Congratulations to Ryan Coonerty, v-p of Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif., and Vice Mayor of Santa Cruz (following in the civic-duty footsteps of his father, Neal Coonerty) on the publication of his book, Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments with photographs by Carol Highsmith.

Just published by National Geographic, the book chronicles words engraved on 50 public spaces across the country. Coonerty wrote: "Across the United States, on county courthouses and national monuments, below statues and over doorways, are words etched in stone. These poems and quotations are lasting testimonies to what our nation was, is, or aspires to be. Even as the nation and its people succeed and fail in these aspirations, the words in stone remain."

Coonerty has already done publicity for Etched in Stone, speaking at the Department of the Treasury and the Virginia Festival of the Book. Somehow he scored a party at Bookshop Santa Cruz last week, and he's been interviewed on Talk of the Nation. Coonerty will also appear at Politics and Prose in Washington in May and Book Passage, Corte Madera, Calif., in July.

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The Chicagoist praises the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square, a delightful Chicagoland general bookstore, for offering parents "a place to get a decent beer with friends and pick up a quality picture book for your child at the same time" as well as a spot to "spend some quality away-from-the-TV time with your kids"--presumably without beer or wine.

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Barnes & Noble has picked The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Harcourt) as its third B&N Recommends pick. As a Recommends title, the book will be the subject of in-store discussions, an online reading group and a reading group guide--and a lot of publicity. Hamid will make author appearances, too.

B&N CEO Steve Riggio called The Reluctant Fundamentalist "a psychological thriller that spans continents and cultures. An extraordinary work of empathy and imagination, Hamid's novel vividly dramatizes the turmoil and terror of today's world in a single unforgettable voice."

The first two books in the Recommends program were Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale and Chris Bohjalian's The Double Bind.

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Congratulations to Angela Bole, who has been promoted to the new position of associate director of the Book Industry Study Group. She was formerly marketing and communications manager and will now be responsible for coordinating education and outreach to member organizations, media and the general public as well as for managing communications.

"Angela has played an invaluable role since joining BISG more than two years ago, not least during the long transition period between executive directors," said Michael Healy, BISG executive director. "Her promotion recognizes the contributions she has made and her continuing commitment to the organization, as well as to BISG's strategic concern with better serving the needs of members from all sectors of the book industry."

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Kennedy Book Store's contract to run the University of Kentucky Bookstore is not being renewed and the likely lessee will be either Follett or Barnes & Noble College, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The University was offering a 10-year lease and wanted the lessee to spend $3 million-$4 million to renovate the store. Kennedy was willing to pledge up to $2 million, general manager Carol Behr told the paper. 

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Here's what we hope is a handy guide to the renamed imprints of Hachette's Grand Central Publishing, né Warner Books. Effective with the fall list, changes include:

• Warner Business Books becomes Business Plus
• Warner Wellness becomes Wellness Central
• Warner Vision becomes Vision
• Warner Forever becomes Forever

Incidentally for $1.25 million, Grand Central just bought the story of Dewey the cat, who lived in the public library of Spencer, Iowa, for 19 years, becoming "a town mascot who lifted the spirits of residents hit hard by the 1980s farming crisis," as today's New York Times described it. "In the process he attracted the attention of tourists, cat-calendar makers and filmmakers."

The book, tentatively titled Dewey: a Small Town, a Library and the World's Most Beloved Cat, will be written by Vicki Myron, head librarian at the Spencer library, and Bret Witter, former editorial director of Health Communications.

The Times story purrs the phrase Marley & Me several times.

Borders Group plans to offer $250 million of convertible senior notes due 2014, the proceeds of which will go to repay part of its current senior secured revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

Part of the proceeds will go to pay for a "convertible note hedge transaction" to reduce stock dilution to shareholders if notes are converted into stock. The company will also "enter into a warrant transaction," some proceeds of which will pay for the convertible note hedge transaction.

Moreover, "counterparties" to these two transactions may include affiliates of the note underwriters, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. The company then states: "In connection with establishing a hedge of the convertible note hedge and warrant transactions, the counterparties to those transactions or their affiliates expect to enter into various derivative transactions with respect to Borders Group's common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes.  The counterparties or their affiliates may also enter into or unwind various derivative transactions with respect to Borders Group common stock and/or purchase or sell Borders Group common stock in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period relating to the conversion of a note)."

Note: This is not an April Fool's item.

Today the Early Show talks with Teresa Rodriguez about The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border (Atria, $23.95, 9780743292030/0743292030).

