BOOK GROUP NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2021
Blow the bugle and beat the drum because summer is here! Maybe the official date isn't until June 21 when we experience the summer solstice. But since it was in the 90s last weekend and my neighbors put out their kiddie pool, I find it reason enough to say summer is here.

Now is the time to unpack your most comfortable lawn chair; make a big pitcher of lemonade; settle in your favorite outdoor spot whether it's on your deck, or on your porch or under your favorite shade tree...and READ! READ! READ!  

I've always believed that summer reading was a time to enjoy the books I didn't have time for during the year. Is that true for you, too? Perhaps it's time to tackle one of those huge tomes like Melville's MOBY DICK (Big Whale! Big Book!) or the entire OUTLANDER series (Claire and Jamie...you have to love them!) Or maybe your lemonade will go better with some summer froth like Mary Kay Andrews' HELLO, SUMMER, Mary Alice Monroe's THE SUMMER WIND or Elin Hiderbrand's 28 SUMMERS.  

Perhaps you'd like some summer reading suggestions from our personable booksellers. They may not be wearing shorts, flip-flops and sunglasses, but that doesn't mean they don't have a certain summer vibe going on. And while you're at the bookstore, don't forget to pick up the Indie Next List for June, and the most recent Book Pages.  Lots of great summer suggestions in both publications.

Whatever you decide to read and wherever you choose to do it, may I wish you a very Happy Summer Reading Time!.  

I've chosen five titles that I hope will pique your interest this month..  Don't forget they're all available for sale in the reading group area of the store. 



Happy Reading!
Ken
kenbksco@gmail.com
by Steven Rowley

Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP for short) has always loved Maisie and Grant, his brother Greg's children. But since he lives on the West coast and they live on the East, he doesn't see them very often. When tragedy strikes and the kids lose their mother, Greg asks Patrick if he can take the kids while he goes through rehab. Suddenly Patrick is more than just a Guncle...he's a dad (and a mom). Even though his stalled acting career and his life in Palm Springs isn't suited to a six- and a nine-year-old, he can't let his brother down. I really enjoyed Steven Rowley's third novel. It's not only laugh-out-loud funny, but also very touching. Author Camille Perri says, "Steven Rowley has triumphed again with his new novel, an exuberant but tender story about life, death, family, and love. Rowley's protagonist is a modern-day Auntie Mame with every bit of that unflappable flapper's sharp wit and fabulous wisdom. This book is a dazzling banquet of laughter and insight; with it, Rowley has proven himself to be one of the great comic novelists of our time." 
LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL by Ronan Hession

From the back of the paperback: "In this unique debut, popular Irish musician Ronan Hession tells the story of two single, thirty-something men who still live with their folks and who are...nice. They take care of their parents and play board games together. They like to read. They take satisfaction from their work. They are resolutely kind. And they realize that none of this is considered... normal.  Leonard and Hungry Paul is the story of two friends struggling to protect their understanding of what's meaningful in life. It is about the uncelebrated people of this world---the gentle, the meek, the humble. And as they struggle to persevere, the book asks a surprisingly enthralling question: Is it really them against the world, or are they onto something?" Daniel Golden of Boswell Book Company fell in love with this novel when it was in hardcover. He passed it on to Lisa and she couldn't stop talking about it. And now that it's in paperback I hope it's read by many. Bookseller Genavieve says, " I loved every moment of Leonard & Hungry Paul. The writing is so beautiful I sometimes had to pause to just savor the sentences. And the story is so sweetly both a book where nothing much happens and a book where the characters undergo big internal changes."
by Elyssa Friedland

For more than sixty years the Golden Hotel has hosted groups of satisfied families who keep returning every summer to spend their vacations in the heart of the Catskills. But at the opening of this entertaining novel, we discover that the Golden has fallen on hard times. The Goldman and Weingold families---who own the resort---gather together on what might be the Golden's last summer. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell the hotel forces the families to consider a heart-wrenching decision. Author Pam Jenoff says, "Long known for her humor and wit, Elyssa Friedland has penned a charmer of a novel...Fans of Mrs. Maisel and Dirty Dancing will revel in the nostalgia of a bygone era and the richness of this intergenerational tale, which manages to be smart, funny, honest and poignant all at the same time." Author Jill Santopolo says, "In Last Summer at The Golden Hotel, Elyssa Friedland creates a broad cast of characters who are at once touching and hilarious. Their fears, their secrets and their dreams come together in a moving story that balances nostalgia for the past and hope for the future. A perfect book for a family book club."
by Amy Jo Burns

