Saturday Gift Post--Gifts from Poland

We've had a great reaction to our wooden boxes from Poland. At first my idea was to put them on various display tables--Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, blue boxes on our Sacre Bleu table (coming from Christopher Moore, event is April 11, 7 pm). We've already gone back for a second order, with several more Boswellians perusing the catalog and picking out their favorites to try in the store. Who knew that Greg would be a particularly big fan? But these are pretty cool boxes and the pricing is quite reasonable.

The more I thought about it, these boxes are a great centerpiece to a table on Polish writers and culture.

We gathered a collection of contemporary and classic writers, such as Czeslaw Milosz, Wislawa Szymborskia, Zbiegnew Herbert, and Andrzej Stasiuk. We had a copy of the lovely contemporary novel Pears on a Willow Tree, and a few copies of one of my favorites, Brigid Pasulka's A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True. And then Jane came in and reminded us that we had a copy of one of her favorite Polish historicals, Push Not the River, already on our shelf as well.

And this reminded me of another opportunity. About half a year ago, Darlene (Lolly) Rzezotarski had mentioned she'd had a book published that combined images of her ceramics combined with classic Polish folktales. The first printing went to a local gallery, but I told her to keep us in mind if she reprinted. The next time I saw her after the display went up, I asked if there were books available as we now had the perfect display to feature her book, Encountering Poland: Trick a Witch, Wed a Hedgehog, Save Your Soul.

And so we are now carrying her book as well. Hooray!

Friday Short Post--Yes, We're Closing Early Today.

With spring in sight, I fell prey to the weather gods, and have decided to close the store early tonight, at 5:30 pm. It was a combination of factors:
--No event tonight
--A bookseller hugged me when I made the suggestion
--Two modest storms in February that cleared out the store for the entire evening, except for a few locals who spent hours hanging out and didn't buy anything anyway
--A lack of sleep on my part, combined with being scheduled to close tonight, had me panickng about my ability to get home. I would have normally taken the bus, but we had our accountant early in the morning, and a lunch with a friend at our management office, and I couldn't figure out how I could get there and back in time. And then my friend cancelled because of...the snow.

I decorated the post with the snowiest frontlist title I could think of, which is The Snow Child.

I'm grateful that I was able to do this, and now I might help everyone by making the storm pass us by. It's the old "carry an umbrella to avoid the rain" theory, for those superstitious folk out there.

And if it had to happen, better tonight than next Friday, when Sarah Vowell's at Boswell and we're also selling books at the UWM Spring Writers Festival.

Seems ok for tomorrow and our event with John Donatich and his novel, The Variations. But we'll keep you posted.

#1 Indie Next Pick Carol Anshaw and That Wonderful Conversation with Stephen McCauley (Oh, and She's Coming to Boswell on March 27th).

Several (well, two) years ago, we hosted one of my favorite writers, Stephen McCauley, at Boswell. I asked him at the time who were his favorite writers, and one of his picks was Carol Anshaw.

I'm thrilled to note that Carol Anshaw is coming to Boswell on March 27 for her novel Carry the One. It's the story of a car accident that happens during a wedding celebration and how this tragedy radiates out among the various characters over the years.

It's great to read this great conversation between Carol Anshaw and Stephen McCauley. Here's Anshaw on the growing acceptance of LGBT writers in literary fiction. She starts her new novel with a scene of two women being intimate, and what a change it's been from earlier novels. Carry the One is the #1 Indie Next pick for March 2012."I suppose I was testing the waters a bit. What I'm seeing, in terms of initial response, is that political and social climate change has made 2012 a more tolerant place. I remember the agent I had when I started out in the late 1980s asking why did I want to have a lesbian character in my book? And that wasn't in a tone that read, "Oh wow, why are you doing this cool new thing!?" And when my novel Aquamarine came out in 1992, I read at a women's bookstore way out in the suburbs of Chicago that had a room in the back for lesbian books. So no one passing on the street would see you so much as browsing. I think/hope those days are behind us."

