BOOK GROUP NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2023
My deepest apologies for the lateness of this January Reading Group Newsletter. I could tell you that I lost track of the time because my nose was stuck in a few great books including FAIRY TALE by Stephen King (great fantasy with a super dog), LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus (set in the 50s when women were expected to stay home and cook. Another great dog.), IN MEMORIAM by Alice Winn (one of the best WWI novels I've ever read--comes out in March). And, it's true that I had a wonderful "free reading" December.

But the real reason I'm a Tardy Tommy is that I was knocked out by a nasty cold/flu thing. Cough! Cough! Fever! Fever! And to top it off I lost my voice! And you know what many of the fashionable readers say...a bookseller without a voice is like a turkey without a gobble. But I'm feeling better and back to work even though my voice sounds like a squeaky foghorn.  


I've picked four fine books for your reading group pleasure. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!


Happy Reading!
Ken 
by Amita Parikh

Young Lena Papadopoulos lives on a European circus train with Theo, her headlining illusionist father, during the 30s and 40s. Things have never been easy for Lena. When she was younger she contracted polio and uses a wheelchair as her main mode of transportation. When Alexandre, a young stowaway, boards the train Lena discovers a new friend who encourages her to find her true self and realize that it's not impossible for her to walk again. But is Theo too protective of his daughter to allow her to go for her biggest dreams? When war is declared in Europe, life at the circus gets more difficult. Theo and Alexandre are arrested and made to perform in Theresienstadt, a town in Czechoslovakia for Jews set up by the Nazis. Author Kristin Harmel says of the novel "magic, love, destiny and illusion combine with the glitter of twentieth-century circus life and the heartbreak of war in Amita Parikh's masterful first novel." Author Pam Jenoff says, "Amita Parikh has written a passionate and gripping tale of unlikely alliances and hidden strengths, and a powerful reminder that to live is not just to survive, but to be seen and known for ourselves.  
by Lily Brooks-Dalton

This great novel turned out to be one of the five best books I've read in 2022. When I heard the author interviewed on NPR's Weekend Edition about the book, I knew I had to read it. It was also the #1 December pick for the Indie Next list. Told in four parts--power, water, light, time--the novel mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick and sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. Set in a Florida battered by hurricanes, erosion and rising sea levels, we see this destruction through the eyes of Wanda Lowe as she grows from childhood to womanhood. Buoyed by her father, brother, and next-door neighbor, she is given the tools to survive in a land she rarely recognizes anymore. But Wanda's willingness to accept her new world gives us all a glimmer of hope to come. Author Meredith Hall says the book "is one of the most daring, deeply imaginative, and moving novels I have read. The writer asks us to consider a near apocalyptic future, but, in prose that is beautiful and precise, Brooks-Dalton offers us hope that we are capable of remaking this world as a gentler and more generous-hearted place. Readers will not forget this beautiful book."    
by Sarah Winman

The first time I tried to read this novel I didn't make it past page 70. It didn't "sing out" to me. But Lisa suggested I try again. The author was doing a Zoom chat with Lisa and Daniel in their Oconomowaukee series. So I tried again and was absolutely charmed by the characters and plot. It's a big novel mostly set in Florence after World War II. Ulysses Temper is the owner of a small pensione in Florence, one he inherited from a gentleman whose life he saved shortly after the war. It's here we meet an incredibly colorful group of people who form a unique family. This is a novel of the importance of family, the power of art and the beauty of Tuscany. The Washington Post says the book, "is that rare affectionate novel that makes one feel grateful to have been carried along. Unfurling with no more hurry than a Saturday night with old friends, the story celebrates the myriad ways love is expressed and families are formed." Author Rachel Joyce says, "from its opening page STILL LIFE embodies the full generosity of the human spirit. This vast, ambitious, galloping bear-hug of a book unashamedly celebrates love in all its many forms. Love of art, love of strangers, love of a good glass of Italian wine and a bowl of pasta cooked with enough salt to taste like the sea. Love of stories. Love of love."  

by Brendan Slocumb

In his debut novel Brendan Slocumb, a musician himself, tells the story of Ray McMillan, born in rural North Carolina with a dream of becoming a classical violinist. As he fights the racism inherent in the world of classical music, Ray is determined to become a world class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother who thinks his playing is just a lot of noise. And not the fact that he can't afford a violin suitable for his talents. But when his grandmother gives him his great-great-grandfather's beat-up fiddle, Ray discovers the magic behind this instrument. Author Alexander McCall Smith calls the novel, "magnificent from the first page to the last, the pace never slackens. It is a gorgeous read. Old violins, international music competitions, human greed, determination, decency--all of these feature in this first rate novel." Author Gary Shteyngart says, "finally classical music gets the complex treatment it deserves. A wide-eyed look at the art form and its discontents." 
BOOKS & COMPANY BOOK GROUPS
Open to the Public

All book groups are meeting in store again!
Books & Company is excited to launch a new BOOK GROUP at the store featuring titles from the monthly Indie Next List. The Indie Next List features books nominated by booksellers from the American Booksellers Association (ABA) member bookstores. The Independent Booksellers’ nominations are not based on sales, but rather content. Books & Company has been an Independent Bookstore since 1983 and an active member of ABA for as long. The ABA Indiebound programs help build a strong and vibrant Independent Bookselling community. We are proud to be our community's local and Independent Bookstore. This book group is intended to be an opportunity to inspire reading and community connections. 

The group will meet the THIRD Thursday of each month
at 6pm at Books & Company.
Open to the public! 
Wednesday, Jan 25th
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Mike Gayle
Registration required-
limited seating available



Wednesday, Feb 22nd
1:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Janet Skeslien Charles
Registration required-
limited seating available
link coming soon
Tuesday, Jan 24th
4:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Jane Pek



Tuesday, Feb 28th
4:00 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by E. Lockhart



No registration required for Mystery book group meetings.
Wednesday, Jan 18th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Erin A. Craig


Wednesday, Feb 15th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Elizabeth Acevedo



No registration required for PRADAS book group meetings.
Wednesday, February 16th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Susanne Pari


Wednesday, March 16th
6:30 p.m.
in person at Books & Co.
by Kim Fay



No registration required for Indie Next book group meetings.
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Readings from Oconomowaukee

EDWARD CHISHOLM

In Conversation with
Daniel Goldin
and Lisa Baudoin 

Thursday, February 16th
2:00 p.m.
via Zoom
Join Boswell Book Company and Books & Company for our February Readings from Oconomowaukee event, cohosted by Alliance Française de Milwaukee.

This month will feature Edward Chisholm in conversation with Daniel Goldin and Lisa Baudoin, for Chisholm's memoir A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City- 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.