Teenaged Wren Bird lives in a cloistered cabin in the mountains of West Virginia with her parents. Her dad preaches in an abandoned gas station every Sunday, taking up serpents and believing in the power that the Lord has given him. Her mother does what most of the mountain women do: cook, clean, watch the children, and follow the law of their husbands. One summer, a miracle performed by Wren's father quickly turns to tragedy. As Wren's life begins to shatter, she must learn the truth of her family's history in order to imagine a different future for herself. I really enjoyed the novel's sense of place. Amy Jo Burns prose is quite magical. And I learned more about the making of moonshine than I ever thought I'd learn. Author Joshilyn Jackson calls the book, "A compelling fever-dream of a novel crafted out of moonshine and jagged miracles. I loved every moment spent in the world Amy Jo Burns so thoroughly evokes; I already know I will return to it again and again. Do not miss this exceptional debut."
by Gail Tsukiyama

Bestselling author Tsukiyama sets her latest novel in the small community of Hilo, Hawai'i during the 1930's. She uses the local sugar plantation and the ever-threatening Mauna Loa volcano as background to tell a fascinating story about a group of Japanese/Hawai'ians learning to accept the past and step forward into the future. Author Elizabeth George says of the book, "With a piercing and authentic sense of place, Gail Tsukiyama brings to life a group of ordinary Japanese/Hawai'ians with intertwined lives that are filled with love, passion, empathy, wisdom and joy." Author Lisa See says Tsukiyama "has created a community with characters who meet difficulties and persist with grace and endurance; whose dependence on one another is, in fact, their greatest strength. A rich historical novel that illustrates why connection is more important and more vital than ever." Author Nancy Horan says,"Tsukiyama's beautiful telling of an island son's homecoming had me under a spell to the last page.  The Color of Air pulls you in gently and takes you deep." 
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, June 23rd
1:00 p.m.
by Ann Napolitano
ZOOM Meeting


Wednesday, July 28th
1:00 p.m.
by Maggie O'Farrell
ZOOM Meeting
Sunday, July 25th
3:00 p.m.
by Casey Cep
ZOOM MEETING

Sunday, September 26th
3:00 p.m.
by Tom O'Neill
ZOOM MEETING
registration coming soon
Wednesday, June 16th
6:30 p.m.
by Katharine McGee
Zoom Meeting


Wednesday, July 21st
6:30 p.m.
by Roshani Chokshi
Zoom Meeting
Tuesday, June 22nd
6:00 p.m.
by Kate Racculia
ZOOM Meeting

Tuesday, July 27th
6:00 p.m.
by Camilla Lackberg
ZOOM Meeting
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS!
MAGGIE SHIPSTEAD
in conversation with
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Tuesday, June 8th
2:00 p.m.
via Zoom
THIS AFTERNOON!
Join us for the June Readings From Oconomowaukee featuring Boswell Books' Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin in conversation with Maggie Shipstead for her new novel Great Circle, an unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost--Great Circle spans Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles.

featuring LARRY WATSON
in Conversation with 
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Wednesday, June 23rd
2:00 p.m.
via Zoom
Join Boswell Book Company and Books & Company for a special afternoon filled with fantastic summer reading recommendations from author Larry Watson, including his new novel in paperback The Lives of Edie Pritchard. Larry Watson will be in conversation with Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin and they will be discussing some of their favorite summer reads as well as a special literary salute to Montana. 

MIKE GAYLE
in Conversation with
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Thursday, July 22nd
2:00 p.m.
Via ZOOM
Please join us for our July Readings From Oconomowaukee event, featuring author Mike Gayle in conversation with Boswell Book Store's Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin for Gayle's new novel All The Lonely People, a warm and funny novel about a widower in Australia who makes it seem as though his retirement is the time of his life, but in reality it is far from it. When his daughter makes plans to come to visit, he has to make his real life resemble his fake life before the truth comes out. 

JENNIFER CHIAVERINI
in Conversation with
Daniel Goldin & Lisa Baudoin
Thursday, August 5th
2:00 p.m.
Via Zoom 
We are excited for our August Readings from Oconomowaukee bringing Jennifer Chiaverini back to the area (virtually) to talk with Boswell Book Company's Daniel Goldin and Books & Company's Lisa Baudoin about Chiaverini's new novel, The Woman's March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession!