38. Still Life, by Sarah Winman
39. Cold Clay, by Juneau Black
40. Shadows of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay
3. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
4. Educated, by Tara Westover
5. Life in Short, by Dasha Kelly Hamilton
6. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
7. Entangled Life, by Merlin Sheldrake
8. Giannis, by Mirin Fader
9. Owning Grief, by Gael Garbarino Cullen
10. Heart Speak, by Sherrill Knezel
11. Growing Up Little Chute, by John Van Lieshout
12. The Fran Lebowitz Reader, by Fran Lebowitz

13. Fuzz, by Mary Roach
14. The History of Milwaukee Drag, by BJ Daniels and Michail Takach
15. Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest, by Teresa Marrone
16. The Milwaukeean, by Joey Grihalva and Klassik
17. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
18. A Voyage Long and Strange, by Tony Horwitz
19. The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf
20. Tacky, by Rax King
21. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
22. Walking Milwaukee, by Royal Vrevvaxling and Molly Snyder
23. New York Times Cooking No-Recipe Recipes, by Sam Sifton
24. Voices of Milwaukee Bronzeville, by Sandra E. Jones
25. The Invisible Child, by Andrea Elliott
26. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
27. The Icepick Surgeon, by Sam Kean
28. The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson
29. There Is No Backstage, by Linda Stephens
30. All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles

Books for Kids:
1. All Are Neighbors, by Alexandra Penfold, illustrations by Suzanne Kaufman
2. A Rover's Story, by Jasmine Warga
3. Believe in Yourself, by by Marc Brown
4. Our World of Dumplings, by Francie Dekker, illustrated by Sarah Ung
5. Construction Site: Farming Strong, All Year Long, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
6. The Greatest in the World, by Ben Clanton
7. Chez Bob, by Bob Shea
8. Shot Clock, by Caron Butler, illustrations by Justin A. Reynolds
9. Moving to Mars, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Erin Talor
10. Fierce, by Aly Raisman
11. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef

12. Scattered Showers, by Rainbow Rowell
13. I Love You as Big as Wisconsin, by Rose Rossner, illustrations Joanne Partiss
14. The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D. Jackson
15. First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Shawn Harris
16. Stuntboy: In the Meantime, by Jason Reynolds, illustrations by Raul the Third
17. The Truth About Mrs. Claus, by Meena Harris
18. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Septys
19. Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
20. Best Wishes, by Sarah Mlynowski
21. The Ogress and the Orphans, by Kelly Barnhill
22. Heartstopper V1, by Alice Oseman
23. Peekaboo Sun, by Camilla Reid, with illustratios by Ingela Arrhenius
24. Turtle in a Tree, by Neesha Hudson
25. Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton

26. Ain't Burned All the Bright, by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin
27. Remarkably Ruby, by Terri Libenson
28. Firekeeper's Daughter, Angeline Boulley
29. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
30. Operation Do Over, by Gordon Korman
31. A Place for Pluto, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Melanie Demmer
32. Heartstopper V4, by Alice Oseman
33. Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose V3, by Dav Pilkey
34. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
35. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson
36. Love Radio, by Ebony Ladelle
37. What Feelings Do When No One's Looking, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Aleksandra Zajac
38. Green Is for Christmas, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
39. Noodle and the No Bones Day, by Jonathan Graziano, illustrations by Dan Tavis
40. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen

Four upcoming events: Allegra Goodman for Sam (virtual), Nicole Kronzer for The Roof Over Our Heads (at Boswell), Tom Haig at North Shore Public Library for Global Nomad, and Jonathan Gillard Daly for Rough Magic (at Boswell)

Allegra Goodman, author of Sam
in conversation with Julie Barer and Daniel Goldin for a virtual event
Thursday, January 5, 7 pm - click here to register. 

Boswell hosts a virtual event featuring Allegra Goodman, author of Sam, an unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers a powerful reflection on class, addiction, parenthood, longing, and ambition. Goodman will be joined for a conversation by her agent, Julie Barer, and Daniel Goldin of Boswell.

Allegra Goodman’s beautiful and wise novel is deceptively simple: it is about a girl who becomes a woman. But underneath its straightforward chronology and spare sentences lie layers of extraordinary depth, sensitivity, and tenderness. This ode to girlhood asks, What happens to a child's sense of joy and belonging, her belief in herself, as she grows up? The answer will break your heart but will also leave you full of hope.

From Lily King, author of Writers and Lovers: "I’ve been an Allegra Goodman fan for years, but Sam is hands down my new favorite. I loved this powerful and endearing portrait of a girl who must summon deep within herself the grit and wisdom to grow up." And here’s Daniel Goldin’s take: "Even if you’ve read Allegra Goodman before, you’ve never read a novel like Sam. It’s told completely from her perspective, keeping just the amount of distance you might expect from an adolescent who values her privacy. With any number of childhood setbacks, Sam’s seminal years leave her insecure at best and entering adulthood with any number of missteps. It’s rock climbing that gives her a sense of purpose, and while it doesn’t take her where she wants to go, it does lead to unseen paths - she just needs to find the right footholds. Quiet but powerful."

Allegra Goodman is the author of five novels, two short story collections, and a novel for young readers. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in The O Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories.

Nicole Kronzer, author of The Roof Over Our Heads
at Boswell
Friday, January 6, 6:30 pm - click here to register. 

Boswell Book Company presents an evening with Nicole Kronzer, author of The Roof Over Our Heads.

Finn lives in a family of theater lovers. His older brothers are both actors, and one of his moms is an actor and the other one is a director. They even live in an enormous historic mansion owned by the Beauregard, Minnesota's largest regional theater. Finn is desperate to be an actor, too, despite the fact that he can never seem to remember his lines. When a new artistic director threatens to sell the Jorgensen house and kick his family out of the only home he's ever known, his family puts on a show - an immersive 1890s experience unlike anything else out there. But will it be too much for his mom Lula, who is recovering from cancer? Will Finn connect with his crush and deal with his long-time rival, Jade? Will saving the house save Finn's acting career? Funny, warm, and full of Victorian hijinks, this is a novel for anyone looking for a place to belong.

Nicole Kronzer is a former professional actor and improvisor who now teaches English and creative writing, and she is the author of Unscripted. She loves to knit and run (usually not at the same time) and has named all the plants in her classroom.

Tom Haig, author of Global Nomad: My Travels Through Diving, Tragedy, and Rebirth
at North Shore Public Library, 6800 N Port Washington Rd
Sunday, January 8, 2:30 pm 

North Shore Library and Boswell Book Company present an afternoon event featuring Glendale native Tom Haig, who will chat about his new book, Global Nomad, a memoir of his astonishing journey, from state diving champion at Nicolet High School to traveling the globe as a professional high diver and finally, to rolling the streets of Katmandu and Dakar in a wheelchair.

No registration required, but please RSVP via Facebook. Click here to visit the Facebook event page. 

In Global Nomad, Haig shares his early free-wheeling life of traveling to more than 50 countries as a professional diver, tells the story of the life-changing accident that resulted in being wheelchair-bound, and relates his extraordinary return to adventure: racing in marathons, traveling solo in some of the poorest countries in the world, meeting the Dalai Lama, jamming with jazz great Oscar Klein, holding disability seminars, and starting the International Rehabilitation Forum with his physician brother, Andy. In the process, he bares the unvarnished aftermath and heartbreaking vulnerabilities that follow permanent paralysis and inspires us all to take risks and live remarkable, generous, lives.

From John Naber, author and Olympic swimming champion: "Haig has led an amazing life, and he is still living it. This global nomad meets interesting people as he overcomes challenges that might frighten an Olympian. Tom and his life are an inspiration!"

Tom Haig speaks and writes on disability issues, and will be inducted into the Nicolet High School Athletic Hall of Fame in January. Global Nomad is his first book.

Jonathan Gillard Daly, author of Rough Magic: Scenes from an Actor's Life
at Boswell
Monday, January 9, 6:30 pm - click here to register.

Boswell hosts an evening with Milwaukee actor and playwright John Gillard Daly, who appears with his memoir Rough Magic, in which he offers a glimpse backstage and gives an intimate account of the challenges, sacrifices, and triumphs of a creative life.

Rough Magic takes readers on a journey through the life of a creative, introverted young boy who, much to his own surprise, grows up to become a professional stage actor. And Jonathan Gillard Daly set out on a journey of self-discovery as he drew from the personal journals that he kept throughout his life, and wrote an account of how he discovered his inner talent and passion for acting.

Rough Magic abounds with anecdotes of a life in the theatre, the kind of backstage drama, onstage disasters, and sublime moments of true artistry that theatre fans love to hear about. But this memoir also steps away from the footlights, changes into street clothes and exits the stage door into the world of a satisfying, demanding, uncertain and meaningful life. It's a look at the offstage life of an actor, told with openness and candor.

Rough Magic is dedicated to Daly’s sister, the late Anne McMahon, a bookseller for close to 40 years, at Waldenbooks, the Book Nook, Harry W Schwartz Bookshops, and Boswell Book Company.

