Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 6, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending December 6, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
2. Always Remember, by Charlie Mackesy
3. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
4. Flesh, by David Szalay
5. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
6. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
7. The Black Wolf, by Louise Penny
8. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan
9. The Widow, by John Grisham
10. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan

What's weird about this list? There's no genre romance, fantasy, or romantasy. I continue to be stumped as to where to include the Charlie Mackesy books. I noticed that the promo copy for Always Remember said it spent many weeks on the New York Times nonfiction list, but in fact, it was the advice/how to/miscellaneous list, which is where the book is now, and I believe was created because of the overwhelming presence of Garfield books. My rule of thumb - is this a fictional story? Then it's fiction, right?  

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee, Ann Christenson, Kevin J Miyasaki
2. Delivering the Wow, by Richard Fain
3. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
4. A Marriage at Sea, by Sophie Elmhirst
5. Bread of Angels, by Patti Smith
6. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
7. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
8. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
9. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
10. The Anthony Bourdain Reader, edited by Kimberly Witherspoon

The New York Times ten-best is out, and that surely gave a pop to A Marriage at Sea, as well as The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny on our fiction list. These were two of the titles that we had good stock on because they were in our holiday gift guide. Elmhirst's was the only book in the top 10 that I read. I was just talking to Dave, our WW Norton rep - he read seven!

And speaking of shipwrecks, The Gales of November is back in stock.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Everything We Could Do, by David McGlynn (signed copies)
2. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
3. Clear, by Carys Davies (Boswell-run book clubs)
4. On the Calculation of Volume V1, by Solvej Balle
5. The Door to Door Bookstore, by Carsten Henn
6. Nearly Beloved, by Kendra Broekhuis
7. The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
8. The Plan of Chicago, by Barry Pearce
9. The Raven Scholar V1, by Antonia Hodgson
10. The Tainted Cup V1, by Robert Jackson Bennett

I know we're on V3 already, but doesn't On the Calculation of Volume seem like the new My Struggle? While we are still #1 on Edelweiss for When the Cranes Fly South, I should note that lots of stores are selling this book well. And I don't really feel like I'm leading the charge for the five (or was it six) booksellers who read and loved the book at Boswell. I feel it's Jason, our sales rep.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Wrecked, by Thomas M Nelson and Jerald Podair (signed copies)
2. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson
3. Milwaukee Streets, by Carl Baehr
4. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5. How to Dream, by Thich Nhat Hanh
6. The Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
7. How to Know a Person, by David Brooks
8. The Age of Revolutions, by Fareed Zakaria
9. Experiencing God, by Jon M Sweeney (Boswell January 9 event)
10. Welcome to Pawnee, by Jim O'Heir

Milwaukee Streets (you have to call or visit Boswell for now to purchase - we haven't indexed it) is the second edition of a much beloved local reference book. I'm sure you know that Downer Ave was named after Judge Jason Downer, right? But Webster? It's not definitive. It could be a local named Nathan Webster or the famous lawyer Daniel Webster, who was a very popular personality for street naming in the 1800s.*

Books for Kids:
1. The New Girl, by Cassandra Calin
2. Zip Zap Wickety Wack, by Matthew Diffee
3. Dog Man V14: Big Jim Believes, by Dav Pilkey
4. The Christmas Sweater, by Jan Brett (UWM/Boswell event right now - unless there is some sort of weather delay)
5. The Picasso Curse, by Dan Gutman
6. The 13th Day of Christmas, by Adam Rex
7. The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli, by Karina Yan Glaser
8. Rosie and Raven, by Kayla Silber
9. Sunrise on the Reapin V5, by Suzanne Collins
10. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone, by Gideon Sterer, illustrations by Emily Hughes

I've just gotten into reading Zip Zap Wickety Wack at book talks and now they are over for the season. Any of us would be happy to read it to you in the bookstore, as several Boswellians have called Diffee's picture book the funniest of the season. Kirkus also called it "unexpected and delightfully absurd."

*In a bit of a coincidence, both graduated from Dartmouth College, as did I, but I still insist my admission was a clerical error.

