Saturday Gift Post--I'm Going to New York, but it Seems Like Everybody Else is Going to Paris.

One thing we've noticed with gift items in our store is that if you put an Eiffel Tower on it, it will sell. No freedom fries for us, apparently.  As two of our vendors came out with new Paris-influenced lines, it seemed like a table was in order., particularly as there were several French books we also wanted to highlight (though not too many--it's a small table).

There's always a hardcover fiction book where at the end of the year, we find out that a whole bunch of indie booksellers we know have sold a jillion copies (ok, 500).  While we've had nice pops on Swamplandia, The Tiger's Wife, and several others, there's no question that the novel for most booksellers will be The Paris Wife**, by Paula McLain.  It's been hanging around the bestseller list forever, not particularly high (meaning the mass merchants are probably not selling it), but very steadily.  And it's the kind of book that booksellers love, with some literary reference, in this case, Hemingway's first marriage. It also seems to appeal to a broad range of our customers in all camps.* 

I'm also intrigued by the new Europa release, French Leave, by Anna Gavalda. All the quotes are meant to speak to Daniel, from the comparisons to Anne Tyler and Nick Hornby, to the "infinitely charming" reference from Madame Figaro.  I have no idea who Madame Figaro is; I think it's a magazine.  Yes, Kirkus called it slight, but it's 108 pages with large type and margins.  It's slight.  That doesn't mean I won't read it.

Regarding gift items, we brought in the Eiffel tower and bicycle items from Coelacanth in April and sold out our small totes and coin purses almost immediately.  On reorder, we picked up the carrying case and luggage tag too.  Everything is under $10. From Galison (who had already been selling Paris labels and sticky notes from another artist), we picked up correspondence cards (postcards in an envelope) and gift tags. There's also a journal, but they were temporarily out of stock. The correspondence cards are just over $10, the tags are under.

*The camps, by the way, I have named "plot", "character", and "language."

Who Doesn't Want to See Artists Rallying Together? And Writers.

A nice intimate time was had at our event for Cris Mazza and Elise Blackwell last night.  I always find it fascinating to hear how teaching writing affects writing itself. Mazza teaches at the University of Illinois-Chicago, a similar school in profile to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.  Mazza remembered the days of the "urban 13", but neither of us knew if this program was still functioning.  And you know I like a good Shakespeare tie, and it turns out that Varous Men Who Knew us as Girls is thematically, if not structurally, tied to Hamlet.  Hey, you can review the book with The Tragedy of Arthur!

Blackwell runs the creative writing program at the University of South Carolina.  I remembered that one of our Schwartz alums had gone on to teach in Columbia, in the art/media department.  I remember getting a copy of the book, but I wasn't able to grasp the technical language.  Anyway, he was a good guy so I tried to find out if Blackwell knew him, but it's hard when you don't remember the person's name. Blackwell's An Unfinished Score is structured a bit like a concerto, but not in an over-the-top way, just in that it has three movements.  Any more might be over the top, but I like over the top if you can pull it off and not distract from the narrative and charactes.

Both authors were quiet engaging, and who knew that they had not previously met?  But good news for Chicago fans.  They are both reading tonight at Book Cellar in Lincoln Square.  More on their website.

I feel compelled to make a pitch for a couple more of our indie nonprofit literary press fiction titles.  Mark your calendars for two great events in June.

Monday, June 6, 7 pm, Alan Heathcock, author of Volt (Graywolf). This is a great short story collection by an well-regarded indie press out of Minneapolis, where there are several.  Stacie says reading this book is like taking a sucker punch to the gut, but that's a good thing.  And from Booklist: "Heathcock displays a real talent for describing a character in a telling phrase and shows a deep appreciation of the petty and serious violence of daily life. Recommend Volt to fans of Cormac McCarthy, Larry Brown, and Tom Franklin."  Hey, you like Cormac McCarthy, right?

Wednesday, June 8, 7 pm, Danielle Sosin, author of The Long Shining Waters (Milkweed). Another great Minneapolis press whose spring focus is generally their Milkweed Prize winner.  We've had good turnouts on the last two Milkweed Prizes and we're hoping for another good showing this year.  Sosin's novel has won some love from Boswellian Carl, and I quote: "With Lake Superior as the lodestone, this novel tells the tales of three women from different times (1622, 1902, and 2000) who are all at crossroads in their lives. A mysterious fourth character looms in the background and ties the narrative together flawlessly. The storytelling is beautiful, as is the imagery of The Big Lake."

It's the end of the evening and I'm working out and there is Christina Ratatori, who helped coordinate our event with Linda Nathan last fall.  They're doing a fundraiser this Saturday for Artists Rallying Together at a new bar on North Avenue called Hotel Foster, 2020 E. North Avenue.  Since our event, things have become even more dire for arts educators in Milwaukee, and even Wisconsin, with cuts planned everywhere. (But don't worry, you're getting improved highways.) Saturday, A.R.T. is holding a fundraiser concert at 9 pm (May 21), featuring the Gutens, Fresh Cut Collective, and the Delta Routine. 

Christina and a friend were looking at stuff in our (very organized) event vestibule and happily noting that we put up their poster, which of course called for a photo.

This was a bit of a coincidence as at lunch, I ran into Angela Damiani, who helped us coordiante the Paolo Giordano event this spring and also has this wonderful family-and-art program with us called Artreach: The War of Words, on Sunday, June 12, from 2-5 pm.  Details in another blog piece, the next newsletter, the whole shebang.

It would have been nice to do a whole blog piece on both events, organizations, and coordinators, but Artists Rallying Together's Fundraiser is tomorrow. So that's what I've got to say.  Rally

A Customer Asks me to Help Her with her E-Reader/Talking Up Chia Mieville's Embassytown.

One thing I've noticed is the tendency for folks to use brand names to reflect the generic item has continued to e-readers.  They are telling me that they have bought or will buy "kindles", not "Kindles."  Right now, Amazon's probably pretty happy about that, but it will eventually drive them crazy, as it can lead to loss of trade mark.  That's why one refers to Band-Aids as "Band-Aid brand sheer adhesive anti-boo-boo strips" if one knows what's good for one. 

I have resisted the trend to be the e-reader educator in the market.  I have very smart bookseller friends who are doing this, such Matt at McLean and Eakin (Michigan), Nicole at the Bookworm of Edwards (Colorado) and more locally, Lisa at Books and Company in Oconomowoc. Can't I be a little cantankerous and tell people to just learn how to download your own books?  Do you think this last step is going to make casual customers jump through the extra hoops to avoid a Kindle, and jump through the extra hoops of a Nook or Sony Reader?  The question is not entirely rhetorical.  I'm really asking.

But whether I offer the services or not, this is what it's going to come down to. That's just the kind of store we are.  And one of my customers already asked her to be walked through the process.  Should I feel like a friend of mine did, who was asked to train the new employees when his job was outsourced?  Can I be convinced that I will somehow be able to pick up enough of this business to sustain the store?  I'll get back to that--meanwhile I have to go figure out how to download an ebook to a Nook.

Oh, and also learn how to scan my drawing.  I took a picture instead.  Sad, isn't it?

***

Embassytown is out this week!  Jim Higgins' review last weekend in the Journal Sentinel praised Chia Mieville's new novel as "the most engrossing book I've read this year, and the latest evidence that brilliant, challenging, rewarding writing of the highest order is just as likely to be found in the section labeled Science Fiction as the one marked Literature."

High marks is an understatement. I'd paraphrase, but why not just give you the publisher's descriptive paragraph.

"Avice Benner Cho, a human colonist, has returned to Embassytown after years of deep-space adventure. She cannot speak the Ariekei tongue, but she is an indelible part of it, having long ago been made a figure of speech, a living simile in their language."

When distant political machinations deliver a new ambassador to Arieka, the fragile equilibrium between humans and aliens is violently upset. Catastrophe looms, and Avice is torn between competing loyalties--to a husband she no longer loves, to a system she no longer trusts, and to her place in a language she cannot speak yet speaks through her."

