With the Federal Trade Commission reportedly close to filing an antitrust suit against Amazon, the American Booksellers Association, the Authors Guild, and the Open Markets Institute have sent a joint letter to the FTC and the Department of Justice urging them to "focus on how Amazon abuses its monopoly power over the market for books and ideas."

In addition, ABA CEO Allison Hill has written on her own to the FTC, urging the Commission, when it meets with Amazon next week, not to agree to "a deal that appears to punish the online giant, but in the long run, does nothing to curb Amazon's anticompetitive behavior. We firmly believe that the only solution to stop the Amazon monopoly is to break the company up. And we strongly assert that it's the FTC’s responsibility to fully investigate before making a determination.

"Fines or simply breaking off the third-party marketplace will do nothing to change the behavior of a company with billions of dollars and the power to dominate any new market it enters. It would do nothing to target Amazon's worst offenses, or its clear monopoly and monopsony in the book and e-book markets. Worse still, we believe that any decision by the Commission to back away from an antitrust lawsuit could set the modern antitrust fight back decades, and the FTC would be providing tacit approval for other companies to behave as Amazon does....

"Amazon has become the monopolistic/monopsonistic behemoth it is today in part due to its ability to game the system. We believe Amazon will try to use this meeting to game the system to its advantage."

The joint letter to the FTC said in part, "Today the free exchange of ideas is impeded and warped by opaque algorithms and sales practices controlled by Amazon and premised on which publisher and/or author is willing and able to pay the highest extortionary tax to get their books promoted on Amazon's website....

"The ultimate effects of Amazon's business model--which is based on manipulating readers--include the unfair promotion and suppression of specific ideas, authors, publishers, and the routine disruption of public debate. We need nothing more than common sense to understand that the sort of personalized recommendations that readers welcome in the local independent store will have vast structural effects on the overall market of ideas when pursued by an all-powerful, all-seeing monopolist."

A New York Times article about the joint letter noted that "it's still unclear whether the government's case will scrutinize Amazon's role as a bookseller as part of its investigation of the company. While Amazon got its start nearly 30 years ago as a scrappy online bookstore, it has since mushroomed into a retail giant that has gained a foothold in other industries, with its expansion into cloud computing and its purchase of the grocery chain Whole Foods and the movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer."

Still, the Times said, Amazon now accounts for the sale of 40% of all printed books, 80% of e-books, and a vast majority of audiobooks, and it has contributed "to a steep decline in the number of physical bookstores across the United States, and [left] publishers and authors beholden to the site."

Erik Gordon, a professor of business at the University of Michigan who studies antitrust, told the Times that the FTC will likely focus elsewhere than Amazon's effect on the book world, saying, "There's not a great case against Amazon with respect to their bookselling practices. Many publishers and authors are making more money than they would have without Amazon."

The ABA's Hill told the Times that she continues to hope that the government focuses on Amazon's role in the book world, saying, "Amazon has been unchecked for so long that our fight for a level playing field has become moot. Amazon owns the playing field."

Khristina Helmich is purchasing Our Town Books in Jacksonville, Ill., from Jessica Gale, who has owned the new and used bookstore since 2019. 

In a Facebook post announcing the sale, Gale wrote that Helmich grew up in Jacksonville and recently returned to the area. Her "enthusiasm and effervescent spirit made a huge impression" on Gale during their first meeting. Helmich also has owned and operated her own business and has ample experience in retail.

"I just know she will bring so much creativity, intentionality, and love to the bookstore and to the community, and that makes me so very happy," Gale continued.

Gale put the bookstore up for sale in April, explaining at the time that she wanted to return to Western New York after living in Jacksonville for 10 years. She noted that Our Town Books has been a fixture in Jacksonville for more than a decade. It has been embraced by the community and also been part of the downtown's revitalization.

The Books-A-Million store in Dubuque, Iowa, has relocated to a new space not far from the location inside Kennedy Mall that it has occupied since 2012. BAM Dubuque will hold a grand opening celebration at the new site on August 26, featuring giveaways and fun activities. 

Located next to HuHot Mongolian Grill, the updated and modern space "is an inspired new home for Books-A-Million's characteristic assortment, offering a bright, convenient, and curated shopping experience," the company noted. BAM operates more than 200 stores in 32 states. 

C-SPAN and the Library of Congress are teaming up for Books that Shaped America, a 10-part series that will air live on Mondays beginning September 18 at 9 p.m. Eastern. The project is described as "a literary journey, tracing America's history by exploring masterpieces in literature that have had, and still have today, a major impact on society." It will feature a diverse mix of stories and authors. 

The 10 featured books, selected because they have provoked thought, been bestsellers, and led to significant cultural and policy changes, are: Common Sense by Thomas Paine (1776), The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison & John Jay (1788), History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark (1814), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (1845), The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1881), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884), My Antonia by Willa Cather (1918), Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston (1937), Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton & Rose Friedman (1980), and The Words of Cesar Chavez by Cesar Chavez (2002).

