"I really try only to shop at indie bookstores. There's something about walking into a space and seeing books that are carefully curated, instead of just the 10 most popular books in the country.

"Part of what made the Boston area feel like home was finding my local indie, the Harvard Book Store and Porter Square Books. Now I go in there and I recognize the sellers. Every time I have a friend visiting, I drag them in there to look at books. It's dangerous because Harvard Book Store is close to the T stop. When I'm at the T, I think, 'Well, I'll just go buy a book....'

"Indie bookstores are a large part of my life. I've had such wonderful support from my local indies, and I'll continue shopping at them as long as they're around."

The Ripped Bodice, Culver City, Calif.

Later this summer, romance-only bookstore the Ripped Bodice will open a second location, in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Store co-owner Leah Koch, who co-founded the original location in Culver City, Calif., with her sister, Bea Koch, seven and a half years ago, will run the Brooklyn store. Bea Koch will remain in L.A., and the Culver City store will continue to operate as normal.

The new store will reside in a 1,900-square-foot space at 218 5th Ave. in Park Slope and offer the same selection of diverse and inclusive romance titles spanning a wide variety of sub-genres. The store's event offerings will include author signings, book clubs, writing workshops, with Koch looking forward to hosting and working with many more East Coast authors. There is a grand opening celebration planned for August 5, with details to be announced.

Ripped Bodice's future home in Brooklyn.

Koch is hard at work on the store's buildout, describing the process as "pretty serious construction." The space previously housed a pet store that had not been touched in about 15 years. Koch has stripped out everything she could and "ripped down two different ceilings," and the floors have had to be entirely rebuilt. Still to be done, she added, are things like ductwork and painting.

Asked for how long a second location has been in the works, Koch recalled that when she and her sister opened the store, they agreed there would be "absolutely no discussion of expansion" for at least three years, as they wanted to make sure the business was established and did not want to make the mistake of expanding too quickly.

In January 2020, with the Ripped Bodice doing well after around four years in business, the sisters felt they were "reading to start looking." They spent a few weeks browsing real estate websites and "then the world ended." Koch remarked: "Thank God we didn't sign anything."

With the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, expansion plans immediately went on "deep freeze," and it wasn't until around August 2022, with the L.A. store "back to almost full strength," that they were ready to start thinking of it again. Koch started putting some pieces in place, such as promoting one of the store's booksellers to be manager of the L.A. store, and mapping out a timeline for an expansion.

Koch explained that opening a second store in L.A. was never really under consideration, and the idea was always to expand their reach and their audience by opening in a different city. Though Koch and her sister had identified "a variety of cities I think we could be successful in," the choice was really down to Brooklyn or "another big city on the West Coast." (Koch declined to name the city, saying the Ripped Bodice may still expand there eventually.)

What "really sealed the deal," though, was Koch's brother and sister-in-law having a baby in February. While visiting them in Brooklyn, Koch took some time to look at real estate and "found something amazing." With either city seeming like a "good business decision" for the store, opening in Brooklyn was a better personal choice for Koch. She's spent the last several years living very close to one sibling, she added, and now figured "it was time to give the other sibling a shot."

In addition to the buildout work, Koch will soon be hiring staff for the Brooklyn store, with applications set to open on June 20. "We're excited," she said. --Alex Mutter

Diana Dominguez

Más Libritos, a Latina-owned, intersectional feminist bookstore that began as a pop-up shop, has found a permanent space in Springdale, Ark., KNWA reported.

Owner Diana Dominguez will be setting up shop within a Latina-owned restaurant in Springdale called Bites & Bowls, which is expanding this summer. The permanent space will allow Dominguez to grow her inventory of books centering BIPOC authors and illustrators.

There will be titles for all ages and across all genres, including nonfiction, contemporary fiction, poetry, and cookbooks. Dominguez will also have space for Spanish-language adult books, and there will be children's books available in both English and Spanish. Dominguez added that she will also highlight BIPOC queer and trans writers in particular.

"It's important to be able to have books that are more representative of our communities," Dominguez told KNWA. She wants to "make sure people feel represented and feel seen."

Dominguez noted that she'll continue to do pop-up appearances at craft fairs and other locations in the Springdale area, and she explained that the expansion was made possible through community support--last month she was able to raise $7,000 with the help of community members.

She's planning on a soft opening this month followed by a grand opening in July.

Revenues for the U.S. book industry fell 2.6%, to $28.1 billion, in 2022, the Association of American Publishers stated in its StatShot Annual report. Still, 2022 results were 8.6% higher than $25.87 billion in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

"During the year, the publishing industry continued to show considerable resilience, with total revenues still above pre-pandemic levels," AAP chief operating officer Syreeta Swann said. "The fact that the five-year trend also shows consistent growth suggests that the industry is well positioned to weather a challenging economic environment and an evolving marketplace over the long haul."

The AAP StatShot Annual report is "more than the sum of AAP's monthly statistics analyses," the association noted. "Using quantitative methodologies, StatShot Annual estimates the total volume of the U.S. publishing industry by combining annual data submitted by publishers and distributors and by applying market modeling," mainly by estimating data for publishers that don't report their sales to the AAP.

Among highlights from the report:

Trade sales, the industry's largest category, fell 6.6%, to $17.36 billion. The drop in trade sales was attributable mostly to adult nonfiction, which was down 13.2%, to $5.52 billion. Adult fiction was up slightly by 0.6%, to $5.7 billion. Sales of children's/YA fiction and nonfiction were both down, 6.3%, to $3.95 million, and 7.2%, to $917 million, respectively.

For the first time since 2014, paperback sales, which slipped 0.5%, to $6.38 billion, were higher than hardcover sales, which dropped 13.6%, to $6.18 billion.

In trade, print books account for 73.1% of all units sold. Paperbacks account for 40.8% of all trade units sold, hardcovers 24.5%, and mass market 3.6%.

The only general category with a gain was pre-K-12--sales rose an impressive 16.6%, to $5.61 billion. Higher-ed sales dropped 7.2%, to $3.18 billion. Professional books sales dropped 6%, to $1.47 billion. Religious press sales fell 6%, to $1.27 billion. And university press sales dropped 7.7%, to $414 million.

For the seventh consecutive year, publisher sales via online retail channels were higher than sales via physical retail channels. Sales through online retail, which includes printed and digital books, fell 12.4%, to $8.19 billion, and sales through physical retail fell 5.8%, to $5.22 billion. By contrast, direct sales grew 12.3%, to $7.23 billion; "other" channels grew 13.1%, to $1.16 billion; and the intermediary channel was up 0.7%, to $5.05 billion.

In the online retail channel, 51.1% of publishers' sales were print formats; 39.3% were digital formats (including e-books and digital audio); 8% were instructional materials; and 1.6% were physical audio or other formats.

E-book sales fell 6.5%, to $1.95 billion, marking a long-term trend: except for 2020, the first year of the pandemic, e-book sales have fallen every year since 2014.

Digital audio sales rose 2.6%, to $1.81 billion. Digital audio sales have increased steadily since 2012.

Meg Olson

Meg Olson, owner of Kingfisher Bookstore, Coupeville, Wash., will challenge longtime mayor Molly Hughes in the general election this November. The Whidbey News-Times reported that Olson, a former Blaine City Council member, filed to run against Hughes, who has served as mayor since 2016 following three terms on the Coupeville Town Council.

Olson said she has lived in Coupeville for five years and been involved in civic life in every community where she's lived in. "Her top priority if elected will be to hire a town administrator and reduce the mayor's salary and hours, adding that the mayor's primary responsibilities should be to work with town council members to develop policy, interface and collaborate with community stakeholders and demonstrate positive leadership," the News-Times wrote. "A town administrator would then fulfill administrative functions that have fallen to the mayor, such as managing human resources and overseeing budget and financial matters."

"I know what works, and I know how things can work better with the right structure," Olson said, adding that she hopes her entering the running for the mayoral seat will inspire town residents to engage more with the issues.

Posted on Instagram yesterday by Reverie Books, Austin, Tex: "Pride month starts TOMORROW! What better way to celebrate the month of June by supporting a queer owned bookstore. Here's a sneak peek of all the pride books and gifts we have available!"

"School's Out, Books Out!" That's the sidewalk chalkboard message from Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga., which noted on Facebook: "Hello, summer reading! School is out and that means you can read more for pleasure and on vacation. We've had so much fun helping avid readers who walk in requesting summer beach reads. That's our specialty: putting new (to you) books in your hands. What do you want to read this summer?"