Jonathan Gillard Daly has acted in hundreds of productions and has taught professional acting as well. He has written five plays, three of which have enjoyed professional productions, and was a resident actor at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre for twenty seasons.

Photo credits
Allegra Goodman by Nina Subin

Boswell Bestsellers, week ending December 31, 2022

Boswell Bestsellers, week ending December 31, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
2. A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny
3. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
4. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Lucy by the Sea, by Elizabeth Strout
6. Old Woman with the Knife, by Gu Byeong-mo
7. The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O'Farrell
10. The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty

With gift buying mostly out of the way, the Books and Beer Book Club selection about a senior-age assassin for January muscles into the top 10. With paperback prices creeping up, the occasional $20 hardcover is now a true bargain, and we're discounting it 10% through January 16, 7 pm, when the group meets at Cafe Hollander. No registering at this time, but you can let Jen know you're planning to go at jen@boswellbooks.com. And as for The Old Woman and the Knife? Becky Meloan in The Washington Post wrote: "Darkly funny, this South Korean novel examines the universal challenge of aging while maintaining societal relevance." The publisher is comparing it to Lucky Grandma and Convenience Store Woman.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday, by Nick Viall (signed copies available)
2. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
3. What's for Dessert?, by Claire Saffitz
4. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
5. Stay True, by Hua Hsu
6. Financial Feminist, by Tori Dunlap
7. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, by Deb Perelman
8. What If 2, by Randall Munroe
9. Dinners with Ruth, by Nina Totenberg
10. Atomic Habits, by James Clear

We don't see too many new releases on the week between Christmas and New Year's anymore - it used to be much more common. But HarperCollins has Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love from Tori Dunlap, host of the #1 rated business podcast and a viral TikTok star. Like Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday, the book is packaged as paper over board, which means it's structurally a paperback, but reads like a hardcover. Apparently image matters, so we count them as hardcovers.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Ms. Demeanor, by Elinor Lipman (Register for January 17 in-person event here)
2. The Sleeping Car Porter, by Suzette May (and this virtual January 10 event here)
3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. Circe, by Madeline Miller
5. Factory Girls, by Michelle Gallen
6. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
7. Still Life, by Sarah Winman
8. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka
9. A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik
10. Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson

Michelle Gallen's Factory Girls had its best sales in its fifth week at Boswell. I'm not sure what drove this - do our customers read The Irish Echo? From Peter McDermott's review roundup and short profile: "'Michelle Gallen’s second novel Factory Girls is 'a great read if you’ve already finished Season 3 of Derry Girls.'" Arlington Magazine wasn’t the only review to make the comparison. Several did. And it’s certainly a great hook to be linked with the Netflix streaming hit that Martin Scorsese has recently endorsed. However, there has been another notable feature of the reviews that is captured by this line from author Silas House: "Factory Girls is one of the best books ever written about the Troubles and one of the best books I've read in a very long time."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
3. The Power of Geography, by Tim Marshall
4. How I Became a Tree, by Sumana Roy
5. Ejacuate Responsibly, by Gabrielle Blair
6. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
7. Bright Ages, by Matthew Gabriel
8. The Story of Jane, by Laura Kaplan
9. Best American Essays, selected by Alexander Chee, series editor Robert Atwan
10. Fuzz, by Mary Roach

Much like with paperback fiction, our big nonfiction paperback pop finds Tim Marshall's The Power of Geography: Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World appealing more to self-gifters - its biggest week is its seventh on sale. It's the fourth book in a series called Politics of Place and turns out to be the hit, featuring maps that we didn't quite have over the holidays. Sadly, our hopes were pinned on a book that was delayed to the store because of the Workman-Hachette consolidation and pretty much missed the Christmas selling season. From Joshua Keating's Washington Post review for the hardcover: "Marshall, a British longtime foreign correspondent and former diplomatic editor of Sky News, makes the case that sea lanes, rivers and mountain ranges are as determinative of a nation’s actions as the ideological and cultural factors that get more attention, and that those factors are themselves partly determined by geography."

Books for Kids:
1. The Story of Civil Rights Hero John Lewis, by Jim Haskins, illustrated by Aaron Boyd
2. Melena's Jubilee, by Zetta Elliott, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
3. Calling the Water Drum, by Latisha Redding, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
4. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela Arrhenius
5. Collaborations V4: Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss
7. Moving to Mars, by Steff Wde
8. A Good Girls Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson
9. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen
10. What Feelings Do When No One's Looking, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Aleksandra Zajac

Another result of shopping for yourself - a YA title hits our list*. It's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and it's celebrating its first year of sale in paperback. It's also on our TikTok display, and yes, I checked - those are individual sales, not a school order. And yes, it hit #1 on the NYT, but they separate out YA titles from all their other kids books. From the publisher: "For readers of Karen McManus and Kara Thomas, an addictive, twisty crime thriller with shades of Serial and Making a Murderer about a closed local murder case that doesn't add up and a girl who's determined to find the real killer - but not everyone wants her meddling in the past." 

