BOOK GROUP NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2021
Wonder of Wonder! Miracle of Miracles! The boxes of books in my long dark hallway are gone and headed to the Used Books Sale at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Dousman. Hooray! I don't have to walk sideways down that hallway anymore or worry about being trapped by falling box debris. A few Tuesdays ago I lugged at least 12 boxes and 3 Pick N Save shopping bags filled with books down my stairs and out to my porch. Of course, I picked one of the hottest days of the summer to do it. SWEAT MUCH? When sale mavens Bob and Sandie drove up in their car, I wasn't sure if we could get the entire load packed up. But they weren't worried. They've packed up books for sale after sale after sale ad infinitum. As they drove away I bid adieu to those books I knew I'd never read in my lifetime. Sad thought, huh? Now I just have to promise myself that I won't go to the sale and buy more.  

St. Mary's Episcopal Church is on the corner of Hwys 18 and 67 in Dousman. The sale dates and times are Wednesday Sept. 15th 12:00-7:00, Thursday Sept. 16th 8:00-7:00, Friday Sept. 17th 8:00-7:00, Saturday Sept. 18th 8:00-Noon. Saturday morning special is $3 per bag.  

I've picked four fine novels for your reading group pleasure this month. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.



Happy Reading!

Ken
kenbksco@gmail.com
by Eileen Garvin

What a wonderful novel! I gave it five stars out of five in my reading journal. Eileen Garvin sets her heartwarming story on a honeybee farm in Oregon. Three lonely people come together to form an unusual family: Alice owns the farm and has panic attacks after the sudden death of her husband; Jake is a paraplegic teen who has the tallest mohawk in the county and is taunted by his abusive father; Harry is a 24-year-old without a permanent home and desperate to find work. Alice takes the two men under her wing, feeds them, gives them shelter and teaches them about honeybees. At the same time Eileen Garvin--a beekeeper in real life--teaches us about the miraculous world of bee hives and honey combs and how three disparate people can form an unexpected friendship. Booksellers Katrina and Judy both read the book and loved it, and we're beginning to handsell it to our favorite customers. Author Abi Dare says about the book, "Exactly the book I needed to read right now---I laughed, I cried, and in the end I was left with a renewed belief that there's always hope for all of us, no matter how broken or stuck we may feel. This deft, compassionate story about the enduring power of friendship and the sparkling promise of a fresh start will stay with me for a long time."

Lisa and Daniel (from Boswell) have put together a Zoom chat with the author for the November Readings From Oconomowaukee on Wednesday, November 3rd at 7:00 p.m.
by Emily Spurr

In Emily Spurr's beautifully realized debut novel, 10-year-old Rae isn't surprised when she wakes up one morning to find her mother gone. She's done it before---to clear her head--- but she always comes back. Rae does as she's always done and carries on. She walks her dog Splinter, goes to school, cooks her meals, and keeps her mum's disappearance a secret from her neighbors. There's grumpy and lonely senior citizen Lettie who hoards old memories and becomes Rae's friend. And there's Lucy Geddes, a Child Protection Operations Manager, who is as nosey as they come and knows something smells fishy at Rae's house. Emily Spurr says, "There are many ideas behind A Million Things, but for me, at its core, it is two things: it's a love letter to Rae and all the kids who cope with shadowy things outside their control, and it is a love letter to her mother, who did the best she could and loved her child fiercely, but, despite all the love, in the end it just wasn't enough." Author Amy Jo Burns says the novel, "Swept me into its thrall so immediately, that I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until I reached the end...fresh and slim, this novel pierces like a bullet and soothes like a psalm."  Get ready to spend fifty-five days in the life of 10-year-old Rae. You won't be sorry.  
by Amy Belding Brown

Brown's richly drawn novel looks at Emily Dickinson and her family through the eyes of their maid, Irish immigrant Margaret Maher. Not only does Maggie comment on the joys, sorrows, and intrigues of the Dickinsons; she also talks about her immigrant experience and her thoughts about the Fenian movement to set Ireland free of British rule. Most importantly, Maggie explores her friendship with the eccentric, brilliant, Miss Emily. Author Kathleen Grissom says of the novel, "Amy Belding Brown brings us a warm, intimate, and rich portrait of Irish immigrant Margaret Maher. Her story gives us a fascinating glimpse into another time while placing us directly inside the Dickinson household. I was captivated by this story and I know you will be, too." Author Stephanie Dary says, "With lyrical prose and an irresistible narrative voice, Brown gives the reader a scrappy and little-known literary heroine to root for--the Irish maidservant who helped rescue Emily Dickinson's poems. The immigrant experience is lovingly rendered against the backdrop of family drama, the historical details are immersive, and Dickinson fans will love this novel." A reader's guide is at the back of the book.  
by Freya Sampson

I love my community library. I visit it two to three times a week. I don't know what I'd do if it wasn't there. In Freya Sampson's charming novel, the villagers of Chalcot love their library, too. But when the local council threatens to put the library on the chopping block, the patrons rise up and attempt to save it. Lonely and shy librarian June Jones is forced to step out from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the memories of her librarian mother. To rescue the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes in her life. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too. There are many things I liked about this novel, especially Sampson's creation of the library patrons, including Mrs. Bransworth who isn't afraid to voice her reading opinions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone..."It's a load of over privileged kids and a bit of magic. Absolute crap!" Author Clare Pooley calls the book, "A wonderfully warm and uplifting story of kindness, community and love that made me laugh, cry and cheer." A reader's guide is included in the book.
BOOKS & COMPANY BOOK GROUPS
Open to the Public

BOOK GROUPS ARE ALL SCHEDULED
AS VIRTUAL MEETINGS VIA ZOOM

Check WWW.BOOKSCO.COM for updates and registration links!
Wednesday, September 22nd
1:00 p.m.
by Minne Darke
Zoom Meeting


Wednesday, October 27th
1:00 p.m.
by Elizabeth Letts
Zoom Meeting
Sunday, September 26th
3:00 p.m.
by Tom O'Neill
ZOOM MEETING


Sunday, November 28th
3:00 p.m.
by David Grann
ZOOM MEETING
Wednesday, September 15th
6:30 p.m.
by Nick Lake
Zoom Meeting

Wednesday, October 20th
6:30 p.m.
by Garth Nix
Zoom Meeting
Tuesday, September 28th
6:00 p.m.
by Halley Sutton
Zoom Meeting


Tuesday, October 26th
6:00 p.m.
by Eva Garcia Saenz
Zoom Meeting
UPCOMING EVENTS!
LAUREN FOX 
In Conversation with 
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Tuesday, September 28
2:00 p.m.
Via ZOOM
Join us for a bonus installment of Readings from Oconomowaukee in which Daniel Goldin of Boswell Books and Lisa Baudoin of Books & Company talk with author Lauren Fox about her novel Send For Me (An achingly beautiful work of historical fiction that moves between Germany on the eve of World War II and present-day Wisconsin, unspooling a thread of love, longing, and the powerful bonds of family) and other great recommendations for fall reading! 

JESSICA ANYA BLAU
Friday, October 8th
2:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Join us for our October installment of Readings from Oconomowaukee featuring author Jessica Anya Blau in conversation with Boswell Books' Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin. Blau's new novel, Mary Jane-  a delightful novel about a fourteen-year-old girl's coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her straight-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for--who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.