One critic described this subgenre as "linguistic sf."  My sister Claudia would be very excited to hear about such a thing.  And of course you know our buyer Jason is very excited as well, not necessarily by the sub-genre of linguistic sf, but by the novel Embassytown itself.

Read Jim Higgin's review here.

Though You Couldn't Come to Our Rep Night Presentation with John of Random House, You Can Have Lunch with Darin Strauss (on June 21).

Half a Life, the memoir that won the National Book Critics Circle Award, is coming out in paperback on May 31. The story was first a piece on This American Life.  When Strauss was in high school, a fatal accident left a classmate dead, and Strauss was driving the car involved. I'm not going to say more, except everyone's life was forever changed, and the reprecussions lasted years.

As a fan of the book in hardcover (read the blog post), I'm thrilled that we are able to have a special event with the author in paperback.  It's lunch with Strauss at Downer Avenue's Cafe Hollander on Tuesday, June 21, at 12 Noon.

It's a three course meal, staring with salad and ending with Hoegaarden Short Cake.  I don't know what this is, but Heather at Lowlands Catering (that's their parent company) said it's delicious.  For entree, choose from grilled chicken, tilapia, or rosemary goat cheese mac.  The $40 ticket includes food, non-alcoholic beverage, tax, tip, and a copy of the book (or a $10 gift card).  Order your ticket here.

Half a Life is a great book club book, and Darin Strauss is an incredibly charming fellow.  I think it should be a great lunch.  What, you don't want to break bread with the author of such of novels as Chang and Eng, The Real McCoy, and More than You Know?  He's also doing an evening event at Next Chapter on June 20.

***

Half a Life was just one of the books featured in Sunday's rep night by our Random House "blue" rep John.  There are a lot of exciting books out this spring and summer from the Random and Crown publishing groups.  Here is a short list:

The Informationist, by Taylor Stevens. Vanessa "Michael" Munroe is a corporate information gathering specialist with a dark past.  The author is writing somewhere in the zone of where Stieg Larsson crosses Lee Child.  Or perhaps their overlapping groups in a Venn disagram. A lost girl takes her to Africa.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, by Jenny Wingfield (on sale July 12).  Set in 1950's Arkansas, this novel by a seasoned screenwriter is a good story peopled with even stronger characters.  Dare I say atmospheric?   The story is told from the perspective of a 10-year-old Tomboy named Swan.  Scout, anyone?

We're already talking up Doc, with Jason getting no less than three quotes together from enthusiastic booksellers.Mary Doria Russell's newest novel is a historical that pulls back the layers the myth of Doc Holliday to find the person inside.

Jason's also talking up The Floor of Heaven, by Howard Blum, a popular history about the 19th century Alaskan gold rush.  It's the perfect recommendation for that special someone who has already read Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts.

The Language of Flowers, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  Don't send me a begonia, all right?  A young woman leaves the foster care system unable to function in society.  The only skill she seems to have is a mastery of the Victoria art of flower language.  Aside from red roses, it's a bit of a mystery, isn't it?

Here's what Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bee: "A deftly powerful story of finding your way home, even after you've burned every bridge behind you. The Language of Flowers took my heart apart, chapter by chapter, then reassembled the broken pieces in better working condition--I loved this book."

And we haven't even gotten to The Tragedy of Arthur, which Conrad finished and loved.

Spring Rep Night at Next Chapter, Part 1: Random Ramblings from Jason and Tim

It's been years since I've attended a spring rep night.  We did one at Schwartz about 5-6 years ago, but since then, something always gets in the way of making new traditions.  Like when do you host them?  In order to get the most bang for the buck, it seems like March is the best month, so you can talk up Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, and summer reading.  But honestly, that feels too close to the last round in the fall.

May seemed as good a time as any, and the guys at Random House put something together with our hosts at Next Chapter in Mequon, also inviting folks from Books and Company in Oconomowoc.  I really like these events, particularly as way more books tend to be off my radar than when I was a buyer.  I look through catalogs (either paper or virtual), but it all seems a blur.

I should say now that if the rep didn't put the book on their tip sheet, I can't remember it.  Yes, it's only the next day.  Pathetic, right?

