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I'm baaaaack!
I've certainly had some nice comments from you folks who are fans of this newsletter. Thanks so much for your kind thoughts. Taking the month of April off was a nice little vacation. But it's time to get back to making reading recommendations for your groups. I've found four fine novels that should spark some good discussions. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Happy Reading!
Ken
kenbksco@gmail.com
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THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA
#1 Cerulean Chronicles
by TJ Klune
This is a fantastic (emphasis on "fantasy") novel that I absolutely fell in love with. I realize that I'm late to the party for this one, since many of our booksellers and customers have read it. But the sequel SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA is set for Sept. 10. I'll be one of the first in line for that one. Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He lives a quiet life with his cranky cat, his yappy neighbor, and his love for old records. Suddenly his life is turned all a-tumble when he's told by Extremely Upper Management that he's to go to an orphanage on a distant island and determine whether the six dangerous magical children who live there are getting enough care from Arthur Parnassus, the master of the orphanage. This funny, warm and tender novel is one I'll always keep on my bookshelf. It's definitely a keeper. Booklist calls the novel "A sweet narrative about the value of asking questions and the benefits of giving people (especially children) a chance to be safe, protected, and themselves, regardless of what assumptions one might glean from, say, reading their case file."
The much anticipated sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, is on sale 9/10/2024-
Click here to preorder!
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THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER AND LOUISE
by Colleen Oakley
Sit back and relax because you're going on a road trip with eighty-four-year-old Louise Wilt and twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby. In Colleen Oakley's latest novel we meet two women who have nothing in common with each other. But Louise's daughter decides her mother needs a live-in nanny. Her health is declining and all of her children live too far away to help her. Tanner, who's been living in her parents' basement ever since a knee injury stymied her soccer scholarship to Northwestern, reluctantly takes the job. Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one. They happily ignore each other until Tanner begins to notice weird things. Why does Louise keep her garden shed locked tighter than a prison? Why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history, who looks eerily like Louise. And why does Louise appear late at night in Tanner's room with a packed bag, insisting that they have to leave immediately? The answers to these questions and many more can be found in this delightful novel. Author Jodi Picoult says of the novel, "You'll never be able to see what's coming in this wildly surprising, entertaining ride of a novel---which is a coming-of-age story, a contending-with-age story, and a surprising exploration of how womanhood is a matter of surprising others... and oneself."
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ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL
by Susan Meissner
I'm a big fan of Susan Meissner's historical fiction. Her latest novel tackles some deep subjects: eugenics, forced sterilization, Hitler's T4 plan. Meissner doesn't hold anything back as her characters experience heartbreak and loss throughout the 1930s, and during and after WWII. I'm reluctant to tell you any of the plot of this well-researched novel. (Too many spoilers that I might give away.) According to Susan Meissner, "Every author friend I have has a book they wrote with great effort during the creativity-hindering, strength-sapping months of the COVID-19 pandemic; this one is mine. I absolutely could not have written ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL without heaps of help, encouragement, and support during this uniquely complicated stretch of time." Historical Novels Review says, "ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL is an emotional journey of grief, hope and second chances. Meissner pulls no punches in comparing America's treatment of people with disabilities with the Nazi's actions a few years later, leaving the reader with the emphatic message that everyone has a moral obligation to speak out against governments doing horrible things. This one resonates."
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FINDING MARGARET FULLER
by Allison Pataki
I'll admit that I didn't know anything about Margaret Fuller until I read Allison Pataki's fine novel. Fuller was a nineteen-century champion for women's rights, writer, editor and journalist. Margaret's friends were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Elizabeth Cady Statton, among others. She was the first editor of the transcendentalist magazine The Dial. When she befriended Horace Greeley he sent her to Europe to become the country's first female foreign news correspondent. In Europe she spent time with Frederick Chopin, George Sand and William Wordsworth. Pataki writes in first person which brings us closer to Margaret's thoughts and desires. She looks at the many facets of her life and gives us a portrait of a brilliant and confident woman. Certainly a role model for women of the period. Author Kristin Harmel says that the book is "A powerful, emotional, deeply researched tale of a real-life woman who changed the world, only to have her name largely disappear into the mists of time. Skillfully rendered, immersive, and soul-stirring, FINDING MARGARET FULLER brings to life the epic and inspiring story of an incredible woman who should never have been forgotten."
