Staff Recommendations, Week of November 28, 2023

We've got two new books to recommend for you this week from the kids department - the YA and picture book shelves, to be specific.

First, from Oli Schmitz, it's a YA romance novel entitled Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher, great for ages 14 and up. Oli says: "Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is a fun, campy, betrothed-enemies-to-allies romp in an alternate medieval England, full of witty banter and genuine emotion. Though grounded in a historical setting (an imagined, post-Arthurian Camelot), the story has a timeless coming-of-age feel, featuring two queer teenagers learning to navigate their place in the world. Lex Croucher infuses their characters' voices with modern language and humor, adding relatability and subtle commentary to the narrative. This is a perfect YA romcom, with romantic escapades, found family, and a heartwarming journey toward self-acceptance. I adore Gwen and Art!"

From Jen Steele, a recommendation for the picture book A Pack of Your Own, written and illustrated by Maria Nilsson Thore, Maria Nilsson Thore and translated from the Swedish by Annie Prime. Great for ages 4 and up. Jen says: "I'm a sucker for doggie picture books so naturally I had to read A Pack of Your Own, and I'm so glad I did! It's a wonderful picture book about friendship with delightful illustrations. A perfect picture book to give that friend who matches your weird."

And those are the recs. We'll see you next time (in December, whoa!), and until then read on!

Staff Recommendations, Week of November 21, 2023

 

It's a quiet week for Boswellian-recommended new releases, so this blog will be a bit of a roundup of a couple of newer paperback releases and a few other recs that have slipped through the cracks.

The first book of note getting a paperback release this week is Milwaukee writer and educator Ben Riggs's Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons, which comes with two endorsments. First, from Jason Kennedy: "A good portion of my youth was spent playing D&D and reading Dragonlance and Forgetten Realms novels. I went to Gen Con and ate up all that was RPG culture at the time. Before reading this book, all I ever knew of TSR was their initials on the spines of their products. Ben Riggs has done a deep and extensive dive into TSR history, charting their beginnings in Gary Gygax's basement all the way to Wizards of the Coast rescuing their legacy with an epic buyout. He discovered that it was not just one mistake or symptom that caused the unraveling of the Lake Geneva gaming company but a series of them that over time trapped them in a corner with no way to free themselves. First, though, Riggs tells the story of the rise of TSR, how they broke ground and started something that people desperately wanted. Then TSR doubled down on their ingenuity to start a publishing book line to help deepen the lore of their products, which brought us some of the greatest writers in their genre and era. That small town in Wisconsin housed some of the greatest creatives and artists working in the gaming industry. Riggs does an amazing job of highlighting both the success and failure of one of the great iconic gaming companies."

And from non-gamer Daniel Goldin: "So here’s the thing. I’ve never played a game of Dungeons & Dragons in my life. And I’ve also already read Of Dice and Men, the D&D history that is the jumping-off point for this work, which promises to uncover some of the less-known dealings of Lake-Geneva-based TSR’s downfall. And yet I found Slaying the Dragon thoroughly enjoyable, partly because of the near-local setting, and partly because Riggs is a good storyteller who also highlights the corporate missteps in a way that I think will appeal to folks who read business narratives. And to think, Milwaukee finally has enough hotel rooms to keep GenCon, only 19 years too late."

The paperback of Minnesota writer Peter Geye's latest novel came out last week. It's called The Ski Jumpers, and it's recommended by Tim McCarthy, who says: "Families are held together in such unusual ways, and Johannes Bargaard has a family stretched so thin he hasn’t seen his beloved brother Anton for decades. Ski jumping is the one thread from their glory days that’s unbroken, but time is running out for Jon and Anton to do more than hide the frightening secrets that pushed them apart. Jon’s been told he has younger-onset Alzheimer’s and doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to trust his own mind or if he can finish writing one last successful novel. Their father’s funeral may be the only time left to fully uncover the bitter past. Geye gets the little details right as he brings his characters’ world to life, and his spectacular winter scenes of ski jumpers taking flight, from Chicago and throughout Minnesota to Madison and Lake Placid, surrounded me with a beautiful literary warmth. The Ski Jumpers, just as Northernmost did before it, will surely have me looking for Geye’s next book!"