Here's the rest of the interview.

And now a quote from Emma Donaghue, whose Room broke out in 2010:
"Here’s passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide.”

And from Alison Bechdel:
“Reading this book, I felt like I was watching someone cross a tightrope with the same relaxed, assured stride they would use on solid ground. Anshaw is in such graceful command that her story about three gifted, wounded siblings almost doesn’t feel like fiction. The traumatic accident that derails the characters’ lives as young adults is a sort of echo of the childhood damage they’ve already lived through. The ways that they do and don’t survive this are variously tragic, stark, and beautiful, but always utterly convincing. Along the way, the generous Anshaw doles out psychological acuity, antic humor, cultural critique and profound wisdom as the merest casual asides. It can’t be as effortless as she makes it look, but it’s a pleasure to soar with her, for a while, on that high wire.”

Mark your calendars twice, because Alison Bechdel is coming to Boswell for her new graphic memoir, Are You My Mother?, on Monday, May (not March as originally mentioned--thanks, Josh!) 7, 7pm

A Visit to Ono Kine Grindz in Wauwatosa, Just Because All I Can Think About is Sarah Vowell's Visit to Boswell on Friday, March 9.

Today I went out to Wauwatosa to visit our friends at Ono Kine Grindz at 7215 West North Avenue. As I may have mentioned, they're co-sponsoring our event with Sarah Vowell on Friday, March 9 for Unfamiliar Fishes. 

We're hoping to have an assortment of cookies and other treats from their combination Hawaiian grocery and plate lunch restaurant. It fits together perfectly--Unfamiliar Fishes is a look at Hawaii and how the Puritans and the natives played off each other to create their unique culture.  As you know, Sarah Vowell's event is Friday, March 9, at Boswell. A $15 ticket gets you a copy of Unfamiliar Fishes and entry to the event. Seats are not guaranteed. The store will close at 6 pm to folk without tickets. And we're likely to sell out.

And why are we going to sell out? Because this is an amazing deal--tickets are less than the cost of the book alone. And just to make my point about how this is a perfect match, and maybe convince you that you need to buy your tickets to this event right now, here's Sarah Vowell talking about the importance of plate lunch to Hawaiian culture.

Davd and Guy started their business a few years ago, and have already won a reputation among several of my customers (and also booksellers) as a fave dining spot in the area. Entrees include laulau (steamed pork and butterfish in taro and leaf wrap), BBQ kalbi ribs, and huli huli chicken (house smoked with mango glaze). And Jason swears by the world famous CoCo Puffs.

Let me just say that my cosponsorship attempts with other area businesses have been touch and go. Most of them agree to get involved, but are honestly too busy to really contribute anything. I'm usually just happy to see a sign up (yes, there was one at Ono Kine Grindz) and a Facebook post. When someone acutally participates in an event, like the dynamic Margaret at the poptastic Hot Pop Boutique and Gallery in the Third Ward, it sort of makes my heart sing, but then I get panicky because I wonder if it was worth her time.

But the truth is that though I'd like these complimentary businesses to help get the word out about our events, mostly I just want a reason to feature them at Boswell. In a strange way, I think it's part of our mission to offer shout outs to other vibrant indie stores.

And that's what Ono Kine Grindz is--a vibrant indie store making the Milwaukee area a little bit better. So while you're at the Sarah Vowell event, say hit to Guy, and pick up one of their menus, and try a treat (while supplies last).

***

The email newsletter went out! Usually this is all consuming for at least a day, but I admittedly used a lot of Stacie's copy and I also started way too early in the morning. Now I hold my breath until we find out if the typos are major or minor.

How Amazon Will Tell You What You Can and Can't Read, by Restricting Sales on the Kindle.

