Hello,
last week we had a day that was sunny and 29 degrees out. It felt downright balmy! I ran an errand without gloves or hat. After what felt like a small lifetime of grey skies and temperatures hoovering between -0 and 3 degrees, today's weather feels like a tropical Wisconsin winter. It wouldn't surprise me to see someone in shorts today.
This Friday, Ken and I will be having a virtual conversation with Lauren Fox, author of Send for Me, at 2:00p.m on Zoom. You can register HERE. Send for Me was selected as a February IndieNext Pick (read Ken's recommendation below) and a 'Read with Jenna' book club selection. It is a deeply moving novel based on letters written to Lauren Fox's grandmother in Milwaukee from her great grandmother in Germany. Both Ken and I think it is a terrific book and look forward to talking with Lauren Fox.
We are just two weeks away from our poetry reading celebrating Through this Door: Wisconsin in Poems. Editors Margaret Rozga (former Wisconsin Poet Laureate) and Angie Trudell Vasquez (Madison Poet Laureate) along with nine guest poets will read one of their own poems and select a favorite poem from the anthology that resonates with them. Each poet will say a few words about how these poems fit together and give new meaning when read side by side. I'm excited to have the incredible mix of poets together. It is going to be a unique, exciting and memorable event. You can register HERE.
You have one more week to start a new book series with our 2021 promotion! A quick refresher - 1st in series is full price, 2nd is 20% off, 3rd is 21% off. We have a great selection for adults, teens, and kids!
Cheers and Happy Reading!
Lisa with Katrina, Ken, Chloe, Genavieve, Kristen, Elisabeth, Beth, Joseph, Maureen, Jewell, Toni, Lynn, and Judy
*Our book series promo runs through February 28, 2021. Discounts to not combine and restricted titles are excluded
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Current Store Hours
Monday - Friday 9:00 - 6:00 Saturday- Sunday 9:00 - 5:00
Masks required. Limit of 10 customers
Curbside pick up, local delivery, and shipping available.
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LAUREN FOX
in Conversation with
Lisa Baudoin & Ken Favell
Friday, February 26th
2:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Join us for a special event with author Lauren Fox and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin and Ken Favell!
Bookseller Ken has been a fan of this novel from the beginning and his review is in the February 2021 Indie Next List! He says: “I was deeply moved by this beautifully written and fascinating novel about four generations of Jewish women, based on a series of letters written by Fox’s great-grandmother in Germany to her grandmother in Milwaukee between 1938 and 1941. Annelise leaves Germany with her husband and child at the cusp of World War II and emigrates to Milwaukee, where a new life awaits. But she leaves behind her parents, who desperately wait for visas to join her. Memories play a deep part in the novel, as do the (sometimes) rocky relationships between mothers and daughters. I’m sure that this excellent novel will find a place on many reading group lists.”
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Thursday, February 25th
6:30 p.m.
Virtual Event
presented by
Tall Pines Conservancy
Tall Pines presents a special fundraising event with Michael Perry for you to experience from the comfort of your own home!
Registration Fee of $50 is Tax Deductible and includes a gift package featuring LaBelle Cheese and Mayer Farms beef sticks.
Michael Perry is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Humorist, Singer/Songwriter and Intermittent Pig Farmer who will tell stories of life on the farm while we share with you some exciting new land conservation projects slated for 2021!
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THROUGH THIS DOOR WISCONSIN IN POEMS
Editors Margaret Rozga and
Angela Trudell Vasquez
with Nine Guest Poets
Tuesday, March 9th
7:00 p.m.
via Zoom
Registration (Free) Required
Join Books & Company and the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books for an evening of creativity, reflection, and words that make music with editors Margaret Rozga and Angela Trudell Vasquez as well as these guest poets: B.J. Hollars, Philomena Kebec, Amy Teutenberg, Nikki Wallschlaeger, Jodi Vander Molen, Wendy Vardaman, Max Garland, Margaret Noodin, and Ken Graber.
