Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 30, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 30, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
2. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
3. Iron Flame V2, by Rebecca Yarros
4. Starter Villain, by John Scalzi (Books and Beer Book Club selection Jan 15 - more info here)
5. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
6. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
7. Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, by J Ryan Stradal
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. Roman Stories, by Jhumpa Lahiri
10. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

Ariel Lawhon's fifth solo novel, The Frozen River, has now sold the most copies of her five releases at Boswell in hardcover, though we did beat that number with the paperback of I Was Anastasia, as she appeared at the Lynden Sculpture Garden in 2019. Her latest is a historical mystery based on the real-life case of Martha Ballard, which our rep Jason told us was also the inspiration for the Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book, The Midwife's Tale. The starred Booklist noted that "Lawhon's first-rate tale should entrance readers passionate about early America and women's history."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
2. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
3. Oath and Honor, by Liz Cheney
4. Democracy Awakening, by Heather Cox Richardson
5. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
6. World Within a Song, by Jeff Tweedy
7. Wisconsin Supper Clubs 2E, by Ron Faiola
8. Best Minds, by Jonathan Rosen
9. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
10. Correction, by Ben Austen (Register for Boswell January 23 event)

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, which has been a steady presence on our bestseller list since its October 24 release, finally takes the lead in the week after Christmas. From the publisher: "Brooks draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience, and from the worlds of theatre, history, and education, to present a hopeful approach to human connection. Along the way he offers a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility, and misperception." It's not listed on BookMarks - a quick search explains why. That said, Kirkus called it "a hands-on guide to making meaningful human connections."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
2. Ex-Wife, by Ursula Parrott
3. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
4. A Court of Silver Flames V5, by Sarah J Maas
5. The Mountain in the Sea, by Ray Nayler
6. The Last to Vanish, by Megan Miranda
7. Big Swiss, by Jen Beagin
8. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
9. A Court of Thorns and Roses V1, by Sarah J Maas
10. Circe, by Madeline Miller

A sales record broken in the psychological suspense field. This week Megan Miranda scores her biggest paperback to date at Boswell with The Last to Vanish, besting 2016's All the Missing Girls, which went into paperback in 2017. The latest had raves from Booklist, Bookpage and Publishers Weekly. From Booklist: "This eerie thriller, in which the setting itself may be actively malevolent, can stand next to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Stephen King's The Shining."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen
2. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
3. All About Love, by bell hooks
4. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi
5. Think Again, by Adam Grant
6. Dopamine Nation, by Anna Lembke
7. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
8. Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman
9. Everything I Know About Love, by Dolly Alderton
10. Stay True, by Hua Hsu

Another book that has been floating around since this summer is Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman, which got a rave and three positives from BookMarks. From Barbara Spindel in The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Burkeman’s overarching goal is to convince readers to confront their finitude. Unlike traditional time-management techniques—which turn on an unrealistic promise of doing it all - Mr. Burkeman, citing the work of Buddhist scholars, meditation teachers, philosopher Martin Heidegger and others, argues instead that 'the only route to psychological freedom is to let go of the limit-denying fantasy of getting it all done and instead to focus on doing a few things that count.'”

Books for Kids:
1. Chalice of the Gods V6, by Rick Riordan
2. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
3. Murtagh V5, by Christopher Paolini
4. Something Someday, by Amanda Gorman, illustrations by Christian Robinson
5. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
6. Cat Kid Comic Club V5: Influencers, by Dav Pilkey
7. The Eyes and the Impossible McSweeneys edition, by Dave Eggers
8. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. Bluey: Christmas Swim, edited by Gabriela Taboas Zayas
10. Ruthless Vows V2, by Rebecca Ross

This is a great interview with Amanda Gorman and Christian Robinson for Something Someday on the Today Show, back when the book was published in September. I was looking at the visual and thought, that book is bulked up like middle grade fiction, not a 40-page picture book. Check the 20 second mark. 

