Monday, January 24, 2022

Boswell events for this week - Shady Hollow with Juneau Black, Jonathan Evison, and Isabel Allende (ticketed), all virtual, plus Marc Brackett at USM for REDgen

Here are Boswell events for the week.

Juneau Black, author of Shady Hollow
A Virtual Event at Boswell Book Company
Tuesday, January 25, 6:30 pm
Register for this free virtual event here.

Boswell presents an evening with Juneau Black, the pen name of writing duo Sharon Nagel and Jocelyn Cole, the creators of Shady Hollow, a woodland mystery series conceived at Boswell. Read more in the Journal Sentinel story. Signed copies of Shady Hollow are available.

In the first book in the Shady Hollow series we are introduced to the eponymous village, a place where woodland creatures live together in harmony - until a curmudgeonly toad turns up dead and the local reporter has to solve the case! Reporter Vera Vixen is a relative newcomer. The fox has a nose for news, so when she catches wind that the death might be a murder, she resolves to get to the bottom of the case, no matter where it leads. As she stirs up still waters, the fox exposes more than one mystery, and discovers that additional lives are in jeopardy.


New York Times bestselling author Alan Bradley calls Shady Hollow, "Watership Down meets Mickey Spillane. A mystery of rare and sinister charm." And Wisconsinite Amy E Reichert, author of novels such as The Kindred Spirits Supper Club, says, “Get ready to fall in love with Shady Hollow and its quirky cast of animal characters. Charming and clever, Juneau Black will take readers on a delightful ride as the mystery unfolds. I can’t wait to read more!”

As noted above, Juneau Black is the pen name of authors Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nagel. They share a love of excellent bookshops, fine cheeses, and good murders (in fictional form only).

Wednesday, January 26, 7 pm
Jonathan Evison, author of Small World
in conversation with Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin for a virtual event
Register for this free virtual event here.

Join the January edition of Readings from Oconomowaukee, the virtual event series that puts authors in conversation with booksellers, brought to you by Boswell and our friends of Books & Company. This month’s edition features author Jonathan Evison, the author of novels like Lawn Boy and Legends of the North Cascades, with his latest book, Small World, an epic set in multiple time periods, in which the characters interconnect in the most intriguing and meaningful ways.

Small World
is a sprawling chronicle of a hundred-and-seventy years of American nation-building from numerous points-of-view across place and time. The result is a historical epic with a Dickensian flair, a grand entertainment set against such iconic backdrops as the California gold rush, the development of the Continental Railroad, and a speeding train of strangers who don’t realize the history they have brought together in one place. Small World explores the Great American Experiment from its formative days to the present moment and asks whether or not our nation has made good on its promises.

Small World
has already earned a trio of starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and BookPage, the latter of which writes, “Piece by piece, Evison successfully corrals this sprawling history into a cohesive whole, coalescing it into a vivid mosaic.” And Jason Mott, the National Book Award-winning author of Hell of a Book, calls Small World, “A creative, insightful work of fiction. Evison pulls off a wonderful high-wire act of storytelling that few would attempt, and even fewer could achieve so sharply!”

Jonathan Evison's other novels include All About Lulu, West of Here, and This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! Oh, and The Refined Fundamentals of Caregiving became the film The Fundamentals of Caregiving. Small World is available from both stores at 20% off the list price. Boswell offers $5 media mail shipping within the continental United States. 

Boswell cosponsorship!
Wednesday, January 26, 7 pm
Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel
at University School of Milwaukee
Viriginia Heines Theater
2100 W Fairy Chasm Rd
Register for this free event here.

Marc Brackett, founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, will discuss the themes of his newest book, Permission to Feel: The Power of Emotional Intelligence to Achieve Well-Being and Success, laying a framework for what adults need to learn in order to support children - and themselves - in achieving academic and life success.

In his 25 years as an emotion scientist, he has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults - a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that they help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. His prescription for healthy children (and their parents, teachers, and schools) is a system called RULER, a high-impact and fast-effect approach to understanding and mastering emotions that has already transformed the thousands of schools that have adopted it. RULER has been proven to reduce stress and burnout, improve school climate, and enhance academic achievement. This book is the culmination of Marc’s development of RULER and his way to share the strategies and skills with readers around the world. It is tested, and it works.

Marc Brackett, PhD is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. REDgen stands for Resilience through EDucation for a new GENeration. REDgen advocates for the mental health and well-being of youth through the lens of resilience.

Saturday, January 29, 6 pm 
Isabel Allende, author of Violeta 
In conversation with Victoria Alonso for a virtual ticketed event.
Tickets for this virtual event here.

Isabel Allende, author of many bestselling favorite novels, from The House of the Spirits to A Long Petal of the Sea, celebrates the release of her latest with a special virtual ticket event coordinated by Books & Books and cosponsored by 14 other independent bookstores from across the United States - including us! Allende's new novel is a sweeping novel that tells the epic story of Violeta del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.

Tickets cost $28 and include the book. Ticketholders will receive a Zoom link for one device to watch the program on the day of the event. To avoid any missed communication, please make sure that Eventbrite is not blocked by your email system. Stated ticket price includes sales tax but not Eventbrite ticketing fee. Violeta goes on sale on January 25 and we will allow folks to pick up their copy in advance of the event, but please note, tickets are not refundable. Boswell does not ship outside the continental United States. Media mail orders can take up to four weeks to arrive outside the state of Wisconsin.

Allende's Violeta tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Her life will be shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women’s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and ultimately, not one, but two pandemics.

From Booklist: "Allende has long been renowned as an enchanting storyteller, and this emotionally perceptive epic ranks among her best."

Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende's other books include Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. Her books have been translated into more than 42 languages and have sold more than 74 million copies worldwide. Victoria Alonso is the President of Production for Marvel Studios.She was named one of People en Español magazine’s top Poderosa, Most Influential Hispanic Women in 2019 and 2020. 

More on the Boswell Upcoming Events page.

Photo credits
Jonathan Evison by Keith Brofsky
Marc Brackett by Horatio Marquinez

No comments: