Five Things I've Been Meaning to Tell You.

1. I'm on Wisconsin Public Radio's Kathleen Dunn show tomorrow at 10 am! There's pledge drives a happenin' so it's an abbreviated segment, but I'll still have a lot to say. Call in with your favorite book and perhaps I'll come up with what you should read next.

2. We've got a really great spring in store for you with events. I'm hoping to have an email shortly with all our April events. Highlights include Christopher Moore (I'm putting the finishing touches on a blog post) for Sacre Bleu on April 11 and Cheryl Strayed for Wild (April 16--it's the #1 Indie Next Pick for April). But we've also got authors speaking about everything from China (Eating Bitterness on April 9) to Al Capone (Deadly Valentines on April 10).

And the kids events! We've got not one but four amazing authors, starting with Trenton Lee Stewart at Boswell on April 12, Kate DiCamillo at Centennial Hall on April 17, Herman "Amelia Bedelia" Parish at Greenfield Public Library on April 19, and Michael Buckley at Shorewood Public Library on April 30. Check out the page that Stacie made with events just for kids. Buckley will be added any second (it's my fault, as I color-coded it wrong on our event grid).

3. And I'm still confirming great events in May, but here's one you should know about now. We're hosting the launch event for Will Allen's long-awaited book, The Good Food Revolution, on Saturday, May 12, 7 pm, at Boswell. It's going to be a fundraiser for Growing Power--a $5 ticket gets you $5 off the price of the new book, and all the ticket proceeds go back to Growing Power.  We hope to have tickets available by April 1.

4. Speaking of fundraising, we've got three really great programs going on with nonprofits. We're in the process of changing out our Boswell Benefits Beneficiary from Paul Farmer's Partners in Health to Literary Services of Wisconsin. I'm proud to say we've donated almost $2000 to the former organization, from folks who chose not to use their Benefits coupon. We're putting the finishing touches on a book donation program for Columbia St. Mary's health clinics. And next week, we'll be changing our art wall to showcase the work of schoolkids from Milwaukee Center for Independence. On April 3, we'll be hosting a reception for our young artists. I am very excited about their work.

5. I know it's not gift day, but I spent part of today receiving gift items, and I'm very pleased with our collection of kid stuff inspired by Goodnight Moon. We've got rattles, blankets, and beanbag plush. I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't stock it on our fall order--it must be my inclination to lump all bunnies with springtime.

If anything's wrong tonight, I will count on Sharon to let me know tomorrow, and it will be fixed. That's called proofing after the fact.