Shelf Awareness for Monday, January 8, 2007


Workman Publishing:  Atlas Obscura: Wild Life: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Living Wonders by Cara Giaimo and Joshua Foer

Berkley Books: The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland

Simon & Schuster: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Nightweaver by RM Gray

Quotation of the Day

Book Store 200,000, Near and Dear to Its Customers?

"The Xinhua News Agency announced that over the next five years China intends to open 200,000 bookstores to serve some 900 million people in its rural areas. My broken calculator tells me that works out to four and a half books per person, if each store serves an audience of about 4,500 readers and stocks a thousand titles, as planned.

"Then, I wonder, could there possibly be 200,000 bookstore names in China? New York City stopped naming schools and went for P.S. 1, P.S. 2, and so forth. China could name new bookstores B.S. 1, B.S. 2 all the way up to B.S. 200,000."--Tony Miksak, former owner of Gallery Bookshop & Bookwinkle's Children's Books, Mendocino, Calif., speaking on his radio show, Words on Books, on KZYX and KZYZ-FM in Philo, Calif.

 


Disruption Books: Our Differences Make Us Stronger: How We Heal Together by La June Montgomery Tabron, illustrated by Temika Grooms


News

Notes: Many Milestones; Street Lit's Power

End of an era.

Anderson's Bookland in downtown Florence, Ala., has closed, the Times Daily reported. Founded as a newsstand in 1917 by Clyde Anderson, the business grew into the bookstore chain Books-A-Million and the American Wholesale Book Company. Anderson's grandson Clyde B. Anderson is BAM's chairman.

Books-A-Million has another Bookland store and a BAM store in malls in Florence.

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Wanting to retire, the four longtime owners of Capitola Book Café, Capitola, Calif., plan to sell the store--most likely to four employees who have already assumed management responsibilities and are trying to arrange financing, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported.

Wendy Mayer-Lochtefeld, one of the group of four aspiring owners, told the paper that because "we want the store to remain a vibrant part of the community," the group is talking about "any improvement we can make to any aspect to keep it vital."

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The owners of the Avid Reader in Sacramento (Stan Forbes) and the Avid Reader in Davis (Alzada Knickerbocker) are close to signing a lease to open a store in Tower Books's old flagship location on Broadway in Sacramento, according to the Sacramento Bee.

If the deal goes through, Forbes would close his store. A new Avid Reader might open as soon as March.

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In a long feature, yesterday's Baltimore Sun shed some light on street lit.

Sean Bentley, buyer of black fiction at Borders, told the paper that "African-American literature has seen double-digit growth in the last few years" and that urban literature accounts for about 25% of his purchases. "It is popular," he continued. "It is speaking to a group of people that for a long time did not have an opportunity to have their lives told."

Likewise, Vicki Stringer, the street lit writer and publisher who wrote her first work in prison and now owns Triple Crown Publications, a major street lit house, said that the genre "is going to continue to grow. It is very similar to music and clothing. Now it is literature. Everything is urban. Generation Y has an appetite for it."

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Jason Geller has joined Chooseco, publishers of the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books, as national sales director. He was formerly retail sales director at Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen.

Founded by CYOA authors R.A. Montgomery and Shannon Gilligan, Chooseco intends to relaunch the series and brand, which has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide, by appealing both to original fans and new readers..

"Our focus is two-fold," Geller said in a statement. "We aim to be in every independent bookstore in the country and move into special markets like museum stores and gift shops, while servicing the larger box stores and chains. And we haven't even reached out to libraries yet. Librarians are some of the biggest fans of the series for the books' exceptional ability to lure boys into reading, while still being popular with girls."  

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Congratulations to Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., owned by Chuck and Dee Robinson, whose Chuckanut Radio Hour tapes its debut program this Wednesday, January 10. The variety show will feature authors, music and other entertainment and be taped at the American Museum of Radio & Electricity in Bellingham. The show will air later on KMRE-FM.

For the pilot, TV newsman and commentator Floyd McKay will interview Erik Larson, author of Isaac's Storm and The Devil in the White City whose new book is Thunderstruck. The house band is the Walrus; other performers include a 13-year-old saxophonist and the Honeybees. The Poet's Corner will feature Jim Bertolino; Alan Rhodes will offer "a slice-of-life essay." Some audience member will compete in a literary quiz.

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What do you know.

A week after the New York Times blithely said that independent bookstores have been "steadily dropping away, one by one," and that "the battle is reaching some of the last redoubts" (in its story about the closing of Micawber's Books, Princeton, N.J.), the Times's Sunday travel section takes a spin closer to home and finds "an eclectic collection" of independents in Manhattan, "where specialized collections, cozy atmosphere and friendly and knowledgeable staff win out over huge selection, standardized décor and jam-packed cafes."

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In honor of Chuck Pacheco, the longtime book buyer at Harvard Book Store who died last year of brain cancer at age 56 (Shelf Awareness, March 7, 2006), the store has established a memorial lecture series that will be given annually. The first lecture features Calvin Trillin, who will speak about his new book, About Alice, with Christopher Lydon, on Friday, January 19.

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Apparently downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., hasn't been revitalized as much as local leaders hoped. River Banks Books & Music, which opened a little over a year ago with the help of redevelopment tax breaks and grants (Shelf Awareness, December 10, 2005), has closed, the Grand Rapids Press reported.

Owner Debra Lambers, who also runs the Book Nook and Java Shop in nearby Montague, indicated that "the numbers required to keep the doors open just would not support it."

The store paid "almost no state or local tax burden aside from sales tax," the paper said. In addition, the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority gave the store a $50,000 grant for building costs.

Rockford Development, which lured Lambers to the site, wants to put another bookstore in the site. 

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A bookseller at Magers & Quinn Booksellers and ex-owner of the Hungry Mind/Ruminator Books, David Unowsky is now an ex-candidate for the St. Paul City Council. The Pioneer Press reported that Unowsky has dropped out of the race, stating, "I have come to realize that being a candidate and a politician is not a role that suits me. I can and will continue to work successfully on the issues that are important to me without the expense of time, energy, and financial resources required for a long campaign. . . . I look forward to working with [supporters] on issues of social, economic, and environmental justice; participatory democracy; sensible development; universal and affordable health care; and toward building a stronger, more locally based economy."

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The family of Ron Goldman, who was killed along with Nicole Brown Simpson, has won a federal court order in Los Angeles freezing the money O.J. Simpson received as an advance for If I Did It, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Simpson has said that he spent the advance, estimated at $1 million. A Goldman family lawyer said "the money had been laundered and that the goal was to show that Simpson was hiding it," according to the Times.

 


NYU Advanced Publishing Institute: Early bird pricing through Oct. 13


PGW for Sale?; Radio Free PGW Begins 'Airing'

Rumors continue to fly that bankrupt AMS is shopping Publishers Group West, which could be a boon to both its staff and client publishers, even though the latter could still lose out on most or all of their income for the end of 2006.

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Some PGW client publishers who are considering forming their own credit group to look out for their interests in the AMS bankruptcy case had some of the worst fears confirmed on Friday after legal consultations:

  • Their books in PGW's possession are considered on consignment and are the property of PGW. Reclamation rights are limited.
  • In the same vein, it will be very difficult for publishers to get out of the contracts with PGW.
  • PGW publishers may request that the U.S. Trustee form a PGW creditors' committee separate from AMS's creditors' committee. If that request fails, the group could file to form its own separate creditors' committee.

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The bankruptcy has led to some gallows humor. Consider the first of several entries on a new blog called www.RadioFreePGW.com:

"Following the hostile seizure of their hard-earned dollars by AMS management on December 29, PGW publishers were relieved to learn on Wednesday that their hijacked operating funds were being put to good use. After all, how else could AMS executives afford to fly all of their O'Melveny & Myers attorneys to Delaware from Southern California without the generous contributions of PGW publishers? As PGW publishers have learned this week, bankruptcy attorneys don't come cheap."


BINC: Your donation can help rebuild lives and businesses in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and beyond. Donate Today!


G.L.O.W. - Galley Love of the Week
Be the first to have an advance copy!
The Queen of Fives
by Alex Hay
GLOW: Graydon House: The Queen of Fives by Alex Hay

Quinn le Blanc, "the Queen of Fives," is the latest in a dynasty of London con artists. In August 1898, she resolves to pose as a debutante and marry a duke for his fortune. According to the dynasty's century-old Rulebook, reeling in a mark takes just five days. But Quinn hasn't reckoned with the duke's equally shrewd stepmother and sister. Like his Caledonia Novel Award-winning debut, The Housekeepers, Alex Hay's second book is a stylish, cheeky historical romp featuring strong female characters. Graydon House senior editor Melanie Fried says his work bears the "twisty intrigue of a mystery" but is "elevated [by] wickedly clever high-concept premises and explorations of class, social status, gender, and power." The Queen of Fives is a treat for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Sarah Penner, and Downton Abbey. --Rebecca Foster

(Graydon House/HarperCollins, $28.99 hardcover, 9781525809859, January 21, 2025)

CLICK TO ENTER


#ShelfGLOW
Shelf vetted, publisher supported

Media and Movies

Media Heat: The Art of Aging Gratefully

This morning the Today Show fits in an appearance by Bradley Bayou, author of The Science of Sexy: Dress to Fit Your Unique Figure with the Style System that Works for Every Shape and Size (Gotham, $35, 9781592402601).

Also on the Today Show: Naomi Judd riffs on Naomi's Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths, and Good News for Boomers (S&S, $23, 9780743275156).

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This morning on the Early Show: Anne Fletcher, author of Weight Loss Confidential: How Teens Lose Weight and Keep It Off--And What They Wish Parents Knew (Houghton Mifflin, $26, 9780618433667).

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Today on Live with Regis and Kelly: Bill O'Reilly, author of Culture Warrior (Broadway, $26, 9780767920926).

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Today on the Martha Stewart Show: Joan Didion, whose most recent literary offering is We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction (Everyman's Library, $30, 9780307264879).

Also on the Martha Stewart Show: Jamie Oliver, chef and creator of Jamie's Italy (Hyperion, $34.95, 9781401301958).

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show, the doctors are in: Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen talk about their latest, You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management (Free Press, $25, 9780743292542). Dr. Oz also appears on Oprah today.



Books & Authors

Book Sense: May We Recommend

From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at booksense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:

Hardcover

Red River by Lalita Tademy (Warner, $24.99, 9780446578981). "Tademy does a great job of telling the true story of the massacre of black men in Colfax, Louisiana, in 1873 and brings to life the story of three generations of African Americans who were affected by this horrific event."--Tiffany Dow, A Shade of Gray Bookstore, Indianapolis, Ind.

Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality
by Pauline W. Chen (Knopf, $23.95, 9780307263537). "Final Exam is a vitally important book that everyone should read. It addresses the issues surrounding end-of-life care from an insider's perspective and focuses on issues rarely discussed: doctors' own fears of mortality and how emotions about death interfere with frank discussions about appropriate care."--Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, Mich.

Paperback

The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai
by John Tayman (Scribner, $16, 9780743233019). "The Colony is an adept and absorbing history of the most notorious island in the Hawaiian chain, Molokai, where lepers were forcibly exiled. The humanity and suffering of Molokai's lepers comes across as clearly as a scream across the ages."--Jessica Friedlander, Bay Books, Monterey, Calif.

For Grades 6 Through 10

Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space by Philip Reeve (Bloomsbury, $16.95, 9781599900209). "Arthur and Myrtle are enjoying an afternoon at home. Of course, their house is Larklight, a home you won't find in a normal neighborhood. When menacing guests drop by for an unwelcome visit, Arthur and Myrtle are on the run searching for help and finding out surprising things about their home and family. A fast-paced story full of wonderful characters."--Holly Frakes, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, Mich.

[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]


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