 *I have this theory that adults are afraid to buy books for teenagers, unless the book is a phenomenon and specifically asked for. It's just a theory. But the age level of our books in the kids section tend to skew younger during the holidays.

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 24, 2022 (catching up from the holiday!)

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 24, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
3. The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy
4. A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny
5. Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy
6. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
7. Liberation Day, by George Saunders
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty
10. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel

Lessons in Chemistry may be number one on The New York Times, but at independents (according to the American Booksellers Association), including Boswell, Demon Copperhead is the novel of the holiday season. It is her fourth novel since we've been open (2009) and by far our biggest seller. Is it possible we lost the edge on Bonnie Garmus since a certain other retailer gets to sell a nicer looking edition?

For purposes of this list, I split the boxed Cormac McCarthy sets up and gave the sales to the individual books, The Passenger and Stella Maris. We sold a decent number last week. I can't really compare sales to any other Cormac novel as these are his first two since we've been open. But as of our next sale, we'll have sold more Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow than we did of Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, her previous top seller for us, in hardcover. And with that, I should note that our Knopf/Doubleday sales rep sold in six of this week's top 10.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
2. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
3. What If 2, by Randall Munroe
4. Cinema Speculation, by Quentin Tarantino
5. A Book of Days, by Patti Smith
6. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
7. The Philosophy of Modern Song, by Bob Dylan
8. And There Was Light, by Jon Meacham
9. Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, by Stacy Schiff
10. Birds and Us, by Tim Birkhead (Register for January 18 virtual event here)

The Book of Days is our second best Patti Smith hardcover since we've been open. Number one is not Just Kids, which had a modest hardcover sale for us before exploding in paperback, by M Train. And There Was Light beats out Revolutionary on the historical bio side. Our bestselling Stacy Schiff hardcover continues to be Cleopatra, for which she made an appearance locally. Meacham's bestselling hardcover is, by a nose, His Truth Is Marching On (over The Soul of America). 

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
2. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
3. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
4. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, by Shehan Karunatilaka
5. Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson
6. The Sleeping Car Porter, by Suzette Mayr (Register for January 10 virtual event here)
7. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. A Visit, by Shirley Jackson, illustrated by Seth
9. Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree
10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna

More than half the books on this top 10 have some sort of speculative element, with ghosts (not witches for once!) being the most popular trope. The Sentence, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, and A Visit, part of Seth's Christmas haunting graphic short stories series, are all ghost stories of a sort.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. A Book of Delights by Ross Gay
3. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
4. Entangled Life, by Merlin Sheldrake
5. Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest, by Terea Marrone
6. Happy Holiday Book of Mini Crosswords, from The New York Times
7. Vegan Cooking for Two by America's Test Kitchen
8. Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi
9. 111 Places in Milwaukee You Must Not Miss, by Michele Madden

We were running two to three hardcover cookbooks in our top 10 since the start of the season, but this week, the only appearances were on our paperback list, where Vegan Cooking for Two and Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things both placed. With price poitns of $32 and $34.99, they are priced within range of our top hardcover cookbook bestseller, Smitten Kitchen Keepers. I should also note they didn't exactly outsell their hardcover friends; they were just on a less competitive list, which I can assure you is true for the national lists too. 

Books for Kids:
1. Peekaboo: Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela Arrhenius
2. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
3. Diper Överlöde V17: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinnney
4. Book of Questions, by Pablo Neruda, illustrations by Paloma Valivia
5. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
6. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen
7. What Feelings Do When No One's Looking, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Aleksandra Zajac
8. Collaborations V4: Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey
9. Christmas Eve with Veranda Santa, a Bluey Book
10. Spin to Survive: Deadly Jungle, by Emily Hawkins

You might have noticed that we had a different Peeakaboo book on our bestseller list last week, with Peekaboo: Love replacing Peekaboo: Moon. Jen has been rotating the display and they all sell! Coming up in 2023 - Peekaboo: Baby in January and Peekaboo: Pumpkin in October. Apparently it's all about the slider mechanism!

Another week with no traditional middle grade or YA books, unless you include the two graphic series, which to me straddle early readers. Five are traditional picture book hardcovers, though I should note that two (Book of Questions and What Feelings Do When No One's Looking) are translated, the former by Sara Lissa Paulson and the latter by Jennifer Croft.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 17, 2022

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 17, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
2. A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny
3. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
4. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
5. The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy
6. The Ingenue, by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
7. Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy
8. The Boy and the Dog, by Seishu Hase 
9. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
10. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
11. Lark Ascending, by Silas House
12. The Rabbit Hutch, by Tess Gunty
13. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
14. Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng
15. Death in Door County, by Annelise Ryan

Demon Copperhead could well double the hardcover sales of 2018's Unsheltered at Boswell by the end of its run. Unlike her last novel, the book is top 10 on both The New York Times and Washington Post for the year, with Ron Charles saying it is his book of the year. But Unsheltered had something Demon Copperfield did not - Boswell reads, including a top 5. Perhaps we move the needle more for lesser known authors.

Similarly, A World of Curiosities hasn't passed up sales for The Madness of Crowds yet, but I expect it will within the next two weeks. Jason has noted in the past that our Louise Penny sales are stronger with November releases than the August ones - I think the idea is that the early books don't get on so many gift lists and perhaps are accessed in less expensive formats - through downloads or library circulation. But if you're #217 on the library waiting list in early December, you might be inclined to say, "Just buy me a copy"

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
2. What If? 2, by Randall Munroe
3. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
4. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, by Deb Perelman
5. The Philosophy of Modern Song, by Bob Dylan
6. What's for Dessert?, by Claire Saffitz (signed copies still available)
7. The Book of Days, by Patti Smith
8. Stuff They Don't Want You to Know, by Ben Bowlin, Matt Frederick, Noel Brown
9. Surrender, by Bono
10. Dinners with Ruth, by Nina Totenberg
11. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
12. And There Was Light, by Jon Meacham
13. The Revolutionary, by Stacy Schiff
14. We Don't Know Ourselves, by Fintan O'Toole
15. Go-To Dinners, by Ina Garten

No question, this season is not like the years before COVID. Lots of out-of-stocks and just-in-times did not pay off. And because the printers and warehouses are struggling, even promised two-day shipping will only work if they can process the order. At the same time, many customers' expectations have reverted to "normal" - late shopping with the expectation that stores are overstocked in everything, which is partly due to early media and pundit stories. And yes, mass merchants have too much beachwear and shorts, if that's what you were planning to buy!

Another category that tends to be fourth quarter-driven is offbeat reference books. Our top 15 reflects two - What If? 2 and Stuff They Don't Want You to Know, which is sort of an almanac of conspiracy theories. I should also note it's a podcast, which helps break out so many bestsellers nowadays. Further down our list is Atlas of Forgotten Places - 2022 is not as map-heavy as some previous years for bestsellers. We have good stock on all three titles. 

Paperback Fiction:
1. Ukrainian American Poets Respond, edited by Olena Jennings
2. The Sleeping Car Porter, by Suzette Mayr (Register for January 10 event here)
3. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
4. Still Life, by Sarah Winman
5. Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson
6. Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree
7. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
9. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
10. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

Just a year ago I wasn't aware of the subgenre cozy fantasy, even though we were already selling The House in the Cerulean Sea so well (2022 sales are close to 2021, but probably will not eclipse them). Now with the breakout of Legends and Lattes, I'm curious as to whether our buyer is thinking about a cozy fantasy subcategory. My thought is that maybe it would make more sense to breakout mysteries cozies first, which also have a dedicated fan base and also have a formerly self-published book doing well in the market (#17's Shady Hollow). We'll find out his thoughts in 2023.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
3. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
4. Heart Speak, by Sherill Knezel
5. Entangled Life, by Merlin Sheldrake
6. Nudge: The Final Edition, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
7. Fuzz, by Mary Roach
8. 111 Places in Milwaukee You Must Not Miss, by Michelle Madden
9. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner
10. Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe

I think 2022 might be the first year since the 2015 publication that Braiding Sweetgrass will sell less at Boswell than it did the year before. But to be clear - it's very close. One book that did more than double sales in its second year of paperback publication is Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. Firmly entrenched on our mushroom table (it's not up now - too many holiday and year-end displays) and our well-shopped award case, plus a strong staff rec from Oli, helped drive momentum.

Books for Kids:
1. Will We Always Hold Hands?, by Christopher Cheng, illustrations by Stephen Michael King
2. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
3. Meanwhile Back on Earth, by Oliver Jeffers
4. The Book of Questions, by Pablo Neruda, illustrations by Paloma Valdivia, translated by Sara Lissa Paulson
5. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
6. Britannica's Baby Encyclopedia, by Sally Symes, illustrations by Hanako Clulow
7. Unstoppable Us V1: How Humans Took Over the World, by Yuval Noah Harari, illustrations by Richard Zaplana Ruiz
8. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
9. Collaborations V4: Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey
10. Peekaboo Moon, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Angela Arrhenius

In the past I would separate this list out in the weeks of Christmas to multiple lists, notably separating pictures books and board books from middle grade and YA, but well, I clearly skipped that step this year. And in a way, not doing this makes one holiday trend clearer - in the week's leading up to Christmas, our picture book sales surge, particularly our staff suggestions. Our #1 title, Will We Always Hold Hands?, is also Jen's buyers pick for the fall, and features a rat and a panda contemplating their friendship. Cheng is a Sydney based writer who is Co-Chair of the International Advisory Board for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

There's no question that many of our customers feel more comfortable buying books for younger kids than for older ones, which might be a reason why the middle grade titles don't kick in until further down the bestseller list, and there's no YA book (12 and up) in our top 25 this week. I have theories! But board books? That's another story. Jen's pick, the Britannica's Baby Encyclopedia, is selling very well out of our newsletter and is a fun book to talk about too. It's an oversized board book that mimics an encyclopedia in its breadth of topics. I have no idea how practical it is, but I can't imagine a better shower gift. It screams smart baby!

Last event blog of the year! Hannah Morrissey for The Widowmaker, Rachel Kapelke-Dale at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, Olena Jennings for Ukrainian-American Poets Respond, Sarah Winman for Still Life (virtual), and John Gurda signing at Boswell

Conversation, conversation, conversation, conversation, signing! 

Hannah Morrissey, author of The Widowmaker
in conversation with Carissa Greve, in-person at Boswell
Monday, December 12, 6:30 pm - click here to register. 

Boswell welcomes the return of Wisconsin thriller author Hannah Morrissey, who joins us for a Thrillwaukee evening featuring her new novel, The Widowmaker, in which a wealthy family shrouded in scandal, a detective with an impossible cold case and a woman with a dark past collide in Black Harbor, Wisconsin. In conversation with Carissa Greve, The Grim Readers Bookstagrammer and BookToker.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared, the name Reynolds has become synonymous with murder and mystery. Lured by a cryptic note, Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into a web of their family secrets and double lives. As Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?

How about this praise from The House Across the Lake author Riley Sager: "The Widowmaker confirms Hannah Morrisey's status as one of the brightest new voices in crime fiction. An unflinching look at two damaged people trying to do right in a world full of wrong, told in scalpel-sharp prose with a poet's eye for detail."

Wisconsin’s Hannah Morrissey is author of Hello, Transcriber. She studied writing at UW-Madison.

Daniel: How crazy is it that our two author's with local ties publish their second books on the same day from the same publisher - Minotaur is the mystery imprint of St. Martin's Press. 

Rachel Kapelke-Dale, author of The Ingenue

in conversation with Brynn Teaman, in-person at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 N Prospect Ave
Tuesday, December 13, 6:30 pm - click here to register. 

Boswell hosts a special event featuring Milwaukee native Rachel Kapelke-Dale, author of The Ingenue, in conversation with Brynn Teaman. My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen's Gambit in Kapelke-Dale’s novel of suspense about piano prodigy who returns home to Milwaukee and discovers the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.

For this special event, St. Martin's Press has rented the lot at 1684 N. Prospect Ave. (Milwaukee Eye Care Associates) for attendees. 

When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past - and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life - for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?

Set against a post #MeToo landscape, The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia's childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale is author of The Ballerinas and co-author of Graduates in Wonderland. Kapelke-Dale spent years in intensive ballet training before receiving a BA from Brown University, an MA from the Université de Paris VII, and a PhD from University College London.

A note from Daniel: This mansion in this book is inspired by a real house on Lake Drive, but the story surrounding it is completely made up.

Olena Jennings, editor of Ukrainian-American Poets Respond
in conversation with Krystia Nora, in-person at Boswell
Wednesday, December 14, 6:30 pm - click here to register. 

Boswell hosts Olena Jennings, editor of Ukrainian American Poets Respond, a book that encompasses 29 poets' responses to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in the spring of 2022. In conversation with Krystia Nora, of Wisconsin Ukrainians, our event cosponsor. Wisconsin Ukrainians is a nonprofit organization founded to help connect Ukrainians in our state, share and celebrate the Ukrainian culture, and help provide support to important causes in Ukraine. They will be joined by anthology contributor Valya Dudycz Lupescu.

Ukrainian American Poets Respond collects work by poets from Boston to Austin, New York to Chicago, including names recognized in Ukraine such as Oksana Lutsyshyna and Serhiy Zhadan as well as rock favorite Eugene Hutz, front man for Gogol Bordello. Many poets work in English and Ukrainian, but included are poets who also work in other languages. The poems range in style from lyrical to narrative to song. Some poems create a dialogue with Ukrainian literature, while others address events in the United States.

Editor Olena Jennings is the author of the poetry collection Songs from an Apartment and the chapbook Memory Project. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and an MA from the University of Alberta. She is the founder and curator of the Poets of Queens reading series.

Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
in conversation with Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin for a virtual event
Friday, December 16, 2 pm - click here to register. 

Readings from Oconomowaukee, the virtual event series we host in partnership with Books & Company of Oconomowoc, features Sarah Winman, who joins us virtually from the UK for the December edition. Winman will chat about her novel Still Life, a captivating, bighearted, richly tapestried novel of people brought together by love, war, art, flood, and the ghost of EM Forster. Please note this is a spoiler-friendly event, which means, yes, you can ask about plot twists and the ending.

Tuscany, 1944: As Allied troops advance and bombs sink villages, a young English soldier, Ulysses Temper, finds himself in the wine cellar of a deserted villa. There, he has a chance encounter with Evelyn Skinner, a middle-aged art historian intent on salvaging paintings from the ruins. In each other, Ulysses and Evelyn find a kindred spirit amidst the rubble of war-torn Italy and paint a course of events that will shape Ulysses’s life for the next four decades. With beautiful prose, extraordinary tenderness, and bursts of humor and light, Still Life is a sweeping portrait of unforgettable individuals who come together to make a family, and a deeply drawn celebration of beauty and love in all its forms.

From Ron Charles in The Washington Post: "A tonic for wanderlust and a cure for loneliness. It’s that rare, affectionate novel that makes one feel grateful to have been carried along. Unfurling with no more hurry than a Saturday night among old friends, the story celebrates the myriad ways love is expressed and families are formed... The novel never feels anything less than captivating because Winman creates such a flawless illusion of spontaneity, an atmosphere capable of sustaining these characters’ macabre wit, comedy of manners and poignant longing."

A special Daniel note: Our book club loved this book (with only one exception)! It starts a bit slow, but don't give up - by the end, you'll love it! It's the perfect holiday gift, celebrating the joy of friendship, family (both the one you're given and the one you find), and artistic creation. 

Sarah Winman is author of the novels Tin Man, A Year of Marvelous Ways, and When God Was a Rabbit.

Book Signing - John Gurda, author of Brewtown Tales: More Stories from Milwaukee and Beyond at Boswell
Saturday, December 17, 2pm

John Gurda, the premier chronicler of Cream City history, will be at Boswell for an afternoon book signing. Get copies of his latest book, Brewtown Tales, autographed along with any other of Gurda’s many Milwaukee titles. The only gift better than a John Gurda book for the Brew City history buff in your life is an autographed John Gurda book!

No registration required, but we highly recommend you purchase a copy of Brewtown Tales (and any other Gurda books you want) in advance to make sure we have a copy for you. You can designate picking it up at the bookstore on the afternoon of the program.

Drawing from Gurda’s long-running Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel column, Brewtown Tales contains an assortment of captivating stories about the city. Readers will find in these pages the biography of a bridge, a requiem for a union, odes to both autumn and spring, a poem about aging, tales of two shipwrecks, a frank take on segregation, a visit to a junkyard, and memories of the summer of ’68, among many other things. With Gurda’s characteristic wit and eye for detail, these essays convey the distinctive flavors of Milwaukee, as well as a few more exotic places, from Vilas County to Vietnam.

John Gurda is author of twenty-three books, including Cream City Chronicles, Milwaukee: A City Built on Water, The Making of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods. Click here to see a full list of available Gurda titles.

A note from Daniel: Don't wait for the event to buy your copy (or copies) of Brewtown Tales. The publisher is out of stock and we may run out at the signing!

Photo credits

Hannah Morrissey by Tracy Koeper Hungry Heart Photography

Olena Jennings by Iryna Sosnovska
Sarah Winman by Patricia Niven
John Gurda by Max Thomsen

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 10, 2022

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 10, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
2. Stella Maris, by Cormac McCarthy
3. A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny
4. Liberation Day, by George Saunders
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. The Ingenue, by Rachel Kapelke-Dale (Register for December 13 offsite event here)
7. Musical Tables, by Billy Collins
8. The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy
9. The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O'Farrell
10. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Penguin Random House holds six of our top ten bestselling titles, with Knopf claiming two slots for Cormac McCarthy and one for Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait, my sister's current book club book and also the current selection of the Reese's Book Club (shockingly enough, not at pub month!) Our sales are great, but they still are dwarfed by Hamnet,  which was a virtual event, and being in the midst of COVID, was the lucky recipient of Boswell selling more copies, but of fewer books. Browsing really spreads sales out over more books.