Some Jason suggestions:

The Upright Piano Player, by David Abbott.  Jason's been talking this up for months, comparing it to Ian McEwan and Anne Tyler. A man on the edge of the retirement has a well-ordered life, but under the surface, things are a bit messier.  Rep Jason said, I heard you liked Stoner so I think this book is for you (just like a bookseller)  It is said to be one of those novels where every sentence, no every word, is perfectly thought out.  And apparently the author is, well, seasoned, which is nice to see.  (out June 7)

Moondogs, by Alexander Yates.  This is one of those glorious novels that has a lot of interconnected plotlines that almost seem like stories. Characters include "a missing American businessman in the Philippines, his estranged son, his jilted lover, a slick police commissioner, some ruffled dignitaries, a misguided villain, one badass rooster, and some supernatural saviors who all want a piece of him."   I like novels described as "overstuffed" but when I hear "gritty" and Tarantino-esque", I get nervous.  But I can think of folks to sell this to. (available)

The Devil All the Time, by Donald Ray Pollock.  This guy wrote the buzzed-about Knockemstiff collection.  Jason says the new book makes Winter's Bone looks like a Disney movie.  I thought, "Well, maybe Miramax in its heyday."  Set in rural Ohio and West Virginia, the bunch populating this novel consists of serial killers, tormented vets, cancer victims, and spider-handling preachers.  Dark and violent is an understatment. (out July 12)

Conquistadora, by Esmeralda Santiago.  Everyone is calling this a Puerto Rican Gone with the Wind.  This upper class Spanish woman escapes to a Caribbean sugar plantation and falls in with twin brothers. There always seems to be a place for a sprawling, romantic historical.  And Booklist says "The issues of social caste, slavery, and sex roles make this a fascinating read."  Oh, and to keep with the theme, I'm sure there are some violent moments too. (out July 12)

We're also very hot on The Last Werewolf, by Glen Duncan, having already had great reads on the book (also out July 12) from Jason and Greg.  Jake Marlowe learns that he's the last werewolf when his friend from WOCOP (World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena) tells him so.  He also knows he is doomed to die. He's also wanted by vampires, who learn that a werewolf bit makes them insensitive to sunlight. 

Here are some kid-friendly picks from Tim Mooney.

The Watcher, written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter.  It's a picture book about Jane Goodall.  I guess there's so many kids books on Goodall that the New York Times did a roundup.  (Amie is also a fan of Patick McDonnell's Me,,,Jane). The illustrations are really bright and will pop for young readers and listeners.


A Ball for Daisy, written and illustrated by Chirs Raschka. Caldecott winner Raschka has "written" a wordless book about a dog and her ball.  Amie says it has some of her favorite Raschka illustrations and another attendee says it is perfect for crazy dog people too. Awwwwwwww.

Baby Badger's Wonderful Night, by Karen Saunders.  Daddy Badger helps his son overcome his fear of night-time.  Pam really likes this one too.  And you know that if it's about badgers, it will probably sell better in Wisconsin.

The Friendship Doll, by Kirby Larson.  In 1927, 58 friendship dolls were sent to the United States to promote friendship.  This is the story about one of them, Mis Kanagawa, and the four girls whose lives were changed by her. Jocelyn is a big fan, and her swansong recommendation was included in the summer 2011 kids recs from the American Booksellers Association. "What  beautiful, rich, and heartbreaking story," she opines.

And Amie wanted to make sure that I included The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, the third installment in this popular series.  Dad's on honeymoon so the sisters are off to Maine (another book from Jason is called Maine, which apparently represents vacation to East Coast) for rollicking adventure. The first book in this series won the National Book Award.  Even Jason read it.

Many of these books came out May 10, which apparently is the kid equivalent of July 12.

I was going to include John too, but that's too many recs for one blog post!  So look for his suggestions in a future update.

What's Going on This Week? Milwaukee-set novels, Sports Stories, Nature Principles, Fiction from Writing Teachers, and Food For One.

Five days, five events!  Hope you find something for you. At Boswell except as noted (Wednesday). 

