BOOK GROUP NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2022
Did you get a visit from Book Guy this holiday season? No? What about that book you found under the tree that you so desperately wanted to read? Poorly wrapped. No ribbon. No gift tag. I'll bet that was from Book Guy and his trusty sidekick Speed Readin' Sal. (Neither of them are good at wrapping or ribbons.)  

Book Guy and Sal usually arrive on Christmas Even when all the book lovers are asleep in their beds dreaming of new books by Nick Petrie, Kristin Hannah, Nora Roberts and Erik Larson. They enter the house on their magical book cart and slip the dream books under the tree.  

They try to keep out of Santa's way since years ago Book Guy, Sal and Santa had a rather nasty disagreement about the merits of Danielle Steel's outfits on the back of her book jackets. 

At the end of the evening when all of the books have been delivered, Book Guy stands in triumph on the magical book cart with his hands on his hips and shouts, "Book Guy, Forever!"

As his trusty sidekick Speed Readin' Sal begins to push the cart down the sidewalk, she says, "Hey! This is supposed to be a magical cart. I thought we were going to make it fly!" 

"Sorry, trusty sidekick Sal!" he says, still in his Book Guy pose, "The parts have been delayed. Supply chain issues."

I hope you received the books you wanted this holiday season. If not, here are four more to consider. Perfect for your reading group or just reading for fun. 



Happy Reading!
Ken
Do you remember the supply chain issues of 2021? It sure feels like ancient history, doesn't it! For me, buying inventory for the holidays was a bit like being in Vegas for a very long stay. I ordered up on titles, but it was a gamble. I have no regrets. It was a great season and we were able to keep nearly every hot book in stock, except for THAT one title - The Midwest Survival Guide.... (we are taking pre-orders of the mammoth 2nd printing).
But I digress... Back to Vegas - we have several wonderful titles with a decent quantity on hand. Instead of sending them back to the publisher, we are marking them down 40% for one week only! I would rather you have the discount! 40% off is a steal! You can buy one for yourself and your best friend! Thank you for an amazing year! We could not have done it without your support, laughter, and kindness. -Lisa

The selection includes cookbooks, picture books, teen and middle grade, history, fiction, mysteries, and so much more!

40% off SELECT TITLES FOR ONE WEEK ONLY JANUARY 13-20
by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

Bangkok in the 70s and Washington D.C. in the 90s are the settings for this big bold novel about sibling relationships, family secrets, loss, deceit and redemption. When Robert Preston's job takes his family to Bangkok at the time of the Vietnam War he tells his wife Genevieve that their stay will only be for a year. But months turn into years as Genevieve tries to make an American home for her children Bea, Laura and Philip. When Philip is eight-years-old he disappears which shatters the Preston family. This is an unforgettable novel told in a non-linear style. Schwarz says, "I did consider making the book completely chronological for simplicity, but I dearly wanted to give the reader a privileged view, one which the characters in the book don't have, by juxtaposing the now (when earlier events have grown cloudy in memory) with the before (when the events were clear). Author Jodi Picoult calls the book, "a delicious hybrid of mystery, drama, and elegance: rich with detail, lush in language and capable of keeping you on the edge of your seat." Author Lisa See says, "What Could Be Saved transported me. Liese O'Halloran Schwarz's exquisite and memorable writing has me still thinking about the ways in which the past influences the present, the complexities of family life, and the ways we negotiate challenges, tragedies, and secrets." A reading group guide is at the end of the book.  
by Nathan Harris

Of the 53 books I read in 2021, this marvelous historical novel was at the top of my list. Set immediately after the Civil War, George and Isabelle Walker are homesteaders on a land-rich acreage near the small town of Old Ox, Georgia. Into their simple lives enter brothers Prentiss and Landry, former slaves from the neighboring plantation. The Walkers hire the brothers to work the land hopefully creating a productive peanut crop. Prentiss and Landry dream of making enough money to travel North to find their mother who was sold when they were just boys. The Walkers, wracked with grief by the loss of their only son to the war, hope that hard work and this new friendship will help them ease their sadness. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo says, "What a gifted, assured writer Nathan Harris is. He does what all novelists are supposed to do--give birth to vivid characters, people worth caring about, and then get out of their way. The result is better than any debut novel has a right to be. With The Sweetness of Water, Harris has, in a sense, unwritten Gone with the Wind, detonating its phony romanticism, its unearned sympathies, its wretched racism."  Author Elizabeth McCracken says, "Nathan Harris has a profound understanding of the human soul--and of the vast variety of human souls on earth--and writes sentences of immense beauty and strangeness. His work is funny and wrenching, brilliant and exact.  The Sweetness of Water is an extraordinary book, and just the start of an extraordinary career." I have a feeling that this novel will be on a lot of reading group lists when it comes out in paperback in May.  
by Joseph O'Connor

