"The technological revolution that threatens to rival the revolution created by Gutenberg's printing press is a long way from eliminating bound books. (Even my teenage daughter tells me she'll only read books on paper.) And the human need to gather together isn't going to end, either. That has to mean the doors will surely stay open to at least a few clean, well-lighted, last best places. Long live the bookstore."--Joy Horowitz in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece celebrating the opening of pages: a bookstore, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

In February, net book sales reported by 85 publishers to the Association of American Publishers rose 12.2%, to $486.3 million, and are up 4.8% to $1.3 billion, for the year to date. The solid sales are similar to the healthy gains in general retail sales during March, as reported on Friday (Shelf Awareness, April 9, 2010).

From a Q&A in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat with Tom Montan, CEO of Copperfield's, which has eight bookstores in Sonoma and Napa counties in northern California:

"We have been looking at and expanding many parts of our business, while shrinking others. New books, for example, are a slowly decreasing part of our business, while non-book items, sale books, and magazines continue to grow. We are in the middle of a process that will integrate much of our new, used and sale inventories on our shelves. So we'll have the same book but at different price points, on the same shelf. This has been driven by the consumer experience online. We all have begun to expect a choice of what format we want our books to be in....

"Ebooks today represent roughly two percent of the book retail market. Most experts say this year could very well be a tipping point year for this technology. This form of media has in my opinion a very long way to go. In the world of ebooks, I believe there is no place for a brick-and-mortar bookseller like Copperfield's. This medium becomes a direct connection between publisher and customer and writer and customer. There may even be a day in the not too distant future where the connection is content to customer--the self-writing book, if you will. I think it's naïve that some booksellers think the virtual format has any place in the brick-and-mortar store....

"We're about creating a place of connection in a physical space with people that share this need and want. Books are merely the point of connection. This is something that technology will not and cannot replace. You can buy the latest bestseller anywhere, at any time. The real factor that a bookstore provides is the sparkle and energy/excitement of sharing in a personal way.

"I think back to a book title by Marsha Sinetar that was popular 15 years ago. It was Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow. This is very applicable here. If we don't love what we sell, and can't find relevance in how we sell, and don't find the connection/community for selling this, then we might as well close up shop tomorrow. I will say that in light of all of these pressures, I think that the large majority of Copperfield's employees do what they love, and I think we are all richer for this in many ways. Not to sound too woo-woo, but it's all about love. Really."

Six regular contributors to the Millions remember affectionately bookstores that "helped pay their rents and feed their minds over the years." Book Soup, West Hollywood, Calif., is a common denominator for three of them.

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In August, Half Price Books is opening a 10,000-sq.-ft. branch in the southern part of Oklahoma City, which will be "the only major book retailer in the area," following the closing of a Waldenbooks at the end of January, the Oklahoman reported.

"Multiple landlords have tried to attract bookstores for years but none have bitten until now," a leasing agent told the paper.

A Half Price Books district manager said that "the city has really embraced us" after the used bookstore with headquarters in Dallas, Tex., opened a store in Oklahoma City. This will be the company's 110th store.

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That Bookstore at Mountebanq Place, Conway, Ark., is closing its bricks-and-mortar location at the end of June at the earliest; it will remain an online bookseller and continue to sell to schools and organization that sponsor author visits to communities in central Arkansas, said owner Maryalice Hurst.

That Bookstore at Mountebanq Place is holding "a store-wide clearance sale that is expected to last until the end of the month so to minimize the number of books that will need to be returned."

A story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette last week, quoted here last Tuesday, incorrectly said that the store was closing for any kind of business immediately. The store may be reached at thatbookstore@conwaycorp.net.

On behalf of that reporter, our apologies for the error!

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"The beauty of having a small store is that we've pretty much read everything," Cheryl Watkins, owner of Bookworks, Whitefish, Mont., told DailyInterLake.com. "If people pick up this book and ask what I think, I'll tell them."

Bookworks faced a double challenge last fall with the recession and road construction in front of the store, but loyal customers kept Watkins going.

"I think half the people that came in didn't even want to buy a book, they just wanted to make sure we didn't go out of business," she said. "People really go out of their way."

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Green Apple Books, San Francisco, Calif., has happily sent a check for $139.15 to the Alaska Wildlife Alliance--all of the store's profits from the sale of 12 copies of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue. When the book came out in November, the store promised to send all profits from the book to the Alliance, "an organization that works to prevent aerial hunting of Alaska's wolves, among other good causes," as the store's blog put it. "Several people who bought the book from us told us that they were buying it as a gift, but that they were glad to be able to buy it from a place where the money would do some good. One customer even wanted to buy the book and not take it with them--we just told her to make a donation directly!"

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Check out writerscast.com for an interview with Jan Weissmiller, owner of Prairie Lights bookstore, Iowa City, Iowa, host for a surprise visit by President Obama last month (Shelf Awareness, March 25, 2010). A part of the site's Publishing Talks series, the interview covers a lot more than the visit.

