Commissioned by the Haggerty to create an artwork reflecting on the importance of freshwater, Miyazaki embarked on a two-week, 1,800-mile drive around Lake Michigan. He traveled its perimeter, through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, to produce what he calls "a contemporary portrait of Lake Michigan." Perimeter gathers these images together, creating a diverse portrait of both people and place, encapsulating Lake Michigan's significance to those who are drawn to it.

Join us at the Oak Creek Library for a talk and signing of Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna's latest, The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School, featuring the star from the bestselling picture book, The Pout-Pout Fish, in a new adventure great for ages two and up that's sure to turn pouts into smiles!    

Mr. Fish is nervously awaiting his first day of school, and he frets about not knowing how to write his name, how to draw shapes, and how to do math-until he's reassured that school is the perfect place to learn how to master all of these new skills. Kirkus Reviews writes that "Hanna's cartoonish ocean realm is full of details for both children and adults (don't miss the posters and signs on the school walls), the various sea creatures using whatever appendages they have to complete their schoolwork.Diesen tackles a worry not often found in back-to-school books; young Mr. Fish will ease children's fears about what will be expected of them."   

The Oak Creek Library is located at 8620 S. Howell Avenue in Oak Creek. You can either take the Drexel Avenue exit off 94/43 and head east, or its straight down Howell from Bay View. More questions can be answered at (414) 764-4400. 

From beloved Wisconsin author Michael Perry comes The Scavengers, an imaginative post-apocalyptic Laura Ingalls Wilder wilderness story. Don't miss this opportunity to hear Perry's signature irreverent hilarity when he comes to Boswell to discuss  the brave young heroine of this Holes-meets-City-of-Ember middle-grade novel that has the perfect mix of humor and heart set in a world where one person's junk is another person's key to survival.  

When the world started to fall apart, the government gave everyone two choices: move into the Bubble Cities...or take their chances outside. Twelve-year-old Maggie and her family chose the latter. They live in the world that was left behind. Deciding it's time to grow up and grow tough, Maggie rechristens herself "Ford Falcon"-a name taken from the beat-up car she finds at a nearby junkyard. This is where Ford's family goes to scavenge for things they can use and barter with. Thus far, they have been able to survive this brave new world by working together. But when Ford returns one day to discover her home ransacked and her family missing, she must find the strength to survive on her own and rescue her loved ones.  

This wholly original tween novel combines a page-turning adventure, heartfelt family story, and triumphant journey of self-discovery. With Scavengers, Michael Perry achieves the perfect mix of humor and heart.. And yes, there are chickens. Join Boswell for an entertaining evening for all ages with Michael Perry on Thursday, September 18, 7 pm.  

University of Wisconsin Department of English kicks off United We Read's 2014-15 season with a spirited student/faculty reading at Boswell. Featured is faculty member Kimberly Blaeser, and graduate students Ann-Marie Blanchard, Franklin Cline, and Mark Brand.

Kimberly Blaeser (Anishinaabe) is an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and grew up on the White Earth Reservation. An associate professor at UWM, she teaches courses in Native American Literature, Creative Writing, and American Nature Writing. In addition to her books, her work has been published in countless anthologies.

Boswell Book Company and Soulstice Theatre are proud to present The Lola Quartet author Emily St. John Mandel who returns to Boswell for a talk and staged reading of Station Eleven, a novel that Kirkus calls an "ambitious take on a post-apocalyptic world where some strive to preserve art, culture, and kindness

And here's Boswellian Sharon Nagel's take on Station Eleven: "Emily St. John Mandel takes a radical departure from her earlier work...to bring us a dark depiction of the collapse of civilization. Reminiscent of The Stand, by Stephen King, the majority of the population is wiped out by a highly contagious flu. The few that remain must do their best to rebuild a society of sorts without most modern conveniences such as electricity or the Internet. A group known as the Traveling Symphony crosses the country, performing Shakespeare for various settlements. This provides a bright spot in this new existence, and serves to represent that not everything of beauty from the former world has been lost. Station Eleven is a stark and stunningly written story about the resiliency of mankind."

Join us for this very special event for a very special book and author, on Monday, September 22, 7 pm, at Boswell. Several of us are just crazy about this book, and the author is as charming and erudite as can be. This event is highly recommended!

Chris Guillebeau specializes in helping people break out of the box of their everyday lives. His most recent book, The $100 Startup, explained how to create income on one's own terms and not necessarily abide by a 9-to-5 model. But while liberation from the grind is one step in pursuing a life of purpose, it's far from the only way. Indeed, genuine fulfillment typically requires a quest or challenge that is big and ambitious, that involves surpassing the limits most people accept as part of their boring, routine-filled lives and making an actual difference and that's what led to his new book, The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life.  

Guillebeau has undertaken a successful quest of his own, having visited every country in the world by age 35. But the quests or projects discussed in this book need not involve travel at all. What they do involve is commitment and progressive accomplishment, losing oneself  on the physical journey, the artistic enterprise, or the philanthropic feat. Chris has surveyed thousands who've undertaken such quests and really drilled down to discover how they went about it, the common mistakes, what happened when they hit the wall, and how they coped when the quest was over.

Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly, writes that "The Happiness of Pursuit is smart, honest, and dangerous. Why dangerous? Because it is as practical as it is inspiring. You won't just be daydreaming about your quest - you'll be packing for it." And Susan Cain, author of Quiet, writes: "The passion Chris chronicles is infectious, and it becomes even more so as we read about life-focusing action delivering deep meaning. Even if you prefer never to leave your armchair, this book will inspire you to take a beautiful voyage - one that can be either physical or mental as you chase the thrill of steady accomplishment."    

