Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 25, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 25, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (signed copies)
2. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
3. King Sorrow, by Joe Hill
4. The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman
5. Angel Down, by Daniel Kraus
6. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
7. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan
8. The Killing Stones, by Ann Cleeves
9. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
10. Alchemised, by SenLinYu

Top debut this week is Joe Hill's King Sorrow, sort of tieing in with the film release of Black Phone 2, which was based on a Hill short story. This is his first long-form novel since 2016's The Fireman. The advances are all spectacular. From Kirkus: "Hill, son of the master, turns in a near-perfect homage to Stephen King." From James Gardner in Library Journal: "The novel evokes elements of the revenge plot, fantasy quests, and thrillers featuring shadowy organizations to tell an outstanding tale about how power corrupts. Hill's fans will love it, as will those who like King's more fantastical works, such as Fairy Tale."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You, by Neko Case
2. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
3. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
4. Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by Joyce Vance
5. Nobody's Girl, by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
6. The Social Lives of Birds, by Joan E Strassmann (signed copies)
7. Slow Birding, by Joan E Strassmann
8. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
9. Separation of Church and Hate, by John Fugelsang
10. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat

Several new releases had news-generated pops - Giving Up Is Unforgivable and Nobody's Girl - while Separation of Church and Hate doubles its sales after bubbling below the top ten for several weeks. The blurbs are a mix of celebrities (Nick Offerman, Yvette Nicole Brown, Willie Nelson) with a sprinkling of politicians (Bonnie Watson Coleman) for this bestselling book . The Publishers Weekly and Booklist were very positive, but the Kirkus reviewer didn't take to it, calling it a "grating screed" and complained about its objectivity.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Starsong, by Patricia Skalka (signed copies)
2. Maze, by Ali Hazelwood
3. Mockingbird Court, by Juneau Black
4. Same, by Hannah Rosenberg
5. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
6. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
7. Sunburn, by Chloe Michelle Howarth
8. The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden
9. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
10. Writers and Lovers, by Lily King

The Safekeep is the Boswell Lit Group selection for December 1. I am finally getting the hang of keeping up our newly revised upcoming book club selection page. The novel won the Woman's Prize and had three raves and three positives on BookMarks. From Lori Sonderlind in The New York Times: "What a quietly remarkable book. I’m afraid I can’t tell you too much about it...I would have liked this book in any case, just for the pleasure of reading it. But the story is resolved in such a bold and tender way that it becomes not merely clever, but indelible."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. In the Room at the Top of the World, by Ben McCormick
2. Crux, by Jean Guerrero
3. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
4. Hatemonger, by Jean Guerrero
5. Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, by Patty Loew
6. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
7. A World in Books, by Kenneth C Davis
8. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
9. Best American Essays, by Jia Tolentino
10. Read This When Things Fall Apart, edited by Kelly Hayes

With series editor Kim Dan Kupperman, Jia Tolentino did the final selection for this year's Best American Essays 2025. Contributors include Eula Biss, Sarah Aziza, Khalil Abu Sharekh, Christian Lorenzen, Hannah Keziah Agustin, and Jarek Steele, the former co-owner of Left Bank Books.

Books for Kids:
1. The Rose Field V3, by Philip Pullman
2. Partypooper V20, by Jeff Kinney
3. Sole Survivor, by Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely
4. The Poisoned King V2, by Katherine Rundell
5. Bunn's Rabbit, by Alan Barillaro
6. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by René Greaf
7. Goodnight Moon board book, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrations by Clement Hurd
8. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone, by Gideon Sterer, illustrations by Emily Hughes
9. A Snow Day for Amos McGee, by Philip Stead, illustrations by Erin Stead
10. The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole, by Cecilia Heikkilä

The third volume of The Book of Dust has a strong opening week, though Jason thought it would have been multiples higher in the UK. The Rose Field. No BookMarks round-up for this one, though I suspect there are lots of British reviews, plus our Milwaukee-bred Dan Kois in The New York Times, who reflects on Lyla, in light of naming his daughter after her: "If the resolution of this book’s grand philosophical inquiries sounds familiar notes, that doesn’t decrease its power, or its correctness. Pullman, as ever, is a humanist, and keenly interested in what gives people spirit, will, the spark of life"

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 18, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 18, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
2. State Champs, by Hilary Plum
3. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
4. The Unveiling, by Quan Barry (signed copies)
5. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)
6. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
7. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
8. Always Remember, by Charlie Mackesy
9. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
10. Twice, by Mitch Albom

