Boswell bestsellers for the week ending July 27, 2025

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending July 27, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Maggie, by Katie Yee (Boswell July 27 event - today at 4)
2. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
4. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
5. Culpability, by Bruce Holsinger (Boswell July 29 event)
6. The Names, by Florence Knapp
7. These Summer Storms, by Sarah MacLean
8. The Devils, by Joe Abercrombie
9. Ashes to Ashes, by Thomas Maltman (signed copies)
10. The Compound, by Aislie Rawle

These Summer Storms pops onto our top 10 after its July 8 pub date - the book is out of stock at all Ingram warehouses and has five raves on BookMarks. From the publisher: "Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction (from romance), with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
2. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
3. The Place of Tides, by James Rebanks
4. Milwaukee City of Neighborhoods, by John Gurda
5. The Mission, by Tim Weiner
6. The Idaho Four, by James Patterson and Vicky Ward
7. They Poisoned the World, by Mariah Blake
8. A Flower Traveled in my Blood, by Haley Cohen Gilliland
9. Who Is Government, edited by Michael Lewis
10. The Anxious Generaoin, by Jonatthan Haidt

Quiet week for hardcover nonfiction bestsellers! The Place of Tides, published June 24, had six raves, three positives, and a mixed on BookMarks. The author chornicles a season with a woman off the coast of Norway who collects eiderdown. The book has received blurbs from John Banville, Rachel Kushner, and George Saunders, who wrote: "James Rebanks shows, better than anything I've read recently, the precise quality of the catastrophe befalling the natural world and also what we might begin to do about it."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Everyone Is Lying to You, by Jo Piazza (signed copies)
2. The Sicilian Inheritance, by Jo Piazza
3. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
4. The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna
5. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
6. Martyr, by Kaveh Akbar
7. All the Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker
8. The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon
9. Problematic Summer Romance, by Ali Hazelwood
10. The Briar Club, by Katte Quinn

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping hits our top ten in its second week of sale. It's a New York Times bestseller and an upcoming Romance Book Club pick at Boswell. From Publishers Weekly: "A witch angles to regain her power in this pleasurable cozy fantasy from Mandanna...Fans of mellow magical stories centering found family will gobble this one up."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. It's Their World, by Erin Walsh (signed copies)
2. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
3. Meet the Neighbors, by Brandon Keim
4. Building the Milwaukee Bucks, by Jordan Treske (Boswell August 5 event)
5. Didion and Babitz, by Lili Anolik
6. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger
7. Healing After Loss, by Matha Hickman
8. A Beginner's Guide to Dying, by Simon Boas
9. Freedom, by Slavoj Zizek
10. Feeding Ghosts, by Tessa Hulls

First week in paperback for Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-Than-Human World. Seems like the kind of book that would be reviewed in majors (NYT, WSJ, WP) but I did locate reviews from Scientific American and The Portland Press Herald. Jacket update not needed for the paperback - it popped! From Kirkus: "Although his polemic is well supported by scientific and scholarly references, his earnest plea is firmly rooted in a layperson's language; this is a consideration of animals, wild and domestic, as our fellows, not our property."

Books for Kids:
1. The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti
2. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
3. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
4. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
5. City Spies V6: London Calling, by James Ponti
6. Framed, by James Ponti
7. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
8. The Survivor Wants to Die at the End V3, by Adam Silvera
9. The Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim
10. They All Saw a Cat, by Brandon Wenzel

The Survivor Wants to Die at the End is the third book in the They Both Die at the End series from bestselling author Silvera, who brings together two characters who are connected by the Death Cast, and are drawn together by circumstances. From School Library Journal: "For readers, knowing Silvera lives with mental health issues, including some he explores in the book, will help them see they are not alone."

