Could it be the annotated Boswell bestseller list for the week ending March 11, 2017? It could!

Here's what's selling at Boswell this week!

Hardcover Fiction:
1. A Piece of the World, by Christina Baker Kline
2. The Hearts of Men, by Nickolas Butler
3. The Confessions of Young Nero, by Margaret George
4. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
5. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah (ticketed event at Elm Grove Library April 26, close to selling out)
6. Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid
7. News of the World, by Paulette Jiles
8. The Excellent Lombards, by Jane Hamilton
9. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
10. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
11. Difficult Women, by Roxane Gay
12. Autumn, by Ali Smith
13. Beneath the Bonfire, by Nickolas Butler
14. 4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster
15. The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney

It's a rare week outside of the fall holiday season where I feel like hardcover fiction has to extend to 15 because the sales are so good. It doesn't hurt that we had several great fiction events, and that it was a good release week too. I have to give a shout out to Exit West, the new novel from Mohsin Hamid that got an early rave from Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times. And Viet Thanh Nguyen's words omn the front page of the Sunday NYT Book Review: "This gentle optimism, this refusal to descend into dystopia, is what is most surprising about Hamid’s imaginative, inventive novel. A graceful writer who does not shy away from contentious politics and urgent, worldly matters — and we need so many more of these writers — Hamid exploits fiction’s capacity to elicit empathy and identification to imagine a better world" gave me goosebumps.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan
2. At Mama's Knee, by April Ryan
3. Books for Living, by Will Schwalbe
4. The Presidency in Black and White, by April Ryan
5. Illusion of Justice, by Jerome Buting
6. South and West, by Joan Didion
7. Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods, by John Gurda
8. Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance
9. The Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel
10. The Little Book of Hygge, by Meik Wiking

Folks who read our email newsletter will know that several of us have gone gaga over Michael Finkel's The Stranger in the Woods. Michael Harris is also a fan, noting in the Toronto Globe and Mail that the book is "Finkel’s stunning account of one man’s obsessive withdrawal from society. The reporting alone would make this book worth reading; at times, the story is so richly detailed, so full-immersion, that it borders on becoming a non-fiction novel. More important, Finkel finds a way, in a brief 190 pages, to bring us well beyond the mere facts of the case: The Stranger in the Woods is, ultimately, a meditation on the pains of social obligation and the longing toward retreat that resides in us all."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Little Red Chairs, by Edna O'Brien (book club discussion 4/6, 7 pm)
2. In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez (book club discussion 5/1, 7 pm)
3. The Sellout, by Paul Beatty (and this was our March discussion--the blog was supposed to go up Thursday or Friday, but it will now be ready next Tuesday)
4. The Samurai's Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama
5. The Illusion of Separateness, by Simon Van Buoy
6. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
7. The Lilac Girls, by Marth Hall Kelly
8. All the Missing Girls, by Megan Miranda (mystery book club discussion 3/27, event 4/19, 7 pm)
9. Flight, by Sherman Alexie
10. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie

My Worcester sister just called me to say she read The Drifter twice! Really, it's that good. Chandler (Arizona) sister just finished The Mothers and loved it. Now can you see why we all get along?

Here's more about Kelly's breakout paperback. I know folks have been really excited by The Lilac Girls but what a pop it had in Milwaukee last week. Yes, we sold some but the numbers on Bookscan were enormous. I actually had to check her event page to see if she had been in the area. But no. She's going to do two events in the Chicago area, including Libertyville on March 15 and Women and Children First on the 16. And before you ask, we did write a proposal to add on March 17, but alas, it just didn't work. But if you like historical fiction, why not attend our event with Renee Rosen on March 21 for Windy City Blues?

And while I don't think I know anybody in that part of Nassau County, I'd be giving a shout out to the Glen Cove Public Library, who is hosting Kelly on May 9. I can't remember what my parents used to do in Glen Cove, but I think they went there with some regularity. Community concerts? Folk dancing? Movies? The possibilities are endless.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brick Through the Window, by Steven Nodine, Eric Beaumont, Clancy Carroll, and David Luhrssen
2. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
3. Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren
4. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder
5. Live and Let Live, by Evelyn Perry (event at Woodland Pattern, Fri 3/31, 7 pm)
6. The Wiscom of Menopause, by Christiane Northrup
7. Cataclysm, by Zeynab Ali
8. Dark Money, by Jane Mayer
9. The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe
10. Lion/Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley

We've just announced this collaboration with Woodland Pattern for Evelyn Perry's Live and Let Live, a new sociological study of Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood. She'll be at WP on Friday, March 31. This is free, and we'll be splitting proceeds on book sales. I just started reading this today and I'm very excited.

Sales exploded this week for On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, from Timothy Snyder, who appeared at Marquette Law School last year for Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. Here's a review in The Guardian by Richard J. Evans, who notes that after a flourishing period for democracy, the world is falling under the sway of strongmen who "dismantle civil liberties, silence critical voices and suppress independent institutions," often with popular support for what they are doing.