Tim also recommends a YA book entitled Murder, She Wrote: Carry My Secret To Your Grave by Stephanie Kuehn. Tim says: "This is the second installment in a smart and savvy teen mystery series. Beatrice Fletcher is the great-grandniece of Jessica Fletcher, the ageless TV crime-solving hero of Cabot Cove, Maine’s Murder, She Wrote. Bea has serious anxiety issues, but she’s intense and curious enough to face a risk-filled world. Her psychiatrist helps her, “Aunt Jess” is still around to offer wise counsel, and her obsessive interest in the truth about crimes gives her the intensity. She’s been writing for a start-up web site about cold-case murders around Cabot Cove and has helped solve some cases. Now she's spending time with friends she met in the first book from the elite Broadmoor Academy. They play a cryptic century-old Broadmoor game known as tenace that promises a wonderous unknown prize but could be tied to the death of a former student who was close to them all. The terrifying death threats Bea’s getting make everything more bizarre. Bea is the creation of an author with teen children who's also a clinical psychologist. It shows. She sounds true to teen reality, and she’s also true to people who keep going despite their fear. I’m hooked on the series! Just like I was hooked on the TV show."

One more recommendation has come in for the latest Freya Marske novel, A Power Unbound, this one from Oli Schmitz, who says: "In this glorious finale to the Last Binding trilogy, Freya Marske expertly expands on the threads of story, beloved characters, and intricacies of magic established in the first two books. Your favorite characters from A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth have their moments to shine, and the two new POV characters will steal your heart all over again. While swept up in the larger plot of thwarting a conspiracy that threatens all the magicians of England, Alan and Jack must also confront their complicated histories… and the truly scorching romance that emerges between them. This series blew me away with its vivid, beautiful prose; an immersive third-person narrative voice that provides moments of deep emotion and wry humor by turns (and sometimes at once); and the flawless execution of a mixed-genre work of historical fantasy, queer romance, and mystery novel in each installment. I think this series will forever be a favorite of mine, and I highly recommend giving it the chance to become one of yours: meet Robin, Edwin, and Adelaide in A Marvellous Light; follow Violet and Maude as the plot thickens in A Restless Truth; and finish the story with heists, found family, and an epic conclusion in A Power Unbound."

Speaking of Oli, here's their rec for The Moth Keeper, a graphic novel by K O'Neill that came out this spring but gets the recommendation treatment now. Oli says: "The Moth Keeper is a lovely and magical graphic novel with a meaningful story of responsibility, community, and support. Young Anya takes on an important job in her community and must learn to accept help from others when it begins to take a toll on her. O’Neill’s beautiful illustrations highlight the stunning natural beauty of the desert, and the heartwarming comfort of a village where folks care for one another."

The last recommendation comes from Kathy Herbst, who suggests a story collection released earlier this fall by Yiyun Li. The collection is Wednesday's Child and the word from Kathy is this: "Beautifully written short stories of people experiencing heartbreaking loss and struggling to move through grief to acceptance. In each story, Li 's underlying message is the importance of connections between and among people and the surprising places and ways those connections are found."

And those are the recs! We do hope you've found something to keep you reading through the Thanksgiving break. So then - read on!

Staff Recommendation, Week of November 14, 2023

 There were so many books out last week that we barely kept up with the rest of the month reviewing and recommending them! 

That's okay, because we've got one doozie of a rec for you this week from Rachel Ross, who suggests checking out the latest Murderbot Diaries novel by Martha Wells. That would be System Collapse, and of it Rachel says: "Everyone’s favorite Murderbot is back following the events of Network Effect. However, this time something is a bit… off about them. This entry finds Murderbot dealing with the emotional fallout of events from their recent and not-so-recent past as they tackle a rapidly compounding series of issues alongside the gaggle of humans and bots they can’t help but feel a bit (over)protective of. As always, Wells’ characters shine with wit and tenacity while remaining grounded in relatability. System Collapse is snappy, irreverent, and satisfying."

There's one paperback release this week that has two staff recommendations, too! That is Sam, the novel by Allegra Goodman. First, from Daniel Goldin: "Even if you’ve read Allegra Goodman before, you’ve never read a novel like Sam. It’s told completely from her perspective, keeping just the amount of distance you might expect from an adolescent who values her privacy. With any number of childhood setbacks, Sam’s seminal years leave her insecure at best and entering adulthood with any number of missteps. It’s rock climbing that gives her a sense of purpose, and while it doesn’t take her where she wants to go, it does lead to unseen paths - she just needs to find the right footholds. Quiet but powerful."

And from Kathy Herbst: "A coming-of-age story told from the perspective of Sam, who is seven years old when we meet her.  She loves her father fiercely, though he is highly undependable, and struggles with her mother, who has primary responsibility for her two children.  When she discovers rock climbing, all of her energy goes into perfecting her skills at the expense of most everything else in her life.  Sam's journey to adulthood is engrossing, and this book is filled with deeply felt reflections on growing up, parenting, and the power of dreams."

We hosted a great virtual event with Allegra Goodman for this book when it originally arrived in hardcover early this past winter. What a great conversation! Click the video below to watch that.