Monday, May 16, 7 pm

Terry Gavin, author of When Men are Young, and Shaving Without a Razor. It's not easy to promote small-press fiction, even for local authors, but Terry Gavin did a great job getting the word out for Shaving Without a Razor.  Now his second novel, When Men are Young, is out. This week he received the Book Preview from the Shepherd Express. From Jenni Herrick's column:

"A trio of close-knit confidants—Kevin, Zach and Mike—spent their lives growing up together in Milwaukee. On the day of their college graduation, their futures should seem promising and bright. Tragically, it is on this day that these three friends must confront a crisis so unexpected and catastrophic that it forever tears apart their friendship."

Lots of local color here, which is always fun.  And read the rest of the Shepherd Express column here. And Gavin is also an actor, having appeared in a number of productions around town, and has recently completed a feature film which will be released this fall.  More on his website.

Tuesday, May 17, 7 pm
Dale Hofmann and Cliff Cristl, authors of 365: Best Wisconsin Sports Stories. 365 came out just before Christmas, but it seemed that in scheduling an event with the authors, it was best to wait for Father's Day season. We actually met Hofmann when he came for an event with son-in-law Peter Geye, author of Boswell favorite, Safe from the Sea. 

To paraphrase from our event site, which paraphrases from somewhere else, Dale Hofmann has covered every major sport as a columnist for the Milwaukee Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from the Super Bowl to the World Series to the Olympics. A member of the Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame, he has won numerous state, local and national writing awards. A Northwestern University graduate, he has co-authored two other books, Sportsbiz and Green and Golden Moments: Bob Harlan and the Green Bay Packers.

Co-author Cliff Christl (not appearing at the event) has been named Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year five times by The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, and he has, twice, placed in the top ten in the national Associated Press Sports Editors contest in the enterprise writing category. Born in Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh graduate spent 12 years covering the Green Bay Packers in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the co-author of two other books, Sleepers, Busts and Franchise Makers: The Story of the Pro Football Draft, and Bicycling Wisconsin.

Come here both authors talk about the best moments in Wisconsin sports.  Or play stump the sportswriter, and ask them a difficult question without letting them look at their smart phone. It's up to you.

Wednesday, May 18, 7 pm, at the Urban Ecology Center, $5 tickets at (414) 964-8505.

Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods.

When we first contacted the Urban Ecology Center about hosting Richard Louv for The Nature Principle, Jamie told me that their mission was heavily influenced by his seminal Last Child in the Woods.  So they were very excited about the partnership.  Louv's new book, The Nature Principle, makes the case for a nature-based existence.

And Louv takes inspiration from the Urban Ecology Center too. Here's an excerpt from one of his essays:

"Not long after the first publication of Last Child in the Woods in 2005, I found myself wandering down a path toward the Milwaukee River, where it runs through urban Riverside Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At first glance, nothing seemed unusual about the young people I encountered. A group of inner-city high school students, they dressed in standard hip-hop fashion. I expected to see in their eyes the cynicism so fashionable now in urban, suburban, and even rural communities, the jaded look of what D. H. Lawrence long ago called the "know-it-all state of mind." But not today.

"As they cast their fishing lines from the muddy bank, they laughed with pleasure, delighted by the lazy brown river and the landscape of the surrounding park. Ducking a few backcasts, I walked through the woods to the two-story Urban Ecology Center, made of lumber and other material recycled from abandoned buildings." Read the rest of the essay here.

Thursday, May 19, 7 pm

Cris Mazza, author of Various Men Who Knew Us as Girls, reading with Elise Blackwell, author of An Unfinished Score.

We've hosted a number of literary writers in groups over the past year, but when Gina Frangello put together a veritable vanload of writers from Chicago last fall, there was one problem. It turned out that Cris Mazza's collection was not out yet. We wisely decided to reschedule her appearance until the book was available.

In Various Men Who Knew Us as Girls, Hester, a struggling journalist, confonts the unjustice of a prositution ring, as she also confronts the failings of her former mentor.  She's been reading around Chicago, including with Lidia Yuknavitch, the author of The Chronicle of Water, a memoir praised by Chuck Palahniuk recently in this blog. Mazza is the author of more than sixteen books, including Trickle-Down Timeline and Homeland.