Books for Kids:
1. The Playbook, by Kwame Alexander
2. The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander
3. Booked, by Kwame Alexander
4. Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh
5. Summerland, by Michael Chabon
6. Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
7. Out of My Mind, by Sharon M Draper
8. The Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
9. Going Bovine, by Libba Bray
10. Hollow City, by Ransom Riggs
11. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
12. A Is for Activist, by Innsanto Nagara
13. Nelson Mandela, by Barry Denenberg
14. Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanha Lai
15. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

We always have to give a shout out for school sales, and this week one of our local districts shaped not just the kids list, but several of the adult ones as well. At the top, however, was our recent visit from Kwame Alexander, who visited South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center for a middle school event. You should note that Flying Lessons also contains a story from Alexander. At the top is new nonfiction work, The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life, of which Kirkus Reviews writes: "The advice never feels heavy-handed, and the author's voice shines through."

Over at the Journal Sentinel, Jim Higgins confesses to a dilemma: "The only thing more difficult than reviewing Sarah Manguso's 300 Arguments is not reviewing it. Her biting collection of aphorisms merits a wide audience, especially of people taking life on the Mithridates plan of self-inoculation against the world's toxins. But be forewarned that Manguso's bracing words often suggest those toxins are self-generated."

The TapBooks page also features a review of The Idiot from critic Mike Fischer, who writes that "Batuman’s semi-autographical first novel, stretches a brief anecdote in The Possessed about first love into a full chronicle of lost illusions, featuring a heroine awakening to the realization that beauty cannot exist apart from the world, with its attendant disappointment, hurt and pain. It’s a funny, thoughtful and poignant portrait of an artist as a young woman."

I'm out of town so I won't see the other print reviews until Tuesday. Why not pick up a copy of the Journal Sentinel and read them yourself. Print is fun, goes good with coffee.

One last post about Nickolas Butler's "The Hearts of Men." Serving s'mores five ways, none of which measure up to the original, but bear in mind, we have no running water or heat source.

The Hearts of Men goes on sale today.

For our event with Shotgun Lovesongs, which like The Hearts of Men, was on the first day the book went on sale, we served pickled eggs. If you've read the book, you know that stealing pickled eggs is a pivotal moment in the book. We got ours from Bay View Packing and truthfully, they were better than you'd think they'd be.

But what to do about The Hearts of Men? It's first day of sale so you have to celebrate. Usually you host these sorts of things in a market where the author's family lives so they can provide the party. But aside from our friend Mary (who knows Nick from the days when he used to take authors around Madison), we're his best friends here. And that means we have to serve something, right?

What to do? Camp. Scouts.

I got it, we'll make s'mores.

Problem #1: we don't have a fireplace.

Problem #2: we don't have a kitchen.

Problem #3: we don't have running water.

Being that I am a Top Chef addict, I decided to do s'mores three ways. Which quickly turned to five ways. Friend of Boswell Carl was visiting while I was doing my planning. He said he loves when any contestant does anything three ways. I am waiting for someone to do something five ways and for Tom to say, "That's a bit much" and kick them out.

I have to talk about Top Chef Charleston for a moment. While it was not a terrible season like Texas, I found it a disappointing setup (newbies vs. vets) that I couldn't get past. I could go on.

S'mores #1: S'mores cereal. The truth is that s'mores is to summer what pumpkin spice is to fall and peppermint is to December. I decided to head through a market and see what s'mores flavored treats I could find and found this cereal first. I think it's leftover from last summer. It's dry without milk, but I know that eating dry cereal is a thing.

S'mores #2: the toaster pastry. I have seen these on the shelves for a while, and while I try a new flavor of Pop Tarts every few years, I haven't had one since root beer. This one has the creamy marshmallow texture that is missing in some of the other varieties, but I'm not sure the crust approximates graham cracker.

S'mores #3:  "Backpacker Bites." What I did not find was a s'mores granola bar variation, but I'm guessing that those sold out at the end of last summer. I'm not sure how you would call that sugar swirl marshmallow. I've heard similar complaints about the Girl Scouts s'mores cookie.

I had a weird moment when I decided that maybe s'mores was really a culture of Girl Scouts, not Boy Scouts, and needed to find any sort of reference. I found one in this S'mores Party program.

S'mores #4: No-bake traditional. Now I get creative. For this, I used real graham crackers, and spread on dark cocoa cookie buttter, and then sprinkled on mini marshmallows. I should have used the small marshmallows instead, as these have that cereal texture. That said, it's close enough.

Amie offered to make s'mores bars. Teasha has a recipe for s'mores dip. I thought they involved too much preparation for my taste. Plus I was already serving s'mores five ways. I didn't want to go crazy on this. Seven ways? That's nuts.
'
S'mores #5: No-bake traditional variation. Once again I used graham crackers, but spread with marshmallow fluff. Kraft sells one using their Jet Puffed brand but as a person who grew up on in New York, I went with Massachusetts-based Fluff, which is the first choice for fluffer nutters. Then I tried to drizzle on chocolate ice cream topping. It didn't come out right, nor did it harden. I read the instructions and it turns out the package needs to be soaked in hot water. Hoping it works better tonight.

It turns out we were not the first event. There was an Eau Claire celebration on Monday Now the pressure is off.

Daniel Halpern talked about The Hearts of Men on NPR last December.

Also, just learned that The Hearts of Men will be reviewed in Sunday's New York Times Book Review. Too early to link, but I'll come back and post it when it's available, which is usually on Thursday.

Are we serving this stuff? Yes we are. If you're honorable. See you tonight at 7, and we'll  have signed copies afterwards.

Boswell's annotated bestsellers--more on staff favorite "Pachinko," "The Flâneuse" pops from a local review, "The Hate U Give" is a buzzed-about YA with a great bookseller rec, and more.

