Sunday, August 18, 2024

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."

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