Boswell bestsellers week ending July 27, 2024

Boswell bestsellers week ending July 27, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Summer Pact, by Emily Giffin
2. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
3. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
4. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
5. James, by Percival Everett
6. Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
7. The Bright Sword, by Lev Grossman
8. The Book of Elsewhere, by Keanu Reeves and Chia Miéville
9. The Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley
10. All Fours, by Miranda July

Keanu Reeves has teamed up with science fiction writer Chia Miéville for The Book of Elsewhere. From Booklist: "A warrior who can't be killed and who doesn't understand why. A government agency studying him. Ancient powers who worship him and seek to destroy him. And an immortal deer-pig...Set in the same universe as Reeves' BRZRKR graphic novel series, the nature of the narrative is revealed somewhat slowly, and the writing style is oddly anachronistic and very erudite." It was announced last year at San Diego Comicon and published in time for this year's show.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Good to Great, by Jim Collins
2. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
3. Autocracy Inc, by Anne Applebaum
4. Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell, by Ann Powers
5. Outlive, by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford
6 .This Earthly Globe, by Andrea Di Robilant
7. The Lucky Ones, by Zara Chowdhary (Boswell August 15 event)
8. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
9. Guilty Creatures, by Mikita Brottman
10. Democracy or Else, by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett et al

Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum's latest is Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World, out this week, earning two raves, five positives, and a mixed from BookMarks. From Ruth Ben-Ghiat in The Washington Post: "Applebaum argues that dictators like those in Iran, Venezuela, China and Russia differ from despots of earlier ages because their partnerships are born less from ideological commonalities than from 'a ruthless, single-minded determination to preserve their personal wealth and power.' Applebaum rightly places kleptocratic institutionalized thievery at the center of her analysis."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Death's End V3 by Liu Cixin
2. The Three Body Problem V1, by Liu Cixin
3. Ex-Wife, by Ursula Parrott
4. Summers End V5, by Juneau Black
5. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
6. Three Keys, by Laura Pritchett
7. Adventure Zone V6: The Suffering Game, by Griffin McElroy
8. Throne of Glass V2: Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J Maas
9. Throne of Glass V1, by Sarah J Maas
10. The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah

One of our regulars noted how many high profile books there are about women in their fifties, including Sandwich, All Fours, and Same As It Ever Was. Add to that Three Keys, by Laura Pritchettt, the story of a woman's travels after the death of her husband and estrangement from her son. From Kirkus: "The author's nuanced descriptions of Ammalie's determination, joy, and trepidation as she meets people, as well as the lessons she takes away from each of the encounters, are engaging enough to get you through the slower portions. The book examines weighty topics like grief, marriage struggles, and growing older in a manner that is thought-provoking and insightful. A satisfying examination of one woman's journey of self-discovery.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Arise, by Elena Aguilar
2. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
3. Riding More with Less, by Sam Tracy
4. Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, by Lisa Keefauver (Boswell July 29 event)
5. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest
6. World Travel, by Anthony Bourdoin
7. It Didn't Start Out That Way, by Judy Bridges
8. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
9. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen
10. The 1619 Project, created by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Two books from a book club presentation on Wednesday hit the list. On the fiction side was Ex-Wife, which Jason noted has been selling consistently since its release. We have the best sales on Edelweiss in the Midwest/Great Lakes region. And on the nonfiction list is The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, a national bestseller for which we are #16 on Edelweiss. Oru rule of thumb, gathered from publisher conversations, is that if we're ranking higher than the mid-thirties, we're punching above our weight.

Books for Kids:
1. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
2. Peekaboo Car, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
3. Children of Anguish and Anarchy V3 by Tomi Adeyemi
4. Children Just Like Me, from DK
5. Ladybug Girl, by David Soman, illustrated by Jackie Davis
6. Wild, by Yuval Zommer
7. Elephant and Piggie Biggie V1, by Mo Willems
8. Children of Blood and Bone V1, by Tomi Adeyemi
9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
10. If Only I Had Told Her, by Laura Nowlin

Another relatively quiet week for the bestsellers. The Wild is a picture book by Yuval Zommer that hit the March/April kids Indie Next liast. It's got a nice Publishers Weekly: "Zommer's latest makes a plea for environmental awareness as his signature visuals highlight the life-sustaining beauty of the natural world. A classic fairy tale opening belies the true-to-life aspects of the tale that follows, about a harmonious place called The Wild, which humans initially appreciate, then gradually destroy until discovering their misguided ways."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 20, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 20, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Black Bird Oracle, by Deborah Harkness
2. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
3. James, by Percival Everett
4. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
5. Table for Two, by Amor Towles
6. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
7. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
8. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
9. The Heart in Winter, by Kevin Barry
10. The Wilds, by Sarah Pearse.

