Boswell bestsellers, week ending April 1, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending April 1, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:

:

1. Intrigue in Istanbul, by Erica Ruth Neubauer
2. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
3. Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson
4. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
5. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
6. When in Rome, by Liam Callanan
7. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Matthews
8. Earth's the Right Place for Love, by Elizabeth Berg (New event date - Register for Monday, April 17 event here)
9. The White Lady, by Jacqueline Winspear
10. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Not that we haven't talked a lot about Pineapple Street and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow already, but it is interesting to see an author's book and one of the titles she edited next to each other on the bestseller lists.

The only new title this week is The White Lady, a new series from Jacqueline Winspear. From the publisher: "This heart-stopping adventure follows the coming of age and maturity of former wartime operative Elinor White - veteran of two wars, trained killer, protective of her anonymity—when she is drawn back into the world of violence she has been desperate to leave behind."

From Carol Memmott in The Washington Post: "After 17 Maisie novels, fans have a new character to love: Elinor White, an enigmatic war hero at the center of The White Lady, Winspear’s second stand-alone (or is it a series launch? Daniel) novel. White is very much her own woman, but she’s just as inspirational as Maisie."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
2. The Devil's Element, by Dan Egan
3. Sit in the Sun, by Jon M Sweeney (Tickets for April 13 Sip and Purr event here)
4. It's a Good Day to Change the World, by Lauren Schiller and Hadley Dynak, with illustrations by Rosy Petri
5. Outlive, by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
6. Humanly Possible, by Sarah Bakewell
7. One True Sentence, edited by Mark Cirino and Michael Von Cannon
8. The Big Myth, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M Conway
9. Black Holes, by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
10. Black Ball, by Theresa Runstedtler

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity has struck a nerve - Ingram's out of stock at most of their warehouses. The publisher calls the book, from doctor/podcaster Peter Attia with Bill Gifford, "a groundbreaking manifesto on living better that challenges the conventional medical thinking on aging and reveals an unorthodox approach to treating chronic diseases and extending long-term health, from a visionary thinker and leading longevity physician." Blurbs from Steve Levitt and Siddhartha Mukherjee.

From Matthew Rees in The Wall Street Journal: "His intent is not to scold, though, but to improve our habits and health - to help us achieve a longer life."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Love and Saffron, by Kim Fay
2. Daisy Jones & the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
4. What the Chickadee Knows, by Margaret Noodin
5. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr
6. The Cat Who Saved Books, by Sosuke Natsukawa
7. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
8. Cold Clay, by Juneau Black
9. The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
10. The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd
11. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
12. The Librarian of Burned Books, by Brianna Labuskes
13. A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas
14. The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley
15. The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan

One the Boswell big hardcover debuts of 2022 was The Cartographers, now out for a second week in paperback. One thing I have noticed is that we're definitely seeing fewer paperback cover changes than we used to. Sometimes we see a contrasting band running down the right side of the cover, but in person, that is often a step-back. The Candy House has one. But using our book club recommendations page as a guide, only 4 of the 25 listed titles have this step-back, which of course appears as a stripe when you're looking at books online.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
2. Every Good Boy Does Fine, by Jeremy Denk
3. The Icepick Surgeon, by Sam Kean
4. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
5. All About Love, by bell hooks

Without some strong regional books, this nonfiction bestseller list find it hard to compete with fiction. The top debut is Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart. Jason told me Japanese Breakfast is returning to town, so that should help with reading interest, even with two years in hardcover. The big news of late is that Will Sharpe, who starred it the second season of The White Lotus, will direct the screen adaptation. More in Variety.

And by the way, Crying in H Mart has got the step-back (thanks to Jason G. for noting that these are often step-backs. I wrote this at home and wasn't looking at the actual book).  Either way, I will note that it's an easy way to differentiate the images online. 

I think my subconscious was saying that I would prefer it was just a band to an actual step-back, which sometimes gets in my way of reading the paperback and tends to make the cover warp up on the new release table. 

Books for Kids: 

1. Dog Man V11: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey
2. When the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
3. Cat Kid Comic Club V4: Collaborations, by Dav Pilkey
4. The Moth Keeper, by K. O'Neill
5. Dog Man V9: Grime and Punishment, by Dav Pilkey
6. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P. Arrhenius
7. Peekaboo Sun, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P. Arrhenius
8. Gertie the Darling Duck of WWII, by Shari Swanson, illustrations by Renée Graef
9. When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left, by Marc Colagiovanni, illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds
10. What Feelings Do When No One's Looking, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Alesandra Zajac

It's been many years since we've been able to source the classic picture book Gertie the Duck, so a new interpretation of this classic tale, Gertie the Darling Duck of World War II, is warmly welcome by Milwaukeeans. From School Library Journal: " A delightful historical tale that will encourage young people to find similar 'good news' stories in their world today. Recommended."

Register for May 20 Renée Graef event here