 Boswell Book Company
2559 North Downer Avenue at Webster Place
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211
(414) 332-1181, boswellbooks.com
Monday-Saturday, 9 AM - 9 PM, Sunday, 10 AM - 6 PM |
| Boswell Book Company Newsletter | #32 July 23, 2010 | |
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| In This Issue |
| :: Justin Kramon, Tonight 7/23 | | :: Arthur Allen, Sun. 7/25 | | :: Steven Polansky, Thurs 7/29 | | :: Michael Clemens, Thurs. 8/5 | | :: Glenn Sheldon, Mon. 8/9 | | :: Adam Schuitema, Thurs. 8/12 | | :: Marilyn McKnight, Sun. 8/15 | | :: Pat Dillon and Lynne Diebel, Wed. 8/18 | | :: Denise Du Vernay, Sat. 8/21 | | :: Michael Trinklein, Mon. 8/23 | | :: New Boswell's Best for Kids | | :: Fall Book Preview | | :: Pecha Kucha, Tues. 8/17 at Sugar Maple | | :: New Gift Ideas | | :: More Upcoming Events | | :: Book Club Updates |
| Greetings!
We're excited to be the bookstore of record for David Sedaris' appearance at the Riverside Theatre, cosponsored by WUWM, on Saturday, October 23rd, at 8 PM. Tickets for the general public go on sale today, Friday, July 23rd, at Noon. Here's more information about the event:
"Join David on October 23, 2010 at 8:00PM for an evening of readings and recollections featuring all-new, unpublished readings. And meet him after the show for a special book signing. Get your tickets here." |
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Late Edition
Detours on the East Side.
As you may have heard, part of North Avenue is closed to traffc, due to a sinkhole on Oakland and North. Lake Drive is open, as is Locust and Maryland. Our neighborhood is fine, and we're looking forward to seeing you. |
Debut Novelist Justin Kramon Offers a Modern Take on Dickens Meet the Author on Friday, July 23rd, at 7 PM, and Share Finny's Journey.
Things are not always what they appear to  be in Kramon's novel, Finny, and part of Delphine "Finny" Short's maturing experience is to learn how to see below the surface.
Publishers Weekly offered this praise: "Kramon takes on a number of familiar coming-of-age plots--small-town fish-out-of-water adolescence, frustrated first love, boarding school friendships, big city escapes--and pulls it all off with flair and humor."
And here's a great write-up in the Boston Globe: " Finny is lighter social commentary than David Copperfield, but more relevant to the way we live today, the way we face death, disloyalty, and hardship. He's not quite in Dickens' league - who is? - but Kramon is a talented young author, and Finny a worthy read, and a dickens of a first novel." Read more! |
A Tasty, Vine-ripened Talk
Hear Arthur Allen Discuss the Search for the Perfect Tomato on Sunday, July 25th, at 2 PM, in Conjunction with Our Green Market.
 In Arthur Allen's new book, Ripe: The Search for the Perfect Tomato, you can follow the tomato from farm to table, perhaps via a chamber that gasses them into ripeness. The story of the tomato is one of trying to preserve flavor in the age of mass production.
Journalist Allen looks at the history of breeding, today's hybridization, and the controversial work on gene splicing.  But there's a visit to heirloom farmers too.
Don't forget that we have the Green Market going on outside our doors from 2 to 6 PM on Sunday afternoons. |
What if the Next Breakthrough in Health Care was Keeping a Clone to Harvest Parts?
 Steven Polansky Offers His Chilling Vision on Thursday, July 29th, 7 PM.
Steven Polansky's novel The Bradbury Report imagines a future where colonies of clones solve our health care problems. But what if you were asked to harbor a fugitive clone, and that clone was a younger version of you? Here's what the deputy book editor of the Los Angeles Times said: "Polansky's story feels familiar and new all at the same time, and perhaps it should go, like the Steampunks, on a shelf of its own."
