Notes: The Secret's 'Secret'; Borders Downgraded
Sunday's New York Times was attracted to what it called "some surprising secrets behind The Secret,"
the wildly popular movie directed by Rhonda Byrne that was touted twice
by Oprah recently. The DVD (it is not being shown in theaters here) has
sold some 1.5 million copies, more than half in the past month, "as
word-of-mouth appeal crossed over from New Age circles to the
mainstream," the paper said. And the book (Atria/Beyond Words, $23.95,
9781582701707/1582701709), which appeared after the movie, has been
moving onto many bestseller lists and took the No. 1 spot on the Times's own hardcover advice, how-to and miscellaneous list this week.
One of the "secrets" is that there are two versions of the movie. The
original prominently featured Esther Hicks, who with her husband,
Jerry, has written Ask and It Is Given and several other books
based on the teachings of Abraham, the name used for a group of
spiritual teachers who Esther Hicks channels. But Hicks had thought the
movie would be released only in Australia and protested; the new
version doesn't include her and copies of the original are hard to find.
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Standard & Poor's
has downgraded Borders Group stock to sell from hold, according to
BusinessWeek. S&P cited "disappointing holiday sales results" and
concern that despite increased sales from the final Harry Potter book,
"margin pressure will mount due to a highly promotional
environment."
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Barnes & Noble has signed a lease to open a store in November 2007 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The store will be located in the Glenbrook Square Mall at Coliseum Boulevard and Coldwater Road.
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The Burlington Free Press
reports on the impending closing of the Book Rack & Children's
Pages, Essex, Vt., after 26 years in business. Owner Elaine Sopchak
cited a struggle tending to the store and a newborn child, her third,
as well as competition from Amazon and big-box stores. In addition, the
store's "tucked-away location in the Essex shopping center failed to
attract foot traffic business," the paper said.
Sopchak plans to work as a publicist for Vermont writers Archer Mayor
and Howard Frank Mosher and wants to open an Essex chapter of Local
First Vermont, the state's local business group. "I can't keep this
shop open, but I can help others," she said. "I just don't think people
realize how many of their neighbors own local businesses."
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The East Valley Tribune
profiles Those Were the Days! bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., "a museum of
sorts with thousands of out-of-print antiquing books shelved among
miscellaneous antique signs and items with descriptive tags." Owner Vic
Linoff said his passion is antiques; he started selling books after
finding a good deal in a catalogue. "We started with three books on
antiques, and it just grew," he told the paper.
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Red Rock Coffee Shop has opened in the St. Norbert College Book Store, De Pere, Wis., according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.
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Newmarket Press won several vicarious Oscars on Sunday.
It had the perfect tie-in to Little Miss Sunshine, which won for Best
Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (nabbed by Alan Arkin): Little Miss Sunshine: The Shooting Script ($19.95, 9781557047700), which contains Michael Arndt's winning screenplay.
The house also has tie-ins to Dreamgirls, which won for Best Supporting
Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Best Sound Mixing. They are:
- Dreamgirls: Collector's Program ($11.95, 9781557047588)
- Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical (paperback $19.95, 9781557047373; hardcover, $29.95, 9781557047458)
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The Frankfurt Book Fair is inviting young publishers from around
the world to apply for its Frankfurt Fellowship Programme, under which
18 people spend two weeks in Germany visiting key publishing cities.
The program takes place September 29-October 14 and ends with
attendance at the fair, October 10-14.
For more information and a downloadable application, click here.