Sarah Jean Grimm has joined Broadside PR, the first new publicist to join the firm since its founding in 2015 by Whitney Peeling, Kimberly Burns, and Michael Taeckens. Grimm has more than a decade of publicity experience at Penguin Random House and the Catapult Book Group. She also is the author of two collections of poetry, Soft Focus and the recently released Hog Lagoon. She was the founding editor of Powder Keg Magazine and currently edits the small poetry press After Hours Editions.

Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash (Yale University Press).

Today:
Fresh Air: Kwame Alexander, author of Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances (Little, Brown, $28, 9780316417228).

Tomorrow:
The View: Andrew McCarthy, author of Walking with Sam: A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain (Grand Central, $28, 9781538709207).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, June 3
12:30 p.m. Maurizio Valsania, author of First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity (Johns Hopkins University Press, $32, 9781421444475). (Re-airs Sunday at 12:30 a.m.)

3:05 p.m. Alfred Taylor, Jr., author of Following the Trail of Trooper Alfred Pride (BookBaby, $20, 9781667833903).

5:35 p.m. Beverly Gage, author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century (Viking, $45, 9780670025374).

6:55 p.m. Dael Norwood, author of Trading Freedom: How Trade with China Defined Early America (University of Chicago Press, $45, 9780226815589).

Sunday, June 4
9:05 a.m. Bruce Schneier, author of A Hacker's Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules, and How to Bend them Back (Norton, $30, 9780393866667). (Re-airs Sunday at 9:05 p.m.)

10 a.m. Keith Ellison, author of Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence (Twelve, $30, 9781538725634). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

11 a.m. Megan Buskey, author of Ukraine Is Not Dead Yet: A Family Story of Exile and Return (‎ibidem Press, $22, 9783838216911). (Re-airs Sunday at 11 p.m.)

12 p.m. Live In-Depth q&a with David Quammen, author of Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus (Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 9781982164362). (Re-airs Monday at 12 a.m.)

4 p.m. Coverage of the 2023 Lukas Book Prizes, awarded to the "best in American nonfiction writing."

6:30 p.m. China Miéville, author of A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto (Haymarket, $21.95, 9781642598919).

The Royal Society of Literature has released a shortlist for the 2023 Encore Award, celebrating outstanding achievements in second novels. The winner, who will be named June 15, receives £10,000 (about $12,380), with each of the other four shortlisted authors getting £500 (about $620). This year's shortlisted titles are:

Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews 
Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen 
Emergency by Daisy Hildyard 
Complicit by Winnie M Li 
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu 

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, June 6:

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende, trans. by Frances Riddle (Ballantine, $28, 9780593598108) tell two immigrant stories--one in Europe during World War II, the other in modern Central America.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel by Lisa See (Scribner, $28, 9781982117085) follows a female physician in 15th-century China.

Clive Cussler Fire Strike by Mike Maden (Putnam, $29.95, 9780593543931) is the 17th Oregon Files thriller.

The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel (Gallery, $28.99, 9781982191702) tracks two mothers during the Nazi occupation of Paris.

The Survivor by Iris Johansen (Grand Central, $29, 9781538726372) is the latest mystery with forensic sculptor Eve Duncan.

Near Miss by Stuart Woods and Brett Battles (Putnam, $29, 9780593540060) is the 64th thriller with Stone Barrington.

All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron, $27.99, 9781250831910) follows the first Black sheriff of a Virginia county.

Translation State by Ann Leckie (Orbit, $29, 9780316289719) is a new sci-fi story set in the Imperial Radch universe.

Prepared: A Manual for Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios by Mike Glover (Portfolio, $29, 9780593538142) gives survival tips from a former Green Beret.

Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page (Flatiron, $29.99, 9781250878359) is the memoir of a trans actor.

My Friend Anne Frank: The Inspiring and Heartbreaking True Story of Best Friends Torn Apart and Reunited Against All Odds by Hannah Pick-Goslar (Little, Brown, $29, 9780316564403) is the memoir of a Holocaust survivor.

Swipe Up for More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers by Stephanie McNeal (Portfolio, $29, 9780593418604) explores the real lives of three social media influencers.

Camp Sylvania by Julie Murphy (Balzer + Bray, $18.99, 9780063114029) is a creepy middle-grade novel about a tween sent against her will to a fat camp using the soon-to-be patented "Scarlet Diet" model.

Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu (Soho Teen, $18.99, 9781641294201) features a teen caught in a dangerous game of one-upmanship.