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This morning's Book Report, the weekly AM radio book-related show organized by Windows a bookshop, Monroe, La., has the theme "celebrating children's poetry" and features interviews with two authors:

• Joyce Sidman, author of This Is Just to Say, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Houghton Mifflin, 0618616802/9780618616800)
• Jack Prelutsky, Children's Poet Laureate of the U.S. and author of Good Sports:  Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Knopf, 0375837000/9780375837005)

The show airs at 8 a.m. Central Time and can be heard live at thebookreport.net; the archived edition will be posted this afternoon.

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Jabari Asim, deputy editor of the Washington Post Book World, expounds on The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why (Houghton Mifflin, $26, 9780618197170/0618197176).

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In a repeat, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight speaks with Senator John Kerry, author with Teresa Heinz Kerry of This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future (PublicAffairs, $25, 9781586484316/1586484311).

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In a repeat, tonight's Colbert Report features former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, author of The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs (Harper Perennial, $14.95, 9780060892586/0060892587).
 

Selected titles with a pub date of next Tuesday, April 10:

Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods (Putnam, $25.95, 9780399154102/0399154108). In his 13th outing, lawyer Stone Barrington becomes embroiled in the underworld of the New York mafia.

The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank (Morrow, $24.95, 9780060892388/0060892382). A middle-aged Manhattan socialite embarks on a journey of self-discovery in Frank's new novel set partly in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Obsession by Karen Robards (Putnam, $24.95, 9780399154164/0399154167). The author of Vanished delivers a suspenseful tale about a woman who survives an attempt on her life, only to end up a pawn in a deadly charade orchestrated by the CIA.

The Quilter's Homecoming: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini (S&S, $24, 9780743260220/0743260228). The 10th installment in the popular quilting series takes place on a ranch in southern California.

Sleeping with Strangers by Eric Jerome Dickey (Dutton, $24.95, 9780525949992/0525949992). A steamy, fast-paced novel from the author of Chasing Destiny and Thieves' Paradise.

We Shall Not Sleep by Anne Perry (Ballantine, $21.95, 9780345456601/0345456602). The fifth and final volume in Perry's World War I series featuring the Reavley family.

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson (S&S, $32, 9780743264730/0743264738). The author of Benjamin Franklin presents a biography of Einstein based on the scientist's recently released personal letters.

Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance that Make the Difference by Cal Ripken, Jr. (Gotham, $26, 9781592402649/159240264X). The baseball legend presents an inspiring guide to overcoming challenges and building a life you love.

Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali (Knopf, $35, 9781400040360/1400040361). A gastronomic journey through Italy with the chef and restaurateur, along with 140 recipes and commentary from Bastianich's art historian daughter.

My First Five Husbands . . . and the Ones Who Got Away by Rue McClanahan (Broadway, $24.95, 9780767926768/0767926765). The former star of the Golden Girls offers a witty and entertaining memoir about love, marriage, men and getting older.

Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley (Knopf, $19.95, 9780307263643/0307263649). This survival guide for the digital age informs computer users on e-mail etiquette.

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston (Random House, $25.95, 9781400064892/1400064899). The author of The Hot Zone and The Demon in the Freezer profiles the botanists and amateur naturalists who ventured into an undiscovered world--the crowns of Northern California's redwoods, which reach some 35 stories above the ground.


On sale in paperback April 10:

Everyman by Philip Roth (Vintage, $13, 9780307277718/0307277712).

It's hard to go wrong with a suggestion from Carl Lennertz, be it musical (The LeeVees) or literary (Lizzie's War--wonderful!). And in his editorial debut [see yesterday's Q&A with him and Neil McMahon], he's picked another winner with Lone Creek, a thriller set in Montana with all the requisite characters: Hugh Davoren, Montana-born, former journalist and boxer, now working construction on the Pettyjohn ranch northwest of Helena; Wesley Balcomb, new owner of the ranch, rich but ranch-ignorant ("He carried himself with the stiffness of being uncomfortable doing things that might involve getting dirty."); Laurie Balcomb, his beautiful and troubled wife, who's a dead ringer for Hugh's lost boyhood love; Madbird, Hugh's friend and ally, Blackfeet Indian, Vietnam vet, scary and wise. Madbird's cedar-paneled house seems inviting until "you'd start to see the animal skulls mounted in the surrounding trees. There was a lot more that you didn't see but you had to be pretty dense not to feel. Strangers rarely got close." Add a crack addict, a hired killer and a decades-old death and suicide, and it's business as usual for the mystery genre subset labeled "hard-boiled comma Montana."