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 23, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 23, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
2. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
3. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
4. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
6. Fourth Wing V1, by Rebecca Yarros
7. The Fraud, by Zadie Smith
8. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
9. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
10. Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, by J Ryan Stradal
11. The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
12. Starter Villain, by John Scalzi
13. Let Us Descend, by Jesmyn Ward
14. Iron Flame V2, by Rebecca Yarros
15. Absolution, by Alice McDermott

Starter Villain, one of Rachel C.' picks for the holiday season, is also the featured title of our Books & Beer Book club on January  15. Here is the upcoming meeting schedule for Boswell-run book clubs. From Library Journal: "Readers of humorous fantasy are sure to love Scalzi's latest as much as those cats; it's also for those who enjoy seeing superhero stories folded, twisted, and mutilated and anyone wishing for a righteous villain lair surrounded by intelligent sharks. Highly recommended."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Wager, by David Grann
2. Why We Love Baseball, by Joe Posnanski
3. World Within a Song, by Jeff Tweedy
4. The Comfort of Crows, by Margaret Renkl
5. Wisconsin Field to Fork, by Lori Fredrich
6. Prequel, by Rachel Maddow
7. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
8. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
9. Democracy Awakening, by Heather Cox Richardson
10. My Name Is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand
11. Wisconsin Supper Clubs 2E, by Ron Faiola
12. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
13. The Globemakers, by Peter Bellerby
14. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
15. Start Here, by Sohla El-Waylly

We usually see a nice pop on cookbooks in the fourth quarter and there are two on this week's list. Wisconsin Field to Fork has been strong all season, what with its seasonal ties, and it's nice to see Start Here from Sohla El-Waylly, Jason cookbook pick on Lake Effect. We got a very nice note back from Aly Miller, the book's Wisconsin illustrator. Very nice to have a local tie-in to this great cookbook.  From Publishers Weekly: " As tasty and appealing as it is informative, this is the ideal handbook for those starting out in the kitchen." Listen to the Lake Effect interview here. 

Paperback Fiction:
1. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
2. A Death in Door County, by Annelise Ryan
3. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
4. Wizard's Dream, by Louisa Loveridge Gallas
5. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, by VE Schwab
6. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (per Jason, trending on Tiktok)
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses V1, by Sarah J Maas
8. Best American Short Stories 2023, edited by Min Jin Lee
9. The Maid V1, by Nita Prose
10. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
11. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q Sutanto
12. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
13. Godkiller V1, by Hannah Kaner
14. Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, edited by Lisa Unger
15. The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

Selling off Jen's rec shelf is Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Jesse Q Sutanto, who is based in Indonesia, Singapore, and Oxford, has written a cozy mystery set in San Francisco's Chinatown. You don't usually see paperback original mysteries getting indexed on LitHub, but with one rave and three positives, I'm glad to see it got that extra help. 

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
2. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen
3. A Year in the Woods, by Torbjorn Ekelund
4. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
5. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
6. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
7. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
8. Dopamine Nation, by Anna Lembke
9. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
10. Penny, by Karl Stevens
11. Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, by Nick Offerman
12. The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine, by Michael Scott Baumann
13. Murdle V2, by GT Karber
14. Lyrics, by Paul McCartney 

15. How We Live Is How We Die, by Pema Chõdrõn

The outdoor world continues to captivate Boswell customers, at least on the new and noteworthy tables. I still can't understand why other stores haven't put piles of A Year in the Woods and A Philosophy of Walking on their front tables or displays. We're not the only store selling these books week after week, but it appears that a lot of stores that could sell these books well without much work are carrying either one spined out in a section or not carrying them at all.

Books for Kids:

1. Chalice of the Gods V6, by Rick Riordan
2. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
3. Dogtown, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko
4. Cat Kid Comic Club V5: Inflencers, by Dav Pilkey
5. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
6. The Eyes and the Impossible McSweeneys edition, by Dave Eggers
7. How to Catch a Polar Bear, by Stacy DeKeyser
8. Heartstopper V5, by Alice Oseman
9. Murtagh V5, by Christopher Paolini
10. What You Need to Be Warm, edited by Neil Gaiman
11. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
12. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Renée Graef
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid V18 No Brainer, by Jeff Kinney
14. Winter Turning graphic novel editionV7, by Tui T Sutherland
15. Peekaboo Car, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius

A late add from a Neil Gaiman collab is selling well off our impulse table. What You Need to Be Warm. With the help of multiple illustrators, Gaiman, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, has taken responses to the question and woven them into a poem. From Booklist: " A moving meditation on what it means to be safe and warm in a difficult world. "

