Ringing Endorsement Mark Borchardt

Welcome to Ringing Endorsement, wherein Decider speaks to local people of note to get their hearty recommendation of an event, restaurant, or whatever strikes their fancy. This week, American Movie star Mark Borchardt, whose exhibit Mark Borchardt: Along The Way opens tonight at 6 p.m. at the Green Gallery (631 E. Center St.), gives a ringing endorsement of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop. 

First of all, quite honestly on these cold November evenings, it’s such a cozy atmosphere, with the warmth of the interior, and getting a cup of coffee, and lounging through the shelves. When they bring the cascades of bargain books, you never know what finds you might pick out. And the author appearances, there have been some amazing times. These people are very fascinating, and they reveal profound things about their experiences in life and so forth. Last night, I saw this younger woman, this author, talking about a guy I used to know in my teenaged years, man, who murdered a guy and cut off his hands to evade identification by the authorities. That was Gina Barton.

I don’t want to burn the magic out, but I would say I’m there at least once every two weeks, if not every week. I spend about an hour there and I’m not hanging out, I’m absorbing. I’m careful going through the shelves and seeing what new books are out in whatever particular interest I have at that time. It varies, you know? Schwartz is unique to Milwaukee, and each store has a very different feel, whereas with other bookstores it’s pretty much the same style. At the Downer Schwartz, I definitely check out the film and literary criticism sections. I also keep up with the magazines I’m interested in. My friend Mike Schank’s wife Kate translated a book called Live To Tell, and Schwartz was good enough to put on their shelves. I thought that was pretty unique.