Here's what sold at Boswell last week.

Hardcover Fiction:
1. Mycroft Holmes, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse
2. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
3. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman
4. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
5. Difficult Women, by Roxane Gay
6. Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee
7. A Piece of the World, by Christina Baker Kline
8. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
9. The Refugees, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
10. On Turpentine Lane, by Elinor Lipman

It's the third week in our top ten for Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, and we can thank some great reviews and interviews, plus two staff recs, from Boswellian Jen Steele and myself a bit too. Jen was a very early reader of the book who wrote: "Through it all is a message about love, faith, and the deep-rooted bonds of family. Min Jin Lee gives us a phenomenal story about one family's struggle that resonates to us today." Jean Zimmerman reviewed the book on the NPR website: "We are in Buddenbrooks territory here, tracing a family dynasty over a sprawl of seven decades, and comparing the brilliantly drawn Pachinko to Thomas Mann's classic first novel is not hyperbole." And here's Arifa Akbar in The Financial Times (which no longer has print delivery or distribution in retailers for Wisconsin): "The story that follows is a deeply wrenching one of migration, circling around themes of in-between identities, belonging and acceptance."

Migrant stories are getting extra attention this year because of their timeliness. Expect to see a nice pop in sales next week for the release of Mohsin Hamid's Exit West (more on that book below), and everybody is talking about Lisa Ko's debut, The Leavers, coming in May. As always, you can hold a copy at Boswell here, and you don't have to register or prepay to do this.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Writings on the Wall, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Raymond Obsfeld
2. The Death of Expertise, by Tom Nichols
3. At Mama's Knee, by April Ryan
4. Atari Age, by Michael Z. Newman
5. Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance
6. Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Harari
7. Books for Living, by Will Schwalbe (Event Mon 3/6, 7 pm)
8. The Flâneuse, by Lauren Elkin
9. The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams
10. The Education of Will, by Patricia B. McConnell

New on the list is Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, his follow-up to Sapiens. In The Guardian, David Runciman wrote: "At the heart of this spellbinding book is a simple but chilling idea: human nature will be transformed in the 21st century because intelligence is uncoupling from consciousness...That fact has the potential to change what it means to be human." That's the thesis, here's his take: "This is a very intelligent book, full of sharp insights and mordant wit."

Please note that Elfrieda Abbe, who reviewed this week's bestseller The Flâneuse for the (Journal Sentinel last week, will be at Boswell in conversation with historical novelist Margaret George on Thursday, March 9, 7 pm, for The Confessions of Young Nero. More on that below.

Paperback Fiction:
1. A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
2. The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead
3. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
4. The Summer Before the War, by Helen Simonson
5. The Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly
6. The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
7. The Improbability of Love, by Hannah Rothschild
8. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick
9. Britt Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman
10. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

So many Jane favorites on this list. I wanted to write up The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper again - my new information is that one of our dear Friends of Boswell told us it was her favorite novel of 2016. But instead, let's say a word about Martha Hall Kelly's The Lilac Girls, a World War II historical that hit the hardcover bestseller lists. The starred Library Journal review notes: "It’s apparent that Kelly, who was inspired by real events and people, has done the research necessary to tell this extraordinarily powerful historical story well. She vividly evokes not only the horrors of the gruesome experiments but also the painful realities of trying to survive them and the difficult search for justice and closure afterward."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Brick Through the Window, by Steven Nodine, Eric Beaumont, Clancy Carroll, David Luhrssen
2. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
3. The Family Tree, by Karen Branan
4. Girls Get Curves, by Danica McKellar
5. You Are a Badass, by Jen Sincero
6. Why We March, collected by Artisan
7. 300 Arguments, by Sarah Manguso
8. The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander
9. Daring Greatly, by Brené Brown
10. Lion/A Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley

This is the definition of an independent bookstore--where Danica McKellar's geometry book (Girls Get Curves) gets on the adult bestseller list but the algebra book (Hot X) hits the kids list, and honestly, I don't have the energy to move it around (though it's my error that Curves was counted as an adult book here). It's tricky because the books are published by an adult division publisher but the books are targeted to kids, but not really--there's a feeling that these books are really targeted to their parents and maybe belong in parenting, not teen nonfiction. And there's the coincidental detail that our math section is very close to teen nonfiction and is more heavily shopped. And the result is a little bit of everything. Alas, it's academic as the author didn't sign stock (Insider detail--it's hard to get stock signed at events where we're selling the books but not running the events, so if you want a signed book, you're best off attending.)

At the conference, the book You Are a Badass proved to be even more popular than we expected at the Women Leaders Conference, where we sold books on Friday. Our pile disappeared very quickly. Each attendee who bought a book got a bookmark with information about the ticketed event for You Are a Badass at Making Money on Tuesday, April 25 at Boswell.

Oh, and did I mention we had a very strong first week in paperback for Evicted?