I've been a "theater geek" for years. Maybe that's why I enjoyed this novel so much. Set in the West End of London during the 1870s and 1880s most of the action takes place at the Lyceum Theater owned by acclaimed actor Henry Irving.  One of his first hires at the theater is an Irish clerk who becomes the theater manager...none other than Bram Stoker. the soon-to-be author of Dracula. Irving's group of actors include the famous Ellen Terry whose dramatic skills are known far and wide.  Also making a cameo appearances in this fascinating story
is Oscar Wilde, And then there's the terrifying Jack the Ripper who does his damage in the shadowy streets near the Lyceum. Author Peter Carey says, "There are few living writers who can take us back in time so assuredly, with such sensual density, through such gorgeous sentences. Joseph O'Connor is a wonder, and Shadowplay is a triumph."  The Minneapolis Star Tribune says of the novel, "An engrossing story wonderfully well served by superb narration, sentences so lush you could wrap them around you like a cloak."  
by Elizabeth Taylor

Originally published in 1971, esteemed English novelist Elizabeth Taylor's tale is about an elderly woman who moves into a London residence hotel during the 1960s. During one of her many walks around London she trips on the sidewalk and takes a nasty fall. Ludovic Meyers (Ludo), a young wannabe writer, sees her fall and comes to her assistance. Because of this chance meeting Ludo and Mrs. Palfrey form a strong friendship...Ludo taking the place of her grandson who has never been close to her. As we learn more about Mrs. Palfrey we also come to know the other seniors who live at the Claremont. Robert McCrum in The Guardian writes, "Elizabeth Taylor's exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is, for me, her masterpiece." The novel is the basis for a 2005 film starring Joan Plowright as Mrs. Palfrey and Rupert Friend as Ludo.
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, January 26th
1:00 p.m.
by Kim Michele Richardson
Zoom Meeting


Wednesday, February 23rd
1:00 p.m.
by Paulette Jiles
Zoom Meeting
Sunday, January 30th
3:00 p.m.
by Hallie Rubenhold
ZOOM MEETING

Sunday, March 27th
3:00 p.m.
by Mara Leveritt
ZOOM MEETING
Registration coming soon
Wednesday, January 19th
6:30 p.m.
by Hannah Capin
Zoom Meeting



Wednesday, February 16th
6:30 p.m.
by Darcie Little Badger
Zoom Meeting
Sunday, January 30th
3:00 p.m.
by Samantha Downing
ZOOM MEETING
UPCOMING EVENTS!

JACQUELYN MITCHARD
in conversation with
Karen Dionne

Wednesday, January 19th
7:00 p.m.
via Zoom
Boswell Book Company of Milwaukee and Books & Company of Oconomowoc present a virtual evening with Jacquelyn Mitchard, the beloved author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Cage of Stars, and former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist. For this event, Mitchard will be in conversation with Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King's Daughter.

Mitchard's latest is The Good Son, a gripping novel of a mother who must help her son after he is convicted of a devastating crime. When everything known to be true is turned inside out, love is the only constant that remains.

Readings from Oconomowaukee

JONATHAN EVISON

Wednesday, January 26th
7:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Books & Company and Boswell present the January edition of Readings from Oconomowaukee, featuring Jonathan Evison, author of Small World. For this event, Evison will be in conversation with Lisa Baudoin and Daniel Goldin.

Small World is a historic epic set in multiple time periods, in which the characters interconnect in the most intriguing and meaningful ways. Set in alternating scenes between the present-day travelers on a train and their ancestors more than a century before, Small World explores the Great American Experiment from its formative days to the present moment and asks whether or not our nation has made good on its promises.