Greetings!

The highest profile book to come is no doubt George R. R. Martin's 

A Dance with Dragons (Bantam), volume five of A Song of Ice and Fire. With the first season of A Game of Thrones on HBO just wrapped up, enthusiasm for Martin's new book has hit unforeseen levels. I can well remember the salivating over volume four, back when I was a buyer at Schwartz. Because I'm not well versed in the world of Martin (unlike our buyer Jason), I worry that my plot summary might reveal too much. But I can say that the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance--beset by newly emerging threats from every direction! (Publisher: $35, Boswell, $28)

You might be surprised to know that at Boswell, we're even more excited about another book on sale today, Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf (Knopf). It's a novel that Greg, Jason, and Sharon are all recommending, with Greg stating, "Duncan has created a philosophical, literary work that bucks the supernatural beastie trend and emerges as something completely unique. By turns thrilling and heartbreaking, The Last Werewolf should be read not just by fans of the genre, but anyone with an appreciation for art." And if you're thinking, do I really want to read a book about an aging werewolf, can I call your attention to Duncan's previous front-page New York Times Book Review status, as well as that incredible blood-red top stain that graces the first printing? (Publisher: $25.95, Boswell: $20.76)

For all the wonderful releases out this week, the book I'm perhaps most interested in reading is Esmerelda Santiago's Conquistadora (Knopf). The author of the best-selling memoir, When I Was Puerto Rican, has written what is said to be the Puerto Rican Gone with the Wind. This big sprawling novel set on a sugar plantation features a lush setting, a classic love triangle, and writing that has drawn the raves of Oscar Hijuelos, Sandra Cisneros and Terry McMillan. Madison Smartt Bell said that it's "an epic that demands to be taken seriously--and at the same time is just a tremendous amount of fun." Is that summer or what? (Publisher: $27.50, Boswell, $22).  

All this plus Jennifer Weiner's Then Came You, Michael Harvey's We All Fall Down, Ben Mezrich's Sex on the Moon, and John Hart's Iron House. Oh, and the paperback of Allegra Goodman's The Cookbook Collector. Hooray!

Wednesday, July 13, Alice LaPlante at Boswell.

Tonight we are hosting Alice LaPlante, author of Turn of Mind.  

LaPlante, who teaches writing at Stanford and San Francisco State, has written a hypnotic novel told from the eyes of Jennifer White, a retired surgeon living with Alzheimers. And here's the twist--Dr. White may have committed a murder, and seems to remember nothing about it.

I am just one of many booksellers around the country that enjoyed Turn of Mind--it's the #1 Indie Pick for the American Booksellers Association, where Susan Wasson of Albuquerque's Bookworks called this "a remarkable, heart-wrenching, and utterly compelling debut novel."

LaPlante has won raves from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, and the San Jose Mercury News.  Read more about the book in our blog posts, including our visit to the Kohler Arts Center's Hidden Places: Memory in the Arts exhibit.

Wednesday, July 13, Jonathan Lippincott at the Lynden.

Also tonight, we'll (or rather, Stacie will) be at the Lynden Sculpture Garden for Jonathan Lippincott's talk on Large Scale: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s. This is the very time period that Peg Bradley was acquiring sculpture for the Lynden, so in a way, this is the story of the Lynden itself. Books are available for sale at the event; the talk is free for members, or with admission to the Garden, which is $9 (or $7 for seniors and students).  The talk begins at 6:30 pm (note earlier time) and the Garden is located at 2145 West Brown Deer Road. More on their website.

Thursday, July 14, Jennifer Shaw, author of Hurricane Story.  

You may have noticed that we still don't have our finished copies of Hurricane Story for Thursday's event.  We've been working with the independent publisher Chin Music Press, and they have promised us that we will have copies of this beautiful and very well priced ($18) photographic interpretation of Hurricane Katrina.

You also may have read Jim Higgins's wonderful piece on Hurricane Story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Here's just a snippet: "Using toys and dolls, some altered and hand-painted, Shaw staged 46 scenes from her family's evacuation, exile and return, then photographed them with a plastic Holga camera with a magnifying lens glued onto it, pairing the often eerie images with simple lines of text. The result is a compelling graphic novel that feels like an art exhibit tucked inside a lovely, clothbound board book."  Read the whole story here.

In a way, it's a good thing that our copies are late. After getting more of a feel for the book, learning that Shaw was not just a local but a Riverside High School grad, and understanding the consequences of this beautiful book being only $18, we more than doubled our order. Hooray for breathtaking books of artistry from local writers that are under $20!

Saturday, July 16, 10:30 am--Sarah Marx Feldner at Central Library.

The Milwaukee Public Library is celebrating Culinary Arts Month with a talk/slide show from Sarah Marx Feldner, author of

A Cook's Journey to Japan. It's all this Saturday at the first floor meeting room. More on their event calendar

And don't forget--bike race #2 is going on all day and evening at the bookstore, so we suggest you park south or west of Boswell. It should be a beautiful day for a walk...I hope.

Monday, July 19, 6:30 pm--Edward Janus offers a cow-centric Wisconsin history at Central Library.

