Very sad news. Frank McCourt, author of the memoirs Angela's Ashes, 'Tis and Teacher Man, died yesterday at 78 in New York City. He had suffered from metastatic melanoma, according to the New York Times, which has a long obituary and a remembrance called "A Storyteller Even as a Teacher."

We remember him fondly for his comments at the publication party for Teacher Man, when, with his usual deadpan delivery, he lamented that the fame and fortune that came with Angela's Ashes hadn't come earlier in his life, but then said that had this occurred, he would have died long earlier "from drink and fornication."

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Barnes & Noble has merged its small in-house publishing operations into its Sterling Publishing division and laid off "a handful" of employees, according to the Wall Street Journal. The in-house unit had focused on bargain books as well as published new children's titles and the Weird series.

"This move eliminates duplicative functions and allows us to be more efficient," spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating told the Journal.

Alan Kahn, president of Barnes & Noble Publishing, will continue to focus on special publishing projects.

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Amazon's decision late last week to remove copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from its customers' Kindles sparked widespread controversy, anger among owners of the e-reader and irresistible opportunities for headline writers:

Amazon.com Plays Big Brother With Famous E-Books (New York Times)
Kindle's Orwellian Moment (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon Kindle users surprised by "Big Brother" move (Guardian)
Hey, Big Brother! Hands off my Kindle! (Baltimore Sun's Read Street blog)
Amazon sends Orwell to "memory hole" (AFP)
Big Kindle is Watching (American Conservative)
Amazon recalls (and embodies) Orwell's 1984 (CNET News)

By late Friday, CNET News reported that Amazon was rethinking its strategy and "in the future, it says it won't pull already downloaded material from customers' devices."

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Finding a small-business loan in the current economy can be a daunting challenge. The Bend, Ore., Bulletin reported that "before Terri Cumbie opened Dudley's Bookshop Cafe in downtown Bend in December, she applied for business loans, only to be turned down. She self-financed her store instead."

Cumbie said she "tapped family, credit cards and a home equity line to open her store" and furnished it with secondhand items. Her used book inventory had been accumulated over the previous four years. Now she does not regret having been turned down.

"I think if I got a really big loan from a bank, the economy got worse after I opened, and it would have been really, really hard to make those loan payments," Cumbie said. "I would have had to borrow more just to make the payments in addition to what I needed."

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Reading lives after all. The Tribune-Review observed that "in an age when sensory overload--via television, the Internet or cell-phone applications--is the preferred method of distraction, reading is often viewed as archaic. It is slow-paced and rewards diligence and patience. It does not provide instant gratification. Those with a love of books, however, are dedicated to the slow pleasures of a novel unfolding, the illuminations that come by way of works of nonfiction, or the sometimes breathless revelations of a short story. They read with a passion that's equal to the zeal fans have for sports teams."

"They are the kind of person whose principal form of entertainment is reading," said Mary Alice Gorman, co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pa. "You put them in the same column of people for whom ballet or opera or the symphony or rock concerts or movies or theater is their main form of entertainment."

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David Wilk of Creative Management Partners has launched a new book promotion website called chptr1.com, which features "excerpts from the book, cover, description, audio and other information to help potential readers decide whether they want to read or acquire the book."

Wilk said the website is "essentially based on what I think is the coolest feature of the Kindle, which is the ability to sample the book before you buy it--just like you can do in a store if you want to spend the time reading there." Chptr1.com links to IndieBound and Amazon; more links will be added soon.

Booksellers are invited to link to the site, which is adding several books a week.

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Literary agents Sarah Lutyens and Felicity Rubinstein, whose clients include Adam Phillips, Kate Figes, Claire Messud and Michael Chabon, plan "to open a bookshop, in London's Kensington Park Road, and add 'bookselling' to their numerous accomplishments," the Observer reported.

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The Guardian reported that a campaign has been launched by leading literary figures "to preserve the seafront shelter where T.S. Eliot is believed to have composed some of his most famous lines of poetry . . . by writing letters in support of giving listed status to Nayland Rock shelter in Margate, Kent."

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The Vatican has apparently not only made its peace with Harry Potter (see below), but even Oscar Wilde has had something of a revival despite the church's official stance against homosexuality. The Guardian reported that L'Osservatore Romano has "run a glowing review of a new book about the famously doomed lover of Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was 'one of the personalities of the 19th century who most lucidly analysed the modern world in its disturbing as well as its positive aspects,' wrote author Andrea Monda in a piece about Italian author Paolo Gulisano's The Portrait of Oscar Wilde."

