Greetings!

It's been a busy week here at Boswell. On Tuesday, we brought our holiday newsletter to the postal station for mail out. If you're one of our top 3400 customers and you provided us with a mailing address and it's still correct, you should soon be getting a list of gift ideas from our buyers Jason and Amie, plus recommendations from all the Boswellians. If you've chosen not to get mail a la snail, you can still view the newsletter here, or pick up a hard copy at the bookshop.

This morning, through the magic of radio, I was included in Susan Stamberg's seasonal roundup of bookseller picks. In addition, several more suggestions were featured on a blog piece that goes out nationally to folks of a bookish bent. My suggestions should not be a surprise to you--in addition to spreading the love for Larry Watson's

American Boy, I wax about other favorites such as Just My Type and The White Woman on the Green Bicycle. Read my suggestions, as well as those of Portrait of a Bookstore's Lucia Silver, and Rona Brinlee of The Bookmark of Florida here.

Angela's Holiday Market This Saturday Afternoon from 12 to 4 PM.

Feeling wistful for our Sunday markets from last year? Did you miss Festive Friday last week? Well we've got one more holiday market for you. This Saturday from Noon to 4 pm, Angela and Edwin and Sally are back with seasonal treats--apples and cheese and pinecones and bags and scarves. Everything is Wisconsin grown or crafted. Hope to see you there.

A Shopping Afternoon on Sunday, Plus Sponsored Gift Wrap Services on Our Busy Days, Now through Christmas.

We had a great time with St. Robert's and Maryland Avenue Montessori Schools last weekend. Now we're hosting a shopping afternoon with Congregation Shir Hadash.From two to six PM, you can designate 10% of your purchases (there are a few exclusions) to go towards the Congregation (totals, in lieu of your Boswell Benefits).

At 3 pm, we'll be hosting memoir readings, including Lenore Lee and Lucy Rosenberg. And the Congregation will also be selling Alterra coffee and tea. More on their website.

Don't forget, we also have wrappers on call during our holiday weekends and the week leading up to Christmas, courtesy of Eastside Senior Services. The wrap is still free, but that's not a tip jar, it's a donation to their programs. Eastside Senior Services is sponsored by ten area churches. More about this great organization here.

Author of New Gimbels Book Has Not One but Two Events on Monday. Ours is at 3 pm.

There's lots of excitement about Gimbels Has It!, the new book from Michael J. Lisicky in the History Press series. He'll be in town on Monday, December 12 for two daytime talks. At Noon, he'll be at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. The Society is at 910 Old World Third Street. For more information, call (414) 273-8288.

Then at 3 pm, Michael J. Lisicky will be at Boswell to talk about department store holiday traditions, as well as a bit about Gimbels Has It! too. In addition to having written books about Hutzlers and John Wanamaker, he's also an oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

A Walk with Andy Warhol in New York City from UWM Alum on Tuesday, December 13, 7 pm.

Written by a true Warhol-phile, Thomas Kiedrowski's new book, Andy Warhol's New York City, maps the artist's life in the Big Apple, from the 1950s through the 1980s. Twenty-three years after his death, few figures hover over New York City--its art, its street life, its commerce, its creativity, its nightlife, its myths, and its idea of itself--like Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol's New York City provides a panoramic view of the artist's life there from the fifties through the eighties. Eighty sites associated with the artist careen delightfully from coffee shops to museums, from disco clubs to churches, with dozens more glamorous and gritty places in between.

Astrojammies Author Talks About Creating Children's Book Apps on Thursday, December 15, 7 pm.

Astrojammies is a story in rhyming verse about a little boy who believes his magical pajamas can transport him to outer space. It is comical and colorful, aimed at young readers ages 3-8.

On Thursday, December 15, at 7 pm, Williams-Ng will present a program for adults in which she discusses the process of creating and publishing a book app, as well as industry trends. She is now the Creative Director at Demibooks, the publishing company that released the interactive Astrojammies, and has since helped other authors and illustrators release interactive stories. She is currently working with Kane Miller Publishers and McGraw Hill to release books from their lists to the iPad.

Writing Workshop with Mary Helen Stefaniak on Monday, December 26, 10 am.

Mary Helen Stefaniak, author of The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia and The Turk and My Mother will be conducting a writing workshop at Boswell Book Company on Monday, December 26, 10 am. $40 includes a copy of the book, which will be used as source material, as well as a half day of workshopping.

A Night of Poetry and Ukulele Music with Lil Rev on Thursday, December 29, 7 pm.

We are pleased to announce a night of poetry and acoustic ukulele music from Lil Rev, the director of the Milwaukee Ukulele Club and Festival. Lil Rev's new book, Ukulele Nation, is a one of a kind chapbook, filled to the brim with ukulele-based poetry, essays, pictures and humor for the ukulele enthusiast. Created by North America's favorite ukulele troubadour and inspired by countless years of touring and teaching on the international ukulele circuit of clubs and festivals, the poetic themes dig deeply into the heart of ukulele lore, legend and revival. It speaks volumes about the ukulele's vital role in American pop music and its unassuming nature as a happy instrument.