Boswell Book Company Weekly Bestsellers for week ending November 29, 2025

Boswell Book Company Weekly Bestsellers for week ending November 29, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Christmas Stranger, by Richard Paul Evans
2. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
3. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
4. Flesh, by David Szalay
5. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
6. The Black Wolf, by Louise Penny
7. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
8. Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
9. Dog Show, by Billy Collins
10. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan

The Booker Prize winner shipment has arrived, and we sold more copies of Flesh this week than we did life of the book for Turbulence, David Szalay's last collection of stories, or Spring, his previous novel, back in 2012. Despite the accolade, in addition to the 14 raves and two positives, it still got a mixed review in the Times Literary Supplement, which still thought it was better than his previous books, with their extraneous adverbs. From Cory Oldweiler in The Boston Globe: " Fascinating and unexpected ... If you’ve ever woken up to the realization that your life has become something you never planned for, anticipated, or desired, you’ll likely find Flesh all too human."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee
2. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
3. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
4. Bread of Angels, by Patti Smith
5. The Anthony Bourdain Reader, edited by Kimberly Witherspoon
6. Something from Nothing, by Alison Roman
7. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
8. Alternative for the Masses, by Greg Prato
9. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, by Walter Isaacson
10. Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism, by Stewart Reynolds

I haven't seen a bestseller from Motorbooks (formerly of Osceola, Wisconsin) in many years, and I certainly never expected it to be Alternative for the Masses: The '90s Alt-Rock Revolution - An Oral History. From Publishers Weekly: "Music journalist Prato delivers a comprehensive oral history of what he deems 'rock's last truly great movement'...It adds up to a multifaceted portrait of a vital chapter in rock history.

Paperback Fiction
1. How About Now, by Kate Baer
2. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
3. The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami
4. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
5. Best American Short Stories, edited by Celeste Ng
6. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
7. On the Calculation of Volume Book 1, by Solvej Balle
8. Frankenstein 1818 Text, by Mary Shelley
9. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
10. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Here's a book you probably don't know about from New Directions that sells like crazy - On the Calculations of Volume. Book 1 is in on our bestseller list this week (and Jason's rec shelf), but there are seven volumes altogether. Solvej Balle was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the National Book Award for translated fiction, as well as showing up on several best-of lists. It also received Scandanvia's most important literature prize.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson
2. Wrecked, by Thomas Nelson with Jerald Podair (Boswell December 4 event)
3. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
4. Lincoln's Counterfeiters, by Andrea Nolen
5. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuirya
6. I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
7. A Place Called Yellowstone, by Randall K Wilson
8. This Earthly Globe, by Andrea Di Robilant
9. Meditations for Morals, by Oliver Burkeman
10. Welcome to Pawnee, by Jim O'Heir

A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World's First National Park is a paperback reprint that received that Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize for history writing. From Booklist: "Tensions will always exist between the tourism industry and the conservation movement over Yellowstone's precious resources, but Wilson's account shows an unfolding awareness and sensitivity on both sides to the treasures that lie within those 2.2 million acres."

Books for Kids:
1. Deadpan, by Harold Eppley
2. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes, by Dav Pilkey
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper, by Jeff Kinney
4. Dragonborn, by Struan Murray
5. Billie Jean Peet, Athlete, by Andrea Beaty, illustrations by David Roberts
6. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone, by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Emily Hughes
7. The Christmas Sweater, by Jan Brett (Ticketed UWM/Boswell event December 7)
8. Mythology Land, by Claire Cock-Starkey, illustrated by Pham Quang Phuc
9. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
10. If We Were Dogs, by Sophie Blackall

Mythology Land: 12 Classic Legends Imagined includes stories from the Welsh, Ghanian, Egyptian, Norse, and more. Claire Cock-Starkey worked with Ben Schott on several of his books. Each tale includes an exquisitely illustrated map of its world by Pham Quang Phuc.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 22, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 22, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Brimstone V2: Fae and Alchemy, by Callie Hart
2. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
3. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
4. Black Wolf V20, by Louise Penny
5. James, by Percival Everett
6. Dog Show, by Billy Collins
7. The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown
8. Wreck, by Catherine Newman
9. I Medusa, by Ayana Gray
10. Heart the Lover, by Lily King

Top debut this week is Brimstone, the second volume of the Fae and Alchemy series after Quicksilver. For $3 extra, you get spayed edges, endpapers, and so forth. It's romantasy with magic, and while most reader reviews are very strong, a few noted that it has second-book-in-a-trilogy-series syndrome, where the plot can drag a bit as it tries to line up the finish. But you've got to read it to get to volume three!

And no, no Booker Prize or National Book Award fiction winner in our top 10 this week. 

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee and Ann Christenson, with photos by Kevin J Miyasaki
2. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
3. The American Revolution, by Geoffrey C Ward and Ken Burns
4. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat
5. The Bread of Angels, by Patti Smith
6. Finding My Way, by Malala Yousafzai
7. The Separation of Church and Hate, by John Fugelsang
8. Simply More, by Cynthia Erivo
9. Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by Joyce Vance
10. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Jason noted a big pop for The American Revolution after the first airing, but I suppose the biggest multi-media event this week was the release of Wicked for Good, which was breaking all sorts of records. This was the perfect time to release Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much. No reviews (the book was sold in as anonymous) but there's a blurb from author Rebecca Yarros. It's a good thing the subtitle explains the book pretty well.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Simone in Pieces, by Janet Burroway (signed copies)
2. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
3. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
4. Clear, by Carys Davies (Boswell-run book clubs)
5. The Melancholy of Resistance, by László Krasznahorkai
6. Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
7. The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden
8. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
9. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
10. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman

Though released on October 3, we had a big pop on Theo of Golden this week, which was picked up by Atria after being self-published in 2023 by a Georgia-based attorney, judge, and singer/songwriter. From what I've read, strong Christian themes and there's a sequel coming.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (signed copies)
2. Wrecked, by Thomas Nelson and Jerald Podair (Boswell December 4 event)
3. A Place Called Yellowstone, by Randall K Wilson
4. Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
5. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
6. What If Fungi Win? by Arturo Casadevall and Stephanie Desmon
7. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. On Freedom, by Timothy Snyder
9. A Brief History of the World in 47 Border, by John Elledge
10. Murdle V1, by GT Karber

Also out in October and building steam is the paperback edition of Oliver Burkeman's Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts. Ingram has a lot of copies on hand! The hardcover had good sales with along tail, which is a good indicator to paperback success. From Publishers Weekly: "Burkeman's light touch when discussing such modern ills as doomscrolling, coupled with the smart balance he strikes between motivation and reassurance, make this an especially useful resource for burnt-out readers who want to ease their minds without upending their lives."

Books for Kids:
1. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes V14, by Dav Pilkey
2. The Last Kids on Earth and the Destructors Lair V10, by Max Brallier
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypoopers V10, by Jeff Kinney
4. Hansel and Gretel, by Stephen King and Maurice Sendak
5. Rosie and Raven, by Kayla Silber (one of Oprah's favorite things)
6. A Snow Day for Amos McGee, by Philip Stead and Erin Stead
7. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone, by Gideo Sterer with illustrations by Emily Hughes
8. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan
9. Zip Zap Wickety Wack, by Matthew Diffee
10. Where Do Diggers Celebrate Christmas? by Brianna Caplan Sayres, illustrations by Christian Slade

Needless to say, our event with Dav Pilkey at the Riverside Theater with Books & Company is the big story of the week in kids, but it's also nice to see the new picture books getting traction, like If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone. From Booklist: "Riffing on the causational classic about a mouse and a cookie, this creative exploration of using a banana as a telephone shows how a silly act of imagination opens up a child's world...Fill up your fruit baskets, folks - this one's a bunch of fun!"

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 15, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 15, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Strength of the Few V2, by James Islington
2. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
3. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
4. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan
5. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
6. Brigands and Breadknives V3, by Travis Baldree
7. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
8. Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
9. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
10. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai

James Islington's The Strength of the Few is the sequel to 2023's The Will of the Money, an epic fantasy set in a world akin to Ancient Rome. From Publishers Weekly: "Returning to a richly drawn fantasy world in which the elite wield a magical force called Will tithed from people in lower castes, bestseller Islington's brilliant middle volume of his Hierarchy trilogy clears the high bar set by the first installment...Readers will be on the edge of their seats--and impatient to learn how Islington pulls off the saga's conclusion."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee
2. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
3. The Bread of Angels, by Patti Smith
4. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
5. Untethered, by Doug Bolton
6. Replaceable You, by Mary Roach
7. Something from Nothing, by Alison Roman
8. Injustice, by Carol Leonnig and Aaron C Davies
9. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
10. Good Things, by Samin Nosrat

It's the first week out for Something from Nothing and Ingram's run out of the book at all warehouses, expecting more books in early December. From the starred Kirkus: " In her fourth cookbook, Roman conjures up over 100 high-low recipes to 'make the most of what you have, working a little magic from your (well-stocked) pantry.' Beginning with chapters for snacks, soups, vegetables, beans and grains, and pastas, a solid two-thirds of the book is vegetable forward, with an emphasis on hardy, long-lasting vegetables like cabbage, potatoes, squash, and celery." My celery has been wilting quickly the last two times I bought it. That's a side complaint.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Boswell, a play by Marie Kohler
2. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
4. Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
5. Midnight and Moll Flanders, a play by Marie Kohler
6. The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
7. The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
8. Like Mother, Like Mother, by Susan Rieger
9. Best American Short Stories, edited by Celeste Ng
10. Annihilation V1, by Jeff Vandermeer

My favorite book of last year, Like Mother, Like Mother, is now out in paperback, and I'm glad they kept the Ann Napolitano-esque cover, who also blurbed the book: "What a delight! Lila is a magnificent character, and I could not put this book down. Like Mother, Like Mother is sharp, fun, and witty." I am an unofficial member of the Ann Napolitano book club. I'm still debating my favorite book of 2025 - I got it down to the Daniel dozen.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Quick Leadership, by Selena Rezvani
2. Reading for Our Lives, by Maya Payne Smart
3. Refocus: The Films of Susan Seidelman, by Susan Kerns
4. Wrecked, by Thomas Nelson and Jerald Podari (Boswell December 4 event)
5. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron
6. Murdoku, by Manuel Garand
7. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. The Midwest Gardeners Handbook, by Melinda Myers
9. The Garden Against Time, by Olivia Laing
10. Brewtown Tales, by John Gurda

You know (I hope!) about Murdle, but now we're selling Murdoku, which combines "the elegant simplicity of games like sudoku with the storytelling of classic logic problems." The crime scenes include a bakery, a farm, and a chess tournament." No reviews anywhere, but it's still pretty new, at least with trade distribution here. Volume II comes out May 2026.

Books for Kids:
1. The Last Kids on Earth and the Destructors Lair V10, by Max Brallier
2. The Very Last Leaf, by Stef Wade, illustrations by Jennifer Davison
3. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes V14, by Dav Pilkey
4. The Gift of Words, by Peter H Reynolds
5. The Last Kids on Earth Graphic Novel, by Max Brallier
6. The Rose Field V3, by Philip Pullman
7. If We Were Dogs, by Sophie Blackall
8. The Mitten Board Book, by Jan Brett (Boswell/UWM ticketed event December 7)
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper V20, by Jeff Kinney
10. Our Little Adventure at Christmas, by Tabitha Paige

The Gift of Words is a holiday companion novel to an earlier Peter H Reynolds title, The Word Collector, but you don't have to read that to enjoy this. Tara Peace at School Library Journal called this "A lovely holiday story that speaks to the power of bringing community together during the holidays."

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending November 8, 2025

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending November 8, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan (signed copies)
2. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
3. Black Wolf V20, by Louise Penny
4. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
5. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
6. James, by Percival Everett
7. Queen Esther, by John Irving 8. Wreck, by Catherine Newman
9. The Secret of Secrets V6, by Dan Brown
10. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan

Top debut is Queen Esther from John Irving, which is a companion to The Cider House Rules. Reviews have been mixed, but Booklist gave it a star: " Countless literary references, lyrical flourishes, and allusions add depth to the Dickensian motif as Irving brilliantly blends moral ambiguity and emotional truth in this essential addition to his oeuvre."