Those are the recs! We'll see you soon, and until we recommend again, read on!

Staff Recommendations, Week of November 7, 2023

 So, so, so many books to recommend this week!

Daniel recommends The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food—Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes by Mark Kurlansky: "What makes a person read 200 pages on an onion? Perhaps I’m not one to ask, as my bookshelves have featured books celebrating bananas and orange juice. Kurlansky himself has tackled salt, milk, oysters, and Hank Greenberg (not for consumption). His latest offers a round-the-world tour of the onion, chronicling so many of the ways we have roasted, boiled, sauteed, sauced, and caramelized this variety of allium. Want to reduce tearing? Refrigerate it. It also helps to run the sink while you’re cutting as it redirects the sulfur away from your tear ducts and towards the water. Who knew? As someone who grimaced when his father would bite into an onion like an apple (hey, I’m only second gen!), I could say there was no grimacing here, and no crying either – just tears of delight from reading a thoroughly enjoyable book."

Daniel also recommends Twilight Falls, the latest Shady Hollow mystery from Juneau Black: "A family dispute leads to a tragic event at Twilight Falls and sure enough, reporter Vera Vixen (she’s a fox) happens to be on a picnic date with Chief of Police Orville Braun (he’s a bear). The trouble started with Stacia von Beaverpelt (she’s a beaver, and a wealthy one at that) who fell for Jonah Atwater (an otter) when the Atwaters were contracted for some home repairs. It is hard to believe that two species would not get along in the very special animal kingdom of Shady Hollow, but that’s the case for beavers and otters – they just don’t see nose to nose on damming waterways. And what about Muriel, the new-in-town hedgehog with a mysterious past and a flare for popcorn? The latest from Juneau Black is cozy-rific, with charming characters, delectable treats from The Bamboo Patch and Joe’s Mug, and at the center, a gently humorous mystery that should please all ages."

The Rachels both recommend A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. From Rachel Copeland: "Greedy magicians plot to steal all of Britain's magic, and only a small group of misfits stand in their way. Honestly, it's impossible to summarize the third and final book in the Last Binding trilogy without spoiling it and sounding like a crazy person. It's beyond normal human capacity to encapsulate the enormity of this power struggle, the treasure of this friend group built over the previous two books, and the scorching hot romance between two extremely unlikely people. So do yourself a favor and read all three books, then start a group chat with your friends so you can all-caps scream at each other about how Freya Marske has both ruined and saved your life."

And from Rachel Ross: "Marske masterfully concludes her Last Binding Trilogy with A Power Unbound. Following another shift in character perspective, long-held secrets are finally revealed, relationships are deepened, and all hell breaks loose. It was immensely satisfying to watch all of our underdogs coalesce rather violently into an unstoppable team against the dangers arrayed against them. Somehow, my least favorite character from book one became my favorite of the entire series. Alternating hits of searing spice with tender emotional beats, this is everything you could want from a final volume, leaving you with possibly the worst book hangover of your life (in the best way)."

Rachel Ross and Jen Steele join forces to recommend Bookshops & Bonedust, the new Legends & Lattes book by Travis Baldree. First, from Jen Steele: "Fantasy world? Check. Books? Check. A smart-mouthed Gnome? Check. Adventure, romance, and humor? Check, check, check! Bookshops & Bonedust had everything I didn't know I wanted. A prequel to Legends & Lattes that can be read as a standalone, Travis Baldree packs a punch in this delightfully cozy fantasy."

And from Rachel Ross" "Sidelined by a battle injury, stalwart orc Viv is forced to recuperate in a tiny seaside town. There she meets a mousey bookstore owner, spitfire gnome, dwarven baker, and a literal bag of (reanimated) bones. Baldree’s return to his realm of cozy fantasy is a quiet triumph, conveying beauty in the mundane, the joy of sharing a book together, and the sweet melancholy of how some people who only briefly pass through our lives can nevertheless be carried in our hearts for a lifetime."

Jen also recommends The Magicians, a graphic novel by Blexbolex, translated by Karin Snelson. Jen says: "The Magicians is a fantastical tale of magic and adventure, chaos and control. What would a world look like if there was no magic? An oversized graphic novel that reads like a fable and is packaged in the most dazzling way I’ve ever seen. French illustrator Blexbolex's latest is an impressive work of art that will make for a wonderful gift to be treasured."

