Welcome to Boswell!
Dog Man, star of Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the SeaOur Dog Man event is currently at capacity. Dog Man is also coming to Books & Company on Sunday, April 2 at 3 pm. More information here.
We love welcoming the stars of our favorite classic books for kids to Boswell, and so we’re happy to add a fuzzy new face to the list of costume characters paying us a visit. Dog Man will be at Boswell for a Saturday Morning Special event featuring activities, and of course, Dog Man will pose for photos with your kids or the whole family, creating memories you can cherish for years to come.
Dog Man is back in this highly anticipated new graphic novel. Everyone's favorite canine superhero faces off with Piggy and the most diabolical plot yet. With themes of friendship and doing good, Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea is packed with action and hilarity. Featuring "Chomp-O-Rama," a brand-new song, a monstrous Mighty Mite, and so much more than ever before.
Ryan Castelaz, author of The New Art of Coffee: From Morning Cup to Caffeine CocktailEnjoy an evening with Ryan Castelaz with his new book featuring coffee recipes and inspiration for every taste, mood, and complexity, making for the perfect coffee drink for each moment of the day.
Please click here to register for this event. And be sure to order your copy of The New Art of Coffee now as well.
While the popularity of craft cocktails and home bartending have helped people create their own drink-driven memories, the possibilities for coffee have remained rather tame. Much more than a guide to beans or brewing, The New Art of Coffee shares how to create inspiring concoctions and flavor profiles from comforting and rejuvenating to celebratory and adventurous.
Nearly fifty recipes paired with beautiful photography will inspire and offer something for every taste and time of day—hot, iced, carbonated, post-workout, decaffeinated, alcoholic, and deconstructed. Organized by mood, the recipes range in complexity from a quick quaff to a showstopping slow build, allowing readers to match the drink with the moment.
From Sarah Allen, Editor in chief of Barista Magazine: "While the basics of brewing are covered, the aim of The New Art of Coffeeis to push the creative envelope on developing whimsical, thoughtful drinks for cafe service with a thorough how-to in bringing the idea for a drink to life. Castelaz walks the reader through steps to consider and take in dreaming up something that will dazzle visually while pleasing the palate. And for inspiration, the author shares a plethora of his own original and imaginative drink recipes."
Ryan Castelaz is the owner and creative director of Discourse Coffee Workshop, which he opened in Door County, Wisconsin, in 2017, before moving the business to Milwaukee in 2021. His inventive drink making has been featured on the Emmy Award–winning PBS program Wisconsin Foodie and featured in publications such as Barista Magazine, Food & Wine, and The Growler magazine, which called him “The Coffee Wizard of Sister Bay.”
Holly Willson Holladay, author of Parks and Recreation and Erin Giannini, author of The Good PlaceJoin us online for a fun, informative evening of television analysis with Willson Holladay and Giannini, authors of two new installments in the TV Milestones series, which offers lively books that tackle the cultural impacts of classic and contemporary television in critical yet accessible style.
Click here to register now for this virtual event. And be sure to order your copies of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place now, too.
Willson Holladay’s homage to Parks and Recreation offers up an exploration of how the show evolved as a traditional network sitcom in a post-network era. While the media landscape evolved, so did American sociopolitical discourse, and Holladay examines how the series (contained entirely within Obama’s presidency) reflects the role of politics in American life on a micro scale.
Giannini’s light take on the darkly comic The Good Place considers the head-on way in which the show dealt with our fears about how our actions may come back to haunt us. Giannini argues that the show redefines the classic sitcom structure by mixing the genres of fantasy and comedy, while simultaneously teaching the viewers the importance of character development through the analysis of moral and ethical principles.
Holly Willson Holladay is Associate Professor of Media Theory and Criticism at Missouri State University and her research about identity, popular media, and media audiences has been published in journals such as Journal of Fandom Studies, Feminist Media Studies, the Journal of Popular Culture. Erin Giannini is an independent scholar in television studies and has served as an editor for PopMatters. She is the author of Supernatural: A History of Television’s Unearthly Road Trip and Joss Whedon vs. the Corporation.
Kevin Kluesner, author of The Killer SpeechBoswell presents an evening with Kevin Kluesner, author of The Killer Speech, the second entry in the series featuring FBI agent Cole Huebsch.
Click here right now to register for this event. And make sure to order your copy of the book as well.
A Black U.S. Senator from Wisconsin gives a rousing speech at his party’s national convention held in his hometown. When he’s gunned down on a quiet Milwaukee street the following morning, Eric Rhodes survives what looks like a straightforward, high-profile hate crime. But nothing is simple in FBI agent Cole Huebsch’s life, not his relationships and certainly not the cases he works.