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending July 19, 2025

Boswell bestsellers for the week ending July 19, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Woman in Suite 11, by Ruth Ware
2. The Unlucky Ones by Hannah Morrissey
3. James, by Percival Everett
4. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
6. Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
7. Culpability, by Bruce Holsinger (July 29 Boswell event)
8. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
9. The Compound, by Aisling Rawle
10. An Inside Job, by Daniel Silva

I don't think we've had the current Oprah Book Club pick for an event since Wellness back in 2023. Culpability also has three raves and a positive from BookMarks, including this from Ron Charles in the Washington Post: "For all its eerie timeliness, Culpability should age better than yesterday’s Instagram post. Holsinger, a medievalist at the University of Virginia, has a sharp eye for the eternal values and foibles that animate human affairs."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Forgotten Sense, by Jonas Olofsson (signed copies)
2. C'Mon Get Happy, by David Fantle and Tom Johnson
3. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
4. The Fate of the Day, by Rick Atkinson
5. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
6. Dinner with King Tut, by Sam Kean
7. Abundance, by Eza Klein and Derek Thompson
8. The Book of Alchemy, by Suleika Jaouad
9. Impasse, by Roy Scranton (Boswell August 13 event)
10. Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson

Tim and I are big fans of Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-Creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations, a book about experimental archeology. Besides us, there are three raves and two positives on BookMarks, including Barbara Spindel in The Wall Street Journal: "There’s something heartening about the idea that for every element of ancient life, someone out there is obsessing over it, perhaps re-creating Roman-style hairdos or painstakingly reverse-engineering ancient weapons. Mr. Kean is an appealing guide to these eccentric subcultures."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Everyone Is Lying to You, by Jo Piazza (Boswell event today at SereniTea - 4 pm)
2. The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware
3. Hello Transcriber, by Hannah Morrissey
4. In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware
5. A Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware
6. Blue Sisters, by Coco Mellors
7. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
8. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
10. When I'm Dead, by Hannah Morrissey

I saw that Blue Sisters is out of stock at two Ingram warehouses, which indicates some solid paperback momentum for this title since its May 20 release. It was a Read with Jenna pick for the hardcover (and still has the icon on the paperback - not all do) and had mixed reviews on BookMarks, but lots of great reads, including one from McKenna at Boswell - shelf talker, but not a written rec on our website. I will try to fix that. Here's a Hollywood Reporter article on a television adaption, hitting a nerve with women in their 20s and 30s, and being sober.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
2. Your Brain on Art, by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
3. Building the Milwaukee Bucks, by Jordan Treske (Boswell August 5 event)
4. Human History on Drugs, by Sam Kelly
5. The Wager, by David Grann
6. Guilty Creatures, by Mikita Brottman
7. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
8. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
9. Every Living Thing, by Jason Roberts
10. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Selling of the new paperback table is the paperback original, Human History on Drugs: An Utterly Scandalous but Entirely Truthful Look at History Under the Influence. From Publishers Weekly: "Kelly, who runs a TikTok account under the same name, debuts with a nonstop, eye-popping panorama of famous and influential individuals who each changed the world, or their perception of it, through their use of drugs...Brimming with enthusiasm for history's nooks and crannies, this charms.

Books for Kids:
1. Lulu and Rocky in Milwuakee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
2. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
3. Tum Time: Park board book, by Louise Lockhart
4. Pete at the Beach, by James Dean
5. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
6. Orris and Timble: Lost and Found, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrations by Carmen Mok
7. The Grandest Game, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
8. The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han
9. We'll Always Have Summer, by Jenny Han
10. Sea of Monsters V2, by Percy Jackson

Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Grandest Game came out on July 1 and it's only about nine days until volume two releases in hardcover - Glorious Rivals. From Publishers Weekly: "Sequestered contestants vie for millions in this fiendishly clever thriller, the first in a spinoff series from Barnes's Inheritance Games saga... Familiarity with the previous books will lend resonance to certain plot and character developments, but baffling brainteasers, flagrant flirtation, and witty repartee earn the sustained interest of readers old and new." 1

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 12, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 12, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Woman in Suite 11, by Ruth Ware (Wilson Center July 16 event)
2. Culpability, by Bruce Holsinger (Boswell July 29 event)
3. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
4. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
5. The River Is Waiting, by Wally Lamb
6. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
7. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, by Brigette Knightley
8. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
9. Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy
10. James, by Percival Everett