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 16, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 16, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
2. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
3. A Death in the Dark Woods V2, by Annelise Ryan
4. The Fraud, by Zadie Smith
5. Fourth Wing V1, by Rebecca Yarros
6. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
7. Good Night, Irene, by Luis Alberto Urrea
8. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
9. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
10. Let Us Descend, by Jesmyn Ward

Deacon King Kong (2020) had a huge increase (quadrupled) in sales for us in 2020 over his previous novel The Good Lord Bird (2013), but The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is already has double that, and with lots of life left in the book. It wouldn't be surprising to see the novel on the 2024 holiday bestseller lists, much like Lessons in Chemistry and Demon Copperhead are holdovers from 2022.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Areté, by Brian Johnson
2. The Wager, by David Grann
3. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
4. World Within a Song, by Jeff Tweedy
5. My Name Is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand
6. Wisconsin Field to Fork, by Lori Fredrich
7. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
8. The Best Minds, by Jonathan Rosen
9. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
10. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions place in the top 10 books of the year both for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. It also has eight raves and a positive on BookMarks. It's kind of the Stay True of 2023. From Alexandra Jacobs in The New York Times: "Behind most performances, in other words - most lives - lies some measure of mess and violence, and exposing this can be uncomfortable. But Rosen’s own memoir is the opposite of ruinous. It’s an inch-by-inch, pin-you-to-the-sofa reconstruction of his long friendship with Michael Laudor, who made headlines a decade after the Ginsberg reading: first in The New York Times, as a Yale Law School graduate destigmatizing schizophrenia; then pretty much everywhere, after stabbing his pregnant girlfriend, Caroline Costello, to death with a kitchen knife, confusing her with a windup doll."

Paperback Fiction:
1. A Death in Door County V1, by Annelise Ryan
2. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
3. Before We Were Innocent, by Ella Berman
4. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
5. Bookshops and Bonedust, by Travis Baldree
6. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
7. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
8. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doer
9. The Enigma of Room 622, by Joël Dicker
10. Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune

It's the second week out and first week in our top 10 for Ella Berman's Before We Were Innocent, which was a Reese's Book Club pick in hardcover. From the publisher: "A summer in Greece for three best friends ends in the unthinkable when only two return home in this new novel from Ella Berman." No BookMarks for this one (one suspects they don't often track Berkley), but a nice Kirkus: "With evocative and astute prose, Berman's sophomore effort is a slow but searing portrayal of the intoxicating power of privilege, youth, and female friendship."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
2. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen (Register for December 27 Boswell event)
3. A Year in the Woods, by Torbjorn Ekelund
4. Walking Milwaukee, by Royal Brevvaxling and Molly Snyder
5. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown
8. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
9. The Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
10. Murdle V1, by GT Karber

Now that's the kind of list we expect from paperback nonfiction - four books about Milwaukee. Seasonally speaking, however, they seem like summer books - three of the four are guidebooks. That and three four more of the books would be classified as nature titles, which I should note, often dominate this list, whatever the season.

Books for Kids:
1. Death's Door, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
2. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen
3. Something Someday, by Amanda Gorman, illustrations by Christian Robinson
4. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
5. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
6. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
7. Chalice of the Gods V6, by Rick Riordan
8. Winter Tales, by Dawn Casey, illustrations by Zanna Goldhawk
9. Red and Green, by Lois Ehlert
10. Heartstopper V5, by Alice Oseman

I guess the winner in the holiday-themed picture book sweepstakes is Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? From Kirkus: "For all that it leans heavily on absurdity, this book exhibits some serious heart. In the market for an understated Christmas classic? Behold! A Christmas miracle!" We also had a late Jon Klassen holiday card edition from Red Cap of Santa's reindeer going down the chimney one at a time. I don't normally bring in new Christmas cards in December, but how could I resist?

Find all books mentioned here on the Boswell Books website.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 9, 2023

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 9, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
2. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
3. The English Understand Wool, by Helen Dewitt
4. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
5. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
6. Fourth Wing V1, by Rebecca Yarros
7. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
8. The Door-to-Door Bookstore, by Carsten Henn
9. The Narrow Road Between Desires, by Patrick Rothfuss
10. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
11. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
12. Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
13. Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, by J Ryan Stradal
14. Absolution, by Alice McDermott
15. The Vulnerables, by Sigrid Nunez

Who are the influencers of the holiday season?  1) The New York Times and Washington Post together are clearly driving The Bee Sting and North Woods, being in both their top tens. 2) Ann Patchett recommendations are the clear driver of The English Understand Wool (hey, it's a year old) and have influence on Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (it's also top 10 Washington Post, plus book of the year for B&N and Amazon) and Absolution and The Comfort of Crows in nonfiction. Here is the Ann Patchett recommends page. 3) The newsletter landing has given a sales pop to Jason's back-page pick of The Door-to-Door Bookstore. 