Cole, FBI analyst Li Song, and reporter Michele Fields won’t stop searching for the truth, even when the most sinister and powerful forces in the country align to shut them down. When Cole faces several cold and calculated attacks on his life and the lives of others he cares about, it only strengthens his resolve. But how far are Cole and his team willing to go when the evil they face is above the law?
From Archer Parquette of Milwaukee Magazine: "It's a joy to follow Special Agent Cole Huebsch through the streets of Milwaukee in this fast-paced thriller. Kluesner exceeds the high standard he set with The Killer Sermon to deliver an exciting, humorous, and thought-provoking story with a phenomenal sense of place."
Kevin Kluesner is the author of The Killer Sermon
Jane Roper, author of The Society of ShameJoin us for a special evening with Jane Roper, author of The Society of Shame, a timely and witty novel in which a viral photo of a politician's wife's “feminine hygiene malfunction” catapults her to unwanted fame in a story that's both a satire of social media stardom and internet activism, and a tender mother-daughter tale. Perfect for fans of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Cosponsored by Milwaukee Reads. Roper appears at Shully's Across the Street.
This is a ticketed event - click right here to purchase a ticket! Each ticket costs $55 plus tax and fee and includes admission, a glass of wine, appetizers, and a copy of The Society of Shame.
Kathleen Held goes viral for all the wrong reasons – not for her house catching fire or her politician husband’s affair with a staffer, but for a photo that captures a period stain on the back of Kathleen’s pants. Overnight, Kathleen finds herself becoming a figurehead for the #YesWeBleed women’s rights movement. When she stumbles upon the Society of Shame, Kathleen becomes part of a group who are all working to change their lives after their own scandals. Using the teachings of the society, Kathleen channels her newfound fame as a means to reap the benefits of her humiliation and reclaim herself. But as she ascends to celebrity status, Kathleen's growing obsession with maintaining her popularity online threatens her most important relationship IRL: that with her budding activist daughter.
Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V, says: "A hilarious, fleet-footed romp that skewers contemporary culture, marriage, politics, and more even as it reveals the fears and desires that so often pit us against each other and ourselves, The Society of Shame made me laugh, wince, and think at every turn."
Jane Roper is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and is the author of two previous books: a memoir, Double Time, and a novel, Eden Lake. Her short fiction, essays, and humor have appeared in publications including McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Rumpus, Poets & Writers, and more.
Jennifer LW Fink, author of Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World That Misunderstands MalesWisconsin journalist, author, and On Boys podcaster Jennifer LW Fink joins us at Boswell for presentation of her new book, Building Boys, which offers tips and tools that parents can use to help boys move beyond persistent gender stereotypes to full humanity.
Please click here to register for this event at Boswell. And be sure to order your copy of Building Boys now as well.
Confounded by rapidly changing gender norms, today’s parents are attempting to raise kind, compassionate, emotionally sensitive boys in a society that simultaneously rewards stereotypical masculinity and is increasingly hostile to boys. Fink offers ten rules that parents can use to guide their parenting choices throughout their sons’ live - guidelines that are as relevant to parenting toddlers as they are to parenting teenagers. And because these rules are broad, they are as applicable to boys with ADHD, autism and learning challenges are they are to neurotypical boys.
From New York Times bestselling author Michael Gurian: "Jennifer Fink is a tireless advocate for boys, with four boys of her own…. Not only do her guidelines and analysis fit the newest research on boys, they also fit common sense - which is something that parents today find immensely important. I highly recommend this book to anyone raising boys."
Jennifer LW Fink is author of The First-Time Mom’s Guide to Raising Boys: Practical Advice for Your Son’s Formative Years, founder of BuildingBoys.net, a website and global community for parents of boys, and co-host of the podcast ON BOYS: Real Talk about Parenting, Teaching, & Reaching Tomorrow’s Men.
Timothy Egan, author of A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped ThemEnjoy an evening with Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author Timothy Egan featuring his brand new book, which tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them.
Please click here to register for this event. And be sure to order your copy of A Fever in the Heartland now as well.
The Roaring Twenties have been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
From Boswellian Tim McCarthy: "This is essentially the story of human failure focused on one sadistic, brutal man, but Egan turns it into an encompassing and oddly surprising portrait of 1920s America. The connections and references he weaves had me doing triple-takes, and frankly they got me through the moments when these violent predators terrified me. Egan makes it spellbinding." And from Daniel Goldin: "Egan’s meticulous research and lively storytelling combine for a powerful work with obvious contemporary parallels. I’m definitely going to be reading more Egan!"
Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer-winning reporter and author of nine other books, most recently A Pilgrimage to Eternity and The Immortal Irishman. The Worst Hard Time won a National Book Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, and his account of photographer Edward Curtis, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, won the Carnegie Medal for nonfiction.