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Book trailer of the day: God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter by Stephen Prothero (HarperOne).

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Among speakers who will appear at the Making Information Pay conference to be held May 6 in New York City:

This week Bob Edwards, the host of the Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio, is airing a five-part series about the future of book publishing.

Today: Richard Nash, former publisher of Soft Skull Press and founder of Cursor, the social publishing house.

Tomorrow: Peter Brantley, director of the Bookserver Project at the Internet Archive, and Dan Visel, author, book designer and member of the Institute for the Future of the Book, a think tank funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Wednesday: Cathy Langer, lead buyer for the Tattered Cover, Denver, Colo.

Thursday: Alex de Campi, the author of a 24-episode graphic novel titled Valentine, who will discuss digital platforms, and author Richard Russo, who will talk about changes he has encountered in publishing.

Friday: Salon.com book critic Laura Miller.

Pompeii, based on the novel by Robert Harris, will become a TV miniseries two years after it was set to be adapted for the big screen by director Roman Polanski, who also helmed Harris's The Ghost Writer. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the project is now "a partnership that includes Sony Pictures TV, Scott Free and German producer Tandem."

THR also noted that while "the appetite for big-budget miniseries has waxed and waned in the U.S. over the decades, appeal internationally--especially if they are well made and boast stars--has consistently been strong. No word yet on casting or on a broadcast outlet in the U.S. or in Germany for Pompeii."

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Among the programming being aired this week by PBS as part of Holocaust Remembrance Week:

Today: a documentary called Among the Righteous, the story of Arabs who protected Jews during World War II, based on the book by Robert Satloff (PublicAffairs, $14.95, 9781586485108/1586485105).

On Wednesday: Worse Than War, which examines genocide from the Holocaust to Rwanda to Darfur and is based on the book by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (PublicAffairs, $29.95, 9781586487690/1586487698).

This morning on Good Morning America: Gayle King discusses Words That Matter: A Little Book of Life Lessons by the Oprah Magazine Editors (HarperStudio, $19.99, 9780061996337/0061996335).

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This morning on the Today Show: Kitty Kelley, author of Oprah: A Biography (Crown, $30, 9780307394866/0307394867).

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Today on the Joy Behar Show: Lisa Oz, author of US: Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships that Matter Most (Free Press, $26, 9781439123928/1439123926).

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Anna Quindlen, author of Every Last One (Random House, $26, 9781400065745/1400065747).

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Today on the View: the Trebing family, subjects of The Match: "Savior Siblings" and One Family's Battle to Heal Their Daughter (Beacon Press, $24.95, 9780807072868/0807072869).

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Tonight on the Colbert Report: Lisa Miller, author of Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife (Harper, $25.99, 9780060554750/0060554754).

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Marilyn Berger, author of This Is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes (Morrow, $25.99, 9780061759543/0061759546). Rick Hodes will also appear.

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Tomorrow morning on Imus in the Morning: Paula Deen and Brandon Branch, authors of Paula Deen's Savannah Style (Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 9781416552246/1416552243).

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Tomorrow on Live with Regis and Kelly: Michael J. Fox, author of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned (Hyperion, $17.99, 9781401323868/1401323863). He is also on the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow night.

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Tomorrow on Rachael Ray: Daisy Martinez, author of Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night: Bringing Your Family Together with Everyday Latin Dishes (Atria, $30, 9781439157534/1439157537).

The 2010 Solstice Awards, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America "to recognize those who have made a major difference to our field," are going to Tom Doherty, Terri Windling and the late Donald A. Wollheim. The recipients will be honored during the Nebula Award Weekend May 14–16 in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Tom Doherty, president and publisher of Tom Doherty Associates, was honored for having been "integral to the shape and growth of SF and fantasy, for many, many years," SFWA president Russell Davis said.

Terri Windling, writer, editor, artist and founder of Endicott Studio, was cited for "contributions to the field, especially in mythic fiction, [that] are unrivaled."

A founding member of the Futurians, longtime publisher and editor Donald A. Wollheim was honored as a person "who changed the course of fantasy paperback publishing in the United States."

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:
 
Hardcover
 
The Season of Second Chances: A Novel by Diane Meier (Holt, $25, 9780805090819/0805090819). "This novel offers a poignant and entertaining view of a young woman's self-discovery. As a Columbia professor, published academic and owner of a New York apartment that has a great view of the Hudson River, Joy Harkness has it all. But does she? Transplanted to a New England college town, she buys a derelict Victorian house and has a relationship with the handyman who turns it into a beautiful home. Meier has produced a book that is fun to read and offers insight into Joy's transformation."--Fran Keilty, Hickory Stick Bookshop, Washington Depot, Conn.
 
Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir by Wendy Burden (Gotham, $26, 9781592405268/1592405266). "Burden's memoir of her branch of the family descended from Cornelius Vanderbilt is a delightful cautionary tale of the super rich who inherit a large fortune. The family's unraveling, erratic behavior and eccentricities make up a morbidly fascinating story."--Avery Dickey, Inkwood Books, Tampa, Fla.
 