It's only about three weeks until the Booker Prize is announced. One title on the shortlist is The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which has had several weeks in our top ten since its September release. Desai received the prize for The Inheritance of Loss back in 2006. The new book has 12 raves, a positive, and two mixed on BookMarks. From Alexandra Jacobs in The New York Times: "Almost 20 years in the making, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai, is not so much a novel as a marvel. In an era of hot takes and chilly optimized productivity, here is sweet validation of the idea that to create something truly transcendent - a work of art depicting love, family, nature and culture in all their fullness - might take time."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon (signed copies)
2. The Promise of Heaven, by David Jeremiah
3. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
4. Heartland Masala, by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji (signed copies)
5. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
6. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
7. The Art of Gluten Free Bread, by Aran Goyoaga
8. We the People, by Jill Lepore
9. Little Woodchucks, by Nick Offerman
10. Schott's Significa, by Ben Schott

First week out for Andrew Ross Sorkin's 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - and How It Shattered a Nation with a BookMarks tabulation of three raves, a positive, and a mixed in The New York Times, where Sorkin is a columnist. One rave is from Judge Glock in The Wall Street Journal: "Although Mr. Sorkin offers hints that the crash looms larger in our memory than it did in the moment, his focus is on portraying the lives of the people who lived through it. It is one of the best narrative histories I’ve read." I think BookMarks removed the WSJ links because they are always paywalled. But I hit paywalls from other newspaper links, so maybe there's another reason.

Paperback Fiction:
1. American Dawn V2, by Matthew J Flynn
2. Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
3. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Juneau Black
4. Mockingbird Court V6, by Juneau Black
5. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
6. Sunburn, by Chloe Howarth
7. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
8. The Empusium, by Olga Tokarczuk
9. The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna
10. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali

David Sedaris came to Milwaukee for his biennial (I want to say biannual, but apparently that could also mean twice a year) visit to the Pabst Theater and this time, his book pick was Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, her follow-up to Fleischman Is in Trouble. The paperback appears to be flying off the shelves in the Northeast, at least according to Edelweiss. It had 13 raves, 3 positives, 3 mixed, and two pans, including one from the Times Literary Supplement, which is paywalled, which ruins my earlier theory.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, by Patty Loew
2. In the Room at the Top of the World, by Ben McCormick (Boswell October 20 event)
3. Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris
4. Happy Go Lucky, by David Sedaris
5. The Best of Me, by David Sedaris
6. In the Shadow of Man, by Jane Goodall
7. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
8. Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
9. When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, by Julie Satow
10. Puerto Rico, by Jorell Melendez Badillo

You may not know that the Americans and the British have different rules on songs charting on music bestseller lists from one artist, and if you do, apologies for repeating. The UK limits the artist to the three biggest hits from one album, while there are no restrictions on the Billboard Hot 100, which is why Taylor Switft held the top 12 spots this past week. I like the British rules better, so that's why only three David Sedaris books place here. Otherwise I'd just list six Sedaris books in the top ten and four more from 11-15. With no brand new book to sell, the top adult title (we sold more of Pretty Ugly in kids) was Holidays on Ice - it's late enough in the year to be thinking about this.

Books for Kids:
1. Steam Train Dream Train: Next Stop Christmas, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
2. Steam Train Dream Train, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
3. Pretty Ugly, by David Sedaris, illustrations by Ian Falconer
4. Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue, by Sheeri Duskey Rinker, illustrations by AG Ford
5. Giving Good, by Aaron Boyd
6. Squash and Pumpkin: #Squashgoals, by GG McQueen, illustrations by Michael Slack
7. Brownie the War Dog, by Kelly Nelson, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
8. Valiant Vel, by Jerrianne Hayslett, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
9. Rock Paper Incisors V3, by Amy Timberlake, illustrations by Jon Klassen (Boswell October 27 event)
10. Buffalo Dreamer, by Violet Duncan

This week's top 10 is event heavy, with the exception of Buffalo Dreamer, which is part of the current Battle of the Books promotion. I generally don't include quantity orders that are not part of author events when the book is more than a year old, but in this case, there was more than one purchase in the week, so National Book Award Finalist Buffalo Dreamer (which really just missed the cutoff as it's from August 2024) makes the top 10. From Tracy Cronce in School Library Journal: "Beautiful descriptions of traditional Native American culture and dress make scenes vivid for readers as Summer's family rides horses, picks berries, prepares meals, and shares stories, even ones that have remained unspoken."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 11, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 11, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
2. A Mouthful of Dust, by Nghi Vo (signed copies)
3. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
4. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
5. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
6. The Impossible Fortune, by Richard Osman
7. Venetian Vespers, by John Banville
8. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
9. Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
10. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)

