Boswell bestsellers for the week of August 24, 2024

Boswell bestsellers for the week of August 24, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski
2. Spirit Crossing, by William Kent Krueger
3. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
4. James, by Percival Everett
5. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
6. The Woman, by Kristin Hannah
7. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
8. All Fours, by Miranda July
9. The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley
10. A Season of Perfect Happiness, by Maribeth Fischer (Boswell August 28 event)

A Season of Perfect Happiness takes place in the Milwaukee area, with Ten Chimneys (the Lunt-Fontaine home) figuring prominently, and other scenes set at the Lakefront, State Fair, and at Kopps. Several couples are torn apart by secrets. As my friends Lisa and Ken said to me, "There's a lot to talk about after reading this book!" It's got some nice blurbs, including one from Liam Callanan, who called it "exquisite."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Land Rich, Cash Poor, by Brian Reisinger
2. Happy Days: The Official Cookbook, by Christina Ward
3. Men Have Called Her Crazy, by Anna Marie Tender
4. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan
5. Celebrate with Babs, by Barbara Costello
6. On the Edge, by Nate Silver
7. The Art of Power, by Nancy Pelosi
8. The Bookshop, by Evan Friss
9. Turning to Stone, by Marcia Bjornerud
10. The Little Frog's Guide to Self Care, by Maybell Eequay

Men Have Called Her Crazy is a bestselling memoir with seven reviews on BookMarks and a lot of nice blurbs, including this from Carmen Maria Marchado: "Men Have Called Her Crazy is so many things I didn't know I needed: a testament to the work of healing, a raw howl of anger, and an indictment of misogyny's insipid, predictable, infuriating reign."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Pairing, by Casey McQuiston
2. Ex-Wife, by Ursula Parrottt
3. The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Emily Watson
4. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
5. The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides
6. Western Lane, by Chetna Maroo (Boswell upcoming book club selections)
7. It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover
8. The Overstory, by Richard Powers
9. Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy
10. Goodnight Tokyo, by Atsuhiro Yoshida

I don't know what this indicates, but six of this week's top 10 were published more than a year ago, and one of the four new books is a new translation of The Iliad. I should also note that none of them are school or other bulk orders - we just sell a lot of these title. One new title (at least for English-language readers) is Goodnight Tokyo, by Atsuhiro Yoshida, which is also out of stock at all of Ingram's warehouses. The publisher calls it a cross between Agatha Christie, Teju Cole, and Hieronymus Bosch, though one of the blurbs compares it to Murakami. It's not currently on his rec shelf, but it also has a rec from Jason.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Future Tense, by Tracy Dennis-Tiwary
2. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest
3. King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochschild
4. The Girls of Atomic City, by Denise Kiernan
5. Unmask Alice, by Rick Emerson
6. What an Owl Knows, by Jennifer Ackerman
7. Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah
8. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
9. A Promised Land, by Barack Obama
10. Let's Make Bread, by Ken Forkish, illustrations by Sarah Becan

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries, written by Rick Emerson, looks at the life of Beatrice Sparks, a psychologist (maybe) who penned Go Ask Alice and several follow-ups, including Jay's Journal, which was to scare folks about Satanism the way Alice did LSD. From William Tipper in The Wall Street Journal: "Beatrice Sparks 'discovered' and 'edited' a half-dozen more such journals before her death at 95 in 2012... Her biographer makes her into something of a villain whose presence seems almost oppressive in these pages."

Books for Kids:
1. The Yellow Bus, by Loren Long
2. A Magic Fierce and Bright, by Hemant Nayak (Boswell September 29 event)
3. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrated by Erin Kraan
4. We Are Big Time, by Hena Khan (MPL/MMWC September 15 event)
5. Shot Clock V1, by Caron Butler and Justin A Reynolds (Racine Library September 11 event)
6. Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch, by Codie Crowley
7. Peekaboo House, by Camilla Reid, illustratitons by Ingela P Arrhenius
8. Peekaboo Pumpkin, by Camilla Reid, illustratitons by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. Bluey Beach, from Penguin Young Readers licensees - there is apparently no actual person involved with this book
10. Break to You, by Neal Shusterman, Debra Young, and Michelle Knowlden