Boswell Book Company and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin are excited to welcome national youth advocate, anti-bullying crusader, powerful HIV/AIDS educator, and author, Paige Rawl, to Boswell for a discussion and signing of her new memoir Positive. Great for ages 13 and up, you won't want to miss this inspiring speaker as she tells her deeply personal and completely universal story about overcoming bullying by choosing to be Positive.

Here's what Boswellian Jannis Mindel has to say about this wonderful memoir: "Paige Rawl spent the early years of her childhood unaware of her HIV positive status. Her daily doses of medicine were as much a part of life as cheerleading and playing on the soccer team. After her mother finally tells her about her disease, Paige reveals her status to her best friend. Her life thereafter would never be the same. The bullying started almost immediately and with ferocity. The school did nothing to help Paige or her mother but rather told her she was causing too much drama. The stress became so severe she suffered from frequent seizures and eventually found herself attempting suicide. But with  the help of her mother, close friends, and a camp for HIV/AIDS children, she was able to move forward and forgive. This is a moving, personal, and very powerful story of the effects of bullying."

Our event with Paige Rawl, co-sponsored by ARCW, is Thursday, September 25, 7 pm, at Boswell.  And ARCW would like to remind you about AIDS Walk Wisconsin, on Sunday, October 12. with this year's honorary chair Tim Gunn, starting at the Summerfest grounds. We're putting together a Team Boswell for folks to raise money together. If you'd like to participate, contact Todd.   

The Anatomy of Dreams begins in 1988, with Sylvie Patterson, a bookish student at a Northern California boarding school, falling in love with a spirited, elusive classmate named Gabe. Their headmaster, Dr. Adrian Keller, is a charismatic medical researcher who has staked his career on the therapeutic potential of lucid dreaming: by teaching his patients to become conscious during sleep, he helps them to relieve stress and heal from trauma. Over the next six years, Sylvie and Gabe become consumed by Keller's work, following him from the redwood forests of Eureka, California, to the enchanting New England coast. But when an opportunity brings the trio to the Midwest, Sylvie and Gabe stumble into a tangled relationship with their mysterious neighbors-and Sylvie begins to doubt the ethics of Keller's research, recognizing the harm that can be wrought under the guise of progress.

Lorrie Moore praised Chloe Benjamin as a "great new talent." while Dean Bakopoulos called the novel "a vibrant, ambitious work.." Emma Straub, author of the bestselling The Vacationers, praised The Anatomy of Dreams as "a wholly original tale" that exposes the slippery nature of trust - and the immense power of our dreams." Read The Anatomy of Dreams, add your quotes to the mix, and don't forget that Benjamin reads at Boswell on Saturday, September 27, 7 pm. 

Fiona Campbell is a newcomer to tiny Ephraim, Wisconsin. Populated with artists and summer tourists, Ephraim has just enough going on to satisfy Fiona's city tastes, but she is fascinated and repelled by what lies at the furthest tip of the Door County peninsula: Washington Island, a place utterly removed from the hubbub of modern life. North of the Tension Line is the first in a series following Fiona, a fierce female protagonist, and an accompanying cast of eccentric characters in a mashup of comedy-of-manners and romance.  

Scott Westerfeld is the author of the Uglies series, which has over four million books in print and has been translated into 20 languages. His novel Leviathan, also the first in a series, was the winner of the 2010 Locus Award for best young adult fiction. Now he brings us Afterworlds, an imaginative and thought-provoking novel within a novel that's a mashup of contemporary romance and fantasy/horror.

Darcy Patel has put college on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. With a contract in hand, she arrives in New York City with no apartment, no friends, and all the wrong clothes. But lucky for Darcy, she's taken under the wings of other seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and the world of writing and publishing. Over the course of a year, Darcy finishes her book, faces critique, and falls in love.

Woven into Darcy's personal story is her novel, Afterworlds, a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the "Afterworld" to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved-and terrifying-stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love...until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most.

The Shorewood Public Library is located at 3920 N. Murray Avenue, just north of Capitol Drive. Our jointly-sponsored event is Wednesday, October 1, 6:30 pm. Any questions? Call the library at (414) 847-2670.  

Join us for an informative event with Milwaukee-based psychotherapist and bodywork/movement practitioner, Charles Eigen, as he presents the unique book Inner Dialogue in Daily Life: Contemporary Approaches to Personal and Professional Development in Psychotherapy, which looks in depth at ten major contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches, all of which use inner dialogue as a way of developing both professionally and personally.

Each chapter is written by an expert in their field, some of whom were invited to contribute by the founder of the approach. The authors include personal stories of how they have used the approach in their own lives and work as therapists, giving a deeper insight into each method. As well as developing a connection to the mind, several of the approaches focus on deepening an awareness of the body and listening to its voice. Approaches covered include the Jungian approach, Gestalt therapy, Focusing, internal family systems therapy, and Hakomi. Drawing on both Eastern and Western traditions and methods, this fascinating book will be of interest to psychotherapists, counselors and students, as well as anyone with an interest in inner dialogue, healing and personal development.

Are you ready to be rocked? Then we have just the event for you! Join us at Boswell for a discussion and signing with local author, journalist, and entrepreneur Larry Widen as he presents Milwaukee Rock and Roll, a celebration of the rock and pop acts that came through the. Milwaukee music scene from the 1950s to the 1990s. With a foreword by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and more than 160 images - some of which have never been published and some of which are from the author's personal collection-readers will take a wild trip down memory lane.  

In Milwaukee Rock and Roll, readers are able to see the venues and festivals that hosted various rock powerhouses, from the Arena, Summerfest, Eagles Club, as well as two dozen bars and clubs that no longer exist. Larry Widen shares vintage concert ads and posters, as well as offstage images of fan interactions with the likes of KISS, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, Johnny Winter, Joan Jett, and other rock stars he personally interviewed throughout his career.