Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Staff Recommendations, Week of March 7, 2023
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Staff Recommendations, Week of February 28, 2023
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Staff Recommendations, Week of February 21, 2023
Monday, February 20, 2023
Three upcoming events: Katherine May for Enchantment (virtual), Mary Llewellyn McNeil for Century's Witness (at Boswell), George Lakey for Dancing with History (at Boswell)
in conversation with Sally Haldorson for a virtual event
New Date: Monday, February 20, 1 pm - click here to register.
Boswell Book Company and Porchlight Book Company are so happy to welcome Katherine May back for a virtual sequel to last year’s visit! This time the Wintering author joins us for a pre-publication preview event for her new book, Enchantment, which offers an invitation to rediscover the feelings of awe and wonder available to us all.
Books will be available for pickup at Boswell on February 28, 2023, the publication date. Preorders will receive a special art print with an enchanting quote from the book!Katherine May invites the reader to come with her on a journey to reawaken our innate sense of wonder and awe. With humor, candor, and warmth, she shares stories of her own struggles with work, family, and the aftereffects of pandemic, particularly the feelings of overwhelm as the world rushes to reopen. Blending lyricism and storytelling, sensitivity and empathy, Enchantment invites each of us to open the door to human experience in all its sensual complexity, and to find the beauty waiting for us there.
And how about this early praise from Anne Lamott: "I love Katherine May’s new book, Enchantment. She is so smart, tender hearted, thoughtful. It’s actually enchanting, so wise and lyrical, down to earth and mystical, personal and universal. It’s a beautiful offering of light, truth and charm in these strange, dark times."This article from Rachel Abrams of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review gives a very thorough and thoughtful rundown of the charms of the book. A particular highlight is when she talks about the Leonid meteor shower of 1833:"One early morning, an estimated 72,000 streaks of light fell across the sky in magnificent arcs. The witnesses, who at the time didn’t have the scientific knowledge to explain it, had to reckon with the mystery in their own ways, each one coming to their own uncertain conclusion about the nature of the universe. That very plurality of meaning is the magic of deep terrain. It doesn’t offer a straightforward answer. Engaging with its layers of history and life isn’t a means to an end but a practice in and of itself, one that requires curiosity, reverence, and ceremony. Most importantly, you create your own meaning."
Katherine May is the New York Times bestselling author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times and . Her journalism and essays have appeared in a range of publications including The New York Times, The Times of London, and Cosmopolitan.
at Boswell
Thursday, February 23, 6:30 pm - click right here to register.
Journalist and author Mary Llewellyn McNeil appears at Boswell for a conversation about her latest work, Century’s Witness, a book about Wallace Carroll, a journalist’s journalist, whose life and life’s work is essential reading for all those who believe a trusted and reasoned press is essential to our democracy.
Today when local newspapers are going out of business, corporate profits drive press coverage, and unbiased reporting is seen as almost nonexistent, Wallace Carroll's life is a lesson in excellence. A reporter with unmatched integrity, Carroll covered the most significant events of his time, from the London Blitz to the United States' withdrawal from the Vietnam War. His story is even more relevant today given the war in Ukraine and Russia's assault on the truth.Carroll covered the League of Nations in the 1930s, warning the American public of the dangers of fascism, headed United Press's office in London at the outbreak of the war and was among the first journalists to reach the Russian front following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. He later joined the US Office of War Information, tasked with "winning the hearts and minds" of those under the Nazi boot. As such, he was well-placed to understand the power of words, and their heightened importance in a time of war.
Mary Llewellyn McNeil is a former editor and writer for Congressional Quarterly, former editor at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences, and was a journalist at the Winston-Salem Journal. She is coeditor of Demanding Good Governance: Lessons from Social Accountability Initiatives in Africa. McNeil was a student of Wallace Carroll's and a graduate of Wake Forest University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
at Boswell
Monday, February 27, 6:30 pm - click here to register.
Boswell presents an evening with Quaker activist George Lakey for a conversation about his latest work, Dancing with History, on his involvement in struggles for peace, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, labor justice, and the environment.
From his first arrest in the Civil Rights era to his most recent during a climate justice march at the age of 83, George Lakey has committed his life to a mission of building a better world through movements for justice. In this memoir, he describes the personal, political, and theoretical - coming out as bisexual to his Quaker community while known as a church leader and family man, protesting against the war in Vietnam by delivering medical supplies through the naval blockade in the South China Sea, and applying his academic study of nonviolent resistance to creative tactics in direct action campaigns.
From strategies he learned as a young man facing violence in the streets to risking his life as an unarmed bodyguard for Sri Lankan human rights lawyers, Lakey recounts his experience living out the tension between commitment to family and mission. Drawing strength from his community to fight cancer, survive painful parenting struggles, and create networks to help prevent activist burnout, this book shows readers how to find hope in even the darkest times through strategic, joyful activism.From Daniel Ellsberg, former U.S. military analyst who released The Pentagon Papers in 1971, peace activist, and author: "George Lakey stands out for the sheer range of his contributions to peace and justice, especially in strategy and theory, organizing, innovative and risky actions, and teaching and training others. His upbeat, soul-driven spirit underlies it all, as you'll catch in this revealing memoir."
George Lakey recently retired from Swarthmore College, where he was the Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change. A Quaker, he has been named Peace Educator of the Year and was given the Paul Robeson Social Justice Award and the Martin Luther King Peace Award. His previous books include Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians Got It Right - and How We Can, Too and How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning.
Photo credits:
George Lakey by John Meyer
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Staff Recommendations, Week of February14, 2023
Monday, February 13, 2023
Three special events upcoming: Valentine's Day with Elana K Arnold for Harriet Spies, Edward Chisholm for A Waiter in Paris (virtual with Books & Co and Alliance Française, and Katherine May for Enchantment (virtual with Porchlight)
in person at Boswell
Tuesday, February 14, 4:30 pm - click here to register!
Join us at Boswell for an after-school Valentine’s Day special featuring Elana K Arnold, who visits with Harriet Spies, the sequel to her chapter book Just Harriet, which continues the adventures of the unforgettable Harriet. And as a special Valentine’s treat, the first 50 people to register and attend this event will get delicious mini cupcakes from Classy Girl Cupcakes – yum!
There are a few things to know about Harriet Wermer: She always tells the truth. She loves spending the summer on Marble Island, where she is an A+ mystery-solver. And, okay, maybe she doesn’t always tell the truth. Maybe she has a tendency to lie quite a bit. When one of the guests at her grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast finds their treasured pair of binoculars is missing, no one believes Harriet when she said she had nothing to do with it. But this is one time Harriet isn’t lying - and she knows that if she can find the binoculars and figure out who really took them, she can prove it.This series is perfect for fans of Clementine and Ramona Quimby, with a bold, brash heroine and the comforting, big-hearted, funny tone that resonates with readers. Harriet and her adorable kitty Matzo Ball are sure to be long-enduring and beloved characters.
Elana K Arnold is the award-winning author of many books for children and teens, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and the Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat. She is a member of the faculty at Hamline University’s MFA in writing for children and young adults program.in conversation with Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin for a virtual event
Thursday, February 16, 2 pm - click here to register.
Join us online for the February installment of our Readings from Oconomowaukee event series, presented in partnership with Books & Company of Oconomowoc. This month’s event features Edward Chisholm, author of A Waiter in Paris, an evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light. Cohosted by our friends of Alliance Française de Milwaukee.
Be sure to order your copy of A Waiter in Paris now as well. Order here from Boswell or order here from Books & Company.A waiter's job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door is hell. Edward Chisholm's spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly. Waiting is a job that’s physically demanding, frequently humiliating, and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter when you’re in Paris, the center of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.
Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé, says: "A young Englishman’s journey into the merciless world of Parisian restaurants is propulsive, harrowing, and expertly observed. I could practically smell the grease and feel his terror and - ironically - his hunger. I don’t think I’ll dine out in quite the same way again." And from the starred Publishers Weekly review: "A Dickensian tale of a young man’s trial by fire in a French bistro gives rise to biting commentary on Parisian culture in Chisholm’s intoxicating debut."Edward Chisholm was born in England and moved to Paris after graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Chisholm spent four years working all manner of low-paid restaurant jobs, from waiting and bartending, while trying to build a career as a writer. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Financial Times.
in conversation with Sally Haldorson for a virtual event
New Date: Monday, February 20, 1 pm - click here to register.
