Cool Reads

LOCAL LIT

Paris by the Book

By Liam Callanan

This haunting mystery about a family of book lovers is beautifully written and thoughtfully plotted. Plus, it’s set in Paris – read it and travel to the French capital without leaving Milwaukee.

LOCAL LIT

Raising the Dad

By Tom Matthews

Matthews blends comedy and tragedy to paint a vivid portrait of a dysfunctional but not irredeemable American family. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll want to hug your closest relative.

♥ BOSWELL’S BEST BETS

The Book of M

By Peng Shepherd

In the not-too-distant future a strange plague is sweeping the globe – people everywhere are losing their shadows, and then their memories. This lyrically written work of magical realism follows a husband and wife, one of them shadowless, as they search for answers.

☼ BEACH READ

How to Stop Time

By Matt Haig

This time-traveling romance novel gives new meaning to the phrase “'til death do us part.” The (secretly immortal) main character, Tom Hazard, has experienced plenty of adventure and intrigue. But he just wants a normal life, and a mortal woman to share it with.

☼ BEACH READ

Sometimes I Lie

By Alice Feeney

If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll love Sometimes

I Lie. The story centers on Amber Reynolds, who wakes up in a hospital and can’t quite remember how she got there. She has a feeling her husband knows what happened, though.

♥ BOSWELL’S BEST BETS How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us

By Michael Pollan

The New York Times

named The Omnivore’s

Dilemma one of the 10 best books of 2006.

And Boswell buyer

Jason Kennedy expects Pollan’s latest effort, about the science behind psychedelics, to be another big seller. And yes, the author did drop acid while writing the book.

LOCAL LIT Daughter in Retrograde

By Courtney Kersten

Kersten, a native of Eau Claire, moved to California years ago. But her heart clearly still belongs to the Northwoods. The country roads and corner bars of her hometown come to life in this bittersweet memoir about coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.

LOCAL LIT The Adventures of Bob and Downtown Milwaukee: A Tale of Tails

By Shawna Nicols

Nicols says she made the book, which chronicles a day in the life of her family dog, to honor the memory of her late stepfather, Joe Weirick. And she’s donating proceeds to Key to Change, an anti-homelessness initiative championed by Joe and by Nicols’ mother, Beth Weirick.