1. Whistler, by Ann Patchett (not sold out yet)
2. Land, by Maggie O'Farrell
3. Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke
4. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
6. John of John, by Douglas Stuart
7. Things We Never Say, by Elizabeth Strout
8. A Parade of Horribles V8, by Matt Dinniman
9. Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It, by Brooke Averick
10. The Keeper, by Tana French
Top debut this week is Whistler, which had a large first week of sales, helped along by signed first editions, despite folks all the folks waiting for the June 22 Pabst Theater event to get their books. I loved the new novel and hope you will too.
Up next is Land, the latest from Maggie O'Farrell, which got a great advance read from McKenna at Boswell. She is not annotated on BookMarks, but critics did offer 14 raves, a positive, three mixed, and a pan. One rave is from The Atlantic, and I was finally able to get through the paywall with our print subscription so I can quote Hillary Kelly's review, which is a rave - the headline used the word "genius": "O’Farrell’s new novel, Land, provokes that same unlikely combination in ways that annihilate critiques of her work as 'grief porn.' If the raison d’être of the tearjerker is to lure the reader into disorienting sorrow, O’Farrell’s fiction has a more complicated calling - her characters are endowed with a dignity that gives their despair power and meaning. She knows that anguish cannot properly infiltrate a reader who isn’t experiencing the full spectrum of emotions: disappointment, amazement, contentment, frustration, pride, and even unbridled bliss."
1. The Land and Its People, by David Sedaris (signed copies)
2. The Wreck of the Mentor, by Eric Jay Dolin (signed copies)
3. Don't Call It Art, by Austin Kleon
4. When Memory Fades, by Nathaniel Chin (Boswell June 24 event)
5. Judy Blume, by Mark Oppenheimer
6. The Fix, by Barbara McQuade
7. Famesick, by Lena Dunham
8. One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad
9. Little Frog's Guide to Life, by Maybell Eequay
10. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
We hosted Austin Kleon several times, and in addition to a traditional in-store event with slides, we also worked with an business/entrepreneur group to put together a morning presentation. I just want to give the old Workman publicity department a shout out - you could count on their events to be creative and fun, with a team that actually chased media and partnerships. The world has changed. Kleon's latest is Don't Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again. From Kirkus: " Full of fun, wryly witty wisdom (and quotes from such artists as John Cleese, Ray Bradbury, and Doris Lessing), this serves as a charming - if not wholly novel* - reminder to let go in order to tap into one's freest creative self." *To be fair, his most popular book is Steal Like an Artist.
1. Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
2. The Last Time We Drowned, by Saratoga Schaefer (Boswell June 9 event)
3. The Girls Who Grew Big, by Leila Mottley
4. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
5. Tangerinn, by Emanuela Anechoum (Boswell book clubs)
6. Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus
7. Moving Targets, by Harry Pinkus (Boswell June 12 event)
8. Disappoint Me, by Nicola Dinan
9. All That Refuses to Die, by Michael Imossan (signed copies)
10. For the Bride, by Becca Grischow
Having just finished Ann Patchett's The Patron Saint of Liars**, about a home run by nuns for expectant mothers in Kentucky, I am newly intrigued by The Girls Who Grew Big, a novel about teen moms from Leila Mottley, with a re-imagined paperback jacket and five raves, three positives, and a pan from BookMarks. From Nina LaCour in The New York Times: "Mottley, who is known for her acclaimed debut, Nightcrawling, writes with unabashed reverence for these young mothers, never sanitizing or romanticizing their lives but instead valuing them on the page in all the ways they are not valued in their lives."
1. Best Hiking Minnesota Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, by Kristen Radaich (signed copies)
2. Midwestern Death Trip, by Meagan Garvey (Boswell June 15 event)
3. There Is No Place for Us, by Brian Goldstone
4. Invisible Women, by Caroline Criado Perez
5. The Resistance History of the United States, by Tad Stoermer
6. Liberal Fascisms, by Slavoj Zizek
7. The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
8. Johann Sebastian Bach, by Christopher Wolff
9. Mapmatics, by Paulina Rowinska
10. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and now in paperback, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician sells not out of the award case (it's from the previous round of Pulitzers, not the current one) or the new paperback table, but just because some people wanted it, with the understanding that nonfiction paperback is not a particularly competitive list. I love that the paperback edition is updated - you wouldn't believe what Bach has been up to since the hardcover was published!
Up a little higher is There Is No Place for Us, by Brian Goldstone, which received the Pulitzer Prize (different category) and because it's from the recent round of honors, it is in the awards case.
1. Each and Every Spark, by Claire Swinarski
2. The Selfish Sister, by David Sedaris, illustrated by Bob Staake (signed copies)
3. Kaleidoscope of Hope, by Miranda Paul (signed copies)
4. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga, by Dav Pilkey
5. Summer Pops Up, by Aurore Petit
6. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Renée Graef
7. Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
8. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
9. Shadow Reaper, by Lynette Noni
10. Gertie the Darling Duck of World War II, by Shari Swanson, illustrated by Renée Graef
David Sedaris's recent picture book, The Selfish Sister, got some second looks at his event, especially when I went up and down the line hawking it. Copies are signed. From the starred Kirkus: "Wit snaps and crackles in humorist Sedaris' tale of narcissism run amok...Blessedly bad behavior gets its day in the sun, and we are HERE for it!"
**I have now read all Patchett adult fiction and nonfiction. I am not sure I read all the picture books.