There’s never been a book quite like Through This Door: Wisconsin In Poems. Editors Margaret Rozga, 2019-2020 Wisconsin Poet Laureate, and Angela Trudell Vasquez, current Madison Poet Laureate, bring together poets from diverging trains of poetic thought, poems to lift you and sit with you when you need to be quiet and still, when you need to sing with joy, laugh out loud, and weep with all we the people have been through. This reading features nine of those poets, poets from northern and western Wisconsin as well as poets from southeastern Wisconsin, including one who is an alumna of the UW Milwaukee at Waukesha campus.
This event is in partnership with the
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ABI DARÉ
in conversation with
Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin
Thursday, March 25th
2:00 p.m.
via Zoom
Join us for our March installment of Readings From Oconomowaukee! This month, Boswell Books' Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin will be in conversation with Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice for the paperback release.
The unforgettable, inspiring story of a teenage girl growing up in a rural Nigerian village who longs to get an education so that she can find her “louding voice” and speak up for herself, The Girl with the Louding Voice is a simultaneously heartbreaking and triumphant tale about the power of fighting for your dreams.
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AMY E. REICHERT
in Conversation with
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Monday, April 19th
7:00 p.m.
Via ZOOM
Join us for what will be an absolutely lovely evening for our April Readings from Oconomowaukee! Local favorite Wisconsinite Amy Reichert will be in conversation with Boswell Books' Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin for Reichert's newest novel, The Kindred Spirits Supper Club!
(on sale 4/20/21)
Jobless and forced home to Wisconsin, journalist Sabrina Monroe can tolerate reunions with frenemies and kisses from old boyfriends, but not the literal ghosts that greet her in this heartwarming tale of the power of love and connection from acclaimed author Amy E. Reichert.
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KATHERINE HEINY
in Conversation with
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Thursday, May 6th
7:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Join us for the May Readings From Oconomowaukee featuring Boswell Books' Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin in conversation with Katherine Heiny for her new novel Early Morning Riser- A wise, bighearted, boundlessly joyful novel of love, disaster, and unconventional family.
(on sale 4/13/21)
A novel that is alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Early Morning Riser is Heiny’s most wonderful work to date.
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BOOKS & COMPANY BOOK GROUPS
Open to the Public- all meetings via Zoom
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Wednesday, March 17th
6:30 p.m.
ZOOM MEETING
by Ruta Sepetys
Registration coming soon
Wednesday, April 21st
6:30 p.m.
ZOOM MEETING
by Maureen Johnson
Registration coming soon.
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Wednesday, February 24th
1:00 p.m.
ZOOM MEETING
by Marjan Kamali
Wednesday, March 24th
1:00 p.m.
ZOOM MEETING
by Alan Hlad
Registration coming soon
There is a limit of 15 people per meeting.
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Sunday, March 28th
3:00 p.m.
ZOOM MEETING
by Joe McGinniss
by Jerry Allen Potter
Registration coming soon.
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Tuesday, February 23
6:00 p.m.
Zoom Meeting
by Stephen Mack Jones
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BOOKSELLER PICKS- NOW IN PAPERBACK |
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by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher. Seventeen years later, Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. Books & Company booksellers had an engaging discussion about this timely and gripping debut novel.
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by Rye Curtis
Bookseller Katrina says "Kingdomtide is an intense, gripping story of survival. When the small plane 72 year old Cloris and her husband are on crashes in the Montana wilderness, she is the sole survivor. Debra Lewis is a Park Ranger struggling with her own demons including alcoholism and the aftermath of a divorce. In alternating chapters, the story unfolds as Cloris wanders deeper into the wilderness blindly trying to survive and Lewis struggles to keep the search going and her own issues at bay. Throw in a ghost legend, a fugitive, and the forbidding Montana wilderness and you have an unforgettable story. The voices of the characters are so genuine and authentic. I could not stop reading or thinking about this book, it was so well written."
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by Olivia Dade
This is a delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own. With love and a career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled? Bookseller Chloe says "April's social life revolves around her deep involvement in the fandom of the TV show God of the Gates. Her fan-fiction beta is her closest online confidant but she has no idea he is actually the real life star of the show! This was a really fun book- good for people who love to dive into a fandom!"