Paperbacks:
Fairy Tale by Stephen King (Scribner, $20, 9781668002193).

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan (Putnam, $17, 9780593544969).

Carrie Soto Is Back: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine, $18, 9780593158708).

Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora (Hogarth, $18, 9780593498088).

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 East Indian: A Novel by Brinda Charry (Scribner, $28, 9781668004524). "The East Indian is a coming-of-age novel rife with pivotal moments and riveting wonder as Tony traverses the world and perseveres through life's hardships; he comes out the other side a forefather in the narrative of American history." --Kristy Creager, Mitzi's Books, Rapid City, S.Dak.

With My Little Eye: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson (Morrow, $30, 9780063158658). "Wow! A roller coaster ride combining Dungeons and Dragons with Agatha Christie. Joshilyn Jackson continues to refine her mystery/suspense cred in this compelling whodunnit. Great for beach reading or any other time!" --Diana Robinson, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, Ga.

Paperback
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford (Atria, $17.99, 9781982158224). "Jamie Ford explores the relationship of mind, spirit, and personal history in this gorgeous, multigenerational novel. The descendants of Afong Moy dig into their inherited pasts with astonishing results. A hopeful, beautiful read!" --Beth Mynhier, Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest, Ill.

For Ages 3 to 5
10 Cats by Emily Gravett (Boxer Books, $16.99, 9781914912580). "The cats in this picture book are mischievous and hilarious. Children will enjoy searching for the different cats while learning numbers, colors, and patterns." --Ann Vogl, Dragon Tale Books, Menomonie, Wis.

For Ages 8 to 12
Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler (First Second, 9781250249340, $14.99) "I loved this middle grade graphic novel about a young squire and a dragon that is destroying the town. Can't wait for it to come out and to hand it to all the kids I know." --Elizabeth Schieber, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan.

For Teen Readers
Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust: A Young Reader's Edition by Hédi Fried, trans. by Alice E. Olsson, illus. by Laila Ekboir (Scribble US, $18.95, 9781957363233). "Hédi Fried gives an eyewitness and direct account of her experiences during the Holocaust. She answers the most frequently asked questions she has received over the years on her quest to educate so that generations to come do not hate." --Linda Bakersmith, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Libraries are generally placid places, and that's what makes Laura Sims's decision in the chilling How Can I Help You so ingenious--to create one that's home to a murderous character. Sims (Looker), a poet and critic, brings one more useful credential to this frightening story: she's a part-time reference librarian at a public library near her New Jersey home.

Margo Finch toils away as a circulation clerk at the Carlyle Public Library but, far from possessing any relevant experience, she's a refugee under a different name from a nursing career, who's left a series of hospital jobs with a string of unexplained patient deaths. As if that weren't worrisome enough, at least one more shocking event in Margo's past adds to her menace.

Her life in a world of books that's "quiet, anonymous, orderly, and sane" begins to unravel when Patricia Delmarco, a new reference librarian, arrives from Chicago. Patricia has her own set of troubles she's trying to escape, among them a failed novel she's abandoned after seven years (what she bitterly calls "the Great Rejection"), and a moribund relationship with her accountant boyfriend. Patricia is content to put her aspirations for a writing career behind her as she settles into her job, at least until a cantankerous library patron dies under mysterious circumstances with Margo nearby. After Margo carelessly discloses information about her prior life, Patricia's research skills kick in. Patricia unleashes a flow of words about her co-worker's vividly imagined past into the notebook that is her constant companion--all while she sits at her desk responding to an array of bizarre reference questions from library patrons.

From that point forward, in chapters that alternate between the voices of Margo and Patricia, Sims fashions an intriguing cat-and-mouse game in which it's hard at times to distinguish between pursuer and pursued. When another patron meets an untimely death, all of the pieces are in place for a suitably cataclysmic climax, one that Sims executes with the same assurance she displays in the rest of the story.

Without interrupting her plot's momentum, Sims raises intriguing questions about the wellspring of literary creativity--and even more provocative ones about writerly ethics. Fans of Shirley Jackson's eerie fiction will enjoy the roleWe Have Always Lived in the Castle, her gothic horror novel, plays in the story. How Can I Help You is smartly scary entertainment that will have readers guessing about its outcome until almost the final page. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: In this canny and chilling thriller, two librarians face off in a deadly battle of wits that only one can win.