Friday Event Photos--Tsukiyama, Hamilton, Cousineau.

We had so many events this week that my head is spinning. For some, I didn't bring my camera so I've been using my cell phone. But my new phone doesn't allow me to transfer the photos to my email. I mean, it does, but I don't know how to set it up.

Fortunately I brought my camera to our Gail Tsukiyama event for A Hundred Flowers on Thursday, where Tsukiyama was interviewed on stage by Wisconsin's own Jane Hamilton. They met years ago at a Tattered Cover book club program, and have stayed very good friends. And Gail was just over the border at Ragdale in Lake Forest, making Milwaukee an easy add on.

More authors should think about that!

Over the years, we sold well over 1000 Gail Tsukiyama novels at Schwartz. And I have to say that two of Gail's biggest bookseller fans were Jane, who blew out The Samurai's Garden for a number of years at Schwartz's Mequon location, and Catherine, the longtime Brookfield manager, who first started championing Tsukiyama with Women of the Silk (editor's note--I originally listed the sequel, The Language of Threads. Whoops!)

Both Jane and Catherine attended Gail's evening. But Catherine caught up with more than Tsukiyama because for many years, the Brookfield Schwartz was Jane Hamilton's bookstore of choice. I myself ran into her there a few times when I was would spend a day working at that store. And of course Jane was one of the three authors who headlined the Schwartz closing party at that location.

As you all know, that location is now a Half Price books. And I was just chatting with our friend Tom, who transferred to the Brookfield location from Greenfield, about lunch options in the area. My advice. Don't be afraid to cross Bluemound Road by foot. It's not as hard as it looks.

But why am I talking about Brookfield when we were all gathered together at Centennial Hall in downtown Milwaukee? I have no answer to that. I guess seeing all those all friends reconnecting got me nostalgic.

While we're showing pictures, Phil Cousineau had a nice crowd on Tuesday evening to talk about his new book The Painted Word. He makes some new friends on every visit, but his oldest friends are always Antler and Jeff, with whom he painted houses many, many years ago.

Signed copies of both titles are available, of course.