The author of Creating Dairyland: How Caring for Cows Saved Our Soil, Created Our Landscape, Brought Prosperity to Our State, and Still Shapes Our Way of Life in Wisconsin will be speaking at the Krug Rare Books Room at the Milwaukee Public Library downtown.

Journalist, oral historian, and former dairyman Ed Janus opens the pages of the fascinating story of Wisconsin dairy farming. He explores the profound idea that led to the remarkable "big bang" of dairying here a century and a half ago. He helps us understand why there are cows in Wisconsin, how farmers became responsible stewards of our resources, and how cows have paid them back for their efforts. And he introduces us to dairy farmers and cheese-makers of today: men and women who want to tell us why they love what they do.

For more dairyland diaries, bovine bits, and moo-tastic recommendations, visit Janus's Facebook page.

Wednesday, July 20, 7 pm--Rebecca Makkai's novel of a bibliophile's coming of age while on the lam, at Boswell.

I should admit that the kidnapping was accidental. But in Rebecca Makkai's new thought-provoking but also comic novel, The Borrower, that's actually the dilemma of Lucy Hull, an idealistic but semi-committed, bored-in-Hannibal-Missouri, child-of-Russian-immigrants, struggling children's librarian. Hull's got some issues--in fact, I was thinking of setting her up with Zeke, the hero of My American Unhappiness. Jocelyn tells me this is called "shipping."

Let's be serious for a moment about a great talent. Rebecca Makkai's short stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2008, 2009, 2010, and she's been selected for inclusion in the 2011 anthology. Her work has been published by Tin House and Ploughshares. The Borrower is her first novel and has received glowing notices from Wendy Smith in The Chicago Tribune, and Kirkus Reviews called The Borrower "smart, literate, and refreshingly unsentimental."

We all know that librarians, particularly children's librarians, can save lives. Who doesn't have a story of such a literary lifeline in their past, particularly someone reading this email newsletter. But to what extent could a librarian go to make a difference? Could she kidnap one of her patrons?

Thursday, July 21, 7 pm--Dr. John Duffy offering positive parenting strategies, at Boswell. 

Clinical psychologist and certified life coach John Duffy guides both teens and adults in working to minimize conflict and create positive change.  In his book, The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens, Duffy suggests that parents exchange fear and the need for control for more positive solutions to raise resilient adults.

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say: "Duffy's advice for parenting adolescents springs from radical optimism, a form of practical spirituality that recommends being open and available to the possibility of change, essentially exchanging fear and the need to control for hope and positive results. Duffy challenges parents to stop micromanaging and judging their kids and instead acknowledge and accept them the way they are, respect their boundaries and abilities, and let them know they have the power to master their own world. Only then can parents be truly available to provide discipline, direction, understanding, and love in an environment that fosters competence and resilience."

Dr. Duffy has also been blogging about the subject on the Huffington Post. You can read his columns here.

Thursday, July 28, 7 pm--Christopher R. Howard and a novel that is likely not going to be handed out at Peace Corps orientations, at Boswell.

Howard's novel, Tea of Ulaanbaataris the story of disaffected Peace Corps volunteer Warren, who flees life in late-capitalist America to find himself stationed in the post-Soviet industrial hell of urban Mongolia. As the American presence crumbles, Warren seeks escape in tsus, the mysterious "blood tea" that may be the final revenge of the defeated Khans--or that may be only a powerful hallucinogen operating on an uneasy mind--as a phantasmagoria of violence slowly envelops him.

Adam Langer in the Boston Globe enjoys Howard's writing, though admittedly, he got a little lost in the plot. And here's a review in the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography that praises Tea of Ulaanbaatar mostly by comparing it favorably to A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. OK. We also talked about trying to connect with Peace Corps people who might enjoy the book; on second thought, a target market might more likely be disaffected ex-Peace Corps people. Know any? You know where to send them.

Tuesday, August 2, 7 pm--Jesse Ball dystopic vision of wonder and horror, with UWM's David Yost Opening, at Boswell.

Everyone is going crazy for Jesse Ball's new novel, The Curfew, starting with Boswellians Shane and Carl. From Shane: "This stark, riddle-of-a-novel re-works one's expectation of what a novel should be in a pleasurable, albeit sorrowful, manner." Carl offered: "Inimitably beautiful, gloriously sad, and fatally truthful." In addition, Carl just told me he's rereading all of Ball's work.

So what is this thing, The Curfew, of which everyone raves? It's a dystopian story of a father and daughter in a post-revolution world where systematic purges and bloodbaths have given way to random (possibly state-sponsored) violence, where the police have gone undercover, even from each other, and where a former violinist now spends his time writing epitaphs. And yes, part of the story is told through a puppet show.

Imagine a writer who veers between Kafka and Calvino. And that's not me talking, that's The New Yorker. "What might sound precious in summary astonishes on the stage--the reader is puzzled, charmed, and finally shattered."Read more here:

Opening for Ball will be our own David Yost, UWM PhD candidate in creative writing, who has just had a story published in The Southern Review. Congrats to both authors on their current successes. Should be a great evening.