It took four weeks, but Bill Collins muscles into the top ten with his Musical Tables, a collection of bite-sized poems. Once again, not sure why it's not a Book Marks title, but looking through searches, I can't really find any reviews, but here's Scott Simon talking to Collins on Weekend Edition.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
2. The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama
3. The Number Ones, by Tom Breihan
4. The Book of Days, by Patti Smith
5. Smitten Kitchen Keepers, by Deb Perelman
6. Dinners with Ruth, by Nina Totenberg
7. Birds and Us, by Tim Birkhead (Register for January 18 virtual event here)
8. Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown
9. Number One is Walking, by Steve Martin, illustrations by Harry Bliss
10. The Philosophy of Modern Song, by Bob Dylan

Surprise! A hardcover nonfiction book, without an event or a bulk order, is outselling Michelle Obama. An Immense World has been popular at Boswell since its release and showing up on two big best-of lists (top ten on both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) didn't hurt.

I mentioned a few week's ago that cookbooks have a particularly strong fourth quarter, but another genre that tends to save a lot of heavy hitters (especially ones that skew a little older) for this season is music. We've got three in the top ten, from Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and the one I'm pushing, Tom Breihan's The Number Ones, not to be confused with Steve Martin's Number One Is Walking: My Life in Movies and Other Diversions. And come to think of it, Martin once hit Billboard's top 20 with a comic song from a Saturday Night Live sketch. Plus all those banjo bits. But I don't think he counts.

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Wizard's Dream, by Louisa Loveridge Gallas
2. The Sleeping Car Porter, by Suzette Mayr (Register for January 10 virtual event here)
3. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie 

4. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna (Watch Rachel's video event here)
5. Still Life, by Sarah Winman (Register for December 16 virtual event here)
6. The Thursday Murder Club V1, by Richard Osman
7. Circe, by Madeline Miller
8. A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas
9. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
10. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

We're trying to up our virtual events for January and February to two a week (when we can!), and the nice thing is that for books that are already out, we're also seeing benefits in holiday sales. Birds and Us (on the hardcover nonfiction list), The Sleeping Car Porter, and Still Life (both on this list) are all doing nicely and with good reason - they are great books! It's also nice to see fall event favorite The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches continuing to place here. We just looked up sales on Edelweiss and we're in the top five for indie bookstore sales for Sangu Mandanna's adult debut.

Paperback Nonfiction event:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. Fuzz, by Mary Roach
3. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
4. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
5. An Entangled Life, by Merlin Sheldrake
6. These Precious Days, by Ann Patchett
7. A Short History of Queer Womenn, by Kirsty Loehr
8. Happy Holiday Book of Mini-Crosswords, from The New York Times
9. Wisconsin Waters, by Scott Spoolman
10. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

A Shory History of Queer Women was selling steadily since its November 1 release, but had a nice pop in sales this week. At first I thought this was from the Random House One World imprint, but no, it's distributed by Simon and Schuster and is a UK publisher (that by the way, has the UK rights for The Rabbit Hutch). Is Oneworld being one word enough to distinguish it from One World? Being that we had a discussion about whether books could have the same title (they can, but someone argued they shouldn't, referencing Still Life), I guess everything is up for grabs. Some references come up to podcast interviews, but goodness they are hard to find on search engines - it's an impulse buy off our paperback tables.

Speaking of same names, here's a shout out to a different Daniel Goldin and his label, Exploding in Sound Records. 

Books for Kids:
1. A Place to Belong: Debbie Friedman Sings Her Way Home, by Deborah Lakritz, illustrations by Julie Castano (signed copies available)
2. Green Is for Christmas, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
3. The Crayons' Christmas, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
4. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Classen
5. The Greatest in the World, by Ben Clanton
6. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
7. Farmhouse, by Sophie Blackall
8. Collaborations V4: Cat Kid Comic Club, by Dav Pilkey
9. Meanwhile Back on Earth, by Oliver Jeffers
10. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid

Oliver Jeffers may not have had an event at Boswell, but a visit from Green Crayon was enough for him to get three books in our kids top ten. His latest picture book is Meanwhile Back on Earth...Finding Our Place in Time and Space, which is one of Jen's picks. Billed as "a cosmic view on conflict," the editor notes: "This book is based on a huge installation exhibit Oliver created that is traveling the world, showing people just how far the Earth is from other planetary objects - and just how special it is that we’re all living here"