It looks like Penguin Press will be happy with the first week of sales for Shadow Ticket, though we're only able to get a glimpse of the independent sales channel. Our midnight release party had a decent turnout, and, witht he help of the Milwaukee setting, we're #4 on Edelweiss for the week. The BookMarks reviews were polarized - 11 raves, 6 positives, 6 mixed, and 4 pans. From Sam Sacks in The Wall Street Journal, on reflecting on the final image: "Readers will have to decide whether this is reflexive Pynchonian paranoia - the endless search for meaningful patterns - or an earnest warning from an author who has seen the world catch up to his wildest imagination."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Flash Teams, by Melissa Valentine and Michael Bernstein
2. Milwaukee Flavor, compiled by Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
3. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon (Boswell October 17 event)
4. Copaganda, by Alec Karakatsanis
5. The AI Con, by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna
6. Paper Girl, by Beth Macy
7. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
8. Enshittification, by Cory Doctorow
9. We the People, by Jill Lepore
10. Heartland Masala, by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji (Discourse/Boswell October 13 event)

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America is from Beth Macy, author of the bestselling Dopesick. She has four raves and three positives from BookMarks, including this from Leigh Haber in The Washington Post: "The portrait that emerges is of a rural county wracked by division, abandoned by industries that once supported its economy, and enduring unprecedented spikes in poverty, homelessness and addiction, as well as declines in literacy and other educational measures. In other words, Urbana, in Macy’s estimation, is a microcosm of what has been happening in rural areas throughout the country."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Mockingbird Court V6, by Juneau Black (signed copies)
2. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
3. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
4. Shady Hollow V1, by Juneau Black
5. Twilight Falls V5, by Juneau Black
6. Burning Bright, by Nick Petrie
7. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
8. Playground, by Richard Powers
9. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
10. The Bog Wife, by Kay Chronister

We had a nice sale on Kay Chronister's The Bog Wife in hardcover, and the paperback is off to a good start. It had four positives and a pan from Publishers Weekly, which as I've said before, has taken the crown of the bad boy of the trades away from Kirkus. Set on a West Virginia cranberry bog (who knew?), it's got this nice write up from Alana Quarles in Library Journal: "Recalling Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, the physical decline of the Haddesleys' ancestral home becomes an allegory and monument to the destruction of their family line and their familial drift from one another, but ultimately their unyielding devotion to the land and each other ensure its survival."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. A Sheepdog Named Oscard, by Dara Waldron (Boswell October 30 event)
2. Usual Cruelty, by Alec Karakatsanis
3. Building the Milwaukee Bucks, by Jordan Treske
4. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (Schlitz Audubon November 20 event)
5. The Shortest History of Ancient Rome, by Ross King
6. How to Dream, by Thich Nhat Hanh
7. Poets and Dreamers, by Tamara Saviano
8. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya
9. Lincoln's Counterfeithers, by Andrea Nolen (Boswell October 29 event)
10. The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron

Off the new paperback table also comes The Shortest History of Ancient Rome: A Millennium of Western Civilization, from Kingdom to Republic to Empire - A Retelling for Our Times from Ross King, who last year had The Shortest History of Italy. From Kirkus: "King achieves an uncommonly dense work of compression, telescoping events and fashioning brief character studies in surveying the arc of ancient Rome, from its origins to its collapse. But he also demonstrates how the facets of empire still inform the West: in our politics, cultures, laws, and self-image."

Books for Kids:
1. Three Blue Hearts, by Lynne Kelly
2. Song for a Whale, by Lynne Kelly
3. The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly
4. White Lies, by Ann Bausum
5. Richard Scarry's Halloween Cards and Trucks
6. The Wishing Leaf, by Kallie George
7. Spy School Blackout V13, by Stuart Gibbs
8. Jessi Ramsey Pet Sitter graphic edition V18, by Ellen T Crenshaw
9. Ghosts and Ghouls, by Ondrej Navratil, illustrated by Martin Soljdr
10. Skunk and Badger, by Amy Timberlake (Boswell October 27 event)

