Milwaukee in books
Shortly after our plane landed in Milwaukee on Monday morning, Loui sent me a screenshot of my location.
“Did you already check out the bookstore?” he asked.
As we headed from our gate to baggage claim, my colleagues and I certainly noticed that the airport was home to Renaissance Books, but we didn’t stop…that time.
We were in Milwaukee this week for the Association for Communication Excellence conference. This was my third time attending ACE—I went in Asheville with Kentucky State University two years ago and in Salt Lake City with the University of Kentucky last year.
On my first day in Salt Lake City last year, I charted a sightseeing course that included the public library and as many bookstores as I could reach. The closest was just a few blocks from the hotel, so I walked over and walked through the door…and immediately saw my coworker Jordan. Send writers to a new city for a communications conference, and they’re going to find the bookstores.
In Milwaukee this week, I visited three, including the one in the airport on the way out of town, plus the public library. I’ll share a bit about each bookstore by listing the books I bought.
How many books did I buy during a four-day work trip, you ask? A very reasonable five.
Alcestis by Katharine Beutner
Whenever I travel somewhere new, my goal is to buy a local author’s book from a local independent bookstore. So, after arriving at Boswell Book Company and admiring its fun logo, I found the Read Local shelf. I have long loved Greek myth retellings and don’t expect that to change anytime soon, so I picked this book by a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor about a Greek figure I don’t think I’ve ever heard of.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
I love seeing books by Kentuckians when I am far from home, and often I will buy one just to show support for keeping Kentucky represented on the shelves. Boswell had incredible hand-drawn staff recommendation cards for many books, including this one, which is one of my very favorites. I first read it from the library in 2020 and have been itching to reread it, so it was a good time to buy my own copy.
Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South by Andrew Maraniss
Jordan, by now a trusted source about bookstores, made it to Downtown Books first and recommended it. I walked in and felt like I was in a labyrinth of books—shelves stretched far above my head and created narrow walkways through the store. I loved the signage in this store, labeling genres from Literary Fiction to Journalism. I wandered into the Sports section and was excited to find this book. I love reading about the impact of sports beyond the field or court.
The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting by Darren Wershler-Henry
A sticker in Renaissance Books, in the Milwaukee airport, proclaimed, “I’m not buying too many books. I’m just supporting the local economy.” I happily took my last chance to do so before flying home.
The typewriter ribbon on the spine of this book caught my eye because I’m a typewriter collector, and I certainly couldn’t pass it up as a used book at a good price.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Yes, this was my seventh copy of Little Women. Yes, they are all different and beautiful and precious. Yes, my backpack was quite heavy to carry through airports for the rest of the day. Yes, it was worth it.
Our next travel is to Bowling Green this weekend, and I am very excited to visit Bowling Green’s brand new independent bookstore, Schimmel’s Bookery! What a joy it will be to complete my bookstore ritual in my own hometown.
As always, happy reading!
If you’re looking for a welcoming, fun and productive writing class in Lexington this summer, please join me for Cruel Summer: Writing Inspired by Taylor Swift’s Songs at the Carnegie Center! More details, including dates and cost, here.