You may have noticed that I do not like to make this blog a place for advocacy. My focus is on, as the blog notes, Boswell and Books, not Boswell and the book industry. If I expand outwards at all, I like to look at community, both the book community (the bookstores, publishers) and the Milwaukee-area community (other great indie stores, area organizations). I think there are better sources for book news, such as Shelf Awareness, Publishers Weekly, The Amercian Booksellers Association newsletter, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and so forth.

We all know that much (but not all, despite the stump speeches of some pundits) of the book business is moving digital, and that has created a quandary for both retailers and readers alike, being that information that was free flowing is now tied to an electric device. You already know that we are part of the Google ebooks program (they are cutting back on partners, but our trade association's e-commerce program is not affected) , and many of you have tried buying ebooks on your iPad, Droid tablet or phone, Nook, or Sony reading device. But folks with Kindles (except for the tablet, I'm told) are locked into buying books only from Amazon.

I have compared this in the past to the Sony Betamax, only in this case, it's not like the Amazon products are far superior to others. If you like e ink, the Nook is quite comparable, and if you want other functionality, few are going to rate the Kindle superior to the iPad. But it is still the case that the Kindle has a very high market share. Not every community has a bookstore (like McLean and Eakin of Petoskey, Michigan, for example), who has taken on as its mission the education of their community as to what concentration of business will do to the book business as a whole. And I want to say that there is a market out there for an open concept device that uses e ink.

You can read between the lines of Amazon reports (like many analysts do) that their game plan for many years has been to undercut their competitors (both other bookstores and publishers) and knock them out of their competitive position. Here's Sarah Lucy in Pando Daily ruminating on the problem. And the lack of a brick-and-mortar infrastructure is affecting all kinds of retailers But competitor's negative reactions to showrooming for Amazon is possibly forcing their hand to open their own stores. Sure, one store is just a nice vanity gesture, but won't a chain of them undercut their competitive advantage? Now I'm as confused as you are.

This is straight from a generally positive report in The New York Times: "For Amazon, long-term growth confers two major benefits: the kind of economies of scale enjoyed by Wal-Mart and eliminating or weakening competitors. The book retailer Borders has been forced out of business and a rival, Barnes & Noble, is struggling. Best Buy, the electronics retailer, reported this week that earnings plunged 29 percent, despite higher revenue and a surge of Black Friday sales, because the chain had to cut prices and offer free shipping to compete with Amazon."

Here's what I do know. Amazon turned off the "buy" button on Macmillan titles in response to their decision to move ebooks to an agency plan that leveled the playing field. And now they've taken the ebooks of the distributor/publisher Independent Publishers Group off the Kindle platform, based on not being able to force the terms they want for the product.

This is pure speculation, but one can only guess that other small publishers, when pressured, have already folded to these new terms. But IPG is a publisher that goes their own way. They've made some decisions that have gone contrary to other publishers, like charging freight when other distribution groups absorb it. At Schwartz, I even had them on our vendor of record program, buying their books through a wholesaler. But at Boswell, we looked at the low freight costs and decided it was more important for us to have a direct relationship. We love their model, their portal to hundreds of small publishers, and I have to say, the folks that work there are some of my favorite people in the industry.

Rescuing Regina, The Katyn Order, The President is a Sick Man, and The Tortoise and the Hare, all highlighted at Boswell and Books, are all IPG titles. We have a great event coming up with Jeffrey Gusfield, who has authored Deadly Valentines: The Story of Capone's Henchman "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and Louise Rolfe, His Blonde Alibi, a history of the aftermath of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Gusfield appears on Tuesday, April 10, 7 pm, at Boswell. More on that later.

You may know that there are groups that are suing to end the agency plans, saying that the pricing model is monopolistic, but if this is the case, this model is pretty widespread in other industries, and it's hard to believe that the government would say that this was collusive. On the other hand, Amazon seems to be flexing their hand in a way that recalls Ma Bell and Standard Oil.