Books for Kids:
1. The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, by Tererai Trent, with illustrations by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
2. What Color Is My World, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obsfeld
3. Here We Are, edited by Kelly Jensen
4. Math Doesn't Suck, by Danica McKellar
5. Sci Fi Junior High, by Scott Seegirt and John Martin (we did school visits--a few signed are available)
6. Goodnight Numbers, by Danica McKellar with illustrations by Alicia Padron
7. Kiss My Math, by Danica McKellar
8. Hot X, by Danica McKellar
9. A Is for Activist, by Innosanto Nagara
10. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Because of all the event books, our sales are quite substantial all the way to #10, where Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give would have been #2 in a non-event week. Both our buyer Amie and Boswellian Teasha are fans of the book. Teasha's take: "With inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement, along with Starr's introspection, Angie Thomas' creates a sentimental, compelling novel that proves that we should always do what is right, even when it is hard." And from Leah Greenblatt at Entertainment Weekly: "The Hate U Give arrives with the kind of frenzied hype—more than a dozen publishing houses battled for the manuscript; the film rights have already been sold—that can easily sink a first-time novelist. But Thomas delivers with supreme style and self-assurance, cannily balancing pointed examinations of gun violence, racial profiling, and political activism with the everyday concerns of ordinary teendom (boys, clothes, the profound embarrassment of watching your parents make out)."

Over at the Journal Sentinel, The TapBooks page has a full slate of reviews this week.

First up is Laura Patten's review of Nickolas Butler's The Hearts of Men. Like me, she's a fan. A big fan! Patten writes: "Within the first few pages of Nickolas Butler’s The Hearts Of Men, our own hearts already feel as if they might break. And repeatedly over 388 pages, they do. But our hearts also drink in this beautiful story of love and courage. Told in four parts spanning 60 years, we grow up with Nelson and watch him turn into the leader he’s destined to become — who the old scoutmaster said he’d become." Butler is at Boswell on Tuesday, November 7, 7 pm.

Next from the Journal Sentinel is Jim Higgins's review of Margaret George's The Confessions of Young Nero. Here's a short excerpt from his review: "With tongue in cheek, the Madison novelist could have titled this coming-of-age story about a young aesthete A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, had James Joyce not already snatched up that title. George's The Confessions of Young Nero traces how a boy who wanted only to learn to play the cithara and watch chariot races grew into the notorious Roman emperor. As she did in earlier novels, including The Autobiography of Henry VIII, Mary Called Magdalene, and Helen of Troy, in Confessions George creates a three-dimensional portrait of a figure that time and popular imagination have reduced to a cartoon." Ms. George will be in conversation with writer, editor, and critic Elfrieda Abbe on Thursday, March 9, 7 pm, at Boswell.

Elfrieda Abbe (see below) has a review in the TapBooks page, of Jami Attenberg's 4th novel, All Grown Up, which comes out on March 7. From Abbe: "Andrea’s friends are all asking her the same question: Has she read the book, the one about being single?...It’s a sly introduction to Jami Attenberg’s protagonist in “All Grown Up, a smart, funny/sad and unflinchingly honest novel about a single New Yorker with a decent career, who lives alone, isn’t that interested in the men she sleeps with, marriage or children, but remains vaguely discontent. What Andrea really wants is to feel good in her own skin." Attenberg is in conversation with Chicago writer Wendy McClure on Wednesday, March 29, 7 pm, at Boswell.

And yes, there's one author reviewed who isn't coming to Boswell, though I should note that Mr. Hamid did come for his last novel, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. For his newest, Exit West, about the journey of two migrants from a war-torn country, the competition was fierce and while we were considered, we didn't make the cut. Cue behind the scenes heartbreak, as Hamid is a fantastic reader and speaker. And of the new book? Mike Fischer reports for the Journal Sentinel that his 4th novel, "For all its sadness, Exit West is a hopeful book. Hamid doesn’t avoid or sugarcoat the heartache and hurt accompanying contradiction and change, as people “all over the world were slipping away from where they had been.” But he also has the courage to accept mortality as inevitable and see change as an opportunity."

Here's Mr. Hamid's tour. I'm really excited as I might be able to attend one of the events. Yes, despite hosting 7 authors in the next 6 days, I can get as excited about these things as anyone.

Part II: Daniel love of "stor-vels," those connected stories with different protagonists that are half story, half novel, and a particularly great one from Elizabeth Strout, "Anything Is Possible," which comes out April 25.

If you follow my reading log and assorted reviews that get posted, you'll know that I love connected narratives. Sometimes they are classified as short stories and sometimes as novels, sometimes they don't have any classification of all. I've started calling them stor-vels.

One writer whose work has sailed under the radar that has written several of these sorts of books is Alice Mattison. The first that comes to mind is Men Giving Money, Women Yelling, which takes place in and around New Haven, and sort of dance around this character Denny. I read this book 20 years ago and still think about it--how many books can you say that about?

The other is called In Case We're Separated, and it's about several generations of a Jewish family. When I realized that the stories were in the form of a sestina, with repeated objects in the stories taking the place of words in a poem, I was bowled over. As one of my friends said to me recently, "There's nothing like a book that's cleverly constructed."

One of my customers had Mattison at a student at his MFA program and spoke as well of her as a teacher as I do of her as a writer.

Another author whose work has a bit of a higher profile is Joan Silber. I've read two of her collections and both of them, Ideas of Heaven and Fools had those connections that make reading a short story collection extra special. In one of them (and remember, I'm not a critic but a bookseller, so I am not going back and reading all these books), I recall a character reading a story, with the next story being about the one the character was reading. Ideas of Heaven also jumped around in time - no limitations and yet completely structurally contained.