Break to You with lead writer Neal Shusterman is the story of, to quote the author "Romeo and Juliet in juvie." We don't usually have coauthors downloaded into the author field of our inventory database. I guess this system was invented before coauthors and illustrators, but we sometimes add them by hand later. I was interested to see there two coauthor for this one. Shusterman and Knowlton worked together previously and brought in Young, a mutual friend. Alas, Young passed away before publication. More in Nerd Daily.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 17, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 17, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski (Boswell event August 22)
2. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
3. Bad River V6, by Marc Cameron
4. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
5. Table for Two, by Amor Towles
6. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
7. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
8. Brothersong V4, by TJ Klune
9. Funny Story, by Emily Henry
10. How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood

Brothersong is the final book in the classic Green Creek saga from TJ Klune about "a pack of secret werewolves and other shifters in a small town," now available in hardcover editions. The enthusiastic blurb from Charlaine Harris for the first in the series is like a visit from an old friend: "Wolfsong is so well written that I'm in awe of TJ Klune's talent."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Land Rich, Cash Poor, by Brian Reisinger (Boswell event August 20)
2. The Lucky Ones, by Zara Chowdhary 
3. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
4. On the Edge, by Nate Silver
5. The Art of Power, by Nancy Pelosi
6. The Little Frog's Guide to Self Care, by Maybell Eequay
7. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan
8. White Robes and Broken Badges, by Joe Moore
9. Men Have Called Her Crazy, by Anna Marie Tendler
10. Autocracy Inc, by Anne Applebaum

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything is the new book from Nate Silver, author of The Signal and the Noise. The book has two raves and two mixed on BookMarks. From Kirkus, one of the raves: "A thought-provoking examination of how society has become increasingly divided between the risk-tolerant and the risk-averse...Silver provides a clever look into a unique realm. An enlightening study of the people who play the game of risk and win."

 

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Pairing, by Casey McQuiston
2. The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Emily Watson
3. A History of Burning, by Janika Oza
4. A Curious Beginning V1, by Deanna Raybourn
5. Reyjavik, by Ragnar Jonasson
6. A Novel Love Story, by Ashley Poston
7. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
8. Gravity Lost V2, by LM Sagas
9. Peace, by Gene Wolfe
10. The Lightest Object in the Universe, by Kimi Eisele

O. Henry Prize Winner Janika Oza's debut gets a fresh cover treatment in paperback for A History of Burning, something we see less of than in previous times. The book had a nice New York Times review (plus three from the advance trades - that made four reviews on BookMarks all told) that led to a NYT Notable Book of 2023.From S Kirk Walsh: "The result is a haunting, symphonic tale that speaks to the nuanced complexities of class and trauma for this particular family."

Paperback Nonfiction: and Comic Strips
1. Pearls Seeks Enlightenment, by Stephan Pastis
2. Pearls Await the Tide, by Stephen Pastis
3. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
4. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
5. Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
6. Floundering Fathers, by Stephan Pastis
7. A Life of One's Own, by Joanna Biggs
8. The Sisterhood, by Liza Mundy
9. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
10. Wild Girls, by Tiya Miles

Seven reviews for A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again, according to BookMarks. One of the raves was from Lauren Michele Jackson in The New Yorker: "Biggs hails her guides in mononyms, like intimates or pop stars: Mary, George, Zora, Virginia, Simone, Sylvia, Toni, Elena. Within their differences (of eras, means, race), each charged herself with writing while woman, thus renegotiating their relationship to marriage and child rearing, endeavors long considered definitive of womanhood."

Books for Kids:
1. We Are Big Time, by Hena Khan (MPL Centennial Hall event September 15)
2 Timmy Failure V1, by Stephan Pastis
3. Squirrel Do Bad V1, by Stephan Pastis
4. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
5. The White Guy Dies First, edited by Terry J Benton-Walker
6. Death at Morning House, by Maureen Johnson
7. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Renee Graef
8. Peekaboo Bear, by Camilla Reid, illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
9. A Natural History of Dragons, by Emily Hawkins
10. The Yellow Bus by Loren Long

