Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 30, 2024

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 30, 2024

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Tooth and Claw, by Craig Johnson
2. James, by Percival Everett
3. The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
4. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
5. How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
6. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
7. The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penney
8. Tell Me Everything, by Elizabeth Strout
9. Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
10. I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger

Were it not for our very popular event for Tooth and Claw (signed copies available) last week, James would stand out as dominating holiday shopping, what with its National Book Award win capping a year of raves. I still vowed to read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by the end of the year.  

It appears that How to Read a Book has momentum well beyond an appearance in my holiday books. Book clubs have been choosing it and it's been a big bestseller in the Northeast region, according to Edelweiss. We're still in the top 10 for sales and #1 in the Midwest/Great Lakes regions. We're also top ten for I Cheerfully Refuse and The Mighty Red, both Minnesota writers with strong Wisconsin followings (despite our tendency to define regional at the state border, unlike the South, West, and New England) and more notably, both with Tim as the conversation partner!

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan
3. Be Ready When Luck Happens, by Ina Garten
4. Vanishing Treasures, by Katherine Rundell
5. Freedom, by Angela Merkel
6. Cher, by Cher
7. Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, by Matty Matheson
8. What I Ate in One Year, by Stanley Tucci
9. Accidentally Wes Anderson Adventures, by Wally Koval
10. The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson

It is a rare thing when an author has a simultaneous hit on the adult and kid lists, but that's the case with Katherine Rundell, author of Impossible Creatures  which has been a big middle grade fantasy hit in the USA and a phenomenon in the UK and Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures, which as shown up on many best-of-lists this fall. Seven raves and a positive from BookMarks, including Maureen Corrigan's review on NPR's Fresh Air: "Vanishing Treasures makes readers see, really see, some of the miraculous creatures we still share this fragile world with. Like any wise environmentalist, Rundell also leavens terror with possibility."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
2. Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
3. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
4. Starter Villain, by John Scalzi
5. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
6. The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters
7. A Curious Beginning, by Deanna Raybourn
8. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
9. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
10. Lost and Lassoed, by Lyla Sage

Rachel has another hit off her staff rec section. A Curious Beginning is the first book in the Veronica Speedwell series, which came out in 2016. This Victorian series features an intrepid adventuress and has blurbs from Alan Bradley, Rhys Bowen, and Amanda Quick  (Jayne Ann Krentz).

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. All Creation Waits, by Gayle Boss
2. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
3. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
4. Extra Extra Eat All About It, Randi Julia Ramsden and Jan Conway
5. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
6. Spydle, by National Archives UK with Gareth Moore and Laura Jayne Ayres
7. Doppelganger, by Naomi Klein
8. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
9. Happy Holiday Book of Mini Crosswords, by the New York Times
10. Wisconsin for Kennedy, by BJ Hollars

One doesn't always think about the holiday jump in sales for puzzle book until there are three such books in the top 10. I guess Murdle is enough of a phenomenon that there is a knockoff (I'd say spinoff if it were the same creators, but while that sounds bad, I can't think of a better word), Spydle.  Per the publisher, Spydle has you "decode messages, untangle clues, and test your logic," using real espionage history, and is "the perfect gift for "WWI and WWII enthusiasts, lovers of British spy tales from James Bond to Sherlock Holmes, and puzzlers of all kinds."

Books for Kids:
1. Buffalo Fluffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrated by Erin Kraan
2. Peekaboo Santa, by Camilla Reid, illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
3. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
4. Hot Mess, by Jeff Kinney
5. Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell
6. Giving Good, by Aaron Boyd
7. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford
8. The Great Lakes, by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Jamey Cristopher
9. Little Shrew, by Akiko Miyakoshi
10. Knight Owl and Early Bird, by Christopher Denise

The New York Times/New York Public Library named Little Shrew one of the ten best illustrated books of the year. This should not be a surprise, as Akiko Miykoshi received the same honor for her 2017 book, The Way Home in the Night. It's also Jen's buyer pick in our holiday newsletter. I love this from the School Library Journal review: "Chapter book in size, but almost beginning reader-esque in the use of white space, picture book in concept - where to shelve this?" We don't usually see these practical questions raised!