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Years Later, Questions Still Linger Michael Clemens Offers His  Authoritative Take on Abu Ghraib on Thursday, August 5th, 7 PM.
Former military police officer and Abu Ghraib special investigator Michael Clemens offers an insider's look at the Abu Ghraib trial and aftermath. The author, now a Milwaukee-area federal  agent, has received much attention for The Secrets of Abu Ghraib Revealed: American Soldiers on Trial. Who were the soldiers? Were administration officials involved? Were the soldiers following orders? Clemens offers his answers in a talk at Boswell on Thursday, August 5th.
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Poet Does Not Necessarily Scare Birds
Find Out for Yourself When Poet Glenn  Sheldon Appears at Boswell on Monday, August 9th, 7 PM.
Widely-published poet and University of Toledo professor Glenn Sheldon teaches a course called "Food and Eating in U.S. Culture." He is the author of a critical monograph called South of Ourselves (we likely won't have  this unless you pre-order, as it's a textbook) and Bird Scarer, a collection of poems. |
Adam Schuitema, Freshwater Boys
Thursday, August 12th, 7 PM.
 Inspired by Stuart Dybek's The Coast of Chicago, Schuitema's Freshwater Boys offers stories from the other side of the lake about boys becoming men and men finding the boy within themselves.
Schuitema notes in a recent interview in the Detroit Free-Press, "Like most Michiganders, I take a lot of pride in the Great Lakes," says Schuitema. "I'm drawn to writers who tap into their regional settings and I wanted to do that with my writing."
 Milwaukee writer Susan Engberg offers this praise: "The boys, young and old, in Adam Schuitema's excellent, kinetic, acutely rendered stories plunge into the rituals of their tribe and discover life-shaking forces of nature and spirit."
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Marilyn McKnight's A Lifetime of Reading Project
Come Share Your Favorites on Sunday, August 15th, at 2 PM.
I've been told that one of the most popular show formats for Wisconsin Public Radio is when listeners get to share their favorite books. (I've linked to Kathleen's Dunn July 14th program with this format; her most recent). Here's another opportunity to let the world know about your favorites.
 Join retired educator Marilyn McKnight as she shares her project, "A Lifetime of Reading." Folks of all ages will be encouraged to share the three books most meaningful to them. McKnight will explain the project and offer the podium to attendees. A book compilation project is in the works and McKnight is looking for folks to include in the book. It might be you. |
The Urban Ecology Center and Boswell Want You to Travel Green
Let Pat Dillon and Lynne Diebel Show You How, at Boswell, on Wednesday, August 18th, at 7 PM.
 "Dine at independent, locally owned eateries that serve up delicious fare grown and raised by farmers right down the road. Overnight at peaceful inns that sponsor workshops on topics ranging from cheese-making to sustainability. Scour markets that sell locally foraged mushrooms, berries, and syrups as  well as arts and crafts created by local artisans. Bicycle through southern Wisconsin, stopping at small-scale farms where travelers are not only welcome but encouraged to visit."
Both authors, independent writers who've written travel columns and books, will be on hand to discuss what went into the book, and offer their great finds to attendees.
 This event is at Boswell, but the Urban Ecology Center will have a table with information on upcoming events, including the eat local challenge, including a book discussion on Tuesday, September 14th, at 7 PM, at the Urban Ecology Center. We'll be laugh our way through Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon's Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet. |
Back to School with The Simpsons
Denise Du Vernay Educates You on  Adding Springfield to Your Instruction on Saturday, August 21st, 2 PM.
The book is The Simpsons in the Classroom, written with Karma Waltonen. The authors show how The Simpsons can offer students a familiar knowledge base which instructors can use as a jumping-off point to introduce concepts ranging from literature composition to  linguistics, the humanities, cultural studies, gender studies, and media appreciation. Exercises, prompts and even syllabi make up this book, which makes me want to say "Cowabunga", only Bart stopped saying that about ten years ago. |
Deep in the Heart of Texxxxxlahoma!  Michael Trinklein Shares Stories of the States that Never Made it Off the Cutting Room Floor on Monday, August 23rd, 7 PM.
