1. Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke (moved to a new venue - will probably hit capacity again soon - registration required)
2. Sanctuary, by James Cleary (Jim DeVita)
3. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
4. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
5. The Keeper, by Tana French
6. Into the Blue, by Emma Brodie
7. Kin, by Tayari Jones
8. Faither of Beasts V2, by James SA Corey
9. American Fantasy, by Emma Straub
10. We Burned So Bright, by TJ Klune
Because I am not the buyer, I often miss the answer to what happened and when. All I know is that I looked at our galley shelf and saw a copy of Into the Blue with a July pub date, and was confused because the book was clearly published already. I am assuming the good people at Reese's Book Club picked it as their April selection and pub date was moved up - which is interesting because the book is published by Jenna Bush Hager (through Ballantine), another book club staple. A blurb from Taylor Jenkins Reid: "An achingly romantic, compulsively readable love story - with chemistry that burns up every page."
1. It's Time to Talk, by Sheila Schroeder
2. Rewired, by Eric Lamarre
3. Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried Foul About, by Isabel Klee
4. Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism, by Stewart Reynolds
5. London Falling, by Patrick Radden Keefe
6. Strangers, by Belle Burden
7. How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay, by Jenny Lawson
8. The Beginning Comes After the End, by Rebecca Solnit
9. The Noma Guide to Building Flavour, by René Redzepi
10. We the Women, by Norah O'Donnell
Because I don't follow social media, influencer books kind of appear like Mary Poppins (which I just rewatched, long story). The marketing pitch on Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About: A Memoir (per Edelweiss) imagines Dolly Alderton writing Marley and Me. Kirkus was meh, but Publishers Weekly is a fan: "Social media influencer Klee's sweet debut sets her coming-of-age against the backdrop of her experiences fostering dogs...Throughout, Klee proves an endearing, unfussy guide to growing up. Readers will be charmed." I like the jacket.
1. Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
2. Monsters We Have Made, by Lindsay Starck
3. All That It Seems, by Jim Landwehr
4. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
5. Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
6. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
7. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
8. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
9. James, by Percival Everett
10. Audition, by Katie Kitamura
I should let this bestseller thing go and instead read this month's Lit Group selection, My Friends, which I haven't finished yet. Worse still, I have to do a book club talk at Shorewood Library on Wednesday (register here) and have my last appearance on Larry Meiller's show (he's retiring - here's the link) on Thursday. Which is why I'm always glad to pick 200 page books like Audition (September selection - August 31), which pops off our new paperback table this week. It's BookMarks score is 17 raves, a pan, and everything else in between - 32 review citations altogether.
1. Coyote America, by Dan Flores
2. Be Ready When Luck Happen, by Ina Garten
3. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
4. Thirty Two Words for Field, by Manchan Magan
5. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
6. Dog Days, by Emily Labarge
7. Irreplaceable, by Maya Bialik
8. Birdscaping for Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Regions, by Mariette Nowak
9. The Pastor as Gardener, by Matthew Erickson
10. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya
I was almost going to write up Coyote America when I realized it was featured last February. You really can make magic things happen with a little repackaging, particularly with nonfiction, which really doesn't get enough love from publishers. How about trying this with Karachi Vice or Squirrel Hill or that memoir about mini golf I liked so long ago that I don't remember the title? Meanwhile, Ina Garten gets a rare paperback reprint because Be Ready When Luck Happens is a memoir, not a cookbook. Because I didn't know the Garten lore, I only learned recently that she was not coined The Barefoot Contessa, but had bought an existing business.
1. Kat and Mouse: I Like Cheese, by Salina Yoon
2. Found Sound, by Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek
3. A Sack Full of Feathers, by Debby Waldman
4. A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic, by Philip Stead
5. Penguin and Pinecone, by Salina Yoon
6. Kat and Mouse: Let's Have a Sleepover, by Salina Yoon
7. Summer Pops Up, by Aurore Petit
8. Mille Fleur Saves the Night, by Christy Mandin
9. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by René Graef
10. Valiant Vel, by Jerrianne Hayslett, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
Not a school visit, not an event, not some organization purchasing a bunch of books, and the result of a big marketing push, Summer Pops Up is a true impulse buy, an eye-catching board book selling off our here-comes-summer table. Please note that Summer Pops Up is winner of the 2025 Best Baby Book Prize from the French Ministry of Culture. I am a little confused because the very distinctive palate of the book is yellow and salmon on some images and more of a mustard and salmon on others. No worries - I can come up with a matching outfit for either option. But I draw the line at flip flops.