Tim has three recs for us this week. First is The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez: "It doesn't feel like a novel. It’s more like a memoir or a set of essays. It’s Nunez fulfilling a need for something more real than a traditional novel, powerful bits of life. I like the narrator's voice, quite a lot. She's perceptive, with a sharp wit, the kind that makes me burst out with a sudden, single laugh before she (with me tagging along) quickly moves on to the next bit. She's kind but unforgiving of nonsense, and the absurd COVID times have been full of nonsense. (Weren’t we, aren’t we, all vulnerables?) Love and hope are wonderful, but who's expecting any, and can they possibly prevail? She’s a writer, and her literary references are clever and telling. She’s tough. All good! There is no significant plot, just a woman’s very fascinating commentary and stories about friendships and funerals, lockdown parrot-sitting and our love of animals, an empty pandemic New York cityscape, hippies, Pandora’s Box, and mental health. I truly could not have cared less about plot. I kept listening to that voice as long as she kept telling it like it was."

Next Tim recommends Baumgartner by Paul Auster: "This compact novel of love and loss and the unexpected details of life that come along for the ride is a testament to literary excellence. The astute, funny, and sometimes biting commentary of an aging philosophy professor tells the story. His loving memories of his exuberant wife, his grudging perseverance in continuing to live, and his very natural desire to keep loving in the face of pain all make him fully relatable to me. While I’m on about him being relatable, his middle name is Tecumseh because his “godless militant” father agreed with me that the indigenous Shawnee defender of his people is the greatest American who ever lived! I’m always relieved to find writing of Paul Auster’s caliber. There seems to be so little time in life to accept much less, and I’ve been given the Boswell booksellers’ gift of spending my personal reading time on any book I want that’s available to us. It’s a priceless gift, and I use it to find writing of Auster’s quality every chance I get."

Tim also recommends Deus X, the new August Snow mystery from Stephen Mack Jones: "August Snow doesn't mess around. He'll destroy you if you deserve it. He’s a Detroit ex-cop (didn't end well for the force) and Marine Lieutenant with two tours in Afghanistan. After a disturbing job helping his girlfriend's mother in Norway, the illness of an elderly neighbor has brought him home to a new crisis. He’s a practicing Catholic who says practicing hasn’t made him any better at it, but the church is no shield when it wrongs his people. Scapegoating a friend to hide church abuses doesn’t sit well, and Snow’s inclined to blow through secrets like a blizzard. (Oh, hell yes, I went there!) Still, he’s sophisticated, sort of a renaissance man with a tough, smart, no nonsense style. His commentary is fiendishly funny and highly insightful. His friends and neighbors are often crude but so damn lovable that hanging out with 'em was a joy. I'm far too sensitive for this crew, but hey, they’re fictional. Living in their world for a while is open to all. (Note: The bad language above is a litmus test. Do not read the book if it offends you.)"

Kay has two recommendations this week. Her first is How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney: "This is an insightful, sympathetic story about a highly intelligent autistic boy who can’t interact successfully with anyone other than Eoin (his dad) and Marie (grandma). The first day of high school is nearly a disaster, but Jaime is saved by a single attentive teacher. What begins as lunchtime entertainment for her soon becomes a mission to help Jaime learn the basic social skills needed to survive the rest of high school. She is joined by the new woodworking teacher. There are many ups and downs throughout the year, but by the last day of school, Jaime, while still awkward, has won over much of the student body. Cheers!"

Kay also recommends Cross-Stitch by Jazmina Barrera, translated by Christina Macsweeney: "Warning: this review is written by someone who is decidedly unhandy with needle and thread. Three girls become friends partly because of a shared interest in embroidery. They remain friends for a couple decades for many other reasons. When Mila can finally leave her husband and child for an extended time, they plan a trip to Paris. Not long after the trip, Mila and Dalia learn that Citali drowned in Senegal. Mila starts writing about their lives together. The stories are interspersed with excerpts from other authors about needlework, including: if women wrote history, the modern age would begin with the discovery of needle and thread; and, if men did embroidery, it would be considered an art, not a craft. I closed the book with a new respect for needle and thread, and I might even take another stab at using them!"

Jason now has two recommendations, the first of which is City on Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith: "The Weinersmiths take a deep dive into the realm of space travel and colonization. They want to pump the breaks on the expectations of leaving a climate-ravaged Earth in hopes of a better future. We have forgotten to consider a couple of points that are necessary. One, space is not full of life, and it wants to kill us. Two, the human race still doesn't know enough to predict what will happen to prolonged living in space; that’s not even consider babies and future generations, though that's a serious issue to consider as well. There's the great emptiness and vacuum of space, solar radiation, inhospitable planets, plus the small living quarters that could lead you to annoying your fellow travelers. And, if that wasn't enough, even if we are able to conquer all the technological and health problems, then we will have to contend with laws and corporations fighting for control of land on these planets – and premium interplanetary land is scarce. This all seems like so much to complete in a short amount of time; it will probably take generations. This book is insightful and hilarious and will easily interest armchair science enthusiasts everywhere in the solar system."

