Boswell Library Week! Graeme Simison at Shorewood, Jim Higgins at Whitefish Bay, Sara Paretsky at Golda Meir, Jennifer E Smith, Jeff Zentner, and Julie Buxbaum at Oak Creek, plus two store events--Mark Caro and Steve Dawson on Friday, and Christi Craig and Lisa Rivero and friends on Saturday.

Here's what Boswell has to say about book events this week.

Tuesday, May 9, 6:30 pm, at Shorewood Public Library, 3920 N Murray Ave:
Graeme Simsion, author of The Best of Adam Sharp.

Celebrate favorite Australian author with TimTams and Vegemite (not together).

Set against a vibrant Melbourne, Simsion’s new novel features an amateur musician and music trivia fanatic who gets a second chance at love with an old flame. Two decades ago, Adam Sharp's piano playing led him into a passionate relationship with Angelina Brown, an intelligent and strong-willed actress. They had a chance at something more but Adam didn't take it.

Now, on the cusp of turning fifty, Adam likes his life and loves his wife, Claire, but he often wonders how different life might be if he hadn’t let her walk away. Don’t miss this new novel from the bestselling author of The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect.

Graeme Simsion is a former IT consultant and the author of two nonfiction books on database design who decided, at the age of fifty, to turn his hand to fiction. His first novel, The Rosie Project, was published in 2013 and translation rights have been sold in over thirty-five languages.

Wednesday, May 10, 6:30 pm, at Whitefish Bay Public Library, 5420 N Marlborough Dr:
Jim Higgins, author of Wisconsin Literary Luminaries: From Laura Ingalls Wilder to Ayad Akhtar

Wisconsin Literary Luminaries offers succinct appreciations of ten writers associated with the Badger state, from the humble cabin in the woods where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up, to contemporary playwright Ayad Akhtar's multicultural dramas. Explore how Aldo Leopold and Lorine Niedecker drew on their close observations of the natural world. Contrast the distinct novels that Jane Hamilton and Larry Watson set on Wisconsin apple orchards. Delve into Thornton Wilder's enduringly popular Our Town and the wild fiction of Milwaukee natives Ellen Raskin and Cordwainer Smith, who wrote like no one else.

Jim Higgins writes and edits stories about books, the performing arts, and other subjects for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He has reported for the Journal Sentinel and predecessor Milwaukee Sentinel since 1983. He is a graduate of Marquette University.

Thursday, May 11, 6:30 pm, at Oak Creek Public Library, 8040 S 6th St:
A YA Pizza Party with Jennifer E. Smith, author of Windfall, Jeff Zentner, author of Goodbye Days, and Julie Buxbaum, author of Tell Me Three Things.

With pizza from Pizza Man, now open in Oak Creek's Drexel Town Center.

About Windfall: Alice doesn't believe in luck--at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she's been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday--just when it seems they might be on the brink of something--she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy's newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

About Goodbye Days: Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. But now Carver can't stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, a powerful judge is pressuring the district attorney to open up a criminal investigation..

About Tell Me Three Things: Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that's what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. It's been barely two years since her mother's death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her step-monster, her pretentious teenage son, and to start at a new school where she knows no one.

Just when she's thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from an anonymous person, offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on this person for some much-needed help?

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of seven novels for young adults, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. She earned a master's degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

Jeff Zentner is also the acclaimed author of The Serpent King, which received the William C. Morris YA Debut Award from YALSA.

Julie Buxbaum is the author of the critically acclaimed The Opposite of Love and After You, and her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Tell Me Three Things is her first novel for young adults

Thursday, May 11, 7:00 pm, at UWM Golda Meir Library, Conference Center, 2311 E Hartford Ave:
Sara Paretsky, author of Fallout V18

The Friends of the UWM Golda Meir Library present Sara Paretsky, The New York Times bestselling author of nineteen previous novels, including the renowned V. I. Warshawski series. For more than three decades, Paretsky has entertained millions of readers with her acclaimed series starring investigator V. I. Warshawski. Warshawski’s new case will lead her from her native Chicago and into Kansas, on the trail of a vanished film student and a faded Hollywood star.

Accompanied by her dog, V.I. tracks her quarry through a university town, across fields where missile silos once flourished -- and into a past riven by long-simmering racial tensions, a past that holds the key to the crimes of the present. But as the mysteries stack up, so does the body count. And in this, her toughest case, not even V.I. is safe.

Don’t miss out on one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. Register here.

Sara Paretsky is The New York Times bestselling author of nineteen previous novels, including the iconic V.I. Warshawski series. She is one of only four living writers to receive both the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association in Great Britain.

Friday, May 12, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Steve Dawson and Mark Caro, co-authors of Take It to the Bridge: Unlocking the Great Songs Inside You.

We all have music inside us: melodies in our sentences, rhythms in our syllables, heartbeats, and steps. Whether we harbor professional aspirations or just a love of playing music, many of us enjoy the art of creation. Some do so with guitar or pen in hand, some while seated at a piano or electronic device, some while taking a stroll and whistling. There is no wrong way -- yet many of us struggle to tap into our abundant sources of inspiration. Now comes a book to remove the barriers between you and your creativity.

Take It to the Bridge offers a lively, instructive dialogue about the art of songwriting; helpful chord, key and song-form charts; and creative assignments designed to inspire anyone who ever has thought of adding songs to the world. It's a book about discovering your artistic voice and adding beauty and truth to the world.

Steve Dawson is a singer/songwriter/musician who leads the rock/folk band Dolly Varden and has taught songwriting and guitar at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music for more than a decade. He has been writing songs for more than 30 years.

Mark Caro, for more than 25 years, wrote about music, film, food, and other cultural topics for the Chicago Tribune, and he since has written for The New York Times and other publications. He is author of The Foie Gras Wars, which won the 2009 Great Lakes Book Award for general nonfiction and two prizes from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris.

Saturday, May 13, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Christi Craig and Lisa Rivero, co-editors to Family Stories from the Attic

This event is cosponsored by Red Oak Writing.

Family Stories from the Attic is an anthology of essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry inspired by family letters, objects, and archives. Nearly two dozen contributors from the United States and Australia tell stories of immigration and migration, loss, discovery, secrets, questions, love, and the search for meaning and identity. Editors Christi Craig and Lisa Rivero bring together both experienced and new authors who will prompt writers and non-writers alike to think about their own family treasures and histories in new ways.

Additionally, appearing at the event, the following contributors: Kristine D. Adams, Aleta Chossek, Sally Cissna, Julia Gimbel, Myles Hopper, Nancy Martin, Patricia Ann McNair, Carolou Nelsen, Joanne Nelson, Pam Parker, Ramona M. Payne, Valerie Reynolds, Jessica Schnur, Meagan Schultz, Yvonne Stephens, and Kim Suhr.

Christi Craig works as a sign language interpreter by day and moonlights as a writer, teacher, and editor. Christi was an Assistant Editor at Compose Literary Journal and an Associate Editor for Noble/Gas Quarterly. Craig is also a volunteer instructor for the Creative Writing Class at a retirement center in Wauwatosa.

Lisa Rivero is a writer, book indexer, and the publisher of Hidden Timber Books in Milwaukee. Some of her publications include a food and wellness column, magazine and journal articles, and a blog at Psychology Today. Lisa has a master's degree in Literary Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.