The new series was inspired by a list of 100 "Books that Shaped America" and an exhibition curated at the Library of Congress 10 years ago based on the results of a public survey about books that provoked thought, controversy and change throughout American history. Viewers of the series this fall will be able to weigh in with their own thoughts about books that had an impact on the nation.

"Over the course of 10 weeks this fall, Books that Shaped America will shine a light on a diverse group of books and authors whose skill with the written word and powerful storytelling left a lasting impression on our nation," said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. "These 10 books are just a start. Throughout the series, we will invite Americans to join the conversation and share their perspectives about more books that shaped America."

Audience calls will be incorporated into each program. Longtime C-SPAN executive producer of BookTV Peter Slen will host each episode. Paul Orgel is coordinating producer for the series and Jen Garrott is producer/video journalist.

George Saunders (r.) was in Washington, D.C., last week for the National Book Festival and took a side visit to Georgetown's Oak Hill Cemetery, the location that inspired his novel Lincoln in the Bardo; Politics & Prose does walking tours of the cemetery using the book as reference. 

Bob Attardi, the bookstore's director of programs, gave Saunders a P&P hat, which he wore through the visit. They were joined by Andrea Seiger, author of 111 Places in Washington DC That You Must Not Miss, who leads the tours.

Congratulations to the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in Alamosa, Colo., which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.

Per the Alamosa News, the new and used bookstore emerged out of a community-wide effort to make sure the town did not lose its only bookstore. In February 2018, the Narrow Gauge Newsstand announced it would close after 40 years in business. The same month, Alamosa residents held a community meeting to discuss ways to reopen the bookstore. A woman named Julie Mordecai suggested a cooperative model, "and the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative was born."

After months of open houses, a Call-A-Thon, an Indiegogo campaign, and other fundraising activities, the bookstore reopened as the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in August 2018. All told, the town was without a bookstore for only about five months.

The bookstore will host a variety of anniversary activities next week.

At Scholastic:

Beth Polcari, previously president of international, has been named president of education solutions, succeeding Rose Else-Mitchell, who will leave to pursue other interests following a transition period. Polcari has been president of international since 2020.

Ken Cleary, currently chief financial officer, will become Scholastic's next president of international when a new CFO is named. He joined Scholastic in 2008 and was appointed CFO in 2017.

A Day in the Life of the Desert by Roxie Munro (Holiday House).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Ally Henny, author of I Won't Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You (Baker Books, $24.99, 9781540902658).

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.

Sunday, August 20
8 a.m. Bret Weinstein, co-author of A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life (Portfolio, $28, 9780593086889). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

8:35 a.m. Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart (Picador, $16.50, 9781529033793). (Re-airs Sunday at 8:35 p.m.)

2 p.m. Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow, authors of Say the Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice (Atria, $28, 9781982181383).

3:10 p.m. Sander van der Linde, author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity (W.W. Norton, $30, 9780393881448).

5 p.m. Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, author of If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine (‎PublicAffairs, $29, 9781541788879).

6 p.m. Charles Barber, author of In the Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the U.S. Army (Grand Central, $29, 9781538709863).

6:55 p.m. Robert Corn-Revere, author of The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder (Cambridge University Press, $29.99, 9781107570375).

A longlist has been released for the Laurel Prize, honoring the best collection of "environmental or nature poetry published that year," the Bookseller reported. Funded by U.K. poet laureate Simon Armitage from the honorarium he receives annually from the King, the award is run by the Poetry School. The shortlist will be announced soon. A prize ceremony and day of poetry readings and workshops will be a part of this year's BBC Contains Strong Language festival in Leeds on September 22. Check out the complete Laurel Prize longlist here.

The winner, who will be named September 9, receives £5,000 (about $6,370), with £2,000 (about $2,550) going to the second place finisher and £1,000 (about $1,275) for third. There is also a £500 (about $635) award each for best first collection U.K. and best international first collection. In addition, each of the winners will receive a commission from the AONB (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to create a poem based on their favorite landscape. 

Simon Armitage described the longlist as "a world-wide and world-class selection of books reflecting poetry's global response to the planet's precarious environmental situation."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, August 22:

Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central, $30, 9781538736821) is the fourth mystery with archaeologist Nora Kelly.

Five Years After by William R. Forstchen (Forge Books, $28.99, 9781250854568) continues the post-apocalyptic John Matherson series.

After That Night by Karin Slaughter (Morrow, $32, 9780063157781) is the 11th Will Trent thriller.

Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk by Billy Walters (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781668032855) is the autobiography of a sports gambler.

Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Lankford (Hachette Books, $30, 9780306831959) is written by a former law enforcement park ranger.

The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China by Robert D. Kaplan (Random House, $28.99, 9780593242797) is a history and present-day geopolitical analysis of the Middle East.

A Life with Ghosts: True, Terrifying, and Insightful Tales from My Favorite Haunts by Steve Gonsalves and Michael Aloisi (Gallery, $28.99, 9781668008324) is a memoir by a star of the TV show Ghost Hunters.