Jason also suggests you check out The Future by Naomi Alderman: "Naomi Alderman writes a world of the near future on the brink of environmental cataclysm. Alderman ties together the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media platforms; the way they can manipulate and change the subconscious of the world at lightning speed is truly frightening. If the heads of those platforms don’t have the best intentions for the world in their ethos, then the world is truly doomed. Which is where this book takes place. At the beginning, three tech giants and their families are alerted that that a cataclysmic event is in the process of happening. They extract themselves and head to one of their bunkers to wait out the end of the world. Alderman then takes us back to show us all the behind-the-scenes action that happened before the lead up. It is a wild ride, and I wish that the outcome could happen to our world as well."

Now it's Greta, who recommends The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan: "In Dolan's sophomore novel, The Happy Couple, the characters take precedence. It is centered around a newly engaged couple and the people in their wedding party. Celine, the bride, is hyper-fixated on playing the piano, in which she is classically trained. Luke, the groom, can't stop himself from being promiscuous and has slept with everyone in the wedding party. The writing style is similar to that of Sally Rooney (except Dolan uses quotations marks, when there is dialogue, unlike Rooney). Though the main cast of characters is unlikeable, they feel like real people, and they speak to the human condition where some readers might be able to relate to them. You'll want to find out what happens as it leads up to their happy day. The United States is lucky to get a release of this Irish gem."

Finally, Jenny recommends Emmett, a YA retelling of Jane Austen's Emma by LC Rosen: "The wit of the original fills this contemporary and queer YA retelling of Emma, and like Austen's Emma, Emmett’s cluelessness about love makes for an irresistible read. He’s quite earnest in his quest to make the world a better place though, and to Emmett that means volunteering at a soup kitchen, running the winter carnival at his high school, and trying to set up all his friends (and even his current fling) with boyfriends. But for Emmett himself, it’s ‘no thanks’ to love or romance, because that might lead to loss and therefore the misery he’s watching his dad go through. Like Emma, Emmett’s own judgey demeanor is invisible to him, and I both laughed out loud and winced more than once at his conviction that he’s absolutely right about absolutely everything. But who doesn’t love a flawed protagonist? I certainly do, and Emmett, both the book and the boy, completely charmed me."

And one paperback pick comes from Chris, Kay, and Jason! That'd be The Deluge by Stephen Markley. From Chris: "This book is written like a (rising) ocean, wave after wave of moments and years and ideas crashing one after the other, relentlessly eroding the shores. An epic peopled with characters as real as any person you know, who’ll fill you up with hope and heartbreak. A feast of a book."

From Kay: "Anyone interested in climate change fiction covering the near future (~now to 2040) won’t find a more informative, deep-dive novel than The Deluge. Thrilling, terrifying, maddening, and occasionally hopeful, you won’t be quite the same when you finish the book."

And from Jason: "I wish I could call this book a post-apocalyptic or dystopian novel, but unfortunately it’s all too real and grounded in the world we live in. We have climate change and disasters, political strife and corruption, economic disparities, and population displacements. Stephen Markley weaves together about 10 different characters living in the upheaval of America from 2004-2040. Everything we are experiencing now - the wealthy and politicians blocking environmental regulation and carbon impact and beyond - happens in this book. Markley, sadly, quite accurately imagines us handling these very real cataclysmic issues. I found it very true to the nature of humanity, as I believe in the best and the worst of most people, and Markley followed the logical path. Such a gripping and phenomenal read, I absolutely loved it!"

Whoa! That's a lotta books! Hopefully it's plenty to keep you reading until the next blog appears. Until then, read on.

Staff Recommendations, Week of October 31, 2023

 

Happy Halloween. Here on the blog, it's book-o-ween. These are the staff recs.

First it's the Fonz himself (not to be confused with his local bronze Doppelgänger), Henry Winkler, with a memoir entitled Being Henry: The Fonz... and Beyond

From Daniel Goldin: "After reading Being Henry, I can only feel bad that the publisher decided to put The Fonz in the subtitle. Winkler’s been running from the typecasting for most of his career, and one would have hoped that given the success of his third act, with his recent Emmy for Barry, his beloved work in Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, Children’s Hospital, and much more behind the scenes (did you know that he was a producer of MacGyver?) that people would know who he was without a prompt. Discarded title? Probably was I’m Glad My Parents Died, but that was already taken. That said, this is a most enjoyable memoir, packed with anecdotes, and shining through with Winkler’s charm, passion, and often self-deprecating wit. I love how he gets starstruck by other celebrities. As he notes, he’s still just a kid inside."

