Greetings!

Another day, another email template, it appears. I was sternly warned to stop copying old newsletters to create each new newsletter, so now we've created a template, which we will save. But you're not reading this to hear me vent; you want to know about new books. Surprisingly enough, we have a bunch, starting with fiction.

The #1 Indie Next pick for May is Rachel Simon's The Story of Beautiful Girl (Grand Central) This novel is about a young mixed-race couple in love in 1960's Africa, languishing in a school for the incurable and feebleminded, and the child they leave behind with an area schoolteacher. Anne calls this "A wonderful story, a fascinating look at what happens to improperly-diagnosed, underestimated people." Simon's novel is riding the wave of cameo covers, jump-started by Little Bee of course. List: $24.99, Boswell's Best: $19.99.

Speaking of bookseller quotes, there is no end of enthusiasm at Boswell for Doc, the new novel by Mary Doria Russell (Random House). Jason raves about Doc, declaring it "brilliant." Here's more: "The Doc Holiday in Doc is not the lanky, pale, cold-blooded killer that history, and a few of my favorite movies, has deemed him to be. Mary Doria Russell pulls back the layers of myth and legend to discover the truth of Doc Holiday." Next Chapter in Mequon is hosting Mary Doria Russell on Wednesday, May 25. Details here. List: $26.00, Boswell's Best: $20.80.

Upcoming Events at Boswell 

Tonight (Wednesday, May 4) at 7 pm, we're hosting acclaimed writers Alexander MacLeod and Clark Blaise to Boswell at 7 pm. Alexander MacLeod's celebrated first collection, Light Lifting, offers us a suite of darkly urban and unflinching elegies that explore the depths of the psyche and channel the divide between Canada and the United States. In The Meagre Tarmac, Blaise offers up an Indo-American Canterbury Tales, a suite of intimately linked stories about the trials and tribulations of several generations of Indo-Americans, grappling with the changing nature of race relations in post 9-11 America and the spectre (and reality) of terrorism.

MacLeod, shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and Blaise, shortlisted for everything else, are what we call writer's writers. So that means if you don't show up, you're not really a writer...which could be troubling to your psyche.

And I just learned from Mr. Blaise that he taught here many years ago, where he lived with his wife and child on Bellevue Place. Let's welcome him a long-lost friend back to Milwaukee!

What are you doing at 4 pm on Thursday, May 5? If you're a kid or a kid's book lover, you might be coming to Boswell to see Mo Willems. He'll be reading from his new books, Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator and I Broke my Trunk, the new Elephant and Piggie book.

And yes, there are some restrictions, which I should tell you now. Mr. Willems cannot sign memorabilia, due to signing restrictions, and plush and board books, due to the tendency of kids to put these things in their mouths. If you buy a book from us, you can get a book personalized from home.  We'll have line letters, and if we somehow hit capacity, we'll line folks up outside. Oh, and one other thing--please no flash photography.

Willems will be signing until 6 pm, after which we clean up for Carsten Jensen, author of the Danish masterpiece, We the Drowned, appearing Thursday, May 5 at 7 pm. This is Jason's favorite book of 2011, and it's an honor to be hosting the author of, as we like to say in Danish, Vi, de Druknede.

We the Drowned is the story of the port town of Marstal, whose inhabitants have sailed the world's oceans aboard freight ships for centuries. Despite the countless dangers, the sea continues to lure generations of Marstal men away from home and into terror and violence. Left behind are the women: strong and resilient, they must raise large families alone and sometimes take history into their own hands. There are cannibals here, shrunken heads, prophetic dreams, forbidden passions, cowards, heroes, devastating tragedies, and miraculous survivals--everything that a town like Marstal has actually experienced.

Stacie has put a video together of two fans of the book in a heated book discussion. You may recognize these guys from "skinny vanilla latte" and "where's the bathroom?"

On Friday, May 6 at 7 pm, we're hosting Nathaniel Philbrick, acclaimed historian and author of Mayflower and In the Heart of the Sea. His new book, The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. We're hosting this event with Reclaiming Our Heritage, organizers of the Civil War Reenactment going on at VA Medical Center on June 4 and 5. More information here.

Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

Our buyer Jason had this to say, having read The Last Stand when it first came out in hardcover: "Nathaniel Philbrick presents to us much more than just Custer's last stand, but he gets inside the head of Custer and shows you what really made him tick. To really understand all the decisions that Custer made during that fateful battle, Philbrick connects all of his political relationships and ambitions. Even the distress his troops were experiencing influenced events, and this is the brillance of the book, Philbricks ability to piece together all these threads to give us a spectacular view of this disaster."

And on Saturday, May 7, at 2 pm, we're joined by Alex Bledsoe, author of Dark Jenny, a genre hybrid that's been receiving glowing praise for an innovative mix of high fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. In this new installment, wisecracking sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse finds himself the prime suspect in a shocking political crime-with the fate of an entire kingdom in his hands. I chatted with Bledsoe on the phone, only to find out he is a big fan of...Nathaniel Philbrick!  We're getting a copy signed for him. If you'd like to order a signed copy, call us at (414) 332-1181 or email us.

Sunday, May 8, 2 pm we present Dalya Massachi, author of Writing to Make a Difference.  A step-by-step guide to using writing in an effective manner that will help your organization become more successful, Writing to Make a Difference is separated into 25 accessible sections with pertinent information presented in a fun, light-hearted way. Tips and techniques include a strategic overview on how to jump-start a writing project, how to stress socially responsible content without sacrificing professionalism, pointers for editing, writing across cultures, meeting tight deadlines, and more.

Massachi is the founder of Writing for Community Success, which specializes in helping professionals in the social sector advance their missions through outstanding written materials. I'll bet you know someone who'd love some pointers in this area.  Please help spread the word!

On Monday, May 9, join us in welcoming Matthew Algeo, award-winning journalist, who has reported from three continents for Public Radio's All Things Considered. Author of Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure, his talk will focus on the new book, The President is A Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth.

Meticulously researched, conversationally written and endlessly engaging, The President is a Sick Man is an account of an extraordinary and largely unknown chapter in American history when Grover Cleveland disappeared for five days. It's no surprise that our buyer Jason is a fan. "Matthew Algeo highlights a forgotten part of American History and fills it with all kinds of great, lost American trivia--I found myself that much more aware of how politics and newspapers used to war with each other over public opinion."

On Tuesday, May 10, at 4 pm, we're welcoming Mark Kurlansky to the Urban Ecology Center for A World Without Fish.  Kurlansky, author of Salt and Cod, offers a rather urgent account of what's happening to the world's fish.  To quote the publisher, A World Without Fish connects all the dots: biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food, and nutrition in a way that kids can really understand.

It describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, and swordfish, could disappear within 50 years, and the domino effect it would have oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms; seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals.  The Urban Ecology Center is located at 1500 East Park Place.  This event is offered in conjunction with the Young Scientists Program.  Donations are welcome.  Call (414) 964-8505 for more information.

At 7 pm on May 10, we're back at Boswell for Ellen Meeropol, author of the novel House Arrest, the story of Pippa Glenning, a nurse put in charge of a pregnant cult member accused of letting her first child die. Glenning's boss is trying to get her fired, the father is in jail, and there's no question that this charge is quite the can of worms. This novel has received some great reviews including a star from Publishers Weekly, who said "Meeropol's work is thoughtful and tightly composed, unflinching in taking on challenging subjects and deliberating uneasy ethical conundrums."

Rosenberg's been preparing for this book for much of her adult life.  Working as a nurse and then nurse practitioner, she retired to become publicist and book group coordinator for the legendary Odyssey Bookshop of Northampton, Massachusetts. She is a founding member of the Rosenberg Fund for Children and author of the script for their dramatic program "Celebrate." An MFA and many workshops later, House Arrest, was born.  It's not an author tour; it's a multi-city shower. See you there.

More Upcoming Events.

Wednesday, May 11, 7 pm

June Skinner Sawyers, author of Bob Dylan: New York.

Sawyers is the author of several books, including Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader, The Beatles, and The Greenwich Village Reader. A long-time editor and journalist who focuses on music and the arts, she is currently a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Packed with information, savvy insights, and surprising facts, Bob Dylan: New York is fascinating reading for anyone who likes listening to Bob Dylan or visiting New York.

Thursday, May 12, 7 pm

Geraldine Brooks, author of Caleb's Crossing. $5 tickets now available.

In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Told through the eyes of Bethia Mayfield, a smart, restless and curious girl from a small band of pioneers and Puritans, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure. And don't forget, books available for ticket purchasers at the Boswell's Best discount.

Saturday, May 14, 2 pm

Jerome Pohlen, author of Progressive Nation: A Travel Guide with 400+ Left Turns and Inspiring Landmarks.

This inspiring travel guide to over 400 markers of progressive politics in the United States celebrates those individuals, their accomplishments, and the movements and communities they inspired. Visit the battlegrounds and celebrate the victories of the civil libertarians, feminists, African Americans, gays, lesbians, environmentalists, labor organizers, and media activists who have worked to create a just, peaceful society that respects all of its citizens.

Monday, May 16, 7 pm

Terry Gavin, author of the novel, When Men are Young.

Zach, Kevin, and Mike promised each other that the three of them would always come first, and the world second. Now it's their college graduation (from UWM) and it's time to ponder how they got from childhood to adulthood. Local actor and writer Gavin delivers a follow-up to Shaving Without a Razor that explores youth culture in all its innocence and recklessness.

Tuesday, May 17, 7 pm

Dale Hofmann and Cliff Cristl, author of 365: Best Wisconsin Sports Stories.

Two acclaimed sports journalists come together to pick the most important sports story for every day of the calendar year. Dale Hofmann has covered every major sport as a columnist for the Milwaukee Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from the Super Bowl to the World Series to the Olympics. Cliff Christl has been named Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year five times by The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. What a great Father's Day gift!

Wednesday, May 18, 7 pm, Urban Ecology Center, 1500 East Park Place

Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle.

$5 tickets for this event, call (414) 964-8505 for reservations.

Richard Louv makes a convincing case that through a nature-balanced existence-driven by sound economic, social, and environmental solutions--the human race can and will thrive. Louv is the chairman of the Children & Nature Network, has served as advisor to the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World award program and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.

Thursday, May 19, 7 pm

Cris Mazza's, author of Various Men who Knew us as Girls

reading with

Elise Blackwell, author of An Unfinished Score.

Two women navigate the boundaries of love, sex, and betrayal in these novels.  In Mazza's Various Men Who Knew Us as Girls, Hester Smith goes up against the border drug gangs to rescue a Mexican prostitute, while at the same time learning that her mentor (and almost lover) has been having an affair with one of his underage students. In Blackwell's An Unfnished Score, Suzanne, a married violinist learns of the death of the conductor with whom she'd been having an affair. Consumed by grief, she struggles to keep her secret from those around her.

Friday, May 20, 7 pm

Joe Yonan, author of Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One.

From the award-winning food editor at The Washington Post comes Serve Yourself, a wryly funny and endearing celebration of eating solo. Joe Yonan brings more than 100 inventive, easy-to-follow, and globally inspired recipes to the food-loving single.

Tuesday, May 24, 7 pm,

Elaine Petrone, author of The Miracle Ball Method for Pregnancy: Relieve Back Pain, Ease Labor, Reduce Stress, Regain a Flat Belly.

Petrone, a former dancer who created the original Miracle Ball Method to heal herself after suffering a career-ending injury, developed The Miracle Ball Method for Pregnancy after her own high-risk pregnancy with twins. A complete kit containing two squishy miracle balls and a fully illustrated instruction book, the Miracle Ball Method works because it's the un-exercise: muscles relax and become supple enough to allow the body to realign and reshape.

In addition, Petrone will be leading a 4 pm class at Invivo Fitness, 2060 North Humboldt Avenue.  Space is limited.  Call (414) 265-6065 to register.

Tuesday, May 25, 7 pm

Marilyn Taylor and Bruce Dethlefsen, contributors to An Endless Skyway: Poetry from the State Poet Laureates. Join us for an evening with current, and former, Wisconsin Poets Laureate Bruce Dethlefsen and Marilyn L. Taylor, both featured in this vibrant new anthology of poetry from wordsmiths across the country.

And don't forget about June. We've got Ann Patchett, wordsmith Arthur Plotnick, Milkweed Prize winner Danielle Sosin, acclaimed story writer Alan Heathcock,  local favorites Dean Bakopoulos and Chris Christie, and our special Sugar Maple tour with Pete Nelson, Josh Wilk, and David Anthony.

Keep tabs on Boswell's events. Shortcut to our events page on the Boswell website.