Davoren is minding his own business one day on the spread when he comes across the bodies of two thoroughbred horses that had been shot and hastily buried in the trash dump. As he drives away, appalled and puzzled, he's waylaid by the ranch foreman and fired by Balcomb on bogus theft charges. As more troubles pile up (a bit of arson, a bit of jail time, a little death threat), he promises himself that he won't do anything stupid, although he is definitely getting in the mood:

• "I'm not feeling too smart right now. It looks like I'm going to lose any way I go. I'm just trying to weigh how much and where."
• "That's a real lesson in what it's like being a Indian." [Madbird's] teeth showed in that grin, although this time it looked humorless. "Have another beer. Maybe you'll get a vision."

As Davoren tries to figure out why the horses were killed--drugs? money laundering? smuggling?--he and Madbird discover that there are some ghosts from the past not yet laid to rest. The pace is fast, the humor sardonic and Montana has a starring role: "The view went on forever. This time of year, the larches were turning yellow, big bright plashes on the bottle green slopes. There were no buildings in sight. No sounds in any way human. All in all, it was like the kind of magazine cover that made dentists in Omaha go out and buy a couple thousand dollars worth of trout fishing gear."--Marilyn Dahl

Yes, kids, it's scary. It's mysterious. It's not for the faint of heart. It can be a dramatic sales builder and a profit killer, but it is also one of the inescapable facts of retail life.

It is that fiercest of villains, the Loss Leader.

And the fate of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with a 12 million copy first printing and pre-order discounting in extremis, seems to be to reign forever as loss leader king of the publishing underworld.

In February, Marc Perton noted in a Consumer Reports piece that he'd already fended off early sorties by Loss Leader, cleverly disguised as Barnes & Noble (40% off on a pre-order of Harry Potter #7) and Amazon (46% off). That was just a warning shot over the bow.

I received an e-mail recently from a very good bookseller expressing frustration with the extreme discounting techniques currently being deployed for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by online and chain bookstores, big box discount stores and warehouse clubs, grocery chains, convenience stores, gas stations--the list, as they say, goes on.

The bookseller reasonably asked how many--or how few--of those millions of copies being printed would be "sold at a fair price by hard-working independent booksellers, who will work extra hard producing Harry Potter parties in the hopes of selling some books."

It's a good question, and one too easily answered. Most of those millions of copies will be sold as loss leaders, and few will be sold at full retail by independent bookstores.

It is also a classic biblio-philosophical conundrum: If 12 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sell in the magic forest, do they make any sound in terms of profitability?

The answer is complicated.

And how much will it matter to the nine-year-old who has already pre-ordered a copy from somewhere and is eagerly counting the endless days until July 21?

Unfair question.

Still, indie booksellers live in this world and must find ways to deal with Harry Potter and the Deathly Loss Leader. Whether they sacrifice margin for sales or sell at full retail and sacrifice total units, HP7 will still play a critical role in their summer business plans.

So how are independent bookstores preparing both to welcome Harry and to do noble battle with the evil Loss Leader? 

A quick broomstick flight among bookstore websites provides some intriguing early clues. Hang on to your hats, kids; this will be a fast and bumpy hyperlinked ride.

By definition, loss leader implies sacrificial price breaks, but some indies are offering pre-order reserves for no discount whatsoever, including the Reading Grounds, Diane's Books, Books on First, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza and Bunch of Grapes Bookstore.

Other booksellers have chosen to sell the novel at substantial discounts. Among those already offering reduced prices for pre-orders are Saturn Booksellers, Toadstool Bookshops, the Book Vault. R.J. Julia Booksellers, Millrace Bookshop at the Gristmill and Bookland & Café, which adds a 25% off coupon for a second book "so you can find something to read while you wait for July to come!" Yankee Bookshop an features an interesting mathematical alternative.

Tattered Cover Book Store has opted for a modest discount and a number of promotional activities and events for the community. Events have traditionally been a way for independent bookstores to counter the discounting wave, and both King's English Bookstore and the Bookloft are showcasing their celebrations online. Queen Anne Books is posting occasional 'missives" to keep loyal and impatient Harry Potter readers primed.

Combining events and discounting is a popular strategy. Titcomb's Bookshop, Quail Ridge Books and Left Bank Books offer variations on the theme.

Perhaps the most intriguing strategy I've found online has been the one taken by indie booksellers who've chosen to employ good wizardry by turning a loss leader into a charitable donation. This option has been employed by Odyssey Bookshop, Orinda Books and Capitola Book Café, which gives its customers a choice between a 30% full discount, or 20% off the book and a 10% donation to the local literacy program. The website's challenge: "What would Harry do?" 

Our final stop on the broomstick tour will be Learned Owl Bookshop, which offers not only an irresistible Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release date countdown clock, but a creative, charitable answer to the loss leader blues.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Loss Leader is coming to retailers near you. What's your plan?--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)