Greetings!

It was great to see so many of you at Boswell during the holiday season. We had a wonderful time and I hope you did too. I spoke to a number of folks who told me that all their friends and family got books this year. Was I going to argue with that strategy? Why no, I was not.

 Our series of blog posts on Boswell's bestselling books of 2012 has proven to be quite popular, so I thought I'd share a bit with you here, but with a bit of a shakeup. So since our published list of bestsellers was heavily studded with event books, here are our top 10 novels and short story collections for 2012 for which we did not host events:

1. Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
2. The Round House, by Louise Erdrich
3. Dear Life, by Alice Munro
4. Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver
5. Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
6. Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon
7. A Hologram for the King, by Dave Eggers
8. A Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling
9. Canada, by Richard Ford
10. Building Stories, by Chris Ware

It's a little arbitrary to leave out events, but no less so than the differences between books that go on The New York Times nonfiction bestseller list, as opposed to advice, how-to, and miscellaneous. Besides, the rest of this email newsletter is all about this week's events.

We're All Very Excited About Stuart Neville's Appearance at Boswell Today. Our Problem? The Flight Has Been Delayed--Event is Currently Scheduled for 4 pm. We'll Put Updated Info on Our Facebook Page. 

Stuart Neville's debut novel, Ghosts of Belfast, won the 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller. Since then, he has skyrocketed to international acclaim and consistent bestselling status and his new novel, Ratlines, is no exception. Readers, writers, and critics everywhere rave about his gift for writing complex stories strewn with believable and nuanced characters, while maintaining a classic noir style, drenched in all things Irish.

Both Anne and I have finished Ratlines, and we both have to say, it's quite a book. Moody, atmospheric, with a great dark character at the front, lots of moral ambiguity, a femme fatale (his new girlfriend is working for the collaborator, and I'm not giving anything away here) and of course a great sense of place. I don't want to oversell this to the wrong reader--it's a pretty violent story, almost brutal. Read more on the Boswell and Books blog.

And if you want another reason to visit today to hear Neville, read this review from Doug Johnstone in the London Independent, which calls Ratlines an "accomplished, assured and expertly plotted historical novel."

A Book That Teaches a Kid How to Be a Bully? Meet Author Eric Kahn Gale on Tuesday, January 8, 7 pm, at Boswell.  

Start the New Year with a Sensible Diet, from the Brains Behind "Younger Next Year," on Wednesday, January 9, 7 pm, at Boswell. 

"Thinner This Year is the how-to book of the Revolution in Behavior... the Revolution in Aging that was the subject of the Younger Next Year books. It is a hands-on guide to nutrition and weight loss and to cutting-edge exercise practice, right down to little drawings of actual exercises. It is designed to do nothing less than change the shape of America. And of you, by heaven." 

the memorable patient and co-author of The New York Times bestselling Younger Next Year, who has turned healthy living into the ultimate lifestyle. In the new Thinner this Year, he partners with Sacheck, a nutritionist and exercise physiologist (and Associate Professor at the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention at Tufts University), to present a diet and exercise program that aims to be both effective and long-lasting.

In lively, alternating chapters, Crowley and Sachek spell out a weight-loss plan that will have readers lose up to 25 pounds in the first six months--and keep it off for life. The message is straightforward and based on the most up-to-date nutritional science: Avoid "dead," i.e., nutrient-poor, foods, particularly the SOFAS (solid fats, added sugars) choices that comprise more than a third of our diet. Design your plate to be 50% vegetables and fruits, 25% whole grains, and 25% lean proteins. Skip the supplements. Never drink your calories.

And exercise. Exercise, the authors emphasize, is the great flywheel of weight loss. And whereas Younger Next Year told you why to exercise six days a week--Thinner This Year tells you how to eat and how to exercise, from the best aerobic workouts to a lifetime supply of 25 whole-body strength exercises--the "Sacred 25"--that will build muscle, protect joints, and add mobility. Exercise will do more than anything else to put off 70% of "normal" aging until the very end and eliminate 50% of serious illness and injury.

Join us on Wednesday, January 9, 7 pm, for this free event. Spread the word with our Facebook event page. 

Love Chicago? Think Downer Avenue is the Bucktown of Milwaukee? Then You'll Enjoy Our Talk with Scott Jacobs on Saturday, January 12, 2 pm. 

In Never Leave Your Block, Jacobs tells stories from Bucktown, the nei

Back in Time to 19th Century Kansas in Elaine Schmidt's New Children's Book; Learn More on Monday, January 14, 7 pm, at Boswell.  

s sent to 1898 Kansas for safekeeping by her family. It is there that she meets and befriends Winnie Longenecker and Harry Sanchez. When her family's troubles catch up with her, Nona and her new friends flee through time and place, they begin