Thomas Brussig, author of The Short End of the SonnenalleeMarquette Center for the Advancement of the Humanities and the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences present an afternoon with author Thomas Brussig and translators Jonathan Franzen and Dr. Jenny Watson, professor of German at Marquette University English. Brussig, Franzen, and Watson will be presenting the English translation of The Short End of the Sonnenallee, a novel set in Communist Eastern Germany in the decade before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Boswell will be on hand at the event to sell copies of the book. Click here to reserve your spot for this event.
Young Micha Kuppisch lives on the nubbin of a street, the Sonnenallee, whose long end extends beyond the Berlin Wall outside his apartment building. Micha is desperate for one thing. It’s not what his mother wants for him, which is to be an exemplary young Socialist and study in Moscow. What Micha wants is a love letter that may or may not have been meant for him, and may or may not have been written by the most beautiful girl on the Sonnenallee. Stolen by a gust of wind before he could open it, the letter now lies on the fortified “death strip” at the base of the Wall, as tantalizingly close as the freedoms of the West and seemingly no more attainable.
The Short End of the Sonnenallee, finally available to an American audience in a pitch-perfect translation by Jonathan Franzen and Jenny Watson, confounds the stereotypes of life in totalitarian East Germany. Brussig’s novel is a funny, charming tale of adolescents being adolescents, a portrait of a surprisingly warm community enduring in the shadow of the Iron Curtain. As Franzen writes in his foreword, the book is “a reminder that, even when the public realm becomes a nightmare, people can still privately manage to preserve their humanity, and be silly, and forgive.”
Thomas Brussig is the author of seven novels, including Wie es leuchtet and Helden wie wir. Jonathan Franzen is the author of six novels, including The Corrections, Freedom, Purity, and Crossroads, and five works of nonfiction, most recently The Kraus Project and The End of the End of the Earth. Jenny Watson is an associate professor of German at Marquette University.
Jon M Sweeney, author of Sit in the Sun: And Other Lessons in the Spiritual Wisdom of CatsBoswell and Sip & Purr Cat Café present an evening featuring Milwaukee’s preeminent spiritual scholar for a conversation about his new book, Sit in the Sun, in which he offers a playful, gentle, and profound meditation on the many spiritual truths and practices of our favorite feline companions.
This is a ticketed event. Tickets cost $40 plus tax and ticket fee and include admission, one non-alcoholic drink, and a copy of Sit in the Sun. Click right here to purchase a ticket!
As a spiritual pilgrim for more than half a century, Sweeney has practiced with teachers of many religious traditions. He's gone looking for wisdom, beauty, and truth wherever it can be found. But recently he's found himself learning closer to home - from the teacher-cats he lives with. What he discovered is that our greatest spiritual teachers are at our feet. Literally. They are the cats we love and treasure. Nearly 60 million cats live in US households today. These feline teachers have much to offer us about living in the present, loving unconditionally, approaching life with a sense of playfulness, and trusting others, all the while being independent spirits.
Here’s early praise from author Kathleen Deignan: "Sweeney graces us with a volume seemingly simple yet richly composed from his own domestic practice with feline gurus, enriched by insight gleaned from the lovers and researchers of this 4,400-year-old tribe." And here's a bit from The Booklist review: "Every chapter features ruminations on cat-dom, bolstered by comments from religious leaders of all denominations and translated into thoughts that could enrich lives. Simply written, with complexities to ponder. Includes sources for further reading."
Jon M Sweeney is author of over thirty books and has been interviewed in print by a range of publications from the Dallas Morning News to The Irish Catholic, and on television for CBS Saturday Morning and many other programs, about spirituality, spiritual practices, the pope, and the great lover of all creatures, Saint Francis.
Meg Zucker, author of Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and DisabilitiesBoswell presents an afternoon featuring Meg Zucker, empowerment speaker, UW-Madison grad, and author of Born Extraordinary, which offers a parent's guide to empowering children to embrace their visible and invisible differences. In conversation with Sally Haldorson, Managing Director of Porchlight Book Company. Cosponsored by Independence First and Porchlight Book Company.
Please click here and register for this event. And be sure to order your copy of Born Extraordinary now, as well.
Meg Zucker was born with one finger on each hand, shortened forearms, and one toe on each misshapen foot, caused by a genetic condition called ectrodactyly. She would eventually pass this condition on to her two sons, and, along with her husband, raise them and their adopted daughter, who has her own invisible differences. Born of the family’s hard-won experiences, this book offers invaluable advice on raising confident, empathetic, and resilient children who succeed, not despite but because of their differences.
Born Extraordinary helps parents of children with differences and disabilities to relinquish their instinctive anxieties, embrace their new normal, and ultimately find joy in watching their children thrive. Zucker and her sons have learned to ignore what others think and live fearlessly. Zucker gives parents the tools to meet their children’s emotional needs while supporting the whole family unit. Parents learn how best to empower their children to confront others’ assumptions, grow in confidence, and encourage dialogue, rather than silence, fear, and shame, around difference.