Water Day by Margarita Engle, illus. by Olivia Sua (Atheneum, $18.99, 9781665918718) is a picture book about a small village without water of its own celebrating the weekly water delivery.

Stickler Loves the World by Lane Smith (Random House Studio, $18.99, 9780593649831) is a picture book featuring an odd little creature who loves its world.

Paperbacks:
Caribbean Paleo: 75 Wholesome Dishes Celebrating Tropical Cuisine and Culture by Althea Brown (Page Street, $23.99, 9781645678908).

Nine Lives and Alibis: A Cat Cafe Mystery by Cate Conte (Minotaur, $8.99, 9781250883933).

Catch Me If You Candy: A Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander (Minotaur, $8.99, 9781250854407).

You Gotta Get Up: Grab Hold of Your Life After Being Knocked Down, Held Back, and Left Out by Kimberly Jones (Thomas Nelson, $19.99, 9781400241989).

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

Hardcover
Kala: A Novel by Colin Walsh (Doubleday, $28, 9780385549639). "Kala is a literary thriller at its best--you are at once consumed with the characters, the place, the mystery. Colin Walsh gives us layer upon layer: past and present; characters, now and then; all of it building suspense and intimacy. Wow." --Amanda Hall, Kepler's Books, Menlo Park, Calif.

The Connellys of County Down: A Novel by Tracey Lange (Celadon Books, $28.99, 9781250865373). "Do yourself a favor and meet The Connellys of County Down. Beautifully written, smartly plotted, and populated with fascinating characters, Tracey Lange's sophomore novel proves that she is a master of the family drama." --Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, Minn.

Paperback
The Woman in the Castello: A Novel by Kelsey James (A John Scognamiglio Book, $16.95, 9781496742919). "Vividly written, boldly suspenseful, and gorgeously set in an Italian castle, this is the perfect book to take on holiday! Let this book sweep you away into 1960s Italy with its swirling mystery full of family history, secrets, and drama." --Ashleigh Howland, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, Mass.

For Ages 4 to 8
I Am a Dragon!: A Squabble & a Quibble by Sabina Hahn (HarperCollins, $19.99, 9780063253995). "There's a lot packed into this picture book: believing what someone tells you, listening to others and acknowledging them, controlling your anger, and being kind. A great, engaging story time book--whether you're a frog or a dragon!" --Dea Lavoie, Second Star to the Right Children's Books, Denver, Colo.

For Ages 8 to 12
Abeni's Song by P. Djèlí Clark (Starscape, $19.99, 9781250825827). "P. Djèlí Clark deftly takes the reader through unimaginable horrors to find strength. While reading, some story threads felt comfortingly familiar, like the Baba Yaga tales spun on a new loom. I'm excited for more of Abeni's adventures." --Kristin Richland, Phoenix Books, Burlington, Vt.

For Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665922425). "Squid Game meets Ready or Not in this brutal takedown of racism and classism! From every twist and turn to its satisfying conclusion, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page." --Brandy Herr, Arts & Letters Bookstore, Granbury, Tex.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Farah Ali follows her lauded story collection, People Want to Live (2021), with a first novel, The River, the Town, that shares similar aspects of spare, unblinking incisiveness. Moreover, it is delivered in three distinct voices covering three decades, with results not unlike reading interlinked short stories. These multiple perspectives form an intricate narrative, further complicated by unreliable characters.

In 1995, Baadal is a 15-year-old student growing up in the Town that "is considered part of the City." His name means "cloud," a "very special name" his mother chose as a talisman "so that [he] would not see a day of discomfort in [his] life"; his moniker a hopeful evocation of "cool shade and fresh water." Their Town, however, is suffering: the River, its life source, was once "wide and deep" but has shrunk to "a thin stream flowing weakly over the ground." Hunger and heat are a daily provocation. The early death of his two younger sisters has made Baadal a disdained only child. His mother, Raheela, is "sharp and thin as a knife," and just as cutting; his father just turns away from her relentless abuses. Baadal finds solace away from home, first with his two closest buddies, and later with an older woman, Meena, who will eventually become his wife.

While Ali deftly builds her narrative arc around Baadal's challenging coming of age into troubled young adulthood, she also inserts, embellishes, even questions Baadal's experiences and memories in chapters that allow the two most important women in his life--Raheela and Meena--to speak. Their lives not as Baadal's mother and wife, respectively, brilliantly reveal two individual women whose personal trajectories somehow came to be intertwined with Baadal's. Raheela recounts a childhood of familial loss; Meena has also survived devastated bonds and cleaved relationships.

Words like haraam, shalwar qameez, and biryani imprint Karachi-born Ali's fiction with a specific sense of place--suggesting South Asian culture and geography, perhaps not unlike her native Pakistan. But her insistence on the unnamed--the River, the Town, the City--endows her fiction with an undeniable universality. Climate disasters threaten the globe. Communities can splinter anywhere. Families in crises are ubiquitous. "There were stories they could accept, and those they could not," Meena observes, referring to how she is perceived by others with whom she hopes to make lasting connections. In