Here's a week's worth of events. We're a bit slim this week, as a couple of us at are at Book Expo in New York. But wait till next week. And the week after!
Wednesday, May 31, 2:00 pm at Boswell:
Wade Rouse writing as Viola Shipman, author of
The Hope Chest.A great daytime event for fans of Mary Alice Monroe, Mary Kay Andrews, Dorothea Benton Frank, and Karen White.
Viola Shipman is the pen name of Wade Rouse, a popular, award-winning memoirist. Rouse chose his grandmother's name, Viola Shipman, to honor the woman whose charm bracelet and family stories inspired him to write his debut novel,
The Charm Bracelet, which has been translated into nine languages.
The discovery of one woman's heirloom hope chest unveils precious memories and helps three people who have each lost a part of themselves find joy once again.
Ever since she was diagnosed with ALS, fiercely independent Mattie doesn't feel like herself. She can't navigate her beloved home, she can't go for a boat ride, and she can barely even feed herself. Her devoted husband, Don, doesn't want to imagine life without his wife of nearly fifty years, but Mattie isn't likely to make it past their anniversary.
But when Rose, Mattie's new caretaker, and her young daughter, Jeri, enter the couple's life, happiness and the possibility for new memories return. Together they form a family, and Mattie is finally able to pass on her memories from the hope chest she received from her mother.
Friday, June 2, 7:00 pm, at Nigerian Community Conference Center, 8310 W Appleton Ave:
Chigozie Obioma, author of
The Fishermen.
The first thing most people say is, "We have a Nigerian Cultural Center?" Yes, we do and what a great opportunity to visit it.
Chigozie Obioma is the winner of the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Debut Author), finalist for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, and winner of the 2015 FT/Oppenheimer Emerging Voices Award for Fiction.
Told by nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of a childhood in Nigeria, in the small town of Akure. When their father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river, they meet a madman who persuades the oldest of the boys that he is destined to be killed by one of his siblings. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact-both tragic and redemptive-will transcend the lives and imaginations of the book's characters and readers. Dazzling and viscerally powerful, The Fishermen is an essential novel about Africa, seen through the prism of one family's destiny.
Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria. His work has appeared in the
Virginia Quarterly Review, Transition, and
The Millions. Obioma has lived in Nigeria, Cyprus, and Turkey, and currently resides in the United States, where he teaches Literature and Writing at the University of Nebraska.
Saturday, June 3, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Ladies Literary Night Out featuring Amy E. Reichert, author of
The Simplicity of Cider, Colleen Oakley, author of
Close Enough to Touch, and Karma Brown, author of
In This Moment.
Join Boswell for an evening of literary delights, featuring three great authors, spearheaded by Milwaukee's Amy E. Reichert, author of the bestselling
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.
Here's Boswellian Sharon K. Nagel's take on
The Simplicity of Cider: "The third book from Amy Reichert is set in charming Door County. Sanna and her father Einars own a large orchard that has been in the family for generations. Isaac and his ten-year-old son, Bass, are hired on as extra help. They become more important when Einars breaks his leg in an accident. Sanna is struggling to revitalize the orchard with her specially crafted cider. Things get complicated when she finds herself attracted to Isaac, who is trying find a way to explain to his son that his mother has died from a drug overdose. Quirky and romantic!"
In Colleen Oakley's
Close Enough to Touch, the new novel from the author of
Before I Go, Jubilee Jenkins has a rare condition: she's allergic to human touch. After a nearly fatal accident, she became reclusive, living in the confines of her home for nine years. But after her mother dies, Jubilee is forced to face the world and the people in it that she's been hiding from. New from the author of the acclaimed Before I Go comes an evocative, poignant, and heartrending exploration of the power and possibilities of the human heart, perfect for fans of the emotional novels of Jojo Moyes and Jodi Picoult.
And finally, a little about
In This Moment from Karma Brown, author of
Come Away with Me. Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career and a happy family. Most days she's able to keep it all together and glide through life. But then, in one unalterable moment, everything changes. Soon Meg's picture-perfect life is unravelling before her eyes. As the painful secrets she's been burying bubble dangerously close to the surface, she will have to decide: Can she forgive herself, or will she risk losing everything she holds dear to her heart?
Monday, June 5, 7 pm, at the Riverside Theatre, 116 W Wisconsin Ave:
A ticketed event with Sheryl Sandberg , co-author of
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy in conversation with Jane Hamilton
Join Sheryl Sandberg, co-author of
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, in conversation with Jane Hamilton, as they talk about building resilience and moving forward after life's inevitable setbacks.
Here's a little more about
Option B, which was written with Wharton professor and bestselling author Adam Grant, and will be released April 24, 2017. After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. Her friend Adam, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are steps people can take to recover and even rebound.
Option B combines Sheryl's emotional insights and Adam's eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Sheryl will share what she and Adam learned together about helping others in crisis, developing compassion for ourselves, raising strong children, and creating resilient families, communities and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to ordinary struggles, allowing us to build resilience for whatever lies ahead. They will discuss the capacity of the human spirit to persevere... and to rediscover joy.
Sheryl Sandberg is chief operating officer at Facebook. In addition to
Option B, Sandberg is also the international best-selling author of
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Prior to Facebook, she was vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She previously served as chief of staff for the United States Treasury Department and began her career as an economist with the World Bank. She received B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University. Sandberg serves on the boards of Facebook, The Walt Disney Company, Survey Monkey, ONE, and Women for Women International, and also chairs the board of the Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Family Foundation.
Jane Hamilton lives, works, and writes in an orchard farmhouse in Wisconsin. Her short stories have appeared in Harper's magazine. Her first novel,
The Book of Ruth, won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel. It and
A Map of the World were both named selections of Oprah's Book Club. Of her latest novel T
he Excellent Lombards, now available in paperback, Ann Patchett wrote: "This is the book Jane Hamilton was born to write, and it is a book that thrilled me to read.
The Excellent Lombards is, in fact, magnificent."
Please note that there is no autographing line for this event, and we cannot take signing requests for this book. You can purchase your ticket, here.
Please visit Boswell's
upcoming event page for more info on more great author appearances including our ticketed signing with
Al Franken on Sunday, June 11,
Scott Turow at the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center on September 25, and
Adriana Trigiani on July 12 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield. David Sedaris's reading is sold out but the signing is free and open to the public. Be prepared to wait: Mr. Sedaris gives quality signings!
