The Family that Golfs Together

Quirky putt-putt courses dot the landscape of Wisconsin, and these popular fair-weather establishments have hosted many a family vacationer. Julie Melby’s Tom Thumb mini-golf course, family owned and operated in Waupaca for 30 years, and her clever, outrageously funny My Family and Other Hazards: A Memoir are a hole-in-one. Melby’s parents purchased the golf course when she was 10 years old, mainly on a whim and having had no previous business experience, and her heart-warming tale shares stories of the many arguments, frustrations and triumphs of running a family business. My Family and Other Hazards is a nostalgic look back at Melby’s experiences and the inevitability of letting go of one’s childhood.

Melby is an award-winning poet and stand-up comic whose writings have appeared in McSweeney’s, LA Weekly and National Lampoon magazine. Julie Melby will appear at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22.

Book Happenings

Andy Mozina

7 p.m., July 18

Boswell Book Co.

2559 N. Downer Ave.

Quality Snacks may first appear as a randomly assorted collection of short stories, but readers will quickly realize that the tie that binds them is our hometown, as many of the 15 tales highlight Milwaukee in place and character. These wry, humorous fictional stories feature middle-aged individuals fighting against the monotony of career and marriage, Santa Claus on the baseball field and an odd fascination with Doritos. Poignant in their originality and genuineness, Quality Snacks proves to be a delightful assortment of delectable treats.

Quality Snacks is Brookfield native Andy Mozina’s second book of short stories, following up on his 2007 collection entitled The Women Were Leaving The Men. Mozina serves as a professor of English at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1999.