The newspaper observed that "the 'existential path' which the author trod 'can also be seen as a long and difficult path toward that Promised Land which gives us the reason for existence, a path which led him to his conversion to Catholicism, a religion which, as he remarked in one of his more acute and paradoxical aphorisms, was 'for saints and sinners alone--for respectable people, the Anglican Church will do.'"

Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., held IndieBound Week July 6-12 with nearly 100 other local stores, services and restaurants. Events included a blood drive; a spotlight on local charities, a "freedom walk" for goodies, a party and a signing of the Declaration of IndieBound. Unfortunately rain canceled a planned parade. Candy Purdom from Anderson's wrote, "We've been spreading the IndieBound word for a year now, but to have an entire week devoted to this message adds to our enthusiasm."

Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Larry Tye, author of Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend (Random House, $26, 9781400066513/1400066514).

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Tonight on the Late Late Show with Colin Ferguson: Michael Lewis, author of Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity (Norton, $27.95, 9780393065145/0393065146).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Charles Siebert, author of The Wauchula Woods Accord: Toward a New Understanding of Animals (Scribner, $25, 9780743295864/0743295862).

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Tomorrow on the Charlie Rose Show: Chris Anderson, author of Free: The Future of a Radical Price (Hyperion, $26.99, 9781401322908/1401322905).

Charlie Matthau, son of the late Oscar-winning actor Walter Matthau, will direct and co-produce his screenplay of Elmore Leonard's 1988 novel, Freaky Deaky, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Production is scheduled to begin in January.

"I am the luckiest director in the world to be able to bring Elmore Leonard's favorite and finest novel to the screen," he said.

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While some religious groups, including the Catholic Church, have condemned Harry Potter's depiction of wizardry as incompatible with their beliefs, the Vatican has altered its view since the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Variety reported that "in a review headlined 'Magic is No Longer a Surprising Trick,' the Vatican's official daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano gave the pic its seal of approval, noting that Harry 'is aware that the world of magic, which he grew up with in the past, is not exempt from malice.' It praised the pic for promoting 'friendship, altruism, loyalty and self-giving.'"

Beth Krommes took the podium
At the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers last week
Dressed elegantly in black with a gold necklace and earrings.
She seemed to embody the artwork
For the book that earned her the Caldecott Medal,
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson:
Classical, radiant, deceptively simple,
Predominantly black and white, with just a touch of gold
Where it counts.
Monday, January 26, 2009, was a teacher workshop day,
Krommes recalled.
Her two daughters were home from school,
And the artist was "terribly aware it was 'Caldecott day.' "
At 9:20 a.m. the phone rang.
A woman named Nell Coburn was on the line.
Thinking Coburn was a potential client, Krommes began to take notes.
For this is what Krommes has done for 20 years
As a fine artist selling unique wood engravings.
Only for the last decade has she illustrated children's books,
Switching to scratchboard because it achieved similar results
But was more efficient timewise.
It took Krommes six months to plan the art
For The House in the Night,
And at least another six to create the final artwork.
She did not mention on this night of celebration
That, after House, there were no more manuscripts for a full year (Shelf Awareness, February 3, 2009).
Beth Krommes deliberated about leaving children's books
And returning exclusively to the world of fine art.
But she'd fallen in love with the books
She'd discovered with her daughters:
Madeline; Millions of Cats; Bedtime for Frances;
Lyle, Lyle Crocodile; Miss Rumphius; Owl Moon;
"Absolutely everything by James Marshall" but especially
The Stupids and George and Martha;
Max Velthuijs's Frog books;
For bedtime--And if the Moon Could Talk
And Goodnight Moon.
That call from Nell Coburn, chair of the 2009 Caldecott Committee,
Was just the affirmation she needed.
In her illustrations for The House in the Night,
Beth Krommes said she included many of her favorite things:
A shell mobile she and her daughters had made
On vacation at the Jersey Shore,
Scamp, her childhood dog,
The rolling hills of her native Pennsylvania,
Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night,
Wanda Gág's Tumble Timbers,
And a tip of the hat to Seuss's Cat
With the mother's foot visible in the door
Of the young heroine's bedroom.
Twice in the months since she won the Caldecott,
Krommes found life imitating art.
Once was on her way home from taping the Today Show.
As she looked out the window of her airplane,
The sky changed from radiant twilight colors to black.
Tiny windows lit up in tiny houses across the land,
Much like that stunning sky filled with stars in The House in the Night.
And again when, for nine days in her hometown
Of Peterborough, N.H., she and her neighbors were without power.
Krommes went to gather more wood to keep the house warm
And when she looked up into the night sky,
With candles lit in her neighbors' windows,
There it was again: the heavens of The House in the Night.
If you walked out of the Sheraton and across the Chicago River,
Less than a mile north,
You'd come to the Art Institute of Chicago.
If you walked down one flight of stairs,
The first piece of art on the wall facing you,
Is the starry sky of The House in the Night.
"Photocopy of scratchboard, with watercolor on paper," the caption reads.
Beth Krommes is a fine artist and a children's book illustrator.
She is one and the same.--Jennifer M. Brown