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is another breakout from the fanfic community. From the publisher: "Loyalties are tested in this slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy following an assassin and a healer forced to work together to cure a fatal disease, all while resisting the urge to kill each other - or, worse, fall in love." Booklist and Library Journal reviewers loved it, while Publishers Weekly (as can increasingly be the case) had the irresistible urge to be sour.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. America, Let Me In, by Felipe Torres Medina
2. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
3. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
4. Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson
5. The Fate of the Day, by Rick Atkinson
6. Wisconsin Supper Clubs, by Ron Faiola
7. What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking, by Caroline Chambers
8. Dinner with King Tut, by Sam Kean
9. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
10. Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

It's from last year and the publisher Union Square was since sold to Hachette, but in a soft hardcover nonfiction week, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking makes its way into our top 10. It's a New York Times bestseller and hit a number of best-of-the-year lists (Bon Appetit, Food Network, Tasting Table), so it's worth a mention. Sarah Karnasiewicz in The Wall Street Journal praised not just the recipes, but the "chatty, can-do spirit" of the author's Substack newsletter.

Paperback Fiction:
1. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
2. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
3. Oleander Sword V2, by Tasha Suri
4. All Fours, by Miranda July
5. Go As a River, by Shelley Read
6. Martyr, by Kaveh Akbar
7. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
8. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
9. Sunburn, by Chloe Michelle Howarth
10. There Are Rivers int he Sky, by Elif Shafak

First week on the new paperback table scores a top 10 for Sunburn, by Chloe Michelle Howarth. It's a coming-of-age story set in small-town 1990s Ireland, a sapphic love story that's been nominated for the British Book Awards.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson
2. The Rediscovery of America, by Ned Blackhawk
3. Hustles for Humanists, by Erica Machulak
4. Misguided, by Matthew Facciani
5. There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abdurraqib
6. The Wide, Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides
7. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
8. On Tyranny graphic edition, by Timothy Snyder
9. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen
10. Milwaukee Scavenger, by Jenna Kashou

I thought our sales pop from There's Always This Year was from our Lit Group buying upcoming books on Monday, but no, sales were clustered towards the end of the week, when our all basketball email newsletter went out - our event with Jordan Treske on this Bucks history, a Book Stall event for a book about Caitlin Clark. Hanif Abdurrqib won the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism for this book, and yes, we're discussing it on October 6 at Serenitea - we've bumped the discussion from the store so that we could host a special event on that evening.

Books for Kids:
1. Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman
2. Crossing the Farak River, by Michelle Aung Thin
3. Good Luck Ice Cream Truck, by Sorche Fairbank, illustrations by Terry Runyan
4. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
5. The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti (Boswell July 21 event)
6. The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
7. Turtle in a Tree, by Neesha Hudson
8. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
9. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
10. The Grandest Game, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Mid-July tends to be a quiet time for new releases, particularly in kids. I noticed that while our sale for Seedfolks was to a school, the book, now close to thirty years old, has national sales momentum - three of the four Ingram warehouses have more on order. It's a multi-voiced story about an empty lot in Cleveland that is transformed into a community garden. Publishers Weekly gave it a star and put it on their best books of the year: "The story's quiet beauty unfurls effortlessly - and lingers after the final page has been turned." Kirkus was also positive, but complained it could have used more practical growing advice. Seems like an odd criticism for a book positioned as a novel, but oh well.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 5, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending July 5, 2025 - please note that our website may be down this week while we are updated. 

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, VE Schwab
3. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
4. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
5. The River Is Waiting, by Wally Lamb
6. James, by Percival Everett
7. Dungeon Caller Carl V1, by Matt Dinniman
8. Compound, by Aisling Rawle
9. Broken Country, by Clare Leslie Hall
10. Bug Hollow, by Michelle Huneven

The current Good Morning America book club pick is Compound, by Aisling Rawle, part of the growing library of reality show fiction - two I read last year were All This and More, by Peng Shepherd and One Perfect Couple, by Ruth Ware. While it's not indexed on BookMarks, it's got this starred review on Booklist: "Irish author Rawle's debut is a masterful, captivating story of materialism and the search for meaning amidst climate crisis and economic instability..With nuanced characters and a sharp examination of the tearing threads of modern society, The Compound is an astounding must-read."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
2. The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
3. The Book of Alchemy, by Suleika Jaouad
4. Memorial Days, by Geraldine Brooks
5. America Let Me In, by Felipe Torres Medina (Boswell June 10 event)
6. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan
8. We Can Do Hard Things, by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle
9. Super Agers, by Eric Topol
10. Lawless, by Leah Litman