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Wisconsin Field to Fork, by Lori Fredrich
2. The Comfort of Crows, by Margaret Renkl
3. Oath and Honor, by Liz Cheney
4. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
5. The Wager by David Grann
6. Lula Cafe, by Jason Hammel
7. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
8. Why We Love Baseball, by Joe Posnanski
9. My Name Is Barbra, by Barbra Streisand
10. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
11. Wisconsin Supper Club, by Ron Faiola
12. Prequel, by Rachel Maddow
13. The Globemakers, by Peter Bellerby
14. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
15. Fire Weather, by John Vaillant

Supper Club 2023 continues with Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club joining Wisconsin Supper Clubs in the top 10.  The Oath and Honor demand was not quite expected by Hachette - Ron Charles noted in his Washington Post newsletter that it was very hard to find copies in the Beltway. In terms of celebrity memoirs, My Name Is Barbra (Streisand) is doing the best for us. The Woman in Me (Spears) had the biggest first week pop but has since calmed, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (Perry) resurgence was quite, and is out of stock anyway, and Being Henry (Winkler) is the staff favorite because two of us read it. It was also on a friends top three - her reading focuses on disability narratives, and Winkler discusses his dyslexia at length. Her other two were The Country of the Blind and Leg. 

Paperback Fiction:
1. Our Town, by Thornton Wilder
2. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
3. Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
4. The Death of Us, by Lori Rader-Day
5. This Is Happiness, by Niall Williams
6. The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
7. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
8. Woman of Light, by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (upcoming Boswell book club meetings here)
9. A Death in Door County, by Annelise Ryan (register for December 14 Boswell event)
10. The Patron Saint of Liars, by Ann Patchett

Four Patchetts, two Patchett recommendations (Our Town and This Is Happiness), two events, one former (The Death of Us - these are signed) and one upcoming, plus one book club pick (Woman of Light) and one prizewinner (Trust). 

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda (pre-order for December 16 Boswell signing)
2. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen (Register for December 27 Boswell event)
3. These Precious Days, by Ann Patchett
4. This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett
5. Truth and Beauty, by Ann Patchett
6. Good Arguments, by Bo Seo
7. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
8. Perseopolis, by Marjane Satrapi
9. A Year in the Woods, by Torbjorn Ekelund
10. Dopamine Nation, by Anna Lembke

Three Patchetts, two Milwaukee books, one movie tie-in, one past event, one high school required reading book, and two books off the new and noteworthy table, Dopamine Nation, from a big publisher, which is selling everywhere (we're #30 on Edelweiss), and A Year in the Woods, which should but is not (we're #3 on Edelweiss), perhaps because it is from the Canadian indie Greystone. If you are store that could sell a book like this, maybe you need to have 5 on display?

Books for Kids:
1. Patchwork Prince, by Baptiste Paul
2. The Field, by Baptiste Paul
3. Dogtown, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (January 23 virtual event registration)
4. Murtagh V5, by Christopher Paolini
5. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
6. How Does the Santa Go Down the Chimney, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
7. Cat Kid Comic Club V5: Influencers, by Dav Pilkey
8. The Snowy Day board book, by Ezra Jack Keats
9. The Chalice of the Gods V6, by Rick Riordan
10. Winter Tales, by Dawn Casey, illustrated by Zanna Goldhawk

Our next-to-last school visit of 2023 was with Baptiste Paul, whose new picture book, The Patchwork Prince, was a hit with students and teachers alike. It's a book inspired by his own life growing up in St. Lucia. From Publishers Weekly: "It's a loving portrait of a child embracing their innate value, taught by the queen who loves them best." 

I should also note that fully half the top ten are either holiday or winter-themed. 

Visit https://www.boswellbooks.com/ to read more about these books and perhaps purchase them from us.