I'm not sure anymore that Amazon wants indie bookstores out of business. Who, after all, will showroom books for their electronic readers? You know what I'm talking about--it's when someone hangs out at a bookstore, scanning (or in the old days, writing down) the books they want, only to buy them elsewhere. Amazon even developed a mooching app, to make it easier for these people.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You factor other things into your purchase equations, don't you? Didn't more than one of you say to me that you made the choice not to shop at a certain big box store? And maybe it's time to acknowledge that Amazon is not an online bookstore, it's a general merchandise store that sells books.

And here's the best news for folks who already bought books on their Kindle. You can get rid of your Kindle for another device and still read the books you've already bought, because Amazon has a reading app, just like Google Books. The difference? You'll also be able to read books you bought elsewhere.

Here's Stacie's recommendation:
"When mentioning e ink devices, there's an option for consumers who want
the Kindle's experience but buy indie: the iRiver Story HD. Its price
point is just under $100, it has the best e ink display on the market
and syncs with Google e books."

What's Going On This Week at Boswell (John Donatich), and What's Not Going on This Week (Eleanor Henderson).

Our sympathies to Eleanor Henderson, author of Ten Thousand Saints, who was forced to cancel her appearance at Boswell, due to a death in her family. So no event this Wednesday, February 29. We'll reschedule my short book club talk to open for another upcoming event.

On Saturday, March 3, we'll be hosting John Donatich, publisher of Yale University Press, and author of the new novel, The Variations. I fear hosting authors so early in their release cycle, unless the author is local and has enough of a base for a launch event. But how could we say no? Here are some early reads from some of our favorite authors.

"This book deserves quiet and respectful praise. I was very moved by it. Individual sentences are filled with precision and intelligence. I suppose it is, itself, a variation, in terms of its improvisations on an expected theme, the improbabilities recognized and realized, and its humane take on the world. What a surprising, beautiful book."—Ann Beattie, author of The New Yorker Stories

"Though The Variations documents harsh personal upheavals, it is characterized by great poise and dignity. With his talent for finding beauty in the dingiest corners and insights in the most confounding situations, John Donatich has given us a novel with staying power. It's impossible not to be utterly absorbed by this book."—Joanna Scott, author of the Ambassador Book Award winning Liberation

"Toward the end of this moving and highly unusual novel, its hero -- Dominic -- remarks: 'It is God that is primary, individual, irreducible. All the rest variations on a theme." These variations preoccupy the major characters in this deeply poetic and fiercely imagined book. Novels that approach matters of faith are rarely, and rarely good. But John Donatich has written a beautiful and thoughtful meditation on faith and its fate in the modern world, on listening, loving, living. The Variations plays any number of variations on the themes of love and loss in its myriad forms. It's a novel I will pass eagerly among friends."—Jay Parini, author of The Last Station and The Passages of H.M.

"Catholic writers in America have not found much excitement in theology. John Donatich goes a long way towards repairing that lack with this beautiful novel about a contemporary priest who can't help contemplating the failure of his rundown urban church as his own inner failure…The author has a poet's feel for image, which he confers upon his priest with breathtaking effect…There is genuine suspense, a sense of life or death importance, in this thoughtful novel about what Father Dominic will choose to do as well as about the fates of his parishioners."—Jaimy Gordon, author of the National Book Award winning Lord of Misrule

"A novel of priests, pianists, hysterics, dry drunks, urban decay, and above all the irresistible drive to achieve transcendence, even while you know it can’t be done by trying. When these people pray or make music they know they have to master an art form and give up hope of mastering it at the same time. Their dilemmas are old, universal, perfect. Donatich doesn’t believe in the kind of orthodoxy that obliterates doubts and declares a permanent winner to contests inside the soul. He seems to believe in a continuous struggle between what we can and can’t do on our own, a faith of variations that will keep on changing from one day to the next because it’s alive."—Salvatore Scibona, author of The End

Mr. Donatch will be appearing at Boswell on Saturday, March 3, at 2 pm. He'll be talking about his book, as well as the changing world of publishing.

What Sold at Boswell Last Week? Past Event Recaps and Upcoming Event Shout Outs.