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EVENTS ELSEWHERE, AND MORE |
Kids Picks From Amie
New Titles to Share with Your Young Ones, or Hog for Yourself.
The Books of Elsewhere: The Shadows by Jacqueline West (Dial)
 Eleven-year-old Olive thinks there's something weird about the crumbling old mansion on Linden Street--especially the creepy antique paintings--and she's right. When she finds a pair of old, unusual glasses, she discovers she can travel inside the paintings to Elsewhere, a world full of secrets. There she meets the annoying Morton, a small boy with a big temper. Soon, Olive is caught up in a plan darker and more dangerous than she has ever imagined, and it's up to her to save the house from the shadows--before the lights go out for good. Publisher Price: $16.99
Boswell's Best Price: $13.59
Nomansland by Lesley Hauge (Henry Holt). On an island of only women, who is  the real enemy? Sometime in the future, after wars and fires have devastated the earth, a lonely, windswept island in the north is populated solely by women. Among them is a group of teenage Trackers--expert equestrians and archers--who are in training to protect their shores from the enemy. The enemy, they've been told, is men. Bookseller Jocelyn says " Nomansland is the best teen novel of this year. Period."
Publisher's Price: $16.99
Boswell's Best Price: $13.59
by Lois Ehlert (Beach Lane).
In this colorful picture book, Lois Ehlert's abstract paper constructions, paired with rhymes, show kids how the spots and stripes on animals help them in their worlds. "When a toad/jumps in the air,/it shows off/spotted underwear." "Chameleons can alter/the colors of their skin/to camouflage/the spot they're in." Lots of Spots will help kids will notice even more about their favorite animals--and perhaps a few new ones.
Publisher's Price: $17.99
Boswell's Best Price: $14.39
Thanks to Rebecca for writing these up! |
Fall is Coming! Fall is Coming!
Also Known As
Our Buyer Jason is Very Excited About a Few Books Coming Out in September. Reserve One Today!
 Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (FSG). It has been a while since Franzen has had a new novel, and The Corrections is a hard act to follow up. Franzen has done it though, in his new novel, Freedom. It is everything you loved about The Corrections-classic Franzen, only more. It is a novel about the dysfunctional Berglund family, Walter, Patty, and their two kids. Franzen quickly shows the demise of the Berglunds, then slowly reveals all the new challenges they have to withstand, capturing the anxiety of our age with a hilarious and honest portrayal of his characters' shuffling through their actions.
on sale 8/31
 The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking (Bantam). Stephen Hawking is back, with a look at how the universe was designed. He merges philosophy and science together in an attempt to find the answers to questions such as 'How did the Universe Begin?' or 'Is there a Grand Design?' These are not meant to be comfortable or easy questions to answer, but they are supposed to challenge our scientific beliefs and concept of reality.
on sale 9/7
C by Tom McCarthy (Knopf). Tom McCarthy (author of Remainder) is the odd author out here, not being nearly as well known as the two above, but C packs a punch, though subtly. It is the story of Serge, it the story of his father's obsession with wireless communication at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Throughout the novel, from Serge's involvement in World War I to the deserts of Egypt, there are symbols and codes via sound and silence that are just as fascinating as the plot which pushes the entire book to a thrilling conclusion.
on sale 9/7
Reserve any of these books by e-mail or by phone, and we'll call you when it arrives. |
Pecha Kucha #8, For Good
Tuesday, August 17th,8pm at Bay View's Sugar Maple Tavern.