Paperback
 
Purge by Sofi Oksanen (Grove Press/Black Cat, $14.95, 9780802170774/0802170773). "Translated from Finnish, this winner of Finland's top literary prizes is the story of Aliide, an Estonian peasant who survived the Soviet occupation, only to face the brutal realities of a post-occupation world when her sister's granddaughter shows up half-conscious in her yard. Powerful writing and exacting sense of place make this book stand out."--Claire Benedict, Bear Pond Books of Montpelier, Montpelier, Vt.
 
For Teen Readers
 
The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart (HarperTeen, $16.99, 9780061470486/0061470481). "Beth Kephart has written another must-read book for teens in this story of a group of teens who travel to a Mexican border town to work to help the residents there. She isn't afraid to tackle such big issues as parental pressure, anorexia and death, and she does it all with compassion, honesty and beautiful writing."--Mandy King, the Boulder Book Store, Boulder, Colo.
 
[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Season of the Gar: Adventures in Pursuit of America's Most Misunderstood Fish by Mark Spitzer (University of Arkansas Press, $19.95 trade paper 9781557289292/1557289298 April 3, 2010)

Opening lines of a book we want to read:

To stereotype my gar-obsession:

Back when I was a gar-virgin, I could hardly do anything other than research and write about gar, fish for gar, and dream about gar--so as to become gar-experienced. It was a long time coming, but it finally happened, and in the process, I lost my gar-innocence, which allowed my monomania ("Gar Fever") to finally release its hold on me.

The result is a book devoted to a subject in which the imagination has always been a major factor. For millennia, gar have inspired myths, legends, scenes of slaughter, extreme emotions, epic battles, and in the tradition of ye olde fish story, extravagant lies.

Lest you think that this is just another book by a crazed fisherman, know that the author teaches writing, is the managing editor of the Exquisite Corpse Annual, has published fiction and poetry, is a translator of Bataiile, Cendrars and Céline, and has appeared on the Animal Planet's River Monsters. That being said, he is a crazed fisherman, although he prefers the word "passionate." And he has other fish to fry beyond catching gar ("the coolest fish there is"):

No doubt, though, I'm preaching (for the most part) to a choir that already respects the fact that we need to do more to protect America's most misunderstood fish in order to preserve what's left of our world as we know it. Call me idealistic, call me a fool I don't care. But if you use this book to hunt alligator gar in Arkansas, then before you take that shot... remember the regional fishing guides from the '50s that you'll read about in this book. Then recall their regrets, and consider what we've been trying to recover from for over half a century.

--Selected by Marilyn Dahl

James Lord (Picasso and Dora: A Personal Memoir) wanted to leave college in October 1942; at 20, he hated every minute of campus life and harbored a secret that shamed him. Volunteering for the U.S. Army and heading off to war seemed like the perfect escape. My Queer War reveals what this young man, so innocent of worldly experience, learned about himself, the army, the enemy, Europe and even the artists he worshipped (Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and Thomas Mann, among others) during his tour of duty from enlistment until discharge in December 1945.

As he headed to Europe on a troop ship in July 1944, Lord wrote, "All adventure, of course, is concerned with going somewhere, attaining a destination, whether actual or spiritual, one remote from a point of departure," but harsh realities, not neat abstractions, awaited him on the other side of the Atlantic. Trained in military intelligence, his initial assignments in Europe struck him as either ridiculous or pointless. His commanding officers also fell short of expectations: they were either sadistic martinets or closeted homosexuals who made passes at him at inopportune moments. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his opinions to himself.

Lord is brutally honest about his immaturity and unpreparedness for army life. People who saw that he was bucking the system and asking for trouble tried to warn him--"Study to be heartless," one superior advised. As he records here, he heard their words but could not abandon his idealistic prewar moral framework about right behavior. As retribution for Lord's inveterate and unwelcome candor, one officer sent him to interrogate prisoners of war--but at that POW camp, Lord got more than bargained for. He writes, "Had I fled college for fear of being found out to be queer, the gnawing guilt thereof, only to find myself faced [with the intractable horrors of that camp]?"

Overwhelmed by both the atrocities he witnessed and the rampant absurdities of the army, he asked himself, "Was it merely the war? Being queer in the war, making the war queer." Portraying his actual war duties as farcical (he was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement--for nothing, he says), Lord delivers a sobering and heartbreaking account of the personal battle he fought to come to terms with his inexperience, hero worship and sexuality in the unforgiving theater of war. In poignant summary, Lord (who died at 86 in 2009) writes, "I stood by the ragged edge of the action in fear and fascination, and I dreamed that maybe mere proximity might make the story of my queer war the history of an epic." --John McFarland

Shelf Talker: A frank, heartbreaking memoir of a gay man's experience in the European Theater of World War II.