If it isn't clear enough from the list, we hosted Lynne Kelly for school events this week. Her new middle grade novel, Three Blue Hearts, about a boy who discovers a beached octopus, should appeal to fans of her bestselling Song for a Whale. From Publishers Weekly: " Interspersing lightly scientific marine biology-related asides among emotionally earnest first-person narration and conversations between Max and his new friends, Kelly tells a gentle, sweet-hearted tale of a tween managing personal responsibility and finding his own voice."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 4, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending October 4, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Phoebe Variations, by Jane Hamilton
2. The Impossible Fortune V5, by Richard Osman
3. Heart the Lover, by Lily King (Boswell October 24 event)
4. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
5. The Killing Stones, by Ann Cleeves
6. Martha's Daughter, by David Haynes (signed copies)
7. Circle of Days, by Ken Follett
8. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
9. Katabasis, by RF Kuang
10. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Coming around the same time as the Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club is the fifth book in the series, The Impossible Fortune. From Library Journal: "The crime, though ingeniously plotted, with many red herrings, is not the main attraction. It's the growing love and respect among the Thursdays and their kith and kin, including a few criminals and cops, that is the biggest draw." It's a good week for mysteries, as Ann Cleeves has the first in her Perez and Reeves series with The Killing Stones, though i's a spinoff, of sorts, of the Shetland series.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
2. Vanishing Treasures, by Katherine Rundell
3. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
4. We The People, by Jill Lepore
5. History Matters, by David McCullough
6. Copaganda, by Alec Karakatsanis
7. Awake, by Jen Hatmaker
8. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
9. Little Frog's Guide to Life, by Maybell Eequay
10. The Art of Gluten-Free Bread, by Aran Goyoaga

The host of the For the Love podcast, chronicles her divorce after 26 years and its aftermath in her new memoir Awake. Previously published by Christian presses, the publisher is expecting a mainstream breakout in the vein of Glennon Doyle or Mel Robbins, who also blurbed the book. From a starred Booklist: "The questions Hatmaker asks herself - what excites her, and what does she care about--will resonate with readers facing their own challenges."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
2. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
3. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
5. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
6. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
7. Familiaris, by David Wroblewski
8. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
9. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett
10. Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune

I always think of Mary Oliver being published primarily by Penguin Press and Beacon, but another formerly Boston-area-based imprint also released her work at one point. What were once DaCapo titles are now Grand Central. Little Alleluias: Collected Poetry and Prose is collected from three books in the early 2000s, per the publisher - the book-length poem The Leaf and the Cloud, the collection What Do We Know, and essays from Long Life.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. I Live Underwater, by Max Gene Nohl
2. A Sheepdog Named Oscar (Boswell October 30 event)
3. How to Stand Up to a Dictator, by Maria Ressa
4. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
5. So Many Books, by Gabriel Zaid
6. Revenge of the Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
7. The Unvanquished, by Patrick K O'Donnell
8. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
9. There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib
10. Didion and Babitz, by Lili Anolik

There's a new edition (new jacket, new introduction) of So Many Books, 2nd Edition: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance, from the Mexican poet Gabriel Zaid (a variation on Mary Oliver's repackaging above), translated by Natasha Wimmer. Our buyer bought a stack for our front table, and it worked. But there are only 5 copies on hand and one on order at the Ingram warehouses, including Jackson. Where are the books for restocking?

Books for Kids:
1. The Poisoned King V2, by Katherine Rundell
2. Billy Jean Peet, Athlete, by Andrea Bety, with illustrations by David Roberts
3. Impossible Creatures V1 (2 editions), by Katherine Rundell
4. Rosie Revere, Engineer, by Andrea Beaty, with illustrations by David Roberts
5. Aaron Slater, Illustrator, by Andrea Beaty, with illustrations by David Roberts
6. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
7. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford
8. Secrets of the Purple Pearl V2, by Kate McKinnon
9. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
10. Peekaboo Pumpkin, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius

Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo is the sequel to a very beloved picture book (and #1 NYT bestseller) that is what must be known in the business as the "new sibling sequel." From Kirkus: "Fluffalo mentors the loving Puffalo, including the baby in his daily activities and fielding (some of) Puff's many questions. Readers with younger siblings will appreciate the subtle acknowledgment that Fluffalo's new role can be taxing, but overall, the tale affirms the joy of mentoring, while the colorful, stylized art perfectly complements the upbeat verse. It's easy to imagine an older child reading this story to a younger one at bedtime. An endearing ode to big siblinghood."