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 2, 2023

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending December 2, 2023

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Fourth Wing V1, by Rebecca Yarros
2. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
3. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett (ticketed event December 6)
4. The Fraud, by Zadie Smith
5. The Narrow Road Between Desires, by Patrick Rothfuss
6. The English Understand Wool, by Helen Dewitt
7. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
8. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
9. The Mystery Guest V2, by Nita Prose
10. The Last Binding V3, by Freya Marske

The announcement of The New York Times ten-best list has an impact this week, as three of the top five fiction books show up in our top ten - North Woods, The Bee Sting, and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. Perhaps The Washington Post is also helping, as Daniel Mason and Paul Murray also showed up on that list. They are not on The Wall Street Journal list, but that paper only designated three fiction titles, as opposed to the traditional half and half. We'll see if North Woods can catch up to our success with The Winter Soldier in hardcover, which had several reads and an author visit. Sales for his new book are great, but we still have a long ways to go.

In addition to Tom Lake being in our top ten, despite a book-with-ticket event next week, Patchett's enthusiastic recommendation of The English Understand Wool on NPR gave the book a top-ten-worthy pop in sales at Boswell.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. A Very Chinese Cookbook, by Kevin Pang and Jeffrey Pang
2. Wisconsin Supper Clubs 2E, by Ron Faiola
3. Prequel, by Rachel Maddow
4. The Comfort of Crows, by Margaret Renkl
5. Wisconsin Field to Fork, by Lori Fredrich
6. The Wager, by David Grann
7. World Within a Song, by Jeff Tweedy
8. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
9. Surely You Can't Be Serious, by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abra
10. Democracy Awakening, by Heather Cox Richardson

In addition to sales pops for last week's events, three books see continued sales weeks after their appearances, including World Within a Song, Surely You Can't Be Serious, and The Comfort of Crows. We are particularly excited because even though our event with Margaret Renkl was virtual (you can watch it here), we are holding our own against stores who hosted her in person (#4 on Edelweiss), as long as you don't look at Nashville!

Paperback Fiction:
1. Tannenbaum Arms, by Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski
2. The Thursday Murder Club V1, by Richard Osman
3. A Marvellous Light V1, by Freya Marske
4. Bookshops and Bonedust, by Travis Baldree
5. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses V1, by Sarah J Maas
7. Sun Dog Memory, by Douglas Armstrong
8. The Employees, by Olga Ravn
9. The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
10. Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

Could it be possible to have two New Directions books on this week's bestseller list? In addition to The English Understand Wool, The Employees, pops as a particularly popular selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, meeting December 11. Though it's not at Comfort of Crows levels, we're still #21 in sales on Edelweiss, so we're punching a bit above our weight. Here's a link to the upcoming Boswell-run book club selections.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1 .Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen (Boswell event December 27)
2. Masterminds and Wingmen, by Rosalind Wiseman
3. Holy Food, by Christina Ward
4. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
5. Kodachrome Milwaukee, by Adam Levin
6. An Immense World, by Ed Yong
7. Dirtbag, Massachusetts, by Isaac Fitzgerald
8. Queen Bees and Wannabees, by Rosalind Wiseman
9. Persepolis V1, by Marjane Satrapi
10. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Selling off the new and noteworthy paperback table is Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional, a New York Times bestseller in hardcover (per the jacket - I'm not bothering to check) and the winner of the New England Book Award with blurbs from Roxane Gay, Min Jin Lee, and Marlon James. BookMarks has the book as six raves, five positives. From Publishers Weekly: "A marvelous coming-of-age story that's as wily and raunchy as it is heartfelt."

Books for Kids:
1. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
2. Murtagh V5, by Christopher Paolini
3. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen
4. Something Someday, by Amanda Gorman, illustrations by Christian Robinson
5. Red and Green, by Lois Ehlert
6. Dasher Can't Wait for Christmas, by Matt Tavares
7. The Fisherman, the Horse, and the Sea, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
8. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats
10. Before, Now, by Daniel Salmieri

He's not just the illustrator of the Dragons Love Tacos series. Daniel Salmieri has written and illustrated Before, Now, which was just named to The New York Times best illustrated kids books list. From Kirkus Reviews: "A series of moments, mundane and meaningful, capture the wonder of a life well lived. Each spread in the book offers a set of opposites... This meditation on the patterns of life shines with reminders of what we carry with us as we grow."