Consistent sales for Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes, from Leah Litman edge the book into our top 10 on a soft week. Host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast has a Publishers Weekly review, which calls it "a clear-eyed and alarming view of a court captured by far-right conspiracy theories." And here's an article from George Thomas in Washington Monthly.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
2. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
3. Weyward, by Emilia Hart
4. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
5. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
6. The Battle of the Bookstores, by Ali Brady
7. The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley
8. Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
9. The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa
10. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black (Boswell October 7 event)

Jason mentioned that he's seeing lots of reissues this year, and here is one from Yoko Ogawa (Picador is releasing four in all this year) that had a nice first week pop. The Housekeeper and the Professor, which sold high double digits in its previous edition back when Boswell first opened, is repackaged in conjunction with the paperback reprint of Mina's Matchbox. Back in 2009, I wrote "You wouldn’t expect a book with quotes from Paul Auster and Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe to be quite so accessible and charming, but it truly is."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Id Just As Soon Kiss a Wookiee, by Greg Carter
2. On Tyranny (graphic edition), by Timothy Snyder
3. On Tyranny (text edition), by Timothy Snyder
4. Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
5. There's Always This Year, by Hanif Abudurraqib
6. Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (three paperback editions)
7. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
8. The Wide, Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides
9. Washington, by Ron Chernow
10. Swimming Studies, by Leanne Shapton

I don't think I can call Hanif Abdurraqib's appearance a book club pop as the Lit Group is not reading There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension until October. It could be selling out of the award case as it received the National Book Critics Circle Award. Finally a book with BookMarks annotations - six raves and three positives.

Books for Kids:
1. The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
2. This Could Be Forever, by Ebony LaDelle
3. Love Radio, by Ebony LaDelle
4. The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti (Boswell July 21 event)
5. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse, illustrations by Renée Graef
6. Spooky Lakes, by Geo Rutherford (Boswell September 15 event)
7. Nimona, by ND Stevenson
8. Big Enough, by Regina Linke
9. Snoop, by Gordon Korman
10. The Village Byond the Mist, by Sachiko Kashiwaba

Goodness, another Gordon Korman! I am still thinking about how much I liked Old School from this past winter. From Kirkus, on Snoop: "A laid-up and bored seventh grader discovers that his seemingly ordinary North Carolina town is a hotbed of puzzling mysteries...Korman dishes up an expert mix of entertaining foolery, peer and family dynamics, and cautionary messages about both the ethical nuances of online snooping and the hazards of jumping to conclusions...Funny and thought-provoking, no bones about it."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 28, 2025

Our website will be down for several days starting July 6 while it is upgraded. This shouldn't affect the blog.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 28, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
3. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
4. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
5. The River Is Waiting, by Wally Lamb
6. Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy
7. James, by Percival Everett
8. The Poppy Fields, by Nikki Erlick
9. Great Big Beautiful Life, by Emily Henry
10. Broken Country, by Clare Leslie Hall

Three weeks on sale for Wally Lamb's The River Is Waiting and second week in our top ten for this Oprah Book Club pick. And it's his third Oprah pick, following She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True. Reviewers were pretty tough on the new book, per BookMarks (they had issues with the protagonist), but we have at least two fans on staff, with Kim and Jenny both giving it a thumbs up. You can read both recs through the title link.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Meathead Method, by Meathead
2. Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
3. Making the Best of What's Left, by Judith Viorst
4. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5. Meathead, by Meathead Goldwyn
6. The Insect Epiphany, by Barrett Klein
7. Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson
8. The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
9. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton
10. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow

Goodness, that was one good dinner at Maxie's for The Meathead Method. Ask Claire about the cilantro sauce. Meathead's fans include J Kenji Lopez-Alt and Harold McGee. And Library Journal writes: "Writing with passion, panache, and plenty of dry wit, Meathead breaks down the art and science of grilling and barbequing, making his an indispensable guide even for collections that have other excellent grilling books." Signed copies available.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Go As a River, by Shelley Read
2. Strange Pictures, by Uketsu
3. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
4. I Contain Multitudes, by Christopher Hawkins
5. All Fours, by Miranda July
6. The Frozen Rivers, by Ariel Lawhon
7. The Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
8. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
9. The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, by Bianca Marais
10. One Golden Summer, by Carley Fortune

Apparently even print-on-demand can't stop The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, one of Tim's favorite books to hand-sell. Her latest book, A Most Puzzling Murder, is also now available. Now we just need Leonard and Hungry Paul to become available as POD, which I'm told they are working on. And while we're at it, how about Crossing California? Or maybe NYRB or McNally Editions could pick it up!

Paperback Nonfiction

1. Wisconsin Idols, by Dean Robbins

2. John Gurda's Milwaukee, by John Gurda
3. Your Brain on Art, by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
4. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
5. Hiking Zen, by Phap Xa

6. The Light Eaters, by Zoe Schlanger
7. All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley
8. Healing After Loss, by Martha Hickman
9. Puerto Rico, by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo
10. No Straight Road Takes You There, by Rebecca Solnit

We hosted a hardcover event for Jorell Meléndez-Badillo's Puerto Rico: A National History, and it's nice to see the book is now selling well off the new and noteworthy paperback tables. The book got nice attention, but I'm wondering if the book is selling better because the author worked with Bad Bunny on his last album. Here's more from the UW-Madison Newsroom.

Books for Kids:
1. The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
2. Lulu and Rocky in Milwaukee, by Barbara Joosse and Renee Graef
3. Peekaboo Zoo, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
4. I'm a Dinosaur, by Ruth Symons
5. Beach Hair, by Ashley Woodfolk, illustrations by Nina Mata
6. Peekaboo Love, by Camilla Reid, illustrations by Ingela P Arrhenius
7. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
8. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt
9. Hot Dog, by Doug Salati
10. Next to Me, by Daniel Salmieri and Sophia Haas

The Peekaboo board book series is still a hit at Boswell! The latest is Peekaboo Zoo, the 14th in the series, which has sold over 2 million copies. I am a a bit concerned, however, that some of the sliding panels in the new collection make it look like the animals' heads were chopped off.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 21, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 21, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
3. Waterline, by Aram Mrjoian (signed copies)
4. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
5. Bug Hollow, by Michelle Huneven
6. James, by Percival Everett
7. The River Is Waiting, by Wally Lamb
8. Spent, by Alison Bechdel
9. Dream Count, by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
10. The First Gentleman, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

I've been cheering on Bug Hollow since well before its release date last Tuesday. Regular readers of the blog know I'm a big Michelle Huneven fan ("joy and sorrow and humor in a blender") and it seems like Penguin Press has been showing the book some release love too. Raves in The Washington Post and New York Times. All raves in BookMarks except for PW, who compared the book to flipping through a yellowed photo album. And the problem with that is? For a more enthusiastic take, watch our Readings from Oconomowaukee interview.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Submersed, by Matthew Gavin Frank (signed copies)
2. Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson
3. Little Frog's Guide to Self Care, by Maybell Eequay
4. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
5. Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
6. Not My Type, by E Jean Carroll
7. The Let Them Theory, by Mel Robbins
8. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
9. World Within a Song, by Jeff Tweedy
10. The Serviceberry, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Not My Type: One Person Vs a President, by E Jean Carroll pops in the first week of sale. Looking at the national lists, there are usually 5+ debuts per week on the New York Times fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists and we're lucky if a couple of them move in those kinds of quantities for us. It's also the forty year anniversary of Female Difficulties, Carroll's 1985 collection that I read. I remembered it was published by Bantam, which was back then the flagship Bertelsmann publisher, and not the imprint of one of the divisions of the American operations. Oh, the days of Yeager and Iacocca and Shirley MacLaine's Dancing in the Light, for which the woman who read the titles in the NYT bestseller hotline would sing as if she was twirling with Fred Astaire. Also there's a NYT review from Alexandra Jacobs.

Paperback Fiction:
1. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
2. Problematic Summer Romance, by Ali Hazelwood
3. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
5. One Golden Summer, by Carley Fortune
6. Table for Two, by Amor Towles
7. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
8. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Osman
9. Go As a River, by Shelley Read (Boswell June 27 event)
10. The Sicilian Inheritance, by Jo Piazza (Boswell July 20 event)

We're getting read for the double Readings from Oconomowaukee event for Go As a River this Friday for Go As a River, 2 pm at Boswell and 7 pm at Books and Company. The novel was on Peter Heller's NYT recommendation list for those visiting Colorado, as as Woman of Light, a recent book club pick. Shelley Read was on Mitzi Rapkin's First Draft podcast. And Books and Books's Mitchel Kaplan is one of the producers of the film version, per IMDb.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Warrior Princesses Strike Back, by Sarah Eagle Heart and Emma Eagle Heart-White
2. Counting Like a State, by Philip Rocco
3. The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys, by Rahim Thawer
4. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
5. The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel
6. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
7. The Wager, by David Grann
8. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
9. Wisconsin Idols, by Dean Robbins
10. Attack from Within, by Barbara McQuade

With a pub date of June 3, Barbara McQuade's Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America is had a nice sales pop this week without even placing on the new paperback table (and no it's not a bulk sale - I checked). From Nina Jankowicz in The Washington Post: "It is our very democratic freedoms that make us so susceptible to disinformation. Our steadfast commitment to every individual’s right to freedom of speech as enshrined in the First Amendment renders us more vulnerable to all manner of malign actors - including foreign adversaries using sock-puppet accounts, and political ad campaigns targeted at vulnerable populations." If you are interested in this subject, we're hosting Matthew Facciani for a talk on his book Misguided on July 9.

Books for Kids:
1. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
2. A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim
3. Valiant Vel, by Jerrianne Hayslett, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
4. This Could Be Forever, by Ebony LaDelle (Alice's Garden June 29 event)
5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
6. The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, illustrated by Ruth Harper
7. The Gate, The Girl, and the Dragon, by Ruth Grace Lin
8. London Calling V6, by James Ponti (Boswell July 21 event)
9. The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti (same)
10. Orris and Timble: Lost and Found, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrations by Carmen Mok

It's volume 2 of the planned trilogy of Orris (owl) and Timble (rat) in our top 10, having released in late April. From Kirkus, on Lost and Found: "Having filled his feathered friend's head with stories of quests, the bookish Orris should be unsurprised when Timble, who's growing into a mature owl and yearns to visit the stars and moon, fails to appear one night...and then the next. Still, his friend's disappearance is enough to make a rat feel fretful, as well as a little abandoned. But worry turns to resentment when Timble does at last come back...Sensitive and quietly enthralling."

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 14, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 14, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab
3. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
4. James, by Percival Everett
5. The King of Ashes, by SA Cosby
6. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
7. Great Big Beautiful Life, by Emily Henry
8. The Road to Tender Hearts, by Annie Hartnett
9. Fever Beach, by Carl Hiaasen
10. Flashlight, by Susan Choi

Top debut this week is VE Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, which had several reads from Boswellians. There's no BookMarks listing set up for this title, despite a review in The New York Times from Everdeen Mason that I would rate as at least a positive: "Vampirism is offered as reprieve from oppression. By becoming undead, these women gain bodily autonomy and societal agency. But their immortality also introduces new troubles - as vampires, they will always face the threat of their hunger and yearning calcifying into something as dangerous as the forces they wanted to escape."

I would be remiss if I did not link to my staff rec for King of Ashes.  We had signed copies, but sold out in the first week. More (unsigned, alas) copies arriving soon.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Insect Epiphany, by Barrett Klein 
2. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
3. Everything Is Tuberculosis, by John Green
4. Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson
5. We Can Do Hard Things, by Glennon Doyle, Abbie Wambach, Amanda Doyle
6. Rich Girl Nation, by Katie Gatti Tassin 7. The Book of Alchemy, by Suleika Jaouad
8. How to Lose Your Mother, by Molly Jong-Fast
9. Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story, by Ron Faiola
10. The Sixth Wisconsin and the Long Civil War, by James Marten

I really enjoyed How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir, so I'm glad to see it scratch our top ten in its second week of sale. The book has four raves and three positives on BookMarks, including this from Martha McPhee in The Washington Post: "Jong-Fast didn’t want to write this stuff, and she doesn’t want you to hate her mom or anyone else in the story. But, she says, looking back helped give her perspective on the present, on the agony of putting her mother, now 83, in a memory-care facility, along with her stepfather...With propulsive humor and perspective on her annus horribilis, Jong-Fast achieves the memoir’s transformative work of alchemy, arming us all with lines so good you won’t just want to underline them, you will want to cut them out to share."

Paperback Fiction:
1. Breakfast Wine, by Alex Poppe
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
3. I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
4. The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese
5. Beautyland, by Marie Helene Bertino
6. The Hero of Ages V3 Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson
7. Go As a River, by Shelley Read (Boswell June 27 event)
8. Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
9. Problematic Summer Romance, by Ali Hazelwood
10. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

It is through NBCC finalist Beautyland, a March paperback release that popped into our top ten this week as the July Science Fiction Book Club selection, that I learned about the Dakota Johnson Tea Time Book Club. Worth a review (I found the list on Goodreads*) - the only one I've read so far was The Anthropologists. Beautyland has ten raves and a positive on BookMarks. From Michael Schaub's review in the Chicago Review of Books: "Her project - to write about what it means to be human - is also Bertino’s project, and in Beautyland she has done so masterfully. Beautyland is Earth, and Earth is Beautyland - the source of so much awe, the site of so much pain. In her depiction of alienation, Bertino has given us a novel about our very real, very human longing for connection with one another." Fascinating that the review is such a different style from Schaub's work on the NPR website.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Poets and Dreamers, by Tamara Saviano (Boswell August 27 event)
2. Murdle V1, by GT Karber
3. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
4. Secret Milwaukee, by Jim Nelsen
5. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frédéric Gros
6. Historic Wisconsin Roadsides, by Tom Manus and Kristi Flick Manus
7. The Devil's Best Trick, by Randall Sullivan
8. The British Are Coming, by Rick Atkinson
9. Cultish, by Amanda Montell
10. While You Were Out, by Meg Kissinger

Historic Wisconsin Roadsides: Towns Off the Beaten Path in the Badger State, an April release from Reedy, is an essential guide to Wisconsin road trips. From the publisher: " Packed with over 1,200 recommendations, find where to get a free ice cream cone from a 1932 dairy bar when the temperature drops below -20°, eat what many consider the original butter burger** (not where you expect), ride Elvis's favorite roller coaster, find a whimsical 1927 C.W. Parker Amusement Company carousel, and visit the world's coolest 1950s motel featuring live music, songwriting workshops, and a radio station broadcasting only music created onsite."

Books for Kids:
1. Be a Bridge, by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrations by Nabila Adani
2. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
3. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
4. The Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim
5. City Spies, by James Ponti (Boswell July 21 event)
6. Our Class Is a Family, by Shannon Olsen, illustrations by Sandie Sonke
7. Valiant Vel, by Jerrianne Hayslett, illustrations by Aaron Boyd
8. Hot Dog, by Doug Salati
9. The Singular Life of Aria Patel, by Samira Ahmed
10. We're All in This Together: Leo's Lunch Box, by Raphael G Warnock, illustrations by Tamika Grooms

Brand new and Boswell Best featured is The Singular Life of Aria Patel. From Kirkus: "A Chicago teen must find her way home after being thrown into a succession of universes...The rush of the multiple universes and scientific mystery-solving brings excitement to this well-paced story, counteracting Aria's anxious perseveration, and the romantic storyline is sweet." For ages 12 and up.

*Yes, I know it's Amazon.

**Original source did not put a space between butter and burger. I think it more commonly does have one.

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 7, 2025

Boswell bestsellers, week ending June 7, 2025

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Listeners, by Maggie Stiefvater (signed copies)
2. The Last Ferry Out, by Andrea Bartz (signed copies)
3. Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
5. James, by Percival Everett
6. Meet Me at the Crossroads, by Megan Giddings (signed copies)
7. Never Flinch, by Stephen King
8. My Friends, by Fredrik Backman
9. The Marble Hall Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
10. Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy

The Listeners has four raves and two positives on BookMarks. Margot Harrison in The New York Times notes how Stiefvater blends history and fantasy: "This premise is based on real events. Some American hotels really did house enemy diplomats during World War II. But at the fictional Avallon, with its reputation as 'a place where past and future were erased, replaced by an immutable, carefree present,' the repercussions of this unusual arrangement are perilous. The bad vibes that arrive with the new guests threaten the Avallon’s main attraction: the springs that run under the hotel and fill it with scents of 'perfume, blood, fruit, dirt, caves, blossoms.' The sweetwater is, you see, a bit alive. June’s special sensitivity to it is one of the secrets to her success, and she fears the water will react poorly to the hotel’s new occupants, who are essentially pampered prisoners."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow
2. Steve Martin Writes the Written Word, by Steve Martin
3. Original Sin, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
4. Submersed, by Matthew Gavin Frank (Boswell June 16 event)
5. The Number One Dad Book, by James Patterson
6. The Book of Alchemy, by Suleika Jaouad
7. On Tyranny graphic edition, by Timothy Snyder
8. The Fate of the Day, by Rick Atkinson
9. The Insect Epiphany, by Barrett Klein (Boswell June 11 event)
10. We Can Do Hard Things, by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle

Steve Martin Writes the Written Word: Collected Written Word Works is a collection of Martin essays over the years. We all know how much Martin likes books because we've seen the advertisement with him and Martin Short set in a bookstore. I don't usually flag ads but hey, it's a nice plug for us biblio retailers. There don't seem to be reviews out there, possibly because aside from the introduction, it's all previously published - columns from New Yorker;s Shouts and Murmurs, plus both of his novellas. What a deal!

Paperback Fiction:
1. Problematic Summer Romance, by Ali Hazelwood
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
3. All Fours, by Miranda July
4. North Woods, by Daniel Mason
5. The Bullet Swallower, by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
6. One Golden Summer, by Carley Fortune
7. Blue Sisters, by Coco Mellors
8. The All of It, by Jeannette Haien
9. The Battle of the Bookstores, by Ali Brady
10. The House of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski

When romance novels and bookstore novels converge, is the bestseller list of an indie bookstore far behind? The Battle of the Bookstores, by Ali Brady (a pen name), about two manager who must compete for a job when their stores merge. From the starred Booklist: "This also serves as a beautifully written paean to the magic of bookstores, the power of romance novels, and the joy of reading. In addition to all the witty banter and sexy chemistry between the protagonists, readers will be struck by thoughtful insights about dyslexia and family relationships as well as spot-on observations about the art and craft of bookselling."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
3. How Golf Can Save Your Life, by Drew Millard
4. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
5. New York Times Cooking No Recipe Recipes, by Sam Sifton
6. The Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein
7. Titan, by Ron Chernow
8. Every Living Thing, by Jason Roberts
9. When the Sea Came Allife, by M Garrett Graff
10. Wordslut, by Amanda Montell

Regarding How Golf Can Save Your Life, I can't remember the last time a golf book was in our top 10. It's got to go back when I tabulated lists for Harry W Schwartz - we could sell a golf book this time of year in Brookfield and Mequon. But I also can't imagine any other golf book has a quote from Shea Serrano, who called the book "smart, insightful, funny, moving." Another tidbit. This is a reprint of a 2023 hardcover, but I spotted it also as an Overlook (bought by Abrams) title from 2021. I don't think that version ever was published.

Books for Kids:
1. The Day the Crayons Made Friends, by Drew Daywalt, with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
2. The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt, illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
3. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
4. A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim
5. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
6. Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne
7. The Man Who Didn't Like Animals, by Deborah Underwood, illustrations by Leuyen Pham
8. Maxine Gets a Job, by Alexandra Garyn and Bryan Reisberg, illustrated by Susan Batori
9. Kill Creatures, by Rory Power
10. Skipshock, by Caroline O'Donoghue

It was a big release week for YA! Our top new entry is A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim, with its snappy sprayed edges. From Emmy Neal in School Library Journal: "-This inspired retelling of Beauty and the Beast traps a reluctant con artist in an underwater kingdom with a dragon lord determined to destroy the gods. Hand to readers who like the ache of slow-burn romance and the whimsy of fairy tales. Highly recommended for all collections." Also starred Publishers Weekly and Booklist.