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by Buddy Levy
In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Labyrinth of Ice tells the true story of the heroic lives and deaths of these voyagers hell-bent on fame and fortune—at any cost—and how their journey changed the world. Bookseller Maureen says it's the "Best non-fiction/adventure book I've read in a long time. Shocking and true! If you don't know the story, don't look it up before you read the book first!"
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by Simon Parkin
By 1941, Winston Churchill had come to believe that the outcome of World War II rested on the battle for the Atlantic. A grand strategy game was devised by Captain Gilbert Roberts and a group of ten Wrens (members of the Women's Royal Naval Service) assigned to his team in an attempt to reveal the tactics behind the vicious success of the German U-boats. Played on a linoleum floor divided into painted squares, it required model ships to be moved across a make-believe ocean in a manner reminiscent of the childhood game, Battleship. Through play, the designers developed "Operation Raspberry," a counter-maneuver that helped turn the tide of World War II.
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by Judy Christie & Lisa Wingate
From the 1920's to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a black-market baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents—hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died. These are the compelling, poignant true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal—some of whom learned the truth from Lisa Wingate’s bestselling novel Before We Were Yours and were reunited with birth family members as a result of its wide reach.
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BOOKSELLER PICKS- NEW IN HARDCOVER |
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by Brandon Hobson
Ray Ray Echota was wrongly shot and killed by a police officer and his family still carries the grief almost 15 years later. His parents, older sister, and younger brother all are processing it differently, but it lingers with all of them and challenges their beliefs about memory, the afterlife, and reincarnation. Bookseller Katrina says "Full of Cherokee legends and stories of ancestors who walked the Trail of Tears, through the Echota family, we see how important these Native legends that are passed down through generations really are. I highly recommend this novel."
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by Annie Lyons
Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world—all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At eighty-five, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. Then she meets ten-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order. Instead, she finds herself embarking on a series of adventures with the irrepressible Rose and their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley. Bookseller Ken says it's a "Poignant and funny novel about the joys and sorrows of living. You won't forget Eurdora or Rose."
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by Kate Russo
Bennett Driscoll is a Turner Prize-nominated artist who was once a rising star. Now, at age fifty-five, his wife has left him, he hasn't sold a painting in two years, and his gallery wants to stop selling his work. So, left with a large West London home and no income, he's forced to move into his artist's studio in the back garden and list his house on the popular vacation rental site, AirBed. Warm, witty, and utterly humane, Super Host offers a captivating portrait of middle age, relationships, and what it truly means to take a new chance at life.
Signed copies available, while supplies last!
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by V.P. Franklin
Some of the most iconic images of the Civil Rights Movement are those of young people engaged in social activism, such as children and teenagers in 1963 being attacked by police in Birmingham with dogs and water hoses. But their contributions have not been well documented or prioritized. The Young Crusaders is the first book dedicated to telling the story of the hundreds of thousands of children and teenagers who engaged in sit-ins, school strikes, boycotts, marches, and demonstrations in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other national civil rights leaders played little or no part.
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by Abraham Riesman
Stan Lee—born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922—was one of the most beloved and influential entertainers to emerge from the twentieth century. He served as head editor of Marvel for three decades and, in that time, launched more pieces of internationally recognizable intellectual property than anyone other than Walt Disney. But Lee’s unprecedented career was also filled with spectacular failures, controversy, and bitter disputes. Abraham Riesman is a veteran culture reporter who has conducted more than 150 interviews and investigated thousands of pages of private documents, turning up never-before-published revelations about Lee’s life and work.
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by Adam Grant
Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt.
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people's minds--and our own. He makes it one of his guiding principles to argue like he's right but listen like he's wrong. With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners.
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BOOKSELLER PICKS- KIDS TITLES |
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by Taltal Levi
When a spunky little girl finds that her parents are too busy to play, she decides to visit her favorite place on her own. The familiar path lightens her step and her heart. And along the way she discovers a wonderful surprise. Taltal Levi’s spare text and delicate pastel-hued illustrations celebrate courage, discovery, and the power of family. Author Taltal loves telling stories about characters who embrace their vulnerabilities and overcome obstacles. Her narratives incorporate fantasy elements and draw inspiration from nature, animals, and her own childhood memories.