Melanie Page reviews the book on Dzanc Books' online journal, The Collagist. "Mazza carefully complicates black and white concepts that ask women to stand by their physical boundaries; Hester is helped by the machismo, and so readers are forced to ask what right we have to deny such women happiness." Mazza teaches writing at the University of Illinois Chicago. Read the rest of the review here.

Also on the bill on Thursday is Elise Blackwell, author of several novels, most recently An Unfinished Score, the story of a composer who discovers that her lover has died in a plane crash. Blackwell, who teaches writing at the University of South Carolina, has written her newest novel in the form of a concerto.  From the Mostly Fiction online journal comes an excerpt from this review by Terez Rose:

"The story’s climax is well-paced and satisfying, casting new light on all that came before it, deepening each character, enriching the story as a whole. A coda neatly clears up loose bits and leaves us with one final image of music and the redemptive power it offers to those who serve it." More of the review here.

Friday, May 20, 7 pm

Joe Yonan, author of Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One. The acclaimed editor of the Washington Post food section (recent winner of the James Beard award for his editing work) presents a new book of recipes tailored for single diners. You want paella for one? Yes, it's possible.

Here's an excerpt of an interview that Yonan had with Kelly DiNardo, of the Washington Independent Review of Books, who asked Yonan about the inspiration for this work.

"I had been writing the monthly 'Cooking for One' column for The Washington Post food section for a couple of years and was surprised that even though the fastest-growing household size in the country is single-person, and has been for many years, there were only a few other books on the topic. Ultimately, though, it was a Facebook comment that really did it. Someone posted in response to something I wrote on using up leftover wine that all my problems would be solved if I just got myself a relationship because, obviously, 'the pleasures of the table are best shared.' That naiveté about the lives of single people is what really motivated me. I want single folks to realize that they don’t have to resort to takeout all the time, or processed food, but that they can follow their own cravings and have fun doing so."

Read more from DiNardo and Yonan here.  And after that, I leave for BookExpo and I promised I wouldn't book more than a couple of events for Stacie to host.  I kept my promise, pretty much.

Bestsellers for the Week, How Did Our Events Go, and Where to See Erik Larson.

It's Sunday, and when I have nothing else pressing on my mind, there are always bestsellers.  Something interesting always comes up in passing.

fiction hardcover

1. Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks

2. Doc, by Mary Doria Russell

3. Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

4. The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace

5. Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen

Thank you to everyone who came to Geraldine Brooks event on Thursday, as well as everyone involved with putting the event together.  We got wonderful feedback for the $5 tickets (known as the Boulder Bookstore model, where the customer gets the $5 back in a discount off the featured book. The only issue so far?  At least one customer didn't see the sign in our main door that we were asking everyone to enter and exit through Starbucks and didn't walk around to the other side to enter.  My apologies to anyone else this happened to.

nonfiction hardcover

1. The President is a Sick Man, by Matthew Algeo
2. In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson
3. Bossypants, by Tina Fey
4. Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
5. The Social Animal, by David Brooks
In our store at least, Larson can thank Geraldine Brooks.  More than half our copies for the week were sold the evening of her event by attendees.

Though Larson did not come to Milwaukee for this book, perhaps you'd like to catch him over the next few weeks if you are elsewhere.  He's actually pretty close, hovering around the Chicago area for at least three events. According to the Random House site:

Sunday, May 15, 2 pm: Centuries and Sleuths, Forest Park, Illinois (today!)

Monday, May 16, 2 pm, Burton Manner, Livonia, Michigan

Tuesday, May 17, 7:30 pm, Free Library of Philadelphia

Wednesday, May 18, 7 pm, Prairie Lights, Iowa City
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm, First Presbyterian Church of Dallas
Saturday, May 21, 6:30 pm, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, Washington
Monday, May 23, 11:30 am, Union League Club, Chicago
Monday, May 23, 6 pm, Chicago Public Library

paperback fictoin

1. A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan
2. The Invisible Bridge, by Julie Orrginer
3. People of the Book, by Geraldine Brook
4. Room, by Emma Donoghue (first week out)
5. Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
6. The Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano

I'm excited to include #6, as momentum on our April event book has still been strong.  In fact, we're still the #1 book on Treeline, but other stores are nipping at our heels.

