Boswell this week - Susan Hartman, Ben Hubing, Mary Laura Philpott, Jack E Davis, Louis Bayard

Here's what's happening at Boswell this week, in person and virtual. This week we're all nonfiction - it isn't until next Monday's Louis Bayard that we've got a novel featured. 

Monday, June 20, 7 pm

Susan Hartman, author of City of Refugees: The Story of Three Newcomers Who Breathed Life into a Dying American Town
in conversation with Mitch Teich for a virtual event - click here to register! 

Boswell hosts an evening featuring journalist Susan Hartman for a conversation about her new book, City of Refugees, which offers an intimate portrait of how newcomers revitalized a fading industrial town which illuminates the larger canvas of refugee life in 21st century America. In conversation with Mitch Teich of North Country Public Radio and former WUWM Lake Effect Producer and Host. Cosponsored by Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition and Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Many Americans imagine refugees as threatening outsiders who will steal jobs or be a drain on the economy. But across the country, refugees are rebuilding and maintaining the American Dream. Hartman follows three newcomers to Utica, New York over the course of eight years as they and their families adjust to new lives in America. They are part of an extraordinary migration of refugees from Vietnam, Bosnia, Burma, Somalia, Iraq, and elsewhere, who have transformed Utica over the past four decades. City of Refugees is a complex and poignant story of a small city but also of America - a country whose promise of safe harbor and opportunity is knotty and incomplete, but undeniably alive.

From Jake Halpern, author of Welcome to the New World: "This is an American tale that everyone should read - the story of three refugees who forged a new life in the Rust Belt. Hartman's journalistic dedication is nothing short of astounding. She spent eight years following her subjects, and it shows. The storytelling is so intimate and the characters feel so deeply real that you will know them like neighbors. Sadia, who is a teenage girl when the book begins, is like the heroine of a great young adult novel. You will root for her on every page, and by the end, you will not be able to wall off your heart from her hopes and dreams."

Susan Hartman has written about immigrant communities for over 20 years, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Newsday. The author of two books of poetry, she was educated at Kirkland College and received an MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where she now teaches.

Tuesday, June 21, 6:30 pm

Ben Hubing, author of George Wallace in Wisconsin: The Divisive Campaigns That Shaped a Civil Rights Legacy
in conversation with Christine Evans, in-person event at Boswell - click here to register.

Boswell hosts an event featuring historian Ben Hubing for a presentation about his new book, George Wallace in Wisconsin, in which he explores the tumult surrounding the so-called little man with the big mouth in the Badger State. Cosponsored by the UWM Department of History.

George Wallace ran for president four times between 1964 and 1976. In the Badger State, his campaigns fueled a debate over constitutional principles and values. Wallace weaponized states' rights, arguing that the federal government should stay out of school segregation, promote law and order, restrict forced busing, and reduce burdensome taxation. White working-class Wisconsinites armed themselves with Wallace's rhetoric, pushing back on changes that threatened the status quo. Civil rights activists and the Black community in Wisconsin armed themselves with a different constitutional principle, equal protection, to push for strong federal protection of their civil rights.

This clash of ideals nearly became literal as protests and counter-protests erupted until gradually diminishing as Wallace's political fortunes waned. Hubing’s new book offers a revealing account of the tensions that embroiled Wisconsinites as Alabama Governor Wallace took his struggle north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Ben Hubing is a high school educator and educational consultant and has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the James Madison Foundation Fellowship and the Herb Kohl Teaching Fellowship. He earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an MS from Cardinal Stritch University, and an MA in History from UWM, where he focused on the intersections of civil rights, politics and constitutional history.

Wednesday, June 22, 6:30 pm

Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives
in-person at Boswell - click here to register!

Boswell hosts an evening with Mary Laura Philpott, author of the bestselling essay collection I Miss You When I Blink, who joins us with Bomb Shelter, a poignant and powerful new memoir that tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear with humor and hope.

A lifelong worrier, Philpott always kept an eye out for danger, a habit that only intensified when she became a parent. But she looked on the bright side, too, believing that as long as she cared enough, she could keep her loved ones safe. Then, in the dark of one quiet, pre-dawn morning, she woke abruptly to a terrible sound and found her teenage son unconscious on the floor. In the aftermath of a crisis that darkened her signature sunny spirit, she wondered: If this happened, what else could happen? And how do any of us keep going when we can’t know for sure what’s coming next?

Untamed author Glennon Doyle calls Bomb Shelter: "An unforgettable memoir about holding it together when it’s time to let go, Bomb Shelter met me exactly where I am and gently walked me towards humor and hope. This book is a must read - a treasure to savor now and save for always. I loved it." And from Judith Warner in The New York Times Book Review: "I was struck to my core - all kinds of overripe feelings and neglected memories shook loose - by Mary Laura Philpott, or more precisely, by her new masterwork, Bomb Shelter."

Mary Laura Philpott is author of I Miss You When I Blink and her writing has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. A former bookseller, she also hosted an interview program on Nashville Public Television for several years.

Wednesday, June 22, 7 pm

Jack E Davis, author of The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America's Bird
in conversation with Cheyenne Smith for a virtual event - click here to register.

Boswell Book Company and Schlitz Audubon Nature Center present an evening with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack E Davis, author of The Gulf, for a conversation about his new book, The Bald Eagle, a sweeping cultural and natural history of the bald eagle in America. In conversation with Schlitz Audubon Raptor Educator Cheyenne Smith. The speakers will be joined during this program by a bald eagle from the Schlitz Audubon Raptor Program!

The bald eagle is regal but fearless, a bird you’re not inclined to argue with. For centuries, Americans have celebrated it as ‘majestic’ and ‘noble,’ yet savaged the living bird behind their national symbol as a malicious predator of livestock and, falsely, a snatcher of babies. Taking us from before the nation’s founding through inconceivable resurgences of this enduring all-American species, Davis contrasts the age when native peoples lived beside it peacefully with that when others, whether through hunting bounties or DDT pesticides, twice pushed Haliaeetus leucocephalus to the brink of extinction.

Filled with stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of baldeagles themselves, The Bald Eagle is a much-awaited cultural and natural history that demonstrates how this bird’s wondrous journey may provide inspiration today, as we grapple with environmental peril on a larger scale. Vicki Constantine Croke, writing for The New York Times Book Review, says: "Davis shines at most everything in this exuberantly expansive book, but especially at highlighting individual birds like the translocated ones making their way in the world. With eagle numbers now estimated at levels they were before 'America became America,' their comeback is astonishing."

Jack E Davis is the author of the award-winning The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea and An Everglades Providence: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the American Environmental Century. He is Professor of Environmental History at the University of Florida.

Monday, June 27, 6:30 pm

Louis Bayard, author of Jackie & Me
in conversation with Christina Clancy, in-person at Boswell - click here to register!

Boswell Book Company hosts Louis Bayard, the bestselling author of The Pale Blue Eye and Courting Mr. Lincoln, for a conversation about his witty, sensitive new novel about the young Jacqueline Bouvier during the time before she became that Jackie, and the marriage that almost never happened. In conversation with Christina Clancy, author of Shoulder Season and The Second Home.

In the spring of 1951, debutante Jacqueline Bouvier, working for the Washington Times-Herald, meets Jack Kennedy, a charming Congressman from a notorious and powerful family, at a party in DC. Young, rebellious, eager to break free from her mother, Jackie is drawn to the elusive young politician, and soon she and Jack are bantering over secret dinner dates and short work phone calls. Only gradually does Jackie begin to realize that she is being groomed to be the perfect political wife, whether Jack is interested in settling down or not. Sharply written, steeped in the era and with witty appearances by members of the extended Kennedy clan, this is Jackie as never before seen, in a story about love, sacrifice, friendship, and betrayal.

Jackie & Me has earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal. And from Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek: "I absolutely adore this novel! It’s a testament to Louis Bayard’s remarkable gifts as storyteller how suspenseful it is, given that we already know this story... or do we? Full of Bayard’s trademark charm and wit, with prose that sings and a perfect voice, Jackie & Me delighted me from beginning to end."

Louis Bayard is a New York Times Notable Book author and has been shortlisted for both the Edgar and Dagger awards for his historical thrillers, which include The Pale Blue Eye and Mr. Timothy. He teaches at George Washington University. 

Visit the Boswell upcoming events page for more programs.

Photo credits:
Susan Hartman credit Glenmar Studio
Mary Laura Philpott credit Heidi Ross
Jack E Davis credit Giuliano De Portu
Louis Bayard credit Anna Carson Dewitt

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 18, 2022

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending June 18, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub
2. Horse, by Geraldine Brooks (Register for June 30 virtual event here)
3. Hotel Nantucket, by Elin Hilderbrand
4. Jackie and Me, by Louis Bayard (Register for June 27 in-person and virtual event here)
5. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
6. The Latecomer, by Jean Hanff Korelitz
7. Meant to Be, by Emily Giffin
8. Two Nights in Lisbon, by Chris Pavone
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (Reigster for July 11 virtual event here)
10. Search, by Michelle Huneven

It's hard to imagine that Elin Hildebrand can hit a home run every time at bat, but if you ignore The New York Times Book Review write-up from Michelle Ruiz (and there is certainly no reason to expect they would give a good review to such a novel, especially with the retirement of commercial-oriented Janet Maslin), the reviews for Hotel Nantucket are terrific - Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus, which I quote: "Bring on the fresh-baked gougères and the hydrangea-blue cashmere throws: A classic fictional setting - the grand hotel - gets the Hilderbrand treatment. The beloved beach novelist's 28th book is another tour de force, deploying all her usual tricks and tropes and clever points of view, again among them a character from the afterlife and the collective 'we' of gossipy island residents."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Happy-Go Lucky, by David Sedaris (signed copies available)
2. Mother Noise, by Cindy House (same)
3. My Life in the Sunshine, by Nabil Ayers (same)
4. The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym, by Paula Byrne
5. I'd Like to Play Alone, Please, by Tom Segura
6. River of the Gods, by Candice Millard
7. Architects of an American Landscape, by Hugh Howard
8. Atomic Habits, by James Clear
9. The End of the World Is Just the Beginning, by Peter Zeihan
10. The Bald Eagle, by Jack E Davis (Register for June 22 virtual event here)

Another week, another comedian who is "massively successful" but is heretofore off my radar because I don't watch the Netflix specials and I am not the target market. Tom Segura's debut collection, I'd Like to Play Alone, Please, didn't get a Book Marks page, even though it has advance reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly; I'm not sure how they make these decisions. Kirkus writes: "While Segura's off-color humor is not for everyone, his fans will doubtlessly enjoy both his essays and the included black-and-white photos. Often crude but undeniably funny."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
2. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
4. Beautiful World, Where Are You, by Sally Rooney
5. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
6. Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
7. Afterparties, by Anthony Veasna So
8. Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas
9. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagirhara
10. Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

According to Book Marks, the best reviewed short story collection was Anthony Veasna So's Afterparties, which also had Boswell love from several booksellers here, notably Chris, who got me to read it too. I just learned that So's second collection is coming out in 2023. From Jonathan Dee, whose new book I'm supposed to start reading any second: "Karen Russell, Carmen Maria Machado, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - you can count on one hand the authors of this century whose debut short-story collections are as prodigious and career-making as Afterparties. This lovingly specific, history-haunted comedy of Cambodian-American manners should put Anthony Veasna So on smart readers' radar to stay."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. America Calling, by Rajika Bhanadari
2. Teaching Community by bell hooks
3. I Was Wrong, but We Can Make It Right, by John B Haydon
4. Wildflowers of Wisconsin Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela
5. North Point Historic Districts, by Shirley Du Fresne McArthur
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. A Voyage Long and Strange, by Tony Horwitz
8. A Dog Lover's Guide to Hiking Wisconsin's State Parks, by Danielle St Louis
9. The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf
10. Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

I don't normally highlight what we call bulk sales, but I wanted to make mention of bell hooks's Teaching Community, as Jason and I were just discussing how, of all the folks who've passed away in the last year, the big breakout book seemed to be hooks's All About Love. And then Jason noted that even the Routledge (an imprint of Taylor and Frances, an informa company*) titles were selling well.