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next picks:

Hardcover

Shimmer by Eric Barnes (Unbridled, $25.95, 9781932961676/1932961674). "This story of high-tech, corporate chicanery creates a foreign, but believable, world that will lodge in your mind. Barnes has written a gripping depiction of how people can become dehumanized in their single-minded drive for success. A superior novel."--Joe Strebel, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, Ill.

Building a Home With My Husband by Rachel Simon (Dutton, $24.95, 9780525951209/0525951202). "Rachel Simon's book Building a Home With My Husband is a memoir of the couple's life through a home renovation project that used all of his expertise as an architect and a student of Buddhism and all of her expertise as a survivor in life and love. Filled with both technical ins and outs and insights in recovering from a dysfunctional upbringing, this is a book worth reading and rereading."--Betsy Rider, Otto's a Booklovers Paradise, Williamsport, Pa.

Paperback

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely (Grove Press/Black Cat, $14, 9780802170606/0802170609). "This hilarious story is a send-up of being an author, and all other aspects of the book business. Hely has written a captivating novel about writing a bestselling novel, while doing as little work as possible. The fake New York Times bestseller list alone is worth the price of this book!"--Mitch Gaslin, Food For Thought Books, Amherst, Mass.

For Teen Readers

Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti (Viking, $17.99, 9780670011308/0670011304). "Susane Colasanti delivers a great young adult read for any teen who is struggling with the drama of early high school years. High school sophomore Marisa is smart and charming as she navigates the battlefield that is teen dating. In the end, though, she finds the person that she knew she was waiting for, and he was waiting for her, too."--Darcie Lochinski, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, Mich.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Their Holy Grail was a six-minute spot on the Tonight Show, and Los Angeles's Comedy Store was the place where more than 300 standup comics vied for the coveted prime time slots they hoped would expose their talent to agents and producers. In this funny and often painfully honest account, former Los Angeles Times reporter William Knoedelseder, who covered the beat, tells the story of that city's 1970s comedy scene, the birthplace of a generation of superstar comedians.

Founded by comedian Sammy Shore and snatched by his wife Mitzi (yes, Pauly's parents) in a 1973 divorce settlement, the Comedy Store served as the launching pad for comedians from across the country, many of whom migrated west when Johnny Carson moved to Burbank in 1972. From Boston's Jay Leno to Indianapolis's David Letterman (close friends until their relationship fractured in the battle to succeed Carson in 1992), aspiring comics were willing to work for nothing and even help with manual labor to maintain the Comedy Store, in order to win the favor of Mitzi, a shrewd judge of talent and an even more ruthless businesswoman.

The brightest stars of a generation of brilliant comics make their appearance in these pages. It's evident that some of them, like Richard Lewis and Tom Dreesen (the first of his contemporaries to appear on Tonight) cooperated extensively with Knoedelseder in the telling of the story, while others like Robin Williams, whose alleged comic plagiarism the author recounts, likely didn't. Alongside these tales of enduring success are thumbnail sketches of the meteoric careers of well-known comedians like Andy Kaufman, Freddie Prinze and the tragic one of Steve Lubetkin, who labored in vain to find his audience.

Knoedelseder's account is divided into two parts, the first describing the flourishing of the L.A. comedy clubs and the second detailing the fractious five-week strike against Mitzi Shore in 1979. That conflict began, absurdly, over the comics' demand that they be paid $5 for "gas money" for their appearances at the Comedy Store and quickly mushroomed into a full-fledged labor dispute challenging Mitzi Shore's belief that she was running a "comedy college," where fledgling comedians didn't deserve to be paid for working out the kinks in their routines. When it ended, Knoedelseder contends, this golden era of comedy went with it.

More interesting for its glimpse into the early career struggles of some of our most well-known comedians than for the account of the labor conflict, Knoedelseder's entertaining and frequently moving story provides ample support for the deathbed statement attributed to various English actors: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard."--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: A revealing and entertaining look at the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene and the labor dispute that ended its most glorious era.