After six years, The Black Bird Oracle, the long-awaited fifth book in the All Souls series releases from Deborah Harkness, having moved from Viking to Ballantine, at two separate divisions of Penguin Random House. From Library Journal: "Marked by Harkness's deft evocations and appreciation of learning, this is a book to treasure. The portentous ending, rife with new story threads and threats, will leave readers hoping that she doesn't wait another six years to continue the series."

Hardcover Nonfiction
1. When the Clock Broke, by John Ganz
2. On Call, by Anthony Fauci
3. Mr Churchill in the White House, by Robert Schmuhl
4. The Comfort of Crows, by Margaret Renkl
5. Nuclear War, by Annie Jacobson

No doubt about it, this is our worst showing on the hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in years. It's partly the time of year, and partly due to the loss of sales from the RNC. Many of our regulars went away, and we're too far to draw attendees. Or maybe there's the lack of draw for a store whose bestselling book in the category is When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s.

I'm guessing some attendees might have found Mr Churchill in the White House: The Untold Story of a Prime Minister and Two Presidents interesting, which published on July 2. From Michael O'Donnell in The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Schmuhl, an emeritus professor of American studies and journalism at the University of Notre Dame, knows that he is covering well-trodden ground. There is no shortage of books about Churchill...yet Mr. Schmuhl has found a fresh angle by focusing on the White House visits themselves, from the intimacies of the close quarters to the tensions hiding behind smiling pictures.:

Paperback Fiction:
1. Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game V6, by Griffin, Clint, Justin, and Travis McElroy, with illustrations by Carey Pietsch
2. Happy Place, by Emily Henry
3. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas
4. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
5. Wellness, by Nathan Hill
6. The Overstory, by Richard Powers
7. What Moves the Dead, by T Kingfisher
8. Sword Catcher, by Cassandra Clare
9. Carnivale of Curiosities, by Aimee Gibbs
10. Heir of Fire V3, by Sarah J Maas

Adventure Zone is a graphic adaptation of the McElroy family's Dungeons and Dragons podcast, for those of you didn't know there could be a thing like that. From the publisher: "As we enter the home stretch of this campaign, there's never been a better time to join the party! And if you're a fan of Critical Role and Dimension 20, then this here's a bet that'll sure to pay off."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest
2. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
3. Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, by Lisa Keefauver (Boswell event July 29)
4. The Hundred Year's War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi
5. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
6. A Fever in the Heartland, by Timothy Egan
7. Random Acts of Medicine, by Anupam B Jena and Christopher Worsham
8. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
9. The Shortest History of Italy, by Ross King
10. Justice for All, by Lloyd A Barbee

Based on previous works like Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, Ross King seems a good fit for writing The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic - A Retelling for Our Times. Booklist agreed! From the starred review: "King, who has written extensively on the history, art, and culture of Italy and is known for his impeccable research and engaging style, is the perfect Virgil to guide us from The Aeneid to COVID-19 in this densely packed volume of tantalizing details. ..Each page brims with Bill Bryson-like trivia that is sure to delight."

Books for Kids:
1. A Magic Fierce and Bright, by Hemant Nayak (Boswell September 29 event)
2. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
3. Gertie the Darling Duck of World War II, by Shari Swanson, illustrations by Renée Graef
4. Reckless V2, by Lauren Roberts
5. If You Spot a Shell, written and illustrated by Aimée Sicuro