Books for Kids:
1. Realm of the Blue Mist, by Amy Kim Kibuishi
2. The Assignment, by Liza Wiemer
3. Mightier than the Sword, by Rochelle Melander
4. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Sepetys
5. First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris
6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz
7. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, by Erika L Sánchez (Register for September 16 event here)
8. The Patron Saints of Nothing, by Randy Ribay
9. The Secret Sky, by Atia Abawi
10. I Kissed Shara Wheeler, by Casey McQuiston

Realm of the Blue Mist is a new graphic novel series that has gotten nice write-ups from Kirkus and Booklist. Kirkus lays it out: "A girl seeking answers is drawn onto another world entirely. Fifteen-year-old Tabetha 'Tabby' Simon is drawn to Yggdrasil, the anomalous tree with bizarre, immortality-granting properties that her scientist father was researching before his mysterious death years ago." Booklist brings it home: "Solid, well-thought-out world building keeps this fast-paced, layered story from becoming too complicated. Thrilling action sequences, compelling characters, and gorgeous art and colors all ensure readers will wait impatiently for the next volume in the series."

We've been publishing our Boswell bestseller lists since we opened in 2009, and the truth is, I've been collating lists like this since I first started at Harry W Schwartz Bookshops in 1986. Back at Warner Books (now Grand Central), I did work making sure that our new releases were on the radar of the folks who made up these lists nationally - it wasn't as easy as it was now, and regularly, someone would call me and ask about a book they were getting sales reports on, and I would play detective if I didn't know what it was off the back.

My interest in charts goes back to 1974 when I started listening to American Top 40 and soon became obsessed with the Billboard charts. By 1975, I was tabulating my favorite songs weekly, first as a top 20, then a top 40, then all the way to 100. I continued to do this until 2001, and much of my social network revolved around other people who did the same thing. I will probably be talking about this a bit more this fall, as I anxiously await the release of Tom Breihan's The Number Ones, out November 15. I should also note the passing of Joel Whitburn, the chartmaker's chartmaker. Here's the Jim Higgins-written obituary.

Being that there have been a number of stories about a certain song becoming a huge hit 37 years after its initial release, I thought I would include an excerpt from one of my old charts. 

Daniel's personal top 10 of October 13, 1985:
1. Running Up that Hill, by Kate Bush
2. Marlene on the Wall, by Suzanne Vega
3. Excitable, by Amazulu
4. Love Take Over, by Five Star
5. Round and Around, by Jaki Graham
6. When Love Breaks Down, by Prefab Sprout
7. The Perfect Way, by Scritti Politti
8. Body and Soul, by Mai Tai
9. The Love Parade, by Dream Academy
10. Appetite by Prefab Sprout

*Which is a division of the Sheinhardt Wig Company

What's selling at Boswell? Week ending June 11, 2022

Here's what's selling at Boswell.

Hardcover Fiction
1. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
2. Nightcrawling, by Leila Mottley
3. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub
4. Sparring Partners, by John Grisham
5. Jackie and Me, by Louis Bayard (Register for June 27 in-person event here)
6. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
7. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
8. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
9. Meant to Be, by Emily Giffin
10. Woman of Light, by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Top debut goes to Nightcrawling, the debut from Leila Mottley, the current Oprah Book Club selection. As is frequently noted, Mottley is the youngest author picked for this honor. From Sam Sacks in The Wall Street Journal: "With dizzying speed, a combination of need and misfortune casts her into prostitution, and it isn’t long before she’s been co-opted by a ring of corrupt Oakland police officers and forced to accompany them at depraved all-night parties. Kiara’s retelling of these events is clipped, demotic and, apart from a few moments of emotional catharsis, focused on the brass tacks of staying alive. Her story becomes more and more gripping and desperate as the trap around her closes. Ms. Mottley accesses the feelings one sometimes has while reading Dickens, the breathless sense that some massive unfairness is being inflicted on a good and innocent person."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Happy-Go-Lucky, by David Sedaris (Tickets and free signing following for June 17 here)
2. Battling the Big Lie, by Dan Pfeiffer
3. Illogical, by Emmanuel Acho
4. The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym, by Paula Byrne
5. Architects of an American Landscape, by Hugh Howard (Register for June 15 virtual event here)
6. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
7. Catholica, by Suzanna Ivanic
8. Bittersweet, by Susan Cain
9. Speak, by Tunde Oyeneyin
10. My Life in the Sunshine, by Nabil Ayers (Register for June 14 in person and virtual event here)

Normally if we have a ticketed event, people buying books in advance are not planning to attend. But in the case of David Sedaris's appearance on June 17 for Happy-Go-Lucky, anyone can attend the free signing that follows the ticketed reading - you don't even have to buy the book from us. The key here is that we don't expect to get to the free part for a few hours - I'm expecting between 7 and 8. But if you register (!!!), we will keep you posted about when to line up and save you a whole bunch of time. And don't worry, Mr. Sedaris will spend as much time with you as he did with the ticketed folks, maybe more. I spent my Saturday reading Happy-Go-Lucky (which mentions Milwaukee), as well as Cindy House's Mother Noise, which Sedaris is championing. 