With sales for The Correspondent increasing every week since its April publication (I am quoting the NYT here), it's expected that the novel will return (it already had one week in the top 15) to the national bestseller list, probably next week. I finally read it so I could include it in book talks. The other big hits were The Gales of November and When the Cranes Fly South. But when it comes to that book, I think we don't have as much competition for hand-selling.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Jailhouse Lawyer, by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull
2. A CEO for All Seasons, by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra, Kurt Strovnik
3. Milwaukee Flavor, Visit Milwaukee, Ann Christenson, Kevin Miyazaki (Boswell November 17 event)
4. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
5. The Bread of Angels, by Patti Smith
6. The Separation of Church and Hate, by John Fugelsang
7. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
8. Dead and Alive, by Zadie Smith
9. Injustice, by Carol Leonig and Aaron C Davies
10. Finding My Way, by Malala Yousafzai

Lots of new releases on what is probably the last big release date of the year, but The Jailhouse Lawyer was quiet for us when it was published in July. Calvin Duncan appeared at Marquette Law School this week and after sales picking up a few weeks ago, the event hit capacity and we sold out of books. From the starred Booklist: "Readers will come away changed - angry, heartened, and galvanized."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Nearly Beloved, by Kendra Broekhuis (signed copies)
2. When and If, by DeWitt Clinton
3. When the Cranes Fly South, by Lisa Ridzén
4. The Safekeep, by Yael Der Wouden (Boswell-run book clubs)
5. How About Now, by Kate Baer
6. Martyr, by Kaveh Akbar
7. The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich
8. Playground, by RIchard Powers
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
10. Discontent, by Beatrice Serrano

Kate Baer's fourth poetry collection is our top non-event debut. Library Journal writes that Baer: "Explores motherhood, marriage, life in one's 40s, and finding joy...Baer still maintains her signature humor throughout the book. There is lightheartedness and an honesty in Baer's poetry that has earned her a large audience, and this latest work offers both virtues."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Struggle for the City, by Derek G Handley
2. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (Schlitz Audubon November 20 event)
3. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
4. In the Room at the Top fo the World, by Ben McCormick
5. Wrecked, Thomas Nelson and Jerald Podair (Boswell December 4 event)
6. How to Drea, by Thich Nhat Hanh
7. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
8. Reincarnation, by Thich Nhat Hanh
9. What if Fungi Win, by Arturo Casadeval

10. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk

Though Thich Nhat Hanh passed away in 2022, his books continue to be published. Both Reincarnation (written with Phap Luu) and How to Dream were released in the last few months. How to Dream, which I think is taking writings and repackaging them by subject, is the final volume in the Mindfulness Essential series. 

 Books for Kids:

 

1. Tater Tales: The Sneakiest in the World V3, by Ben Clanton 

2. Tater Tales: The Greatest in the World V1, by Ben Clanton 

3. Tater Tales: King of the World V2, by Ben Clanton 

4. The Free State of Jax, by Jennifer A Nielsen 

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper V20 

6. How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Jon Klassen 

7. The Book of Dust: Rose Field V3, by Philip Pullman 

8. Skunk and Badger: Rock Paper Incisors V3, by Amy Timberlake, illustrations by Jon Klassen 

9. If We Were Dogs, by Sophie Blackall 

10. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, by Bess Kalb, illustrations by Erin Kraan 

Halloween is over, and that means Christmas books are here, though there is some sampling of Thanksgiving-flavored reading too. The first book to pop is a now perennial, the 2023 How Does Santa Go Down a Chimney, by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Jon Klassen. Several lf the images have been adapted into greeting cards. From Kirkus: "For all that it leans heavily on absurdity, this book exhibits some serious heart."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 1, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending November 1, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Black Wolf V20, by Louise Penny
2. Shadow Ticket, by Thomas Pynchon
3. Alchemised, by SenLinYu
4. Tom's Crossing, by Mark Danielewski (Boswell ticketed event December 13)
5. King Sorrow, by Joe Hill
6. Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan (Ticket sales have ended for November 5 event)
7. The Impossible Fortune V5, by Richard Osman
8. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
9. What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan
10. The Secret of Secrets V6, by Dan Brown