The fall books are creeping into the store, notably the ones that use old-fashioned pub dates instead of on-sale dates and don't have street-smart markers. One of them is A Natural History of Dragons from Emily Hawkins, with illustrations by Jessica Roux. Last year's A Natural History of Magical Beasts was a hit for us. The series also includes Fairies and Mermaids. From The Bookseller, which is like the Publishers Weekly of Great Britain: "Presented as a handbook from the late 1800s written for the students of the Academie Solomanar: the only school for dragon-riders."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 10, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 10, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
2. All Fours, by Liz Moore
3. The Mercy of Gods: The Captives War V1, by James SA Corey
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
5. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
6. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski (August 22 Boswell event)
7. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
8. Spellshop, by Sarah Beth Durst
9. Funny Story, by Emily Henry
10. The Daughters' War, by Christopher Buehlman

When it's Renaissance Faire in Bristol, our thoughts turn to Christophe the Insultor, who is also known as Christopher Buehlman, poet, playwright, and novelist. The Daughters' War is the prequel to The Blacktongue Thief, a breakout fantasy hit (we've sold over 100 copies) after a series of excellent horror novels that were published too early to catch the genre's resurgence. From the starred Booklist: "Fans of the previous book will relish this prequel, while those who have never read Blacktongue will find much to enjoy in this unflinching look at family, loss, love, and war. Highly recommended for all fantasy collections."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson
2. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
3. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
4. The Art of Power, by Nancy Pelosi
5. The Horse, by Timothy Winegard
6. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
7. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
8. Shameless, by Brian Tyler Cohen
9. The Dragon from Chicago, by Pamela D Toler

10. Consent, by Jill Ciment

Another quiet week for hardcover nonfiction, but in it's second week, The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity trots into our top 10. The author is teaches at Colorado Mesa University. From Kirkus: "Sometimes weighed down by too-abundant detail, but a thorough, comprehensive look at the horse across time and space." Too much detail for horse lovers? Seems impossible.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Dark Restraint: Dark Olympus V7, by Katee Roberts
2. The Air He Breathes V1, by Brittainy Cherry
3. Camera Lake, by Alex Pickett
4. The Pairing, by Casey McQuiston
5. The Fires Between High and Lo V2, by Brittainy Cherry
6. Pearls Seek Enlightenment, by Stephan Pastis (August 16 Boswell event)
7. Neon Gods: Dark Olympus V1, by Katee Robert
8. Western Lane, by Chetna Maroo (Boswell book club selections)
9. Apprentice to the Villain V2, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
10. The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Emily Watson

Sprayed edges are going crazy! Just take a look at the fantasy tables in the rear-right corner of the bookstore. Casey McQuiston's The Pairing is the latest, but if you don't buy it quickly, we'll only have the plain white edges, and who wants to read that? Two bisexual exes meet on a food and wine tour. From Library Journal: "Lush scenery, well-drawn secondary characters, and believable, grounded conflicts lead to a sweet and satisfying ending for Kit and Theo in McQuiston's funniest, sexiest novel to date."

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. River Profiles, by Pete Hill
4. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5. The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris
6. How to Think Like a Woman, by Regan Petaluma
7. Heartland, by Sarah Smarsh (September 19 Boswell event)
8. The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine, by Michael Scott Baumann
9. The Sisterhood, by Liza Mundy
10. Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe

Inflation may have abated, but a lot of titles are still playing catchup. We have an event coming up where the price of the paperback went up three dollars, and converted from traditional printing to print-on-demand to boot. And Kamala Harris's The Truths We Hold: An American Journey has one copy left at Boswell at $18, but the next books we order will come in at $20. You can imagine why demand jumped enough to warrant a new printing.

Books for Kids:
1. We Are Big Time, by Hena Khan (September 15 Milwaukee Public Library/MMWC event)
2. Big, by Vashti Harrison
3. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
4. The Dictionary Story, by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
5. Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch, by Codie Crowley
6. Lulu and Rock in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
7. The Dot, by Peter H Reynolds
8. A Magic Fierce and Bright, by Hemant Nayak (September 29 Boswell event)
9. Gertie the Darling Duck of World War II, by Shari Swanson, illustrations by Renée Graef
10. The Yellow Bus, by Loren Long