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by Malcolm Mitchell
From Super Bowl champion and literacy crusader Malcolm Mitchell comes an exciting new story that shows even reluctant readers that there is a book out there for everyone! Meet Henley, an all-around good kid, who hates to read. When he's supposed to be reading, he would rather do anything else. But one day, he gets the scariest homework assignment in the world: find your favorite book to share with the class tomorrow. What's a kid to do? How can Henley find a story that speaks to everything inside of him?
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by Julia Denos
Before your city goes to sleep, you might head out for a walk, your dog at your side as you go out the door and into the almost-night. Anything can happen on such a walk: you might pass a cat, or a friend, or even an early raccoon. And as you go down your street and around the corner, the windows around you light up one by one until you are walking through a maze of paper lanterns, each one granting you a brief, glowing snapshot of your neighbors as families come together and folks settle in for the night.
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Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.
Native families from Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In a high school gym full of color and song, people dance, sell beadwork and books, and celebrate friendship and heritage. Young protagonists will meet relatives from faraway, mysterious strangers, and sometimes one another (plus one scrappy rez dog). They are the heroes of their own stories.
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by Tae Keller
WINNER OF THE 2021 NEWBERY MEDAL
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal--return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health--Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger.
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by Nikki Grimes
For centuries, accomplished women--of all races--have fallen out of the historical records. The same is true for gifted, prolific, women poets of the Harlem Renaissance who are little known, especially as compared to their male counterparts. In this poetry collection, bestselling author Nikki Grimes uses "The Golden Shovel" poetic method to create wholly original poems based on the works of these groundbreaking women-and to introduce readers to their work. Legacy also includes a foreword, an introduction to the history of the Harlem Renaissance, author's note, and poet biographies, which make this a wonderful resource and a book to cherish.
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by Ransom Riggs
The last thing Jacob Portman saw before the world went dark was a terrible, familiar face. Suddenly, he and Noor are back in the place where everything began—his grandfather’s house. Jacob doesn’t know how they escaped from V’s loop to find themselves in Florida. But he does know one thing for certain: Caul has returned. Jacob and his friends will face deadly enemies and race through history’s most dangerous loops in this thrilling page-turner, the final adventure in the beloved Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.
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by Trung Le Nguyen
A beautifully illustrated story by Trung Le Nguyen that follows a young boy as he tries to navigate life through fairytales, an instant classic that shows us how we are all connected. The Magic Fish tackles tough subjects in a way that accessible with readers of all ages, and teaches us that no matter what—we can all have our own happy endings. Bookseller Chloe says "This graphic novel is a coming out story, a fitting in story, an immigration store, a loving family story, and a fairy tale, but it is so much more than the sum of all those parts. Read it- you will not be disappointed."
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by Shaun David Hutchinson
When Noa closes his eyes on Earth and wakes up on a spaceship called Qriosity just as it’s about to explode, he’s pretty sure things can’t get much weirder. Boy is he wrong. Trapped aboard Qriosity are also DJ and Jenny, neither of whom remember how they got onboard the ship. Together, the three face all the dangers of space, along with murder, aliens, a school dance, and one really, really bad day. But none of this can prepare Noa for the biggest challenge—falling in love. However, nothing is what it seems on Qriosity, and the truth will upend all of their lives forever. Love is complicated enough without also trying to stay alive.
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We have puzzles!
Books & Company booksellers have been relaxing with jigsaw puzzles and we know that our customers have as well. Please give us a call at 262-567-0106 to check the selections.
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Antiracist Reading Lists
We've put together lists of antiracism titles, as well as fiction, poetry, and essays with more representation of Black Voices. Whether you're looking for adults, kids, or audiobooks- we've got selections for you!
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View audiobooks on Libro.fm. There are many playlists and recommendations for kids and adults to listen to! Purchasing through Libro.fm helps support Books & Company too!
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