Paperback Fiction:
1. A Proposal They Can't Refuse, by Natalie Caña
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Dare to Know, by James Kennedy
4. Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom
5. Raft of Stars, by Andrew J Graff
6. Leonard and Hungry Paul, by Rónán Hession
7. The Great Mistake, by Jonathan Lee
8. The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
9. Seven Days in June, by Tia Williams
10. It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover

Now in paperback is Seven Days in June a Reese's book club selection in hardcover. When an erotic fiction writer meets an award-winning novelist, sparks fly! From Rumaan Alam: "Tia Williams conjures a seductive fantasy-rich friendships, star-crossed lovers, artistic fulfillment. But Williams, a canny anthropologist of contemporary urban life, is writing realism, exploring personal pain, family entanglements, and the negotiation of black identity in a world defined by whiteness. The result isn't escapism (though the book is a delight) but a vision of life at it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Giannis, by Mirin Fader
2. George Wallace in Wisconsin, by Ben Hubing (Register for June 21 in-person event here)
3. Midwest Gardeners Handbook, by Melinda Myers
4. The Sum of Us, by Heather McGhee
5. How to Be a Woman Online, by Nina Jankowicz
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. Noise, by Daniel Kahneman
8. Somebody's Daughter, by Ashley C Ford
9. America's Calling, by Rajika Bhandari (Register for June 13 in-person event here)
10. Waterfalls of Wisconsin, by Troy Hess

Out in paperback on the nonfiction side is Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment, by Daniel Kahenman, with Oliver Sibony and Cass Sunstein. If the book has the legs of Thinking Fast and Slow, you'll see it on the Boswell Bestseller list for 2032. I'm guessing somebody else will be writing the blog copy, or maybe we'll just beam it into your brains. Robert Sutton in The Washington Post gets at the issue of random scatter, which can be as problematic as bias: "Fluctuations in a person’s mood, fatigue, physical environment and prior performance that are (objectively) irrelevant, yet shape judgments. Like the study titled 'Clouds Make Nerds Look Good,' which examined 682 actual decisions by college admissions officers: They weighted applicants’ academic strengths more heavily on cloudier days and applicants’ nonacademic strengths more heavily on sunnier days."

Books for Kids:
1. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Septys
2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz
3. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, by Erika L Sánchez (Sánchez is coming in September)
4. Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
5. First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris
6. I Kissed Shara Wheeler, by Casey McQuiston
7. Lizzy and the Cloud, by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
8. She Gets the Girl, by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
9. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse and Renée Graef
10. Cat Kid Comic Club On Purpose V3, by Dav Pilkey

Lots of Pride in this list. She Gets the Girl from Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick chronicle the friendship and more of two first-year students at Pitt. Publishers Weekly writes: "Using lightly funny alternating narration, Lippincott and debut author Derrick, spouses, infuse the opposites-attract trope with some real suspense via a rom-com starring two seemingly dissimilar characters seeking the same things." And this from the starred Booklist review: " It's a treat to see Molly's and Alex's authentic growth, and their slow-burn romance pays off for the same reason: Lippincott and Derrick have built characters and relationships that shine with nuance and colorful personality."

Over at the Journal Sentinel, Jim Higgins weighs in on the latest from Katherine Addison: "At heart, Madison novelist Katherine Addison is a horror writer. She said as much during a virtual event with Boswell Books last year. Readers of her new novel, The Grief of Stones, can decide which horror is greater: the centuries-old undead abomination that a cleric must face, or the living people who exploit orphaned girls."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 4, 2022

Here's what is selling at Boswell.

Hardcover Fiction:
1. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (Register for July 11 virtual event here)
3. Marrying the Ketchups, by Jennifer Close
4. The Hurting Kind, by Ada Limón
5. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
6. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garbus
7. The Latecomer, by Jean Hanff Korelitz
8. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
9. The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah
10. The World of Pondside, by Mary Helen Stefaniak

Jean Hanff Korelitz followed her editorial team from Grand Central to Celedon and had one of the bigger hits of her career with The Plot. The follow-up, The Latecomer, is getting all raves and positives on Book Marks. Allegra Goodman (who has a new book coming out this fall) offered her thoughts in The New York Times: "Secular, assimilated and rich, the family inhabits a social world as exclusive in its way as that described by Edith Wharton — but the Jews whom Wharton considered arrivistes have now arrived. The Oppenheimers fully inhabit New York City, and Korelitz proves herself a worthy successor to her sharp-eyed forebear."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Actions Speak Louder, by Deanna Singh (Register for June 7 event at Milwaukee Public Library here)
2. Refugee High, by Elly Fishman (Fishman is the conversation partner for Rajika Bhandari on June 13 - register here)
3. Essential Tennis, by Ian Westerman and Joel Chasnoff
4. Happy-Go-Lucky, by David Sedaris (Tickets for June 17 Boswell event here)
5. Speak, by Tunde Oyenyin
6. Architects of an America Landscape, by Hugh Howard (Register for June 22 virtual event here)
7. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. River of the Gods, by Candice Millard
9. Cuba, by Ada Ferrer
10. The Heroine with 1001 Faces, by Maria Tatar

Events usually lead to hardcover bestseller sales when the paperback is available, and that's the case for Essential Tennis, but Braiding Sweetgrass just sells in both formats. Our buyer Jason said he has to be careful when buying these hardcover editions because some look like traditional hardcover editions while others are ill-shapen packages that are really only meant for libraries.