Oh, and Room was still was on our hardcover list for the week.

paperback nonfiction

1. The Bread of Angels, by Stephanie Saldana
2. Inside of a Dog, by Alexandra Horowitz
3. The Nine Parts of Desire, by Geraldine Brooks
4. Writing to Make a Difference, by Dalya Massachi
5. Life, by Keith Richards

You'd think there is only one Geraldine Brooks event book on this list, but there are actually two.  I read that Brooks was an evangelist for The Bread of Angels on Shelf Awareness, and so ordered in a pile.  When someone asked Brooks what she was excited about, among the other books, I handed her a copy and we sold out everything.

kids hardcover

1. A Tale of Two Castles, by Gail Carson Levine
2. A World Without Fish, by Mark Kurlansky
3. Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan
4. We are in a Book, by Mo Willems
5. Built to Last, by David Macaulay

Our paperback list is all Gail Carson Levine, all the time.  We were talking to a Shorewood teacher who said their event was really wonderful. 

A Last Minute Plug for Jerome Pohlen's Progressive Nation, Saturday, May 14, 2 pm. That's Today!

For several months, many of my customers have been involved in voicing public reaction to some of our state governmenment's changes in laws and policies. I guess there's nothing like a 53% margin to declare that you have a mandate and change 50 years of laws. OK, that's about as political as I'm going to get here.

Several of my customers emailed me (oddly enough, nobody actually spoke to me), asking why I wasn't doing more programming that addressed collective bargaining and other issues.  Actually not too many other issues, mostly collective bargaining.  And I wrote back and said various things, but mostly I said I'm a bookstore, not a political forum, and that I have customers with a wide variety of political viewpoints (though being where we are, it certainly leans left but not exclusively), but I would certainly program author events if they gave me the right author. And just to prove the right author was out there, one of my booksellers turned her rec shelf into a union studies section.

But nothing fell into my lap, and nobody gave me $10,000 for honorariums and travel budgets. Then I went to the UWM Spring Writers Festival. I had to bring in books from the speakers.  Jerome Pohlen, who was speaking as an editor at Chicago Review Press, had written a number of the Oddball Travel Guides, including Oddball Wisconsin, but had also written a collection of guides to lefty travel sites, called Progressive Nation.  After his talk, I asked Mr. Pohlen to come up and do an event for the store, which is happening today, Saturday, May 14, at 2 pm.

Progessive Nation came out a couple of years ago, but we'd never hosted the author at Schwartz. How could this be? Well, it was partly because we never did much with Pohlen's publisher/distributor, Independent Publishers Group, whereas now they seem to be one of our major sources for interesting events. In fact, Pohlen edited Matthew Algeo, author of last Monday's event, The President is a Sick Man.  Independent Publishers Group also distributed the author of Wednesday's featured book, June Skinner Sawyers' Bob Dylan: New York, and the upcoming event for Douglas Jacobson's The Katyn Order. By the way, Douglas Jacobson's first public book event for his new novel is Monday, June 13, 7 pm. Details to come.

Progressive Nation is a travel guide, armchair or otherwise, to major pivotal moments in American history (and I paraphrase):

--The home of abolitionists Levi and Catharine Coffin, Grand Central Station on the Underground Railroad

--Alice's Restaurant Church, the namesake of Arlo Guthrie's song protesting the draft

--The courthouse where Susan B. Anthony went on trial for attempting to vote

--The site of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago, where laborers protested working conditions

--The former camera shop where Harvey Milk launched his campaign to become America's first openly gay elected official

And did I mention Pohlen was the Green Party candidate for Congress several years ago?  Credentialed enough for you?

So here's the question? Did you really want this programming or not? It's time to find out, today at 2 pm.  And if this event is a bust, I'm going to put in a proposal for Dinesh D'Souza, my buddy from college.*

*Full disclosure. Not really my buddy. We only went to the same college at the same time.