1. The Calamities V1, by Chuck Wendig (Boswell August 29 event)
2. The Things We Never Say, by Elizabeth Strout
3. Whistler, by Chuck Wendig
4. Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke
5. God's Country V22, by William Kent Krueger
6. The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett
7. Land, by Maggie O'Farrell
8. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
9. Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
10. The Breakup, by Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen, author of numerous novels and works of nonfiction, as well as publisher of the legendary Spy Magazine, offers The Breakup, a dystopian satire set in post-civil-war 2045 about a divorced couple taking their son on a pre-college road trip. From Kirkus: "The AI part of the story is a little undercooked and the political commentary none too subtle, but overall it's an effective exercise in dystopian fiction with some nicely developed thriller elements in the mix. A politically charged vision of what our civil strife might look like just a bit down the road."
Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Legacy Redefined, by Richard Watts
2. The Veiled Prophet, by Devin Thomas O'Shea
3. What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, by Caroline Chambers
4. The Land and Its People, by David Sedaris
5. This Is the Plan, by Ben Wikler
6. Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About, by Isabel Klee
7. Regime Change, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
8. This Is Me, by Hayden Panettiere
9. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
10. Milwaukee Flavor, by Visit Milwaukee and Ann Christenson
It's the second week in the top 10 for What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, following up Caroline Chambers's 2024 release, which still sells very well at Boswell, but, by implication, does not need to be made fast. I think this is the first time I've used the term "Substack star." Dear Chronicle Books, Why don't you consider repackaging the 2018 release Just Married, Chambers's 2018 cookbook. And maybe zhuzh up the title.
Paperback Fiction:
1. Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
2. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
3. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
5. The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
6. Lonesome Doves, by Larry McMurtry
7. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
8. A Resistance of Witches, by Morgan Ryan
9. Dungeon Crawler Carl V1, by Matt Dinniman
10. Audition, by Katie Kitamura (Boswell-run book clubs)
After two years, the paperback is released of VE Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, and in my continuing analysis of hardcover vs paperback pricing, the difference between the two is about $7. Caveat - there is extra value in a new short story included. Interestingly, I've seen other recent fiction releases where there was an attempt to keep the paperback price at $20 (often $19.99), even when the hardcover was over $30. To summarize, pricing is all over the place. This fall, I saw two high profile novels (in both cases, long-awaited follow ups) from the same corporation that had the same page count, but one was $32 and the other was $36. But enough about that! Six raves and a positive from BookMarks. Publishers Weekly called it "a haunting and worthwhile story about cruelty, grace, love, and what it means to live forever."
Paperback Nonfiction
1. How the Other Half Eats, by Priya Fielding-Singh
2. A Resistance History of the United States, by Tad Stoermer
3. Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe
4. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
5. Lambeau Ladies, by Laura Kostelnik Biskupic and Katherine Biskupic
While I'm not reducing our nonfiction paperback list to monthly like The New York Times, I do sometimes have to list fewer titles. As an aside, I think the better solution would have been to undo the separation they made many years ago of pulling advice and how-to books out of nonfiction, which I think is not always a fair split. Back when the nonfiction list was more high profile, it would sometimes appear that the decision on where to place the book sometimes was subject to publisher influence. I also felt there was some prejudice built into the decisions, but I won't go into that here.
2. The Things We Never Say, by Elizabeth Strout
3. Whistler, by Chuck Wendig
4. Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke
5. God's Country V22, by William Kent Krueger
6. The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett
7. Land, by Maggie O'Farrell
8. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
9. Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
10. The Breakup, by Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen, author of numerous novels and works of nonfiction, as well as publisher of the legendary Spy Magazine, offers The Breakup, a dystopian satire set in post-civil-war 2045 about a divorced couple taking their son on a pre-college road trip. From Kirkus: "The AI part of the story is a little undercooked and the political commentary none too subtle, but overall it's an effective exercise in dystopian fiction with some nicely developed thriller elements in the mix. A politically charged vision of what our civil strife might look like just a bit down the road."
1. Legacy Redefined, by Richard Watts
2. The Veiled Prophet, by Devin Thomas O'Shea
3. What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, by Caroline Chambers
4. The Land and Its People, by David Sedaris
5. This Is the Plan, by Ben Wikler
6. Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About, by Isabel Klee
7. Regime Change, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
8. This Is Me, by Hayden Panettiere
9. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
10. Milwaukee Flavor, by Visit Milwaukee and Ann Christenson
It's the second week in the top 10 for What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, following up Caroline Chambers's 2024 release, which still sells very well at Boswell, but, by implication, does not need to be made fast. I think this is the first time I've used the term "Substack star." Dear Chronicle Books, Why don't you consider repackaging the 2018 release Just Married, Chambers's 2018 cookbook. And maybe zhuzh up the title.
1. Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
2. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett
3. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
5. The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
6. Lonesome Doves, by Larry McMurtry
7. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
8. A Resistance of Witches, by Morgan Ryan
9. Dungeon Crawler Carl V1, by Matt Dinniman
10. Audition, by Katie Kitamura (Boswell-run book clubs)
After two years, the paperback is released of VE Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, and in my continuing analysis of hardcover vs paperback pricing, the difference between the two is about $7. Caveat - there is extra value in a new short story included. Interestingly, I've seen other recent fiction releases where there was an attempt to keep the paperback price at $20 (often $19.99), even when the hardcover was over $30. To summarize, pricing is all over the place. This fall, I saw two high profile novels (in both cases, long-awaited follow ups) from the same corporation that had the same page count, but one was $32 and the other was $36. But enough about that! Six raves and a positive from BookMarks. Publishers Weekly called it "a haunting and worthwhile story about cruelty, grace, love, and what it means to live forever."
1. How the Other Half Eats, by Priya Fielding-Singh
2. A Resistance History of the United States, by Tad Stoermer
3. Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe
4. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
5. Lambeau Ladies, by Laura Kostelnik Biskupic and Katherine Biskupic
While I'm not reducing our nonfiction paperback list to monthly like The New York Times, I do sometimes have to list fewer titles. As an aside, I think the better solution would have been to undo the separation they made many years ago of pulling advice and how-to books out of nonfiction, which I think is not always a fair split. Back when the nonfiction list was more high profile, it would sometimes appear that the decision on where to place the book sometimes was subject to publisher influence. I also felt there was some prejudice built into the decisions, but I won't go into that here.
This week's higlighted title is Tad Stoermer's A Resistance History of the United States (Steerforth Press, now an imprint of Pushkin Press). From Booklist: "Readers interested in U.S. history, particularly political and social histories, will find Stoermer's work to be an insightful approach in understanding a pattern of organized resistance movements and how they confronted violence and authority, and attempted to reform structural changes for a better future in America."
Books for Kids:
1. The Makers, by Christa Yelich-Koth
2. The Ginghams, by TC Kemper
3. The Big One, by Dashka Slater, illustrations by Myo Yim
4. Jia Has a Dog Problem, Stephenie Ellen Sy, illustrations by Isabella Kung
5. The Story Rug, by Sophie Blackall, illustrations by Phoebe Wahl
6. The Sneaks, by Amy Tern
7. Offside, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Mari Costa
8. Kindergarten Gests Ready, by Naomi Danis
9. The Invisibles, by Polly Kowitt
10. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse with illustrations by Renée Graef
There's nothing more rewarding than a successful book presentation and that was definitely the case this week when two Boswellians spoke to school librarians. One pick from McKenna is The Big One, from Dashka Slater and Myo Yim. From Jessica Calaway in School Library Journal: "A determined young girl and her grandmother set out together to catch The Big One in this wondrous picture book. Grandmother is the oldest resident of their seaside town while granddaughter Marina is the smallest, but neither age nor size stand in the way of their goal...Together, this whale of a tale and its outstanding illustrations create a rich, sensory journey that celebrates curiosity, resilience, and wonder."
1. The Makers, by Christa Yelich-Koth
2. The Ginghams, by TC Kemper
3. The Big One, by Dashka Slater, illustrations by Myo Yim
4. Jia Has a Dog Problem, Stephenie Ellen Sy, illustrations by Isabella Kung
5. The Story Rug, by Sophie Blackall, illustrations by Phoebe Wahl
6. The Sneaks, by Amy Tern
7. Offside, by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Mari Costa
8. Kindergarten Gests Ready, by Naomi Danis
9. The Invisibles, by Polly Kowitt
10. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse with illustrations by Renée Graef
There's nothing more rewarding than a successful book presentation and that was definitely the case this week when two Boswellians spoke to school librarians. One pick from McKenna is The Big One, from Dashka Slater and Myo Yim. From Jessica Calaway in School Library Journal: "A determined young girl and her grandmother set out together to catch The Big One in this wondrous picture book. Grandmother is the oldest resident of their seaside town while granddaughter Marina is the smallest, but neither age nor size stand in the way of their goal...Together, this whale of a tale and its outstanding illustrations create a rich, sensory journey that celebrates curiosity, resilience, and wonder."