Meg Zucker is founder and president of Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It, a nonprofit with the mission of advancing understanding and mutual respect for people’s differences. A graduate of the UW−Madison and New York University School of Law.
Bill Schweigart, author of The Guilty OneBill Schweigart visits Boswell for a Thrillwaukee evening featuring his latest novel, The Guilty One, a thriller inspired by Jack the Ripper’s infamous serial murders in which a hero cop thwarts a brutal murder and can’t remember a thing about it. In conversation with Milwaukee writer Nick Petrie, author of the Peter Ash series.
Please click here and register to attend this event. And be sure to order your copy of The Guilty One, too.
In this breathlessly paced thriller for fans of David Ricciardi and Michael Connelly, when a hero cop’s memories begin to return, nightmares come along with them. Detective Cal Farrell stopped an active shooter and became the darling of the Alexandria press. The problem is that Cal remembers nothing from that day. He’s working with a psychiatrist to recover his memories, but hasn’t had much luck.
Then, on his morning run, he is once again the first on scene for a grisly discovery - a body hanging impossibly high on a tree. Soon there’s another victim. As the bodies begin to stack up, each staged more gruesomely than the last, Cal sees a baroque pattern to the crimes that no one else seems to understand - something out of legend. Don Bentley says: "The Guilty One is the perfect kind of crime novel. Crackling with suspense and chock full of compelling characters, this book grabs you by the throat and never lets go. I absolutely loved it!"
Bill Schweigart is the author of The Fatal Folklore Trilogy, Running Light, and Slipping The Cable. A former Coast Guard officer, Schweigart daylights as a branch chief with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Nick Petrie is author of novels such as The Drifter, The Wild One, and most recently, The Runaway.
Postponed - Elizabeth Berg, author of Earth’s the Right Place for LoveBoswell is pleased to welcome Elizabeth Berg back for an evening featuring her latest book, Earth’s the Right Place for Love, a beautiful book that tells the story of two young people growing up in Mason, Missouri, and how Arthur Moses, a shy young man, becomes the wise and compassionate person readers loved in The Story of Arthur Truluv.
Please click here and register for this event now. We are keeping the same registration for the rescheduled event.
Nola McCollum is the most desirable girl in Arthur’s class, and he is thrilled when they become friends. But Arthur wants far more than friendship. Unfortunately, Nola has a crush on the wrong Moses - Arthur’s older brother Frank, who is busy pursuing his own love interest and avoiding the boys’ father, a war veteran with a drinking problem and a penchant for starting fights. When a sudden tragedy rocks the family’s world, Arthur struggles to come to terms with his grief. In the end, it is nature that helps him to understand how to go on, beyond loss, to create a life of forgiveness and empathy. But what can he do about Nola, who seems confused about what she wants in life, and only half aware of the one who loves her most?
From Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's Beetle and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry : "Compassionate, witty, and delicate, here is a story about the people who find themselves on the sidelines and yet who manage - despite losses of their own - to be true to themselves and find their way. A celebration of small communities and the small kindnesses that, bit by bit, change a life."
Elizabeth Berg is the award-winning author of novels including The Story of Arthur Truluv, Open House, an Oprah's Book Club Selection, and Talk Before Sleep, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Three of her novels have been turned into movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters.
Stacey Abrams, author of Rogue Justice: A ThrillerBoswell Book Company and Milwaukee Film present a very special, ticketed event with #1 New York Times bestselling author Stacey Abrams and her latest novel, Rogue Justice, another riveting, intricately plotted thriller that follows up While Justice Sleeps.
Tickets cost $38 and each includes admission and one copy of Rogue Justice. The first 500 people to buy tickets will get an autographed copy, too! Please click here and visit mkefilm.org/staceyabrams to purchase your tickets now.
In Rogue Justice, a blackmailed federal judge, a secret court, and a brazen murder may lead to an unprecedented national crisis. Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unraveling an international conspiracy. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Keene is approached by an unassuming fellow law clerk who believes his boss, a recently murdered federal judge, was being blackmailed before her death.
Drawn from today’s headlines and woven with her unique insider perspective, Stacey Abrams combines twisting plotlines, wry wit, and clever puzzles to create another immensely entertaining and suspenseful novel.
Stacey Abrams served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives and was the first Black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history. Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, voting rights, and effective public policy. She is also author of While Justice Sleeps.
All event times are Central Time. To see a full event listing, visit our Upcoming Events page here. Read posts from The Boswellians (our bookseller contributed blog) here and Boswell and Books (from Daniel Goldin) right here, and visit our blog post archive right here.
