Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 10, 2022

Boswell bestsellers, week ending September 10, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Last Summer on State Street, by Toya Wolfe (Register for September 28 in-person event here)
2. Fairy Tale, by Stephen King
3. Carrie Soto Is Back, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O'Farrell
5. The Rising Tide, by Ann Cleeves
6. Ithaca, by Claire North
7. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
8. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks
9. All Good People Here, by Ashley Flowers
10. Fox Creek, by William Kent Krueger (Register for September 17 in-person event here)

Top first-week-out debut this week is Stephen King's Fairy Tale, which is, per the publisher, a "spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher - for that world or ours." Publishers Weekly, in its continuing attempt to be the new Kirkus*, has the sole pan among the early reviewers. Kirkus, on the other hand, calls this "a tale that's at once familiar and full of odd and unexpected twists - vintage King, in other words." 

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. I Will, by Sheron Wyant-Leonard
2. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
3. Path Lit by Lightning, by David Maraniss
4. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
5. Salt Fat Acid Heat, by Samin Nosrat
6. Dinner in One, by Melissa Clark
7. Constitution in Jeopardy, by Russ Feingold and Peter Prindiville
8. What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us, by Mike Mariani
9. Crying in the Bathroom, by Erika L Sánchez (Register for September 16 in-person event here)
10. A Continent Erupts, by Ronald H Spector

One pot, one pan, under an hour! That's the promise of New York Times columnist Melissa Clark's Dinner in One, just out this week.  The how-to category doesn't have the same animus at Publishers Weekly, so their take on Dinner in One is: " Busy home cooks shouldn't miss this smart collection." I was hoping for something more daring like "Fennel seeds? Get over it." Clark cooks with Ayesha Rascoe of NPR here.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Suburban Hell, by Maureen Kilmer (signed copies available)
2. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. Verity, by Colleen Hoover
5. Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
6. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, by Sangu Mandanna
7. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
8. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
9. It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover
10. Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead

This week's domination duo score is Taylor 2, Colleen 2, with Emily fading - no Beach Read or backlist this week. I would love to see Juneau Black's 2nd and 3rd titles pop into our top ten, but that's the breaks of a series - it's almost impossible for them to outsell Shady Hollow. Speaking of series, Sangu Mandanna said that her next book for adults will be set in the same world as The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. And speaking of witches, Maureen Kilmer of Suburban Hell hinted that she'll be staying in the comic horror lane, but witches are likely to be the next subject. Happy Spooktember, everyone.  

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Wake by Rebecca Hall, illustrations by Hugo Martinez
2. Madison Ghosts and Legends, by Anna Lardinois
3. Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah
4. Growing Up Little Chute, by John Van Lieshout (Register for September 21 in-person event here)
5. A History of Milwaukee Drag, by BJ Daniels and Michail Takach (Register for October 24 in-person event here)
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Wisconsin, Charles Hagner
8. Milwaukee Ghosts and Legends, by Anna Lardinois
9. All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner
10. The Icepick Surgeon, by Sam Kean

Out in paperback in June, Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, received starred reviews from the big four (PW, Kirkus, Library Journal, Booklist) and went on to get an NAACP Image Award and appear on several best-of lists. Hillary Chute included Wake in a New York Times round-up of Black lives in comics in summer 2021.

Books for Kids:
1. Shot Clock, by Caron Butler and Justin A Reynolds (signed copies available)
2. The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D Jackson
3. Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People, by Roxane Dunbar Otiz
4. Love Radio, by Ebony Ladelle
5. Our World of Dumplings, by Francie Dekker (Register for September 24 in-person event here)
6. Allegedly, by Tiffany D Jackson
7. Grown, by Tiffany D Jackson
8. Blackout, by Dhonielle Clayton
9. Jessi's Secret Language: Baby Sitters' Club graphic novel V1, by Ann M Martin
10. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse with illustrations by Renée Graef

What do Caron Butler, Justin Reynolds, and Tiffany D Jackson have in common? They all visited schools in Milwaukee and then had public events in other cities - Racine for Butler and Reynolds, and a Chicago-area appearance for Jackson. We have a rec for The Weight of Blood from Parker Jensen: " Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood is a multilayered retelling of Stephen King's Carrie inspired by the true stories of modern-day segregated proms. Filled the brim with layered and flawed characters, a looming sense of dread, and important conversations handled with care, you won't be able to put this one down." Signed copies available of The Weight of Blood too. Ask for your signed copy in comments if you order online.

*Or maybe there's some Freaky Friday action going on.