Sometimes these stories come together so fully that the work does wind up being a novel, and that's true with two of my favorite works of Boswell era, which I call anything since 2009. Simon Van Booy's The Illusion of Separateness really did start out as stories, but the throughline is so tightly wound that it's' hard to separate out the pieces. At its center are two soldier who meet on the battlefield during World War II, an American and a German, and what happens (or doesn't) reverberates out through the next century. And of course we start at the end, not the beginning.

Another book that's been on my mind of late is Frederick Reiken's Day for Night. I was happy to note that Reiken's first two novels, which I also read, The Lost Legends of New Jersey and The Odd Sea, or still selling well enough to outsell his later book, but it disturbs me that more folks haven't discovered his most recent 1999 novel. I went to Mr. Reiken's website and found a link to the blog post I wrote in 2010 and I link to it again now.

Reiken's story incorporates many things I love about books, the idea that we're all connected (the characters at the heart of the story are a Holocaust survivor doctor and a fugitive radical), how blurry the line can be between good and evil, and how philosophical arguments can play out in so many ways, from playing Dungeons and Dragons to discussing 1984. It's the 1984 piece that got me thinking about the book again, because it has become a huge bestseller again this year in the first year of the Trump presidency. It's back on my rec shelf and my first sale was to someone who'd fallen in love with All My Puny Sorrows, a book that doesn't belong in this post, but nonetheless it seemed to me that someone who liked Toews book would also like Reiken's.

So why am I writing about this? It's because I just recently finished Elizabeth Strout's Anything Is Possible, and while I was reading this terrific novel, or story collection, or whatever it is, all these wonderful feelings I've had when reading these other stor-vels came rushing back to me.

The truth is that it's a companion to My Name Is Lucy Barton, which came out last year. As you may know, that's the story of a writer recalling an incident in 1980s when she was hospitalized for several weeks, and her husband invited her estranged mother from Illinois to visit over several days. Barton had not visited the family in a long time, and slowly we understand exactly what the family dynamic was that led to this. The novel is much about being a writer, and how Barton pushed through her past, but her mom is a larger than life character, who shares stories of the folks from their past and what they are up to.

So Anything Is Possible winds up being about all the different people in Barton's life, and while you'd think it would not work to read the books out of order, it is my contention that it might work better. I love the idea of Barton being peripherally connected to the characters, many of whom grew up in abject poverty, some of whome made it and some of whom didn't. Then there are the folks who were better off, some of whose fortunes' declined. There are stories that are poignant and hopeful and others that are horrifying, but you get so connected to some of the side characters that for me, when the Dottie story finally arrived, I said a gleeful "Eek."

Structurally I am told this new work bears work to Olive Kitteridge, her 2008 work that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. But I wouldn't know because I didn't read it! As I have said before, sometimes a book gets to the point where it doesn't need me anymore and while I still have a curiosity because I feel I should read a book that's so big that it's in part of general conversation, for a number of years, I would shy away from such books for that very reason, too popular!

So Anything Is Possible not a sequel to My Name Is Lucy Barton, but a companion, and honestly, it could have worked for me had there not been a My Name is Lucy Barton at all. But the truth is that there is, so I rushed down to Friend of Boswell Fawn at the Tippecanoe Library (it seemed appropriate to borrow this as Elizabeth Strout is the featured speaker at the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Luncheon) and gobbled it up. No surprise there--it was recommended to me by both Ann Patchett and Elinor Lipman.

To me, this stor-vel is so much about class. I love this moment when the Nicely sisters are talking and neither can understand the other's life. I love the bond that connects Lucy with Abel Blaine. I love being on one side of the bed and breakfast (the visitor) and on the other side (the innkeeper) in another. I love that we know secrets about characters that we still know when they go back to being peripheral. I wonder if the book was written in this order, and whether there are other stories about the Amgash folk that didn't make it in. Maybe you'll share this curiosity. If so, your questions might be answered on May 5, at the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Luncheon.

Anything Is Possible goes on sale April 25. The Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Luncheon is Friday, May 5. Tickets are $70, $60 for Friends members. Purchase your ticket here.

Annoucing the 20th annual Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Lunch featured speaker Elizabeth Strout

Since 2009, we've been working with the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation on the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Luncheon, one of the highlights of any Milwaukee book lover's calendar. I still remember winter 2009, when Schwartz was closing and the author was not yet booked. On my Facebook page showed a message from Leif Enger, saying "Let me know if I can be of any help" and my reply was "How about if you headline a big luncheon this spring?" And so he was featured for the paperback edition of So Brave, Young, and Handsome. Booking events like this don't always go as smoothly.

Since we've been partnering, the Friends have hosted:

2009: Leif Enger
2010: Sue Miller
2011: Donna Leon
2012: Chad Harbach
2013: Elinor Lipman
2014: Shauna Singh Baldwin
2015: Elizabeth Berg
2016: Curtis Sittenfeld

Don't forget, Eligible coming out in paperback on April 18. And the other book titles are the featured titles from selected appearing authors.

I didn't have records of who appeared back when Harry W. Schwartz was partnering, but our friend Kristine offered the complete list!

1998: Jane Hamilton
1999: Lorrie Moore
2000: Mary Gordon
2001: Christina Schwarz
2002: Ruth Reichl
2003: Ann Packer
2004: Mary Higgins Clark
2005: Sue Monk Kidd
2006: Julia Glass
2007: Sara Gruen
2008: Louise Erdrich

So I'm sure you're wondering who had the highest attendance since this has started. It was Ruth Reichl! And I had particular fun typing up this list as I realized there are very few authors on this list I haven't read, but I was in the process of crossing off one right now. I'm reading my first Mary Gordon, There Your Heart Lies, as I write this. She'll be at Boswell on Wednesday, May 17, 7 pm, by the way..

So of course our challenge was to find an author that we think has a chance of beating the record, and I think the Friends and the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation has found that person in Elizabeth Strout.

1. Ms. Strout is the first featured author to have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. We triple checked this because I thought Erdrich had been awarded this prestigious honor, but while she has won both the National Book Critics Circle Award (for Love Medicine) and the National Book Award (for The Round House), she has yet (and I stress yet!) to be awarded the Pulitzer.

2. Strout has not appeared at a Milwaukee or Schwartz-related event (I'm assuming she did not come for a university visit or nonprofit fundraiser) since 2006, since she read at one of the Schwartz stores for her second novel, Abide with Me.

3. Olive Kitteridge is one of those books that had pretty small sales for the Downer Schwartz store in 2008 (what the heck? I have the number so I'll tell you it was four). But after looking at our sales, in all the various editions we've had it (yes, including at least one shipment of bargain books), we've now sold over 500 copies! That's a lot of people loving Olive Kitteridge.

4. While Strout's next two books did not sell quite as many copies, most writers would love the success of The Burgess Boys and My Name is Lucy Barton. The latter was on the short recommendation lists of two recent Boswell attendees, Ann Patchett and Elinor Lipman.

So now we are excited to announce that Elizabeth Strout will be appearing at the Wisconsin Club as the featured author of the Friends of the Milwaukee Public Library Literary Luncheon on Friday, May 5. Tickets are $70, including lunch and a copy of Ms. Strout's latest work, Anything Is Possible, or $60 for Friends members. Here is more info including how to order your ticket.

It would be so great if we could beat the record with Elizabeth Strout. Tomorrow I'll tell you more about her new book, Anything Is Possible, which goes on sale April 25.

Events blast off: Michael Newman on videogames, Kelly Jensen and Mikki Kendall offer advice to young feminists, Christina Baker Kline on "Christina's World" at the Lynden, Will Schwalbe's reading list, and Nickolas Butler multi-generational story set at Scout camp

Here's a preview of upcoming Boswell events:

Tuesday, February 28, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Michael Newman, author of Atari Age: The Emergence of Video Games in America.

From Michael Z. Newman, Associate Professor and Chair of UWM's Department of Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies, comes a book about the emergence of video games in America, from ball-and-paddle games to hits like Space Invaders and Pac Man. Atari Age shows their relationship to other amusements and technologies, and how they came to be identified with middle class, youth, and masculinity.

From Atari Age: "Video games' identity was established within a cluster of contexts. The arcade and home of the 1970s and early '80s were distinct spaces, and in some ways opposites. In popular imagination, as we have seen, the arcade was a potentially threatening destination frequented especially by teenage boys. It was assocaiated with pinball, an amusement with a historically low cultural reputation associated with gamblers and crime, situated within a masculinized public sphere unless banned, as it was in many cities. The home, by contrast, was idealized as a sanctuary of safety and comfort for the family, a feminized public sphere....This masculine character of video games would always be in tension with the settings in which games were typically experienced."

From Al Alcorn, developer of Pong: "Atari Age examines the impact early video games had on culture and their effects both positive and negative on society. Michael Newman chronicles a history of early games and how their nature and focus created an acceptance of computer technology by society at large. The tension between the positive and negative aspects of the new medium are well illustrated by showing how arcades evolved from dark unsavory places to clean welcoming places that women might frequent. This is a fascinating and well-researched book that is sure to be important in the history of video games.”

Thursday, March 2, 7:00 pm at Boswell:
Kelly Jensen, editor of, and Mikki Kendall, contributor to Here We Are: 44 Voices Write, Draw, and Speak about Feminism for the Real World.

From Laurie Halse Anderson to Roxane Gay, Courtney Summers and more, 44 writers, dancers, actors, and artists, contribute essays, lists, poems, comics, conversations, and illustrations about everything from body positivity to romance to gender identity to intersectionality to the greatest girl friendships in fiction. Together, they share diverse perspectives on and insights into what feminism means and what it looks like.

From Mikki Kendall's "Facets of Feminism": "My feminism is rooted in the women who raised me and the celebrities and historical figures I looked up to as a kid. Strong women who, even if they never explicitly called themselves feminists, certainly worked toward racial and gender equality. Josephine Baker, Queen Latifah, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and so many other strong women influenced my approach to feminism. They taught me that working toward equality meant taking as many roads as were available, and foraging new ones whenever necessary."

Mikki Kendall is a writer, diversity consultant, and facilitates discussions on intersectionality, policing, gender, sexual assault, and other current events. Kelly Jensen is a former librarian-turned-editor for Book Riot and Stacked. She's the author of It Happens: A Guide to Contemporary Realistic Fiction for the YA Reader.

Sunday, March 5, 2:00 pm reception 2:30 pm talk at Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W Brown Deer Rd, produced by Milwaukee Reads:
A ticketed event with Christine Baker Kline, author of A Piece of the World

Bestselling author of Orphan Train, delivers a novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth. A Piece of the World is the story of Christina Olson, the complex woman and real-life muse Andrew Wyeth portrayed in his 1948 masterpiece Christina’s World. The painting — which features a mysterious woman in a pink dress sitting in a field, gazing at a weathered house in the distance - is an iconic piece of American art and hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of their permanent collection.

From Christine Brunkhorst's review in the Star Tribune: "As Christina tells the story, as her young and old selves converge, there is a steady progression, a sort of painful trek along a dark and narrowing path. But when Wyeth appears — with his vivacious wife, Betsy, and his gift of observing the world — the landscape brightens, and there is light in Christina’s world...Like Wyeth’s paintings, this is a vivid novel about hardscrabble lives and prairie grit and the seemingly small but significant beauties found there."

Tickets for this event are $30 and $25 for members, and include a book, admission to the grounds, and light refreshments. For more details and purchasing information please visit the Lynden Sculpture Garden’s website or call 800-446-8794

Monday, March 6, 7:00 pm at Boswell:
Will Schwalbe, author of Books for Living.

From the author of the beloved best-selling The End of Your Life Book Club, an inspiring and magical exploration of the power of books to shape our lives in an era of constant connectivity. Why is it that we read? Is it to pass time? To learn something new? To escape from reality? For Will Schwalbe, reading is a way to entertain himself but also to make sense of the world, to become a better person, and to find the answers to the big and small questions about how to live his life.

From Tim O'Connell in the Florida Times Union: "Books for Living is such a personal book. In it, author Will Schwalbe tells us how certain books added to and changed his life. The authors of these books were his teachers, they offered solutions to his problems and he is forever the grateful student. He is the consummate bibliophile, one who has to have books to live. 'I believe that everything you need to know you can find in a book.' Throughout, Schwalbe focuses on the way certain books can help us honor those we’ve loved and lost and figure out how to live each day more fully. Rich with stories and recommendations, Books for Living is a treasure for everyone who loves books and loves to hear the answer to the question: 'What are you reading?'"

In addition to his books, Will Schwalbe has worked in publishing at William Morrow, Hyperion, and Flatiron, is the founder and CEO of Cookstr.com, has worked as a journalist.

Schwalbe and I will be guests on The Kathleen Dunn Show on Monday, March 6, 2 pm, with host Kate Archer Kent.

Tuesday, March 7, 7:00 pm at Boswell:
Nickolas Butler, author of The Hearts of Men.

An epic novel of intertwining friendships and families set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at a beloved Boy Scout summer camp from the bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs. Camp Chippewa, 1962. Nelson Doughty, age thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan.

From Nick Butler's interview with Mike Harvkey in Publishers Weekly, when asked if The Hearts of Men is a lament: "Clearly we’re in danger of losing the natural world—and our connection to the natural world, which is maybe what’s hurrying its demise. Over the last five years I’ve been interested in Japanese poetry, and samurai and other warrior cultures, and thinking about what it means to have a code of conduct or morality. I wonder if in our own society having a code is even possible anymore. Or what people would think of you if you told them you had a code. It’s not that I’m dogmatic or politically conservative by any stretch, but I think it’s commendable for a person to have a vision for how they want to live their life."

This is such a great book and apparently, I am one of Butler's biggest fans, as I got the Indie Next quote for the second Butler novel in a row, this time for The Hearts of Men. Here's the list of Indie Next reviews for March, including mine, which we reprinted last Friday.

Now that the event is coming up, I have been thinking about camp and nature and all the creative things I could have done for this event. But we are serving s'mores, or a variation thereof, since I have no campfire at Boswell.

Oh, and if you didn't read it, here's my blog post about my two stints in the Boy Scouts.

And don't forget that we're selling books at Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's event at the Milwaukee Theater, also on Thursday, March 2, 7 pm, This event is sponsored by UWM's Muslim Student Assocation and Student Involvement. Tickets are $20 general admission at the door, with discounts for students and advance purchase. And yes, a signing will follow, but please note there are signing restrictions. Mr. Abdul-Jabbar will only sign hardcover editions of his books. Boswell will be providing three recent titles for sale.  More info here.

Annotated Boswell bestsellers for the week ending February 25, 2017

Here's what sold at Boswell last week.

Hardcover Fiction:
1. On Turpentine Lane, by Elinor Lipman (signed copies available)
2. Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
3. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman (OK, this week it's in fiction)
4. Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee (2nd week in our top 10!)
5. News of the World, Paulette Jiles
6. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
7. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
8. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, by Kathleen Rooney
9. Difficult Women, by Roxane Gay
10. Autumn, by Ali Smith

Several of the authors on this week's list have come to Milwaukee for previous books. Roxane Gay came for both her novel, An Untamed State, and her first collection of essays, Bad Feminist. I'm pretty sure that George Saunders came to Schwartz for one of his story collections many years ago. I might spend a little time going through old newsletters to find the event. But it's Kathleen Rooney who we congratulate this week for her breakout novel, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk. Rooney appeared with her childhood friend Julia Azari (whom you are probably regularly hearing as a political commentator) for her previous novel O Democracy! Here's Yvonne Zipp's review of the book, a fictionalized reimagination of a Macy's copywriter looking back on her life, in the Christian Science Monitor.

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. The Education of Will, by Patricia B. McConnell
2. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond (on sale in paperback 2/28)
3. Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance
4. Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods, by John Gurda
5. Books for Living, by Will Schwalbe (event 3/6, 7 pm)
6. When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi
7. Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari
8. The Blood of Emmett Till, by Timothy B. Tyson
9. The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben
10. The Little Book of Hygge, by Meik Wiking

Speaking of former guests, back when I was at Schwartz, we hosted Timothy B. Tyson for Blood Done Sign My Name, which I read at the time, and I seem to remember that one of my former bookselling colleagues had studied under him at UW. It's all a bit of a blur, but if so, it's a neat memory to transition into his new book, The Blood of Emmett Till, which Leonard Pitts Jr. described in the Miami Herald as "a work critical not just to our understanding of something that happened in America in 1955 but of what happens in America here and now."

Paperback Fiction:
1. The Intuitionist, by Colson Whitehead (thank you Carl at UWM!)
2. A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
3. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur
4. The Waters of Eternal Youth V25, by Donna Leon
5. The Drifter, by Nick Petrie
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. The Sellout, by Paul Beatty (In-store Lit Group, 3/6, 6 pm)
8. Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty
9. Journey to Munich V12, by Jacqueline Winspear
10. Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Arthur C Clarke Award winner)

Two of the most popular mystery writers at Boswell have paperback pops this week. From Donna Leon comes her 25th Guido Brunetti mystery, The Waters of Eternal Youth, of which, Sam Coale wrote in the Providence Journal: "The solution's a real surprise, but completely plausible and insidiously set up. Leon has done it again. And her Venice gleams and bristles with a new tale of lust, betrayal and revenge." And USA Today's Robert Bianco wrote up Jacqueline Winspear's Journey to Munich, noting "If you’ve ever read and loved a Maisie Dobbs mystery, and the two tend to go together, you should rush to buy Journey to Munich. And if you haven’t, well, this Journey, wonderful as it is, may not be the best place to start."

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. My Two Elaines, by Martin Schreiber
2. Daring Greatly, Brené Brown
3. For the Love of a Dog, by Patricia B. McConnell
4. The Other End of the Leash, by Patricia B. McConnell
5. Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson
6. Brick Through the Window, by Steven Nodine, Eric Beaumont, Clancy Carroll, and David Luhrrsen
7. In Other Words, by Jhumpa Lahiri
8. You Are a Badass, by Jen Sincero (ticketed event 4/25, 7 pm)
9. Hope in the Dark, by Rebecca Solnit
10. Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Patricia B. McConnell is responsible for four books on this week's bestseller lists, not just her three books but also Daring Greatly, the book she was recommending at her talk. It turns out that attendees didn't even wait for her to talk about the book, but bought it just by hearing that it was McConnell's pick. Her TED Talk on The Power of Vulnerability has had over 28 million hits in seven years.

Books for Kids:
1. Two Friends, by Dean Robbins, with illustrations by Susan Qualls and Selina Alko
2. Miss Paul and the President, by Dean Robbins, with illustrations by Nancy Zhang
3. Can One Balloon Make an Elephant Fly, by Dan Richards, with illustrations by Jeff Newman
4. The Boys, written and illustrated by Jeff Newman
5. Dog Man Unleashed V2, by Dav Pilkey
6. Mighty Mighty Construction Site, by Sherri Duskey Rinker, with illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld
7. The Crayons Book of Colors, by Drew Daywalt, with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
8. The Day the Crayons Came Home, by Drew Daywalt, with illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
9. That's Me Loving You, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, with illustrations by Teagan White
10. The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown

Wow are our kids bestsellers (that's books for kids, not belonging to kids, which is why I don't use the apostrophe) skewing young. Eight of our top 10 are picture books with one middle grade and one early chapter book rounding out the list. Just out is Mighty Mighty Construction Site, the follow up to Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site. This one has a focus on team building. Interestingly the original came out before The Day the Crayons Quit, which already has had a sequel out for a year. Next up in the picutre book sequel game is Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, which is out in May.

Over at the Journal Sentinel, Elfrieda Abbe reviews Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, Tokyo, Venice, and London, by Lauren Elkin. This is the story of one woman's own walks and a historical look at famous walking women. Abbe, who will be at Boswell on March 9 in conversation with Margaret George, notes that the book is "Richly layered with references to books, art and film, the writing meanders from place to place and time frame to time frame. But as an excursion of discovery, it’s an engaging, often surprising, read about women who knew the “liberating possibilities of a good walk.” Flâneuse comes out February 28.

Also at the Journal Sentinel, Erin Kogler reviews Otherwise Known as Possum, a novel for readers 8 and older, written by the late Maria D. Laso, who died of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's the story of a young woman who, grieving for her mom and baby brother, has to go to school for the first time. Kogler's case: "Laso’s book, written in first person from Possum’s perspective during the 1930s, includes a lovely, well drawn cast of characters. Possum Porter is a spunky, intelligent, and thoughtful heroine. It’s difficult not to draw comparisons between Possum and Harper Lee’s Scout. Both are the reporters of their story, and both draw connections and make observations without fully understanding the weight of the circumstances."

And finally, there is Jim Higgins reviews the reissue of Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books, by Leonard S. Marcus. Hear from Higgins: "It's a fascinating American business story. Initially, many librarians and booksellers looked down their noses at Little Golden Books, which sold for a budget-priced 25 cents, so Western and its partners made strenuous efforts to get books into other outlets, such as department stores. Western came close to treating the books as commodities that filled slots rather than individual works of creativity. Yet this distinctly commercial enterprise produced many lasting gems."