Paperback Fiction:
1. 1984, by George Orwell
2. All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
3. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. Circe, by Madeline Miller
6. Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7. The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner
8. While Justice Sleeps, by Stacey Abrams
9. Station Eleven, by Emily St John Mandel
10. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie

While it is true that we have some educational sales creeping into our bestseller list - it is the end of the educational fiscal year - it is interesting to note that more than half the titles in our top 10 are older than one year, a national trend in paperback fiction. It's partly BookTok, but another noticeable development is that new releases are driving previous titles onto the bestseller list in greater and greater numbers. Jason noted that three authors held 1/3 of the slots on the paperback fiction New York Times bestseller list - Colleen Hoover, Emily Henry, and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. A Voyage Long and Strange, by Tony Horwitz
2. Giannis, by Mirin Fader
3. Essential Tennis, by Ian Westermann and Joel Chasnoff
4. The Milwaukeean, by Joey Grihalva
5. Several Short Sentences About Writing, by Verlyn Klinkenborg
6. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, by Greta Thunberg
7. Journalism, by Joe Sacco
8. The Arbornaut, by Meg Lowman
9. The Diary of Jesus Christ, by Bill Cain
10. Animal Vegetable Junk, by Mark Bittman

Three weeks released and first week in our top ten for The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth Continent in the Trees Above Us, by Meg Lowman. With blurbs from Jane Goodall, Temple Grandin, and E.O. Wilson, she also has this nice review from Rachel Zarrow in The San Francisco Chronicle (though nothing from the big 3*): "Though the book can be a bit dense at times with scientific facts and figures, as well as study designs and findings, Lowman’s enthusiasm and passion for her work and our planet’s trees is apparent on every page. Lowman’s voice reads like that of a beloved mentor, especially as she describes the challenges she faced as a female scientist in a male-dominated field as well as those she experienced as a single working mother."

Books for Kids:
1. I Must Betray You, by Ruta Septys
2. Patron Saints of Nothing, by Randy Ribay
3. The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L Holm
4. Refugee, by Alan Gratz
5. Miles Morales, Spider Man, by Jason Runnels
6. Storm Runner, by JC Cervantes
7. Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
8. City of Ember graphic novel, by Jeanne Duprau
9. Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Choskhi
10. Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley

More school purchases here including several books from the Rick Riordan presents series - The Storm Runner, by JC Cervantes and Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Chokshi. Though this sale was for the traditional edition, a graphic novel format book came out in April.

*New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, though I think WSJ does a better job with nonfiction than fiction, with most general fiction reviewed by Sam Sacks. Yesterday's Journal had two write ups on Barbara Pym, a review of Paula Byrne's The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Katherine A Powers and a recommendation of Excellent Women by Alexander McCall Smith. 

Powers writes: "Pym’s enthusiasm for adopting alternate identities, though usually spurred on by romantic obsession, was one expression of her penchant for inventing characters—of which writing novels was another. Indeed, the most fascinating aspect and true strength of this very long biography is how completely Ms. Byrne shows that Pym’s life and fiction were part of a piece, and lets us see how she transferred facets of herself to her leading characters. Though different in age and material circumstance, these characters are all recognizably Pym-ish. (Register for our June 8 virtual event with Paula Byrne here)

It’s a Pym life! Paula Byrne with The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym, finally out stateside (Virtual event is July 8)

About nine years ago (https://boswellandbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-pym-iest-of-pym-posts-as-boswell.html), I wrote a post about Barbara Pym. It was celebrating, among other things, three Barbara Pym books on our staff rec cases. But alas, with the retirements of Jane and Anne, it looks like I’m the only Boswell bookseller who is likely to be touting Pym, at least for the time being. Sales had dwindled. Stock was hard to find. I was distraught.

And yet, it appears that Pym is one of those writes who will periodically be discovered and then not exactly forgotten, but overlooked, kind of like Stoner, that John Williams novel that seems to have this writerly recommendation every five years ago, spurring sales. Or maybe one of those rediscoveries will take and she’ll be like Jane Austen, placed firmly in the canon. Ever since Perennial Library gave up (lost?) the rights to their rack-sized editions, publishing has been hither and yon. I’m sure there are presses who would love to give her a glorious treatment, but it’s a good 25 years until even her first novel becomes public domain.

The latest attempt at a resurgence will be no doubt tied to the American publication of Paula Byrne’s The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym. The book was published in the UK by William Collins, and I should note that a year later, the publication is from William Collins, which does not have an American publication program. Collins has had at least two lives in the US since Rupert Murdoch combine it with Harper and Row, most recently as a nonfiction imprint, but this is not one of them. No, it’s from Harper360, which is an import program. Penguin Random House and Hachette also do this – if none of their American imprints (or heck, a competitor’s imprint) want to buy the rights, they bring in a few copies for distribution.

As soon as we saw this was happening, I begged for an event. I had everything in place – a conversation partner in Bill Goldstein (my Pym mentor) and a cosponsor in the Jane Austen Society of North America, Wisconsin region. Pym was a great lover of Jane Austen and Jane Austen fans are often (but not always, it’s a subset) of Pym. I think the publicist didn’t know why this random person was so excited. Anyway, it all came together – Goldstein is talking to Byrne on June 8 at 7 pm central. It’s free and it’s virtual, so I expect all of you to be attend. All you need to do is register.

I’m sure the publicist was probably equally surprised when The New Yorker (sorry - this is likely paywalled) told her, by the way, Thomas Mallon is writing a five-page essay on Barbara Pym in the issue the week before the imported copies go on sale. One of my favorite lines is "The novels’ humor is so sly that a reader sometimes gets halfway into a new sentence before starting to laugh at the one before." It’s an exciting week in the book section – Hilton Als wrote five pages on $45 just released Letters of Thom Gunn. And you thought these blog posts were long.

While the United States continues to have trouble merchandising the Pym backlist, that doesn’t seem to be a problem in Great Britain, where their fresh covers are turning heads. My friend John spotted these on social media. France also does a better job with packaging. Also via John, here are the current Pym selections in French. I’ve been very disappointed in any American Pym packaging since 1990. And it’s not just a question of different publishers being involved. Here’s a really nice repackaging of Tom Perrotta’s Election from Berkley, just in time for the Scribner release of Tracy Flick Can’t Win. I also love Tom Perrotta’s books, though perhaps it’s a little early for a Society that puts on conferences.

Speaking of conferences, you never know who will be a Pym fan. When Lisa and I were taking around Michelle Huneven for her Search events, she revealed that not only was she a Pym-ite, but she gave a paper on Some Tame Gazelle at one of the conferences. You can find it and other papers here - you might even recognize a few of the contributors.

And finally, one last Pym artifact. Our good friend Suzanne, who holds the record of being in three of our Boswell-run book clubs, found me this awe-inspiring Barbara Pym figurine. It reminds me of the Nancy Pearl figure that we used to sell from Accoutrements. It holds a place of pride on my desk. Suzanne is good at finding interesting stuff. Who else would send me a paper handled shopping bag from Polsky’s of Akron. Nobody, that’s who. Thank you, Suzanne!

Daniel’s Rec: “Finally, after hearing about this biography for almost a year, it’s available in the United States, and I couldn’t be happier. Byrne chronicles the life of one of my favorite writers, whose work was acclaimed in the 1950s, couldn’t get published in the 1960s, and then was rediscovered in the late 1970s. The text flows in short, punchy chapters - you’ll discover that many of the excellent women (and not quite so excellent men) came from Pym’s own life - one that had more than its share of bad romances and a penchant for stalking people who captured her interest. I don’t think ‘spinster’ quite captures her! And even if you’ve read A Lot to Ask or A Very Private Eye, you don’t know the whole story - her longtime friend Hazel Holt offered readers an expurgated life (minus the Nazi boyfriend, for example). If you don’t know Pym’s work but you’re a Jane Austen fan, you’ll understand by the end why there are so many cross-over fans.”

Looking to read a Barbara Pym book? We currently have four of her titles in stock.  

I should mention that Paula Byrne is a member of JASNA and has written two books on Jane Austen. Her previous biography, Kick, was on Kathleen Kennedy. Bill Goldstein is working on a book on Larry Kramer.

The next Barbara Pym Society conference is September 2 at St Hilda’s College in Oxford (https://barbara-pym.org/). Focus is on A Few Green Leaves. The North American conference is next March 17 in Boston, with papers being accepted for No Fond Return of Love. Start writing! Or if you haven’t read Pym, I should suggest you start reading.

Register for our June 8 virtual event here.

Purchase The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym here.

Focus on THE SHORE, the new novel from Katie Runde - virtual event is June 2, 7 pm central

It’s May 31, which is officially the day before meteorological summer, though most of us don’t recognize the season until the Solstice, which this year is June 21. Before I watched the weather reports with some fervor, I didn’t know that. What I do know that it’s also after Memorial Day, another mark of summer. And that means that summer reading. And if you're so inclined, white shoes.

I was thinking about this as I gathered up reviews for last week’s event with Emma Straub, who visited for This Time Tomorrow. The novel, while not officially packaged as a summer novel, has the jauntiness associated with this unofficial genre, and this was referenced in several of the reviews.

While the resurgent romance genre (and two a lesser extent, horror – at least they are trying to break horror fiction now, as opposed to ten years ago) scream summer, there’s a more literal take on the genre – books about summer vacations and vacation homes. Christina Clancy’s The Second Home (mass market is released at the end of June) was definitely aiming for this, perhaps aiming for the bestselling status of J. Courtney Sullivan’s Maine some years earlier.

I was thinking of this as I read Jennifer Close’s The Smart One, which I picked up after reading and loving Marrying the Ketchups. Like Ketchups, this was another family story – playing off the smart one and the pretty one trope - which I know families really do. Having also read Girls in White Dresses, I have only to read The Hopefuls. So far, Ketchups is my favorite!

The Coffey family has a summer home and the novel is bookended by two family trips, but the trick of this genre is that, unlike the romances, a happy ending for the protagonists, or at least a romantic one, is far from assured. More likely, the family will come to peace with whatever their problems are. Acceptance is, in its way, a happy ending, after all.

I am not really sure where the summer home in The Smart One is, but since the family lives in Philadelphia, and at least one daughter is in New York, I guessed it was also somewhere in The Garden State. Come to think of it, they also spend a night gambling in Atlantic City.

Growing up, New Jersey was a fascinating place for me. So close, and yet so far. You could get there by public transportation, but calling New Jersey was long-distance. And Macys was Bamberger’s! I didn’t really figure out how easy it was to get there from New York until I was an adult. Before that, we were limited to long car trips to Morristown and Freehold to visit visit my parents’ friends and extended family. It seemed like it took hours!

One month I even thematically tried to only read books set in New Jersey. It included two from Tom Perrotta (Joe College and Election, before he decamped to Massachusetts), Frederick Reiken’s The Lost Legends of New Jersey (before he wrote Day for Night, one of my all-time favorite novels), a Janet Evanovich (did you know they took place in New Jersey?), and John McPhee’s The Pine Barrens. I also read Robert Sullivan’s A Whale Hunt, a title that should tip you off is not New Jersey-based, but it was the follow-up to The Meadowlands, which was. Another excellent book – sort of Bryson-y, as I remember.*

So this is New Jersey redux. I read it months ago in an early edition, but just last week was the release of The Shore, a debut novel by Katie Runde, which is another mother and two daughters novel set in a Shore town. But unlike the Coffey family, the Dunne’s aren’t seasonal visitors, but permanent residents, with the parents managing a business renting vacation homes. 

In a tiny way, it reminded me of Kawai Strong Washburn’s Sharks in the Time of Saviors, in the way it peeled back a tourist town lived in by non-tourists. But the heart of the book is that the family is struggling because the father Brian has a brain tumor, leaving the daughters Liz and Evy alternatingly trying to figure out what’s going on and trying to carve out moments of normalcy.

I am always drawn to books about processing grief, and Runde’s novel, inspired a bit by family events, does that very well. I also love, and I’m not giving anything away here, that one of the daughters catfishes her mom in an online support group because she can’t seem to communicate with her in any other way. So many books about family dysfunction hinge on communication; I thought to myself, well, that’s one way to solve that problem! I highly recommend this book! And dare I say it? Great for book clubs.

From Judy Blundell in The New York Times Book Review: “This is Katie Runde’s first novel, and she writes with a fluid sensitivity to detail and mood, hitting tough questions hard and head-on. How do you find patience for a loved one who bears no resemblance to his former self? How can you long for relief when that relief means the person you love will die? For Margot, devotion has flattened into duty. She thinks of her daily existence as 'stuck in the orbit of this person she used to love, who now scared her, defeated her.' It’s that tucked-in phrase - 'used to love' - that sears.”

From Nancy Carty Lepri in The New York Journal of Books: “Katie Runde's debut novel touches on a disheartening topic, which she pens with grace and sympathy. This tale is not only about someone's passing with a horrendous disease, but it depicts how family members deal with the agony of it all. Does it pull them apart, or does it bring them together? While the daughters try to hide their anguish in their jobs, spending time on the beach, or with their friends, it's understood they are all hurting. All this brings to light the reality of our own demise or of a loved one and how we would handle it. All the very relatable family members are not without quirks, making this a tender read about dealing with the pain of loss.”

If you’re wondering why both CJ Hribal and Liam Callanan are doing our conversation with Katie Runde together on June 2, it’s because they are both big fans. Up until now we’ve generally just had one conversation partner for these kinds of things, but with the dual-conversation model of Readings from Oconomowaukee and several of our events with Alliance Française and CelticMKE, we thought we’d try it this way. Both Hribal and Callanan are great on their own – one can only imagine what they’ll be like as a team. If the event has already happened, we’ll have a recording link for you here. 

*Yes I’ve read some Philip Roth, but not that month! And yes, I’m well aware that I could spend my whole life reading novels and nonfiction set in New Jersey. Feel free to give me suggestions. And I should note that the companion novel to Election, Tracy Flick Can't Win, is published on June 7. It is also set in New Jersey.

Buy a copy of The Shore here.

Register for our June 2 event here.

Photo credit of Katie Runde by Rebecca Sanabria

Boswell bestsellers, week ending May 28, 2022

Here's what's selling at Boswell.

Hardcover Fiction:
1. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub
2. All the Secrets of the World, by Steve Almond
3. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
4. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
5. Either/Or, by Elif Batuman
6. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (Register for July 11 virtual event here)
7. The Book of Night, by Holly Black
8. Hide, by Kiersten White
9. Trust, by Hernan Diaz
10. The Hurting Kind, by Ada Limón (Register for June 1 virtual event here)

Our top hardcover fiction title from among this week's new releases is Either/Or (referring to Kierkegaard), the sequel to 2017's The Idiot, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Starred Booklist, plus this from Publishers Weekly: "Batuman's light touch and humor are brought to bear on serious questions, enabling the novel to move quickly between set pieces like an S&M-themed student party, poignant recollections of Selin's parents' divorce, and a harrowing travelogue as Selin begins a summer job in Turkey. As accomplished as The Idiot was, this improves upon it, and Batuman's already sharp chops as a novelist come across as even more refined in these pages."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown
2. Recessional, by David Mamet
3. Inviting Interiors, by Melanie Turner
4. Trailed, by Kathryn Miles
5. The Midwest Survival Guide, by Charlie Berens
6. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
7. Fly Girl, by Ann Hood (Register for June 16 virtual event here)
8. Forest Feast Road Trip, by Erin Gleeson
9. The Geography of Wisconsin, by John A Cross and Kazimierz Zaniewski
10. The 1619 Project, created by Hannah Nikole Jones and The New York Times

John Grisham is one of the blurbers for Kathryn Miles's Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders. The publisher notes that this 1996 case is is well-known among true-crime enthusiasts. In addition to trying to solve the case, Miles, per Publishers Weekly, "takes a comprehensive look at police procedures in federal parks and violence against women in rural areas."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
2. The Great Mistake, by Jonathan Lee
3. The Promise, by Damon Galgut
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. In the Country of Others, by Leila Slimani
6. Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney
7. Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead
8. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
9. Shards of Earth, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
10. The Guide, by Peter Heller

A local book club selection helped propel In the Country of Others by Leila Slimani into this week's top 10. Slimani previously won the Prix Goncourt for the novel Adèle while her novel The Perfect Nanny was one of The New York Times top 10 books of 2018. From Meena Kandasamy in very same The New York Times: "Classic war fiction depicts the struggle for identity and territory amid violence, courage and sacrifice. In the Country of Others shifts the spotlight away from men and their fragilities. In the first installment of a planned trilogy loosely based on the lives of Slimani’s grandparents, the character of Mathilde lays bare women’s intimate, lacerating experience of war and its consequent trauma."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. Steering the Craft, by Ursula K Leguin
3. A Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver
4. The Milwaukeean, by Joey Grihalva and Kellen "Klassik" Abston (Register for June 3 in-person and virtual event here)
5. Shape, by Jordan Ellenberg
6. Invisible Child, by Andrea Elliott
7. Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer
8. At Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders
9. Giannis, by Mirin Fader
10. Somebody's Daughter, by Ashley C Ford

It's the first week of sale for the paperback of Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else, from Jordan Ellenberg. From his Wisconsin Public Radio To the Best of Our Knowledge interview with Anne Strainchamps: "There's a wonderful thing I found — in the 1950s, there was a giant survey asking teachers of high school geometry, 'Hey, why are you doing this? What's the point of what you're doing?' They offer a long list. One of the items was, 'so that the students will know facts about geometry, know how triangles and circles and lines behave.' And that did pretty well, it was number two. But number one was 'to develop the habit of rigorous and logical thinking.'"

Books for Kids:
1. Starla Jean, by Elana K Arnold
2. All the Things We Never Knew, by Liara Tamani
3. From Nerd to Ninja! (Ninja Kid #1), by Anh Do
4. Out of My Head, by Sharon M Draper
5. Cat Kid Comic Club V3, by Dav Pilkey
6. King and the Dragonflies, by Kacen Kallender
7. Starla Jean Takes the Cake, by Elana K Arnold
8. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
9. The Last Cuentista, by Dona Barba Higuera
10. The First Cat in Space At Pizza, by Mac Barnett, illustrations by Shawn Harris

Anh Do is an accomplished writer, actor, producer, and stand-up comedian, as well as a runner-up on Australia's Dancing with the Stars. To find your next favorite writer, you need to watch more reality shows. From Nerd to Ninja! is the first book in the Ninja Kid series. This book is the first in a series - Flying Ninja is also available. But I can only find releases for books three and four in Spanish from Molino, distributed by Penguin Random House. 

Boswell bestsellers, week ending May 21, 2022

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending May 21, 2022

Hardcover Fiction:
1. This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub (Tickets for May 26 in-person event here)
2. Home Body, by Rupi Kaur
3. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt (Register for July 11 virtual event here)
5. The World of Pondside, by Mary Helen Stefaniak
6. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St John Mandel
7. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
8. The Sun and Her Flowers, by Rupi Kaur
9. Something Wilder, by Christina Lauren
10. All the Secrets of the World, by Steve Almond (Register for May 23 event here)

This week's top non-event debut is Something Wilder, by Christina Lauren, named "the reigning romance queens" by PopSugar, which is my site of choice for finding out if there are new Oreo cookie flavors. Jodi Picoult says, "Something Wilder is exactly what we all need right now…a true escape within the pages of a book, filled with adventure, rekindled romance, and second chances. Trust me, you’ll want to go along for the ride with Lily and Leo.”

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Moonshot, by Albert Bourla
2. Parent Nation, by Dana Suskind
3. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
4. River of the Gods, by Candice Millard
5. Mean Baby, by Selma Blair
6. Salad Freak, by Jess Damuck
7. The Midwest Survival Guide, by Charlie Berens
8. Salt Fat Acid Heat, by Samin Nosrat
9. Who Killed Jane Stanford, by Richard White
10. His Name Is George Floyd, by Robert Samuels

The highest ranking new release in hardcover nonfiction is River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard. While we don't have a read yet, Jason has told me that he will be finished soon - one of his favorite nonfiction authors! From Edward Dolnick in The New York Times: "River of the Gods is a lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest by those two friends turned enemies, Richard Burton and John Speke, to solve the geographic riddle of their era. The two men had set out, in 1857, to find the source of the Nile. Candice Millard, formerly a National Geographic writer and editor and the author of a gripping book about Teddy Roosevelt’s adventures in South America, has here plunged into another tale of exploration at the edge of disaster."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Home Body, by Rupi Kaur
2. The Sun and Her Flowers, by Rupi Kaur
3. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
4. Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles
5. The Kingmaker's Redemption, by Harry Pinkus (Register for July 6 in-person event here)
6. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
7. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
8. Klara and the Sun, by Steven Rowley
9. The Guncle, by Steven Rowley
10. The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon

We sold books at two theater programs within a week of each other. People seemed particularly excited to see hardcover editions of the Rupi Kaur poetry books because most retailers only focused on the paperback. For Amor Towles, the surprise was definitely that we sold more copies of Rules of Civility than we did of A Gentleman in Moscow or The Lincoln Highway. We've got some signed hardcover copies of Lincoln and Gentleman, but no signed Kaur.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Invisible Child, by Andea Elliot
2. Cain's Jawbone, by Edward Powys Mathers
3. Robert's Rules of Order, by Henry M Robert
4. The Fiber Fueled Cookbook, by Will Bulsiewicz
5. The Copenhagen Trilogy, by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Tiina Nunnally and Michael Favala Goldman

Congratulations to Andrea Elliott, who received the Pulitzer Prize for Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in an American City. From the starred Booklist review: "With compelling storytelling, Elliot dives deep into the history of social welfare, keeping everything focused on how political decisions directly affect families like Dasani's: statistics and policies become personal; child protection agencies emerge as horrific entities. Yet kind, honest people do emerge, and family bonds persevere. This important book packs a real gut punch."

Books for Kids:
1. A Land of Permanent Goodbyes, by Atia Abawi
2. Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn
3. Bitter, by Awaeke Emezi
4. Nothing Burns as Bright as You, by Ashley Woodfolk
5. Grown, by Tiffany D Jackson
6. The Sound of Stars, by Alechia Dow
7. Heartstoppers V1, by Alice Oseman
8. Heartstoppers V4, by Alice Oseman
9. The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza, by MacBarnett and Shawn Harris (Register for May 26 virtual event here)
10. Concrete Rose, by Angie Thomas

Ashley Woodfolk has already won raves from Angie Thomas, Kwame Alexander, Becky Albertalli, Nicola Yoon, and Nic Stone for Nothing Burns as Bright as You. Advance reviews from the trades were also great. From Publishers Weekly: "In a tautly written, fast-moving novel in verse that captures the unbalanced experience of an all-consuming love, two unnamed queer Black teen girls move rapidly from strangerhood into a protective best friendship before becoming dysfunctional lovers and mutually destructive partners in crime."

Over at the Journal Sentinel, Jim Higgins offers a summer reading list. It's one of the rituals of summer!