And from Tim McCarthy: "Henry Winkler is a good story teller. He’s open about everything and everybody, and his story is close to my heart. I was just a bit younger than the fictional Happy Days high schoolers in 1974 when the show started, and I doubt I was the only young Milwaukee teen who felt a little bit safer just because Fonzie showed up in my living room. It’s an odd confession, I know, but true is true. Hearing the Happy Days backstory is fascinating, and it's just a start. From his parents escaping Hitler's Germany for New York, where they called Henry a dumb dog (in German) because he couldn't read (undiagnosed dyslexia), to the many fine roles he’s played beyond The Fonz, the man has struggled through many difficulties and doubts but always felt an intense need to perform. He created characters at his parents’ parties, also on busses, and in so many plays, shows and films, where he’s always been recognized as a talented actor. He’s a good guy, too — kinder to everyone else perhaps than he is to himself. There's a bronze statue of The Fonz in my home town, and I’m happy to say that I have golden memories of Henry Winkler in my thoughts."

Daniel also recommends Absolution, the new novel by Alice McDermott. Daniel says: "I am a huge Alice McDermott fan, having read all her published novels, and I can say that her latest expands her canvas while staying completely true to her DNA. A conversation between two women leads to memories of the early days of America’s involvement with Vietnam. Tricia, the young wife of an American lawyer in Saigon, meets up, many years after the story, with the daughter of Charlene, the confident and somewhat manipulative friend who hooked Tricia into a fundraising scheme selling Barbie dolls (that’s right – an inadvertent tie-in to a pop phenomenon) in Vietnamese dress. McDemott has an unparalleled gift for small moments and details and is so insightful about the powerful bonds of relationships, whether marriage, family, friendship, or (remembering the period context of the story) servants. And as always, McDermott’s work is in context of a Catholic but not necessarily religious identity – I am afraid I never really understood that to some, the Vietnam War (or to Vietnamese, the American War) could be seen as a battle between the Catholic rulers and the Buddhist rebels, something that drives Tricia’s more devout husband. Sure to please fans (like me) while bringing new McDermott followers into the fold. Beautiful!"

Whoops, this got stuck in drafts! Alas. Well better late than never. Read on!

Staff Recommendations, Week of October 24, 2023

 

A couple days late, but no less great. These are the recommendations for the week from your friendly(ish) local Boswellians. Let 'er rip!

First up, a double recommendation for the latest novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. The book is Let Us Descend and the recommenders are Daniel Goldin and Tim McCarthy. First, from Daniel: "It’s hard to put into words how I felt while reading Jesmyn Ward’s fourth novel. The outer life of Annis, an enslaved teenage woman, is one of constant struggle. Starting at the plantation where her White father separates her first from her mother and then her closest ally, she is marched from the Carolinas to New Orleans, where she is put up for sale at a slave market, only to land at an equally dire sugar plantation in Louisiana. Along the way, she communicates with Aza, a spirit who has taken the name of Annis’s warrior grandmother. Let Us Descend might be more of a historical than its predecessors, but it shares the exquisite poetic language, a setting that is alternatingly bleak and ethereal, and memorable characters, centered by the unforgettable Annis."

And now, from the ever-unreserved Tim (that's a compliment, Tim): "Maybe you're like me and see the word inhumanity as a misnomer because vicious brutality seems to define human history. Perhaps inhumanity would be good. Ward’s new novel throws down the gauntlet—just try to find altruism in this American history. Show me where it is! Follow this enslaved woman on a torturous, bound, seemingly endless march to the Deep South, during which the new owners take everything they want. Find your precious humanity! Colson Whitehead did this to me with The Underground Railroad, searing permanent images of human terror into my thoughts. Now Ward adds her own depth and perspective to the terrorism of slavery. Her main character’s true name is Arese, meaning she came in at a good time, but good does not equate to being bought, sold, and herded like livestock to New Orleans, where the stolen people are gathered for movement to the next places of captivity. Still… there’s help from the elemental spirits; there’s beauty in the loving touch of family, guidance in the humming of bees, and surely beauty in the hands of a truly gifted writer. So much spirit and beauty in the writing. It’s about a relentless desire to live in the face of trauma and the possibility of deliverance. It’s a declaration: Time to redefine being human. Time to make it right!"

