Sunday, July 28, 2024

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."

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