This will be a special one. In conjunction  with Be Good Go Local, Milwaukee's 8th PechaKucha Night will focus on presentations by Milwaukeeans working for GOOD. From green initiatives to social justice, come hear what people in this city are doing to create positive change - locally, and throughout the world. Featuring Howard Hinterhuer, Gigi Pomerantz, Jennifer Dellegrazio, Teig Whaley-Smith, Mario Hall, Kate Lundeen, Jay Salinas, Ron Doetch, Julie Courtright, and more. Shopkeeper Ken will be "spinning recycled  wax*" before and after presentations. It's all at Sugar Maple, where Lincoln, Howell, and KK intersect in Bay View. Remember to bring $10 or you won't be let in the door.
*To find out what this means, you'll have to show up at the event! |
Life Beyond Books. Can I be Serious?
But Yes, Here are Some of Our Hot Gift Ideas.
A week doesn't go by where we don't get a lovely compliment on our card  selection. Is that too many negatives? Then I will counter that with a shout out to Positively Green, a line we just brought in consisting of green manufactured products featuring a 10%-of-profits donation to environmentally friendly groups. As in all other things, except perhaps in reality, I'm particularly fond of the ladybugs. Coming soon,  more letterpress cards from Night Owl.
Folks seem to really enjoy our wooden postcards from Spitfire Girl, so we decided to bring in the bookmarks too. We've got about a dozen styles, hand-picked by Anne, Stacie, Jocelyn, and myself.
The animal house table has been browsing central. A dorm room, a new apartment or  house, an office space can certainly be freshened up with a panda shredder, a mouse house, or mouse in a teacup paper clip holder. Our latest edition are animal leather banks. We sold through the smaller sizes so quickly that we expanded to larger ones, now with camels, frogs, toucans, and a fine assortment of cats.
 Our most popular item continues to be the Eyebod eyeglass holder. Not only have we gone through dozens of this goofy stand (available in blue, green, and a frosty clear), but I think our sales of glasses have also picked up. We just restocked.
And for those looking for a deal, the dragonfly, hummingbird, and butterfly wind chimes are now 25% off their original price ($14.96 each).
For kids, we've been going through displays of the Colorsphere Wonderball with  regularity. We've got new Folkmanis hand and finger puppets in, including ladybugs (surprise). And we've got new Eric Carle baby chimes and rattles. |
Saturday's Bike Race (July 24th)
Park South of Bradford, Street Closures Likely.
The 40th Annual Great Downer Avenue International Bike Race is this Saturday. With the races starting at 5:45 PM, expect to park south of us by about 3 PM or so. More here. |
More Events to Enjoy
Mark Your Calendars.
Wednesday, August 25th, 7 PM.
Wednesday, September 1st, 7 PM
Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The story behind the woman whose tumorous cells let to numerous medical breakthroughs, and her family who got left behind.
Wednesday, September 8th, 7 PM
Thursday, September 9th, 7 PM
Look for upcoming info about Michele Norris's event at Alverno College, plus Mona Simpson, Tucker Max, Dennis McCann (at a cemetery!), Neal Pollack, Joshua Ferris, Elizabeth Kostova, Benjamin Percy, Joseph Skibell, Nicole Krauss, Ian Frazier at MPL, Myla Goldberg at the JCC, and more. It's going to be a great Fall! |
Book Club Update Our Monday Evening Book Clubs Always Welcome New Members.
Monday, August 2nd, 7 PM
 In-Store Lit Group with Daniel
Monday, August 9th, 7 PM
Science Fiction with Jason and JocelynDarwinia, by Robert Charles Wilson
Monday, August 16th, 7:30 PM
Monday, August 23rd, 7 PM
Monday, August 30th
In-store Lit Group, Special Night
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More Book Talk with Kathleen Dunn
And Rhonda, and Kryssy, and Lots of Callers.
As always, thanks for your support!
Daniel, with Amie, Anne, Bev, Carl, Conrad, Greg, Jason, Jocelyn, Mark, Pam, Rebecca, Sharon, and Stacie. |
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Read 
Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It
senator's enduring legacy.
better than the Wisconsin Historical Society?
Stein
Last week Dennis Uhlig, of 