Now, from Chris Lee, a short story collection entitled The Neorealist in Winter from Twin Cities based author Salvatore Pane. Chris says: "Sal Pane gleefully bounds back and forth across two continents over the course of a century to portray a breadth of Italian American experiences in stories that are funny, triumphant, and beautifully sad. This book is a showcase for his ability to bend form to his will in service of complex, mature emotions. And Pane’s characters are searchers; in these stories he captures that powerful mix of grief and exhilaration that comes in the moment of leaving home and all the moments afterwards when someone chooses to stay gone. It’s also a book about that oh so classically American theme: failure. The failure to connect, the failure to clearly know ourselves and our world, the failure to hold onto family and the past and the guilt that attends it. This is a fabulous story collection that taps deeply into the joy and pain, the triumph and tragedy, of anyone who is really alive."

Sal Pane visits Boswell for a conversation with Chris this month! Join us at the store on Friday, November 17, 6:30 pm - click here to visit salvatorepanemke.eventbrite.com for registration and more.

Kay Wosewick recommends another event book for us this week - The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl. Kay says: "This book is perfect for anyone who likes to observe wildlife in their own backyard. Renkl writes 52 brief muses, one for each week of the year, inspired by the activity in her yard. Her short essays are accompanied by charming collages composed by her brother; the siblings clearly share the same love of nature. And Renkl knows how to compose a spectacular backyard ecosystem for attracting a wide range of migrant and resident animals, and she shares many clever tricks."

Margaret Renkl joins us on the computer for a virtual event, cohosted by our pals over at the Urban Ecology Center. The event is on Monday, November 20, 7 pm. Click this sentence to register to tune into this virtual event.

Jen Steele takes us to the world (the universe, even!) of middle grade books with her recommendation of Briana McDonald's out of this world new book, Galaxy Jones and the Space Pirates. Okay, that sentence got a little strained. Jen takes over and says: "Galaxy Jones loves her little corner of deep space, and helping her dads run their inn and hearing fantastical stories from the guests used to keep Galaxy busy all day. Lately, the universe has been expanding, so much so that they don't see many travelers at the inn - that is, until the Royals stop by, followed by space pirates. It's up to Galaxy Jones and an annoying Prince to save the day. Galaxy Jones and the Space Pirates is a fun, heartwarming, adventure-filled space opera for middle grade readers."

Over in paperback picks, we've got another Tim-Daniel team-up recommendation. That'd be Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro. Let's hear from Tim first this time: "Dani Shapiro has a gift for showing us how the smallest decisions and quirks of fate change everything. Signal Fires opens with a tragic accident. Lies are told and secrets kept to stop the very bad from becoming unlivable, and the effects reverberate through the lives of two families. It’s a story of the hope and fear of being a parent, and being a child, about the fierce love and smoldering regret, the shame of guilt. The story of life. In the hands of a talented writer we look at characters and understand: Yes. That could be me. It’s also the story of a universal energy binding us all and a way forward to living. The past and the future seem alive in the present. Shapiro is a talented writer. She tells truth with uncommon clarity, and this is beautifully written truth."

And now from Daniel: "Two families who live across the street from each other in suburban Connecticut are bound together by one tragedy, a fatal car accident involving the Wilf family, and one miracle, in which Ben Wilf facilitates the birth of Alice Shenkman’s child. The story careens back and forth across time, as the strands of connection deepen and spread. I love books like this, from Simon Van Booy’s The Illusion of Separateness to Frederick Reiken’s Day for Night, and the fact that I’m referencing novels from nine and twelve years ago calls attention to how rarely I find books that capture this feeling of awe that I found in Signal Fires. It was clear from reading Inheritance that Shapiro is adept at capturing life’s reversals; I’m so glad to see that this special skill is equally on display in this beautiful and delicate novel."

And those are the recs! We'll see you back here next week with a new (and spooky because it'll be Halloween!) batch of recommendations. Until then, read on.

Staff Recommendations, Week of October 17, 2023

 

Back in the staff rec saddle once again with another week's worth of wonderful books.

First, Daniel Goldin recommends the new memoir from Curtis Chin entitled Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Daniel says: "When Detroit’s historic Chinatown was displaced by an urban renewal freeway project, the community was moved to the Cass Corridor, one of Detroit’s most dangerous neighborhoods. But folks moved, including restaurants, residents, and community organizations. But eventually, all that was left was Chung’s, a family-owned restaurant that was a Motor City mainstay - Mayor Coleman Young was a regular. While the restaurant held on, the family moved, first to Southfield, then to Troy, where as one of the only Asian families in the community, the Chins found the prejudices against Asian Americans more apparent. And for Curtis, coming to terms with being gay was an additional challenge. Filled with anecdotes, history, humor, and lots of Detroity-ness, the only thing missing was that recipe for almond boneless chicken!"

Chin appears at Boswell for a conversation about this very book on Sunday, November 5, 2 pm. Click this sentence to register and to find out more about the event.