Thursday, August 4, 7 pm--Oliver Pötzsch offers a historic thriller with a Bavarian twist, at Boswell.

Yes, we're hosting a thriller reader, Boswell style. The Hangman's Daughter is the story of a Bavarian town in the 1600's, in which a boy is gruesomely injured and the town suspects witchcraft. They have their suspect, the local midwife, but the hangman thinks she might not be the perpetrator.

Oliver Pötzsch is a Bavarian screenwriter whose novel has seen tremendous success in Germany, and in the United States as an ebook. Now The Hangman's Daughter has made its way to print and we are honored to be part of a limited American tour by the author. Yes, Pötzsch is descended from hangmen. And in our true multicultural style, Pötzsch will be reading in both English and German.

We're trying to get the word out to German cultural groups and the like, but alas, writing to the general mailbox at Germanfest didn't cut it. Do you have a good contact to help get the word out? Why not email me?

Monday, August 8, 7 pm--Debra Brenegan with a story inspired by Fanny Fern, at Boswell.

In the mid-1800s, Fanny Fern has been said by some to have been the most popular, highest paid, most published writer of her era, eventually earning the respect of Nathaniel Hawthorne and serving as literary mentor to Walt Whitman. Before her rise to literary stardom, she was raised in poverty, widowed by her first husband, abused by her second, and found happiness with her third husband, a man eleven years her junior.

Brenegan's novel, Shame the Devil, captures the life of a woman who found literary and financial success in her time, but has become somewhat overlooked today. For folks who are not familiar with Fern, we've brought in copies of the Penguin Classics version of her best-known novel, Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time. But for folks who aren't Fern familiar, you can still enjoy the rollercoaster-like ups and downs of a woman who broke boundaries in the 1800s. Here's hoping that Brenegan can lead a Fanny Fern revival. Read more on Brenegan's website.

Thursday, August 11, 7 pm--Patrick McGilligan on Nicholas Ray, co-sponsored by Milwaukee Film, at Boswell.  

Nicholas Ray: The Glorious Failure of an American Director tells the full, captivating story of an American film giant, starting with his small-town Wisconsin upbringing. As a young man, he mingled with some of its most famous personalities, from Thornton Wilder and Frank Lloyd Wright, to Woody Guthrie and Humphrey Bogart.

Notoriously self-destructive but irresistibly attractive to men and women, Ray empathized with the broken and misunderstood, which allowed him to create characters with unrivaled complexity on-screen. From his debut They Live By Night to his enduring masterwork, Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray spent his lifetime creating films that were dark, emotionally charged, and haunted by social misfits and bruised young people.

Veteran film biographer Patrick McGilligan, who also teaches film at Marquette University, has won accolades for his previous biographies Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (shortlisted for the Edgar Award), Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast, and George Cukor: A Double Life, both New York Times notable books of the year.

Don't forget, the Milwaukee Film Festival starts September 22. Just so you're not caught flat footed with every screening sold out, I think you should subscribe to their newsletter, don't you?

Tuesday, August 16, 7 pm--Glen Jeansonne and David Luhrssen on Elvis Presley, at Boswell.

Few performers have been as influential as the man whose sexy voice, good looks, and gyrating hips redefined rock 'n roll. Although he made many poor choices and died far too young, Elvis Presley lives on for legions of fans and generations of musicians. Now, on the 34th anniversary of his death, Boswell celebrates his life with Elvis Presley: Reluctant Rebel, His Life and Our Times.

Jeansonne and Luhrssen (along with their recently deceased co-author Dan Sokolovic) probe both the man and his influence, delving deeply into the personality of its protagonist, his needs and motivations, and the social and musical forces that shaped his career. Jeansonne, professor of history at UWM, and Luhrssen, arts and cultural editor at the Shepherd Express, look at Elvis's impact on the musical and racial revolutions of the 1950s and 1960s, his legacy, and his importance in shaping a generation of Baby Boomers.

Wednesday, August 17, 7 pm--David Gordon on the Legacy of His Brother Max, at Boswell.  

More, more, more events--mark your calendars. All events at Boswell, except as noted.

Friday, August 19, 7 pm--Timothy Messer-Kruse, author of The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age.

Monday, August 29, 7 pm--Ernest Cline, author of bookseller favorite, Ready Player One. Here's just a snippet of Stacie's enthusiasm: "To every geek girl and nerd boy who's ever wanted to ride a lightcycle or worn a browncoat, I give the ultimate party blend of every cult film, gaming, music, comic or literary pop culture reference from the last 25 years of the 20th century."

Tuesday, August 30, 10:30 am--a special free session with Jennifer Murphy-Damm and the Music for Aardvarks program.

Wednesday, August 31, 7 pm--Clark Howard, author of Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times: 250+ Ways to Buy Smarter, Spend Smarter, and Save Money, co-sponsored by 620 WTMJ.

Wednesday, September 7, 7 pm--Samuel Park, author of This Burns My Heart, a novel of a Korean woman who overcomes adversity in a time of great change, with raves from Audrey Niffenegger, Sarah Waters, and Eugenia Kim. Park's novel just went on sale this week.