Lead debut was Louise Penny's latest, which I'm glad to say sold a few more copies than #19 in its first week. While some mystery series can be read out of order, The Black Wolf is a continuation of the plot of The Grey Wolf. From Publishers Weekly: "Penny's talent for nail-biting suspense and quiet character moments fuse with surprisingly topical subject matter to deliver an unputdownable installment of an ever reliable series."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Milwaukee Flavor, from Visit Milwaukee (Boswell November 17 event)
2. The Uncool, by Cameron Crowe
3. The Gales of November, by John U Bacon
4. 1929, by Andrew Ross Sorkin
5. Strong Ground, by Brené Brown
6. Expensive Basketball, by Shea Serrano
7. 107 Days, by Kamala Harris
8. Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by Joyce Vance
9. The Talisman of Happiness, by Ada Boni
10. We the People, by Jill Lepore.

Our top debut is The Uncool, by Cameron Crowe, but I loved the comment from a buyer of Shea Serrano's Expensive Basketball, so that's what I'm including. He said, "When I worked at Half Price Books, if a book came in looking like this (no dust jacket, cloth binding), it was considered unsellable and we put it straight in the discard bin." He bought it, of course - jacketless is the new jacketed! From Kirkus: "Serrano is great at exploring how fans' memories of their favorite players intermingle with important events from their lives...Infectiously enthusiastic appraisals of NBA and WNBA stars."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
2. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
3. Little Alleluias, by Mary Oliver
4. The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin
5. The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
6. The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden (Boswell-run book clubs)
7. Your Name Here, by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff
8. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
9. Mate, by Ali Hazelwood
10. Golden Son V2, by Pierce Brown

If you are surprised to see the new book from Helen (The Last Samurai and The English Understand Wool) DeWitt come from Dalkey Archive, you're probably not alone. That said, it's rather an unusual book! From the publisher: "A book of unparalleled scope and vision, Your Name Here is a spectacular honeycomb of books-within-books. In this death-defying feat of ambition, collaborators Helen Dewitt and Ilya Gridneff weave together America's 'War on Terror,' countless years of literary history, authorial sleight of hand, Scientology, dream analysis, multiple languages, emails, images, graphs, into something wondrous and unique."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Lincoln's Counterfeiters, by Andrea Nolen (signed copies)
2. A Sheepdog Named Oscar, by Dara Waldron (signed copies)
3. Rippel, by William Powers
4. Birds of the Great Lakes, by Dexter Patterson (Schlitz Audubon November 20 event)
5. Roar, by Stacy T Sims
6. The Artists Way, by Julia Cameron
7. The Chaos Machine, by Max Fisher
8. Book and Dagger, by Elyse Graham
9. Meet the Neighbors, by Brandon Keim
10. Don't Say Please, by Sahan Jayasuriya

Selling off the new paperback table is Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, which had okay sales for us in 2024, but notably for paperback success, it continued to sell regularly in 2025. It has wo raves, four positives, and a mixed on BookMarks, including this from Bryn Stole in The Washington Post: "Graham’s account is well-researched and scrupulously footnoted, but she also writes with a pulpy panache that turns the book into a well-paced thriller."

Books for Kids:
1. Dragonborn, by Struan Murray
2. Sole Survivor, by Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely
3. Rock Paper Incisors V3, by Amy Klassen
4. The Free State of Jax, by Jennifer A Nielsen
5. Egg Marks the Spot V2, by Amy Timberlake
6. Skunk and Badger V1, by Amy Timberlake
7. Iceberg, by Jennifer A Nielsen
8. Uprising, by Jennifer A Nielsen
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper V20, by Jeff Kinney
10. Incredibly Penelope, by Lauren Myracle

We are at peak school visit this week with in-person programs from Struan Murray, Jennifer Nielsen, and Amy Timberlake, plus a virtual event with Norman Ollestad and Brendan Kiely. It's also release week for Jeff Kinney and Partypooper, who visited Milwaukee last year. Murray's Dragonborn is a hot kids book this fall, the latest dragon-centric fantasy, and with sprayed-edge flare too. Says Kirkus: "Come for the dragons but stay for the suspenseful reveals and relatable characters."

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."