Next it's Tim McCarthy with two recommendations this week. His first is The Globemakers: The Curious Story of an Ancient Craft by Peter Bellerby. Tim says: "It started as a quest to buy his father a high quality globe for his 80th birthday. Bellerby searched around the world to find one and failed. It took years after that to be financially ready and get the right help to actually make them himself. It's a process of stunning complexity, building spheres covered with updated cartography for a planet that’s not quite round and then making them beautiful. Today these hand-painted and individually built globes are sold through the company’s website. It's a remarkable story, and this attractive book is nicely organized with inserted information. We learn about geography (with border disputes), astronomy, and exploration, beginning with the first philosophers and mathematicians who understood the Earth was round and estimated its size. We're taught about the first globes and maps and why they were made, and we’re given truly amazing details about the planet Earth itself. It’s fascinating. I’m a bit short of the money needed to buy one of Bellerby’s treasures, but just knowing that they are still being created today is a thrill for a retired teacher. I’ve watched children become entranced by spinning globes for most of my life."

Tim also recommends Distant Sons, the new novel by Tim Johnston. Of this, Tim says: "I won’t call Tim Johnston an outstanding writer of thrillers. He’s an outstanding writer. No qualifications are needed, and thriller fans reap the rewards. I've heard that Descent is great, I know that The Current is exceptional, and now Distant Sons joins the list. The dialogue feels true, the settings are finely developed, and the immersive story is intense without trying to be spectacular. Perfect for me. The characters bring their world to us fully and show the humanity we see in ourselves. Three young boys disappeared with barely a clue in the middle 1970s from a single Wisconsin town near the Mississippi River, and the suspicion about one young man back then lives on now into his old age. Forty years after the boys went missing, Sean Courtland and Dan Young are two skilled tradesmen on the road finding work and getting away from their own past lives. In this small river town, they’re about to find more than work… and that more is resolved but still haunting me."

Kay Wosewick likes this one, too! She adds: "Sean and Dan are wandering carpenters, taking jobs where and when they want. They meet in a small Wisconsin town that's still haunted by the disappearance of three 10-year-old boys over consecutive summers in the 1970s. Sean takes a job with an unfriendly recluse. The job is bigger than he expected so he hires Dan to help. The two learn about the long-ago murders and the suspected, but never proven, serial killer: Devereaux — the very man they are working for. The story slips easily between the past and present and slams into full thriller mode after a dramatic turn of events. You’ll be speed reading to the end."

We will also host an event with Tim Johnston this fall! He visits Boswell on Wednesday, October 25, 6:30 pm. So click on this sentence now to register for this event and to find out more.

Now over to Rachel Copeland, who recommends These Burning Stars, the first book in a new series by Bethany Jacobs. Rachel says: "A single coin holds a memory that could uncover the truth behind a genocide that nearly tore the galaxy-spanning empire apart decades ago. Three women pursue the memory: Jun, a hacker and thief; Esek, unpredictable heir to the powerful Nightfoot family; and Chono, a stoic holy woman trained by Esek. Like a puppeteer playing with all three is a mysterious figure known only as Six, a ghost of Esek and Chono’s past, whose machinations will have unexpected consequences for all involved. What a debut! Esek is one of the most compelling and repulsive characters I’ve had the dubious pleasure of reading – one of those charming psychopaths whose every action made me cringe along with everyone with whom she interacted. Jacobs plays these characters like an arpeggio, bouncing back and forth in time, adding layers upon layers until the shocking denouement. It’s a masterfully constructed story, with a twist so cleverly hidden that a second read is a necessity."

Our last new adult book recommendation comes from Kay Wosewick, who wants you to read The Last Language by Jennifer duBois. Kay says: "duBois’s writing is seductive, haunting and whip-smart. Angela and Sam spend many months of long days engaged in an experiment where Angela teaches Sam how to use a typewriter-like machine to communicate. Sam is 28 years old, doesn’t speak, and has poor arm and hand coordination. Sam lives with his mother, so he and Angela work in his bedroom. As soon as Sam is trained on the device, he reveals a sophisticated mastery of English and broad-based knowledge. Several times, his mother closely watched as Sam as typed personal notes to her. After she finds Sam and Angela in bed together, she comes to doubt everything she saw Sam accomplish. The book gives strong hints of trouble early on, but the devastating effects are released slowly, in fine detail - much like a psychological thriller."

Jen Steele jumps in with here recommendation of Lawrence & Sophia, written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Brian Cronin. Jen says: "Lawrence & Sophia is a tender picture book about overcoming your fears and the power of friendship. A beautiful and touching picture book by Doreen Cronin and wonderfully illustrated by Brian Cronin. A must read!"

And those are the recs! See you next week with more great books. Until then, read on.