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BOOKS & COMPANY BOOK GROUPS
Open to the Public
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Wednesday, May 22nd
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Signal Fires
by Dani Shapiro
Registration required-
limited seating available
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Wednesday, June 26th
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
The Sweetness of Water
by Nathan Harris
Registration required-
limited seating available
link to come
registration will open at 1:30 Wednesday, May 22nd
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Wednesday, May 22nd*
6:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Little Thieves
by Margaret Owen
*note date change
No registration required for PRADAS book group meetings.
Wednesday, June 19th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
The Extraordinaries #1
by TJ Klune
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Tuesday, June 18th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Squatter
by Yolanda Deloach
No registration required for Reading Wisconsin book group meetings.
Meetings are every other month.
Tuesday, August 20th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
How to Walk on Water and Other Stories
by Rachel Swearingen
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Tuesday, May 28th
4:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
The Change
by Kirsten Miller
No registration required for Mystery book group meetings.
Tuesday, June 25th
4:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
Last Call at the Nightingale
by Katharine Schellman
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In Person Author Event
Readings from Oconomowaukee
CLAIRE LOMBARDO
Monday, June 17th
2:00 p.m.
Books & Company
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Join us for a lovely afternoon start of a double feature edition of Readings from Oconomowaukee with author Claire Lombardo for her new novel Same As It Ever Was- a brilliantly observed family drama in which the enduring, hard-won affection of a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present. Lombardo will be in conversation with bookstore proprietors Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin. Please register for this free event!
Can't make this afternoon event? We're taking this event on the road and will be at Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee at 6:30 p.m. Click here to register for the evening event!
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Ticketed In Person Author Event
JACK CARR
Monday, June 24th
7:00 p.m.
at the Oconomowoc Arts Center
641 East Forest St
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
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Books & Company and the Oconomowoc Arts Center present an evening with author Jack Carr to discuss his new book Red Sky Mourning, the latest in the Terminal List series!
Tickets are $37.00 and include a signed copy of Red Sky Mourning.
In lieu of a signing line attendees can have a photo taken with Jack Carr.
Click here for more info!
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Ticketed In Person Author Event
EMILY GIFFIN
Monday, July 22nd
2:00 p.m.
at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
3270 Mitchell Park Dr.
Brookfield, WI 53045
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Books & Company, Boswell Book Company, and the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts present an evening with author Emily Giffin for her new novel The Summer Pact.
Tickets are $36 and include admission, book, and facilities fee. There is a separate internet ordering fee.
Stock up on sunscreen and mix a fresh batch of iced tea - it’s never too early to start getting into a summer reading frame of mind. And what better way to get into the spirit of prose-and-porch swing season than with a fun and enlightening event with NYT bestselling author Emily Giffin?
Click here for more info!
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Ticketed In Person Author Event
JODI PICOULT
Monday, September 9th
7:00 p.m.
at The Pabst Theater
144 E Wells St
Milwaukee, WI 53202
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TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST!
Boswell Book Company, Books & Company, and WUWM/89.7 present
an evening of conversation with bestselling author Jodi Picoult.
Tickets are $32.50 plus tax and ticket fees. Each ticket includes admission to the event and a copy of
Jodi Picoult's new novel By Any Other Name.
All books are pre-signed. In lieu of personalization,
each attendee will receive a professional photograph with Jodi Picoult.
You can avoid some of the fees by buying your tickets in person at the Pabst box office.
Click here for more info!
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We support over 50 private book groups with their monthly selection available on the Book Group shelf in store. If your book group is registered with us, we offer 15% off of the book group title each month. To register your book group, just let us know what your book group name is and what you're reading, as well as a contact name for the group. As long as we have an updated list of your books, we will have them on the book group shelf in the store and listed on our website. |
Books & Company
1039 Summit Ave Oconomowoc, WI
262-567-0106
HOURS
Mon-Fri 9:00-7:00
Sat-Sun 9:00-5:00
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