Another quiet list. If You Spot a Shell published in May and is a great summer picture book from the author of If You Find a Leaf. From Kirkus: "Nature lovers can cross-check shells from each scene with the endpapers, which depict neat rows of photographed whelks, scallops, and more, accompanied by labels in cursive. Others will revel in wondering what else shells could be used for. Either way, they'll enjoy this tale, which encourages kids to use their imaginations and think outside the box."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 13, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 13, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Heart in Winter, by Kevin Barry (signed copies)
2. All This and More, by Peng Shepherd (signed copies)
3. James, by Percival Everett
4. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski (Boswell event August 22)
5. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
6. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
7. Funny Story, by Emily Henry
8. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
9. A Death in Cornwall V24, by Daniel Silva
10. Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Long Island Compromise is the follow-up novel to Fleishman Is in Trouble, which was adapted into a series for Hulu. Taffy Brodesser-Akner's latest has itself received 11 raves, 2 positives, and 3 mixed on BookMarks. From Leigh Haber in the Los Angeles Times: "I’m not going to say whether the first line of the book is prophetic, but it almost doesn’t matter. Brodesser-Akner has written a humane, brazen, gorgeous novel whose words dance exuberantly on the page."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Never Enough, by Andrew Wilkinson
2. On Call, by Anthony Fauci
3. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
4. What We See in the Stars, by Kelsey Oseid
5. Democracy in Retrograde, by Sami Sage and Emily Amick
6. The Wide, Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides
7. The Book Makers, by Adam Smyth
8. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
9. The Wager, by David Grann
10. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt

Books on books usually have some market in a bookstore and The Book-Makers: A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives is no exception. From Kirkus: "Fascinating stories about books and the people who made them. Smyth, a professor of English literature and history, nimbly traverses more than five centuries as he illuminates some influential men and women in the bookmaking trade."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Summers End V5, by Juneau Black (signed copies)
2. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
3. Happy Place, by Emily Henry
4. Just for the Summer, by Abby Jimenez
5. Wellness, by Nathan Hill
6. Goodnight, Tokyo, by Yoshida Atsuhiro
7. More Days a the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
8. Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck
9. The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd
10. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

The Boswell Lit Group is reading Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck for October, the Booker International winner and yet another author I've never read before. BookMarks proclaims 15 raves and nine positives. From Dwight Garner in The New York Times: "If Kairos were only a tear-jerker, there might not be much more to say about it. But Erpenbeck, a German writer born in 1967 whose work has come sharply to the attention of English-language readers over the past decade, is among the most sophisticated and powerful novelists we have."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest (MPL event July 20)
2. Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, by Lisa Keefauver (Boswell event July 25)
3. This Place of Silence, by Ian Adams
4. Latinos in Milwaukee, by Joseph A Rodriguez
5. Fatherland, by Burkhard Bilger
6. Cream City Chronicles, by John Gurda
7. A Fever in the Heartland, by Timothy Egan
8. The Earth Transformed, by Peter Frankopan
9. Milwaukee in Stone and Clay, by Raymond Wiggers
10. The Heat Will Kill You First, by Jeff Goodell

If The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet was helped in getting attention by a record breaking hot summer, the paperback edition finds us hotter still. Also hot is the price increase of the paperback. The paperback edition is a very minimal $5 lesss than the hardcover at $23.99. The thinking there might have been that if the book had come out in hardcover in 2024, it would have been between $32 and $35. From Shannon Osaka in The Washington Post: "In 14 whirlwind chapters, Goodell, a longtime climate journalist and contributing editor for Rolling Stone, earns his book’s grim title. The chapters travel from the Arctic Circle to the tropics and back again, tracing the effects of heat on melting ice and suffering corals, but also on enthused mosquitoes, whose ranges are stretching wider as temperatures warm."

Books for Kids:
1. The Yellow Bus, by Loren Long
2. One Person, No Vote, young adult edition, by Carol Anderson
3. A Magic Fierce and Bright, by Hemant Nayak (Boswell September 29 event)
4. Fungarium, by Ester Gaya
5. Oceanarium, by Loveday Trinick
6. The Secret World of Plants, by Ben Hoare
7. How Big Were Dinosaurs, by Lita Judge
8. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
9. The Lightning Thief V1, by Rick Riordan
10. The One and Only Family V4, by Katherine Applegate

Loren Long's The Yellow Bus came out, as many school-focused titles do, in June, with the idea that they are ready for back to school sales in August. From Kadie Seitz in School Library Journal: "What happens to the objects around us after they leave our lives? This bittersweet tale evokes Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House as it traces the long life of a yellow school bus... A must-purchase, this book will leave readers looking at objects around them differently long after its covers are closed."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 6, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 6, 2024