The Dictionary Story is the latest collaboration from Jeffers and Winston, following A Child of Books. From Kirkus: "The creators of A Child of Books (2016) are back with another charming work of metafiction. A little dictionary notices that while other books tell stories, she's just a list of definitions. Eager for change, Dictionary decides to bring her words to life, and things almost immediately get out of hand."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 3, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending August 3, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
2. A Collection of Lies V5, by Connie Berry
3. The Best Lies, by David Ellis
4. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
5. James, by Percival Everett
6. Slow Dance, by Rainbow Rowell
7. All Fours, by Miranda July
8. Housemates, by Emma Eisenberg
9. Real Americans, by Rachel Khong
10. North Woods, by Daniel Mason

Slow Dance is Rainbow Rowell's first novel for adults since Landline. Her latest is about teenage best friends who drifted apart and it's a Reese's Book Club pick and an August Indie Next Pick. From the starred Booklist: "Their dance is sweet and sexy, and Rowell draws out the whole, simmering affair as she ping-pongs through her characters' past and present, step, together, step, together...this romantic one is sure to be a crowd-pleaser."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan
2. The Lucky Ones, by Zara Chowdhary (Boswell August 15 event)
3. Autocracy Inc, by Anne Applebaum
4. The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson
5. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
6. Conflict, by David Petraeuus
7. What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking, by Caroline Chambers
8. More Is More, by Molly Baz
9. The Great River, by Boyce Upholt
10. Guilty Creatures, by Mikita Brottman

It isn't taking much to get in our top ten hardcovers this summer. I'm hoping things pick up in the fall. But with a second week on, I can give a shout out to Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida, a tale of two couples where the swampiness just seeps out of the pages. From Kirkus: "An atmospheric tale that unwraps the wholesome, God-fearing exterior of two lovers to show the rot underneath."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Happy Place, by Emily Henry
2. Summers End V5, by Juneau Black
3. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (Boswell August 22 event)
4. The Weaver and the Witch Queen, by Genevieve Gornichec
5. Cuckoo, by Gretchen Felker-Martin
6. The Searcher, by Tana French
7. All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews
8. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
9. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
10. Dune, by Frank Herbert

The Weaver and the Witch Queen is a historical fantasy by the author of The Witch's Heart and is an Oli staff rec. From Kristi Chadwick in Library Journal: "Gornichec's latest gives quasi-historical figure Gunnhild, Mother of Kings, a magical life and love story...Gornichec showcases her knowledge of Icelandic folklore and history, while her storytelling reveals the complex and engrossing lives and emotions of her characters"

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch, by Lisa Feefauver
2. We Had Fun and Nobody Died, by Amy T Waldman and Peter Jest
3. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
4. You Could Make This Place Beautiful, by Maggie Smith
5. Loving Corrections, by adrienne maree brown
6. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
7. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
8. Milwaukee Ghosts and Legends, by Anna Lardinois
9. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
10. Holding the Note: Profiles in Popular Music, by David Remnick

When is a pub date a pub date and when is it an on-sale date? I often don't know. Loving Corrections from adrienne marie brown has an August 20 pub date, but I looked it up on Edelweiss and there are plenty of sales already, with at least two stores selling in double digits. From the Foreword review: "Probing, fierce, and honest, the essays of Loving Corrections advocate for more compassionate, inclusive understandings of family, community, and oneself...The provocative, tender, inspiring essays in Loving Corrections approach contemporary topics with a gentle spirit and fresh perspective."

Books for Kids:
1. The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani
2. The Night Before First Grade, by Natasha Wing, illustrations by Deborah Zemke
3. Linked, by Gordon Korman
4. The Great Lakes, by Barb Rosenstock, illustrations by Jamey Christoph
5. Peekaboo House, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
6. Such Charming Liars, by Karen M McManus
7. The Yellow Bus, by Loren Long
8. The Grandest Game, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
9. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illsutrations by Erin Kraan
10. The Good Girl's Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson

From Karen McManus, the author of the popular One of Us Is Lying series (for which she appeared at a group event put together with Boswell) comes Such Charming Liars, the story of two long separated stepsiblings, one with a jewel thief mother and the other with a con artist dad. Can they make it through one last heist? From Kate Patterson in School Library Journal: "Told through Kat and Liam's dual perspectives, this novel's twists take readers on a wild ride until the very last page. While the mystery is thrilling, McManus also deftly explores themes of family, loyalty, love, and class...This might be McManus's best yet."