Boswell Book Company and Porchlight Book Company are so happy to welcome Katherine May back for a virtual sequel to last year’s visit! This time the Wintering author joins us for a pre-publication preview event for her new book, Enchantment, which offers an invitation to rediscover the feelings of awe and wonder available to us all.
Books will be available for pickup at Boswell on February 28, 2023, the publication date. Preorders will receive a special art print with an enchanting quote from the book!Katherine May invites the reader to come with her on a journey to reawaken our innate sense of wonder and awe. With humor, candor, and warmth, she shares stories of her own struggles with work, family, and the aftereffects of pandemic, particularly the feelings of overwhelm as the world rushes to reopen. Blending lyricism and storytelling, sensitivity and empathy, Enchantment invites each of us to open the door to human experience in all its sensual complexity, and to find the beauty waiting for us there.
And how about this early praise from Anne Lamott: "I love Katherine May’s new book, Enchantment.She is so smart, tender hearted, thoughtful. It’s actually enchanting, so wise and lyrical, down to earth and mystical, personal and universal. It’s a beautiful offering of light, truth and charm in these strange, dark times."This article from Rachel Abrams of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review gives a very thorough and thoughtful rundown of the charms of the book. A particular highlight is when she talks about the Leonid meteor shower of 1833:"One early morning, an estimated 72,000 streaks of light fell across the sky in magnificent arcs. The witnesses, who at the time didn’t have the scientific knowledge to explain it, had to reckon with the mystery in their own ways, each one coming to their own uncertain conclusion about the nature of the universe. That very plurality of meaning is the magic of deep terrain. It doesn’t offer a straightforward answer. Engaging with its layers of history and life isn’t a means to an end but a practice in and of itself, one that requires curiosity, reverence, and ceremony. Most importantly, you create your own meaning."
Katherine May is the New York Times bestselling author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. Her journalism and essays have appeared in a range of publications including The New York Times, The Times of London, and Cosmopolitan.
Edward Chisholm by Morgane Lequand
Katherine May by Alexa Loy Dent
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
One mid-week event for a book about the Midwest: Jon K Lauck, at Boswell for The Good Country
at Boswell, in conversation with Bill Glauber.
Click here to register!
Boswell hosts former Midwestern History Association president Jon K Lauck for an evening in which we’ll celebrate our region with his new book, The Good Country, a first-ever chronicle of the Midwest’s formative century which restores the American heartland to its central place in the nation’s history.
At the center of American history is a hole - a gap where some scholars’ indifference or disdain has too long stood in for the true story of the American Midwest. Lauck, the premier Midwest historian, puts Midwestern 'squares' center stage - an unorthodox approach that leads to surprising conclusions. The American Midwest, in Lauck’s cogent account, was the most democratically advanced place in the world during the nineteenth century, and The Good Country describes a rich civic culture that prized education, literature, libraries, and the arts, and generally put democratic ideals into practice to a greater extent than any nation to date.In a trying time of contested politics and culture, Lauck locates a middle ground, fittingly, in the center of the country. The Washington Post calls the book "well-researched and provocative," and author Gregory L. Schneider says: "I know of no historian who has done such a superb job chronicling and framing the history of the American Midwest than Jon Lauck." AP News also published a review of the book, which you can read here. Apparently Lauck "developed the book out of his own search for a comprehensive history of the region to teach in his classes at the University of South Dakota. He discovered that while scholarship dedicated to the American South and West was flourishing, historical study of the Midwest had long been neglected." His hard work is our gain!From Bill Glauber's profile in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, when asked about Midwest stereotypes: "The stereotype that's most offensive is that nothing happens here so we can just ignore this region. The Midwest was the biggest region in the country at the end of the 1800s. It's where all the manufacturing took place. It's where we grew our food. And it helped shaped early America and helped win the Civil War. And these are things we forget and that we neglect and people on the coasts aren't going to look out for us, so we need to do it."
Jon K. Lauck has authored and edited several books, including The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History, Finding a New Midwestern History, and three volumes of The Plains Political Tradition. He teaches history and political science at the University of South Dakota and is Editor-in-Chief of Middle West Review.
Photo credit: Jon Lauck by Mike Barry