Hardcover Fiction
1. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
2. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
3. James, by Percival Everett
4. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
5. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski
6. The Cliffs, by J Courtney Sullivan
7. Table for Two, by Amor Towles
8. Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley
9. All Fours, by Miranda July
10. Same As It Ever Was, by Claire Lombardo

We had a great read from Kim on The God of the Woods, Liz Moore's folow-up to Long Bright River, and the book is the #1 Indie Next Pick as well. She also got eight raves and two positives on BookMarks. Maureen Corrigan compares Moore's latest to The Secret History in The Washington Post: "This summer, I once again felt that all-too-rare sense of being completely possessed by a story as I read The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. There are some superficial similarities between the two novels: Both are intricate narratives featuring young people isolated in enclosed worlds - in Tartt’s story, a small cohort of classics students at the aforementioned college (modeled on Bennington); in Moore’s, a summer camp within a vast forest in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. A sense of predetermined doom also pervades both books. But the most vital connection for me is the beguiling force of these two literary suspense novels."

Hardcover Nonfiction
1 The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan
2. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
3. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
4. When the Clock Broke, by John Ganz
5. Democracy or Else, by Jon Favreau
6. On Call, by Anthony Fauci
7. Challenger, by Adam Higginbotham
8. A Gentleman and a Thief, by Dean Jobb
9. There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib
10. There Was Nothing You Could Do, by Steven Hyden

John Ganz's When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s has gotten six raves (so far) on BookMarks. The author of the Unpopular Front column for substack looks at David Duke, Patrick Buchanan, and Ross Perot, among other figures. Jennifer Szalai, in The New York Times, notes of the 1990s: "This smooth hum of stability stands in obvious contrast to our current plight of fracture and chaos. But as John Ganz shows in his terrific new book, When the Clock Broke, the early 1990s were also a time of social unrest and roiling resentments, of growing alienation and festering anguish."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Goddess of Warsaw, by Lisa Barr
2. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
3. A Novel Love Story, by Ashley Poston
4. The Measure, by Nikki Erlick
5. The Searcher, by Tana French
6. Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, by J Ryan Stradal
7. Just for the Summer, by Abby Jimenez
8. The Abyss, by Pilar Quintana
9. The Last Sane Woman, by Hannah Regel
10. Cuckoo, by Gretchen Felker-Martin

The Measure, by Nikki Erlick, took two years to go into paperback due to its strong word-of-mouth sales. It was a Read with Jenna Book Club selection too. Booklist noted: "Echoing Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and Claire Fuller's Bitter Orange, Erlick's debut is a futuristic thought experiment set close to the present day. Using a thoughtful and genuine group of characters to outline society's widely varied reactions to the strings' arrival, Erlick highlights the Herculean efforts needed to look beyond prejudice and predisposition."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Arise, by Elena Aguilar
2. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest 
3. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
4. Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, by Michael Finkel (Boswell July 29 event)
5. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
6. What Does Israel Fear from Palestine?, by Raja Shehadeh
7. World Travel, by Anthony Bourdain
8. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
9. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
10. Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin, by Kristine Hansen

A third event has been added to the We Had Fun and Nobody Died tour. In addition to Shank Hall on July 13 and the MPL Central Library event on July 20, Peter Jest and Amy Waldman will also be at the Milwaukee Press Club on July 31. Here's the link to the MPL event.

Books for Kids:
1. Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair, by Lucy Knisley (signed copies)
2. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
3. Reckless V2, by Lauren Roberts
4. Bluey Beach, from Disney
5. Children of Anguish and Anarchy V3, by Tomi Adeyemi
6. The One and Only Ruby V3, by Katherine Applegate
7. The Great Lakes, by Barb Rosenstock, illustrations by Jamey Christoph
8. Powerless V1 by Lauren Roberts
9. What Feelings Do When No One's Looking, by Tina Oziewicz, illustrations by Aleksandra Zajac
10. The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfeld

Reckless, by Lauren Roberts is the follow up to Powerless, also in this week's top 10. The first book in this series was originally self-published and was then picked up by Simon and Schuster. #3 in the series will be called Fearless. From Shelf Awareness: "Powerless is a compelling tale of darkness and destruction, of a divide carved by a vicious king, and of the lure of freedom, choice, and power."