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--Valerie Laken, author of Separate Kingdoms
--Alexander MacLeod, author of Light Lifting
--Christine Sneed, author of Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry.
Here are the other nominees. Congrats to all!
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I'm glad to announce that you'll be able to hear Mr. Plotnick speaking with Veronica Rueckert on WHAD/Wisconsin Public Radio tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. And I'm glad to also announce that after spending some time digging through Plotnick's mind-fertilizing collection, I expect that this event will be platinum level.
So from now on, when I find something "unbelievable", I might lean towards "decapitates reason" or "brain-on-a-bender bizarre." And when I start to overuse "delicious," I might switch to "sultan worthy" or "eminently scarfable." Who knows?
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A storm brews outside, and I think both of water's majesty and also its potential for destruction. And how can I not, once I think about Sosin's euphonic ode to Lake Superior. Grey Rabbit, Berit and Nora are women from three centuries who are both attracted to and haunted by the waters
I've already written much about Sosin in our email newsletter and a separate blog post. But I think you still need convincing. Here's a splendrous author profile in Publishers Weekly by our midwest pal Claire Kirch. (Better than Great strikes again).
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Zeke Pappas runs an arts foundation in Madison. It's funding future is in doubt, particularly when an offshoot directive of the Patriot Act starts investigating. Could this get in the way of Pappas's pet project, An Inventory of American Unhappiness?
If his work life is in disarray, his personal saga is even more a mess. Zeke cares for his beloved orphaned niece and nephew with his mom, but when Mother gets ill, she decrees that custody will go to his sister if he doesn't get married. So starts a desperate attempt for for a matrimonial style bonding with a number of vaguely suitable women. The vague is an important qualifier.
It's tough to write about a somewhat desperate and unlikable character in a likable way, but Bakopoulos pulls it off, with Library Journal comparing My American Unhappiness to early Martin Amis.
The AV Club section of The Onion has a great interview with Bakopoulos. Here's a short excerpt and a link to the entire pice.
AVC: It seems America is at a point where happiness is often fetishized, and we’re shamed when we don’t feel it. Were you in any way rebelling against this line of thought?
DB: In some ways, definitely. Unhappiness is a very useful emotion. But we’ve come to expect that we won’t feel it if we make the right decisions or plan our lives accordingly. So I wanted a collage of complaints to underscore how petty they can be when they come one after the other. Americans have the luxury of being unhappy in a way that no other country at no other time in history has. A lot of our happiness stems from not living in the right spot or having the perfect house, job, or dream schedule. Madison Avenue makes us unhappy most of the time. Right now I’m waiting for my check from Houghton Mifflin so I can buy a new car. I’m looking for a used car, and then I’m like, “Why can’t I get a $40,000 Volvo? Come on! I’m the sort of person who drives a $40,000 Volvo.” Then I realize how absurd that is.
Read the rest of the interview here. And I'm going to chck to see if it's in the Milwaukee edition. It's not! One other thing. Missed our blog piece? Here it is again.
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Psychotherapist Kate Levinson offers fresh approaches to navigating the astonishing range of beliefs about the role of money in our lives, coming to terms with our feelings about being "rich" or "poor," and exploring our inner money life so that we can put our feelings to work for us in a positive way. By understanding our intimate history and relationship with money we are better able to handle our money anxieties, solve our money problems, enjoy the money we have, and make room for other, more meaningful values. (a little paraphrasing, just to make sure this blog gets released before the event is over).
While at the Milwaukee Public Market (400 N. Water Street), why not enjoy a glass of red or white at Thief Wine, or take home some Middle Eastern delicacies at Aladdin or cake bites from C. Adams Bakery? You want dinner? I'm a big fan of the St. Paul Fish Company--delicious and fresh and reasonably priced. No, not delicious, it's...love between the teeth.
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Matthew Logelin has built an enormous connection with his fans, documenting his attempts to be a great father while struggling with the sudden loss of his wife. He's visited with Oprah and Rachael (I needn't include the last names)
Though we haven't had this event booked for very long (a week), a talk with my new pal Jen (who was helping him scout some locations in Wisconsin) revealed that there's a lot of pent-up demand to meet Logelin in person in this part of the country. Hence, an extension of his original tour commenced. We're convinced that fans will find out about this event through the magic of social networking. More on his website. And here's a short interview with the Los Angeles Times.
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Ex-Milwaukeean Peril (Just a head. up that this is a nom de plume so yes, this might be the friend you went to high school with. Show up to find out.) has written three humorous-serious books exploring feminine archetypes. She follows up Pink Think and College Girls with Swimming in the Steno Pool, profiling the various incarnations of the secretary, from pliable, sexy mate of the "office husband" to postfeminist executive-in-training, drawing inspiration from a wide range of "femorabilia" and secretarial guidebooks of yesteryear.
Library Journal says "this engaging volume adds to existing scholarship at the fascinating intersection of gender, labor, and cultural studies." And here's a write up on the Mama Pop blog.
Sunday, June 12, 2-5 pm, Community Artreach
Come explore the ART of Words with ART Milwaukee’s Community ARTreach event. This month we plan to showcase the neighborhood gem, Boswell Books while discovering how much fun words can really be! Children and families are invited to take part in the Sunday afternoon of activities which will include:
~Story telling
~Spoken Word Performances
~Word Puzzles
~Poetry Writing
~Comic Book Drawing
~Calligraphy Lessons
~Mini canvas drawing
Refreshments will be served. Cosponsors include MilwaukeeMoms.com. Join us for this adventure with words! We can’t wait to see you there!
Plus some more things happening around town...
~Story telling
~Spoken Word Performances
~Word Puzzles
~Poetry Writing
~Comic Book Drawing
~Calligraphy Lessons
~Mini canvas drawing
Refreshments will be served. Cosponsors include MilwaukeeMoms.com. Join us for this adventure with words! We can’t wait to see you there!
Plus some more things happening around town...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ps9NJ1pjgyNxZTEb37QeQVssdBz7hvAmDXgXCzqV-btEXVbK7DWEw3IwhLuBrXpya2T1BEnT049PXgbMHdOHwod9r6JxylXmCKI1w6lcIVHgJ3Khd_3e7yLu_T_AwJtGSuL8dTg24Zc/s1600/Say+her+name+611+small.jpg)
Francisco Goldman, author of Say Her Name.
Nothing, nothing, nothing, and then two great events from two wonderful independent publishers on the same date. They even have the same distributor. If I weren't hosting Sosin, there's a good chance I'd be in the audience for Frank Goldman's talk/reading.
Nothing, nothing, nothing, and then two great events from two wonderful independent publishers on the same date. They even have the same distributor. If I weren't hosting Sosin, there's a good chance I'd be in the audience for Frank Goldman's talk/reading.
#1 Indie Bound pick, front page of the New York Times Book Review, this nonfiction novel about a short-lived marriage ended by terrible loss has been winning raves all over. Booklist says that "out of crushing loss and despair, Goldman has forged a radiant and transcendent masterpiece." They seem on the fence about it, don't they?
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