Hardcover Fiction
1. What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, by Nathan Englander
2. Sonoma Rose, by Jennifer Chiaverini
3. The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
4. The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson
5. American Dervish, by Ayad Akhtar

That's a clean sweep for last week, as we hosted every author in our top five at one point for their current book. I should note that Ayad Akhtar will be coming back to be the Friday dinner speaker at the UWM Spring Writing Conference on Friday, March 9. TIckets are still available for the entire conference, which is $85 for three days of talks and workshops, plus meals and networking. Buy here.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. While America Sleeps, by Russ Feingold
2. Sic, by Joshua Cody
3. The End of Illness, by David Agus
4. Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
5. Eminent Outlaws, by Christopher Bram

Senator Feingold's new book was the big news this week. Not too many reviews yet, but Kirkus notes: "Sage, sensible words by a leader who can now point to how he right he was." Feingold's out stomping the country on tour, appearing at Barnes and Noble in New York and Politics and Prose in DC. He doesn't look like he'll get to the Milwaukee area until April 28, when he does an area event sponsored by our friends Next Chapter.

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
2. For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, by Nathan Englander
3. The Tiger's Wife, by Téa Obreht
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. Until the Next Time, by Kevin Fox

Fox will be appearing at County Clare in a Boswell co-sponsored free event on March 14 for his novel Until the Next Time. He'll also be in Waukesha County at a gig sponsored by our friends Books and Company. Here's a teaser, also from Kirkus: "Given a journal belonging to an uncle he never knew existed, Sean Corrigan embarks on a quest across the Atlantic—and lifetimes—in search of the truth about Michael Corrigan, a cop accused of murder who fled to Ireland."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Please Stop Laughing at Me, by Jodee Blanco
2. In the Moment: The Life and Art of Shomer Licthner, by Sue Montgomery
3. In Celebration: The Life and Art of Ruth Grotenrath, by Sue Montgomery
4. American Made, by Nick Taylor
5. Species of Spaces, by Georges Perec

Jodee Blanco will be appearing at a free event at Greenfield High School on Tuesday, March 6, at 7 pm. Greenfield High School is located at 4800 South 60th Street.

What's with the books from West Bend's Museum of Wisconsin Art? The Golda Meir Library asked us to sell books at a wonderful talk by Barbara Brown Lee, regarding beloved Milwaukee artists Lichtner and Grotenrath. The UWM Library Friends (Officially Friends of the UWM Golda Meir Library) have a nice schedule of events and you can join, just like you can a public library friends group. More info here.

Books for Kids:
1. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
2. Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
3. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
4. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (board book), by Mem Fox with illustrations by Helen Oxenbury
5. The House in the Night (board book), by Susan Marie Swanson, with illustrations by Beth Krommes

The Swanson/Krommes collaboration is a Calecott medal classic came out in board book form last fall. From the Booklist review of the original hardcover: "The use of gold isespecially effective, coloring the stars and aknowing moon, all surrounded with black-and-white halos.A beautiful piece of bookmaking that will delight both parents and children."

Saturday Gift Post--Define Spring.

Of course we know that spring is not for another month, but it seems to me that sometime towards the end of February, it's time to take away the winter reading table and start contemplating birds and flowers again.

In Milwaukee, spring isn't when it stops snowing. It's when the snow melts more quickly. And let's just say that we've had a very mild winter. I was looking at last February's sales and we had two pretty miserable days last year. Because the storm was mostly overnight, this week's storm was mostly cleaned up by mid-day, and we had solid afternoon to early evening traffic.

For this year's migration celebration, we brought in more resin birds (yes, yet another assortment), some tin bird houses, bird mugs, and of course our Peruvian (yes, made in Peru) water whistles. Everything is under ten dollars. Folkmanis has a new robin finger puppet that seems aching for the vernal equinox. And more to come later, of course.

So I say, start thinking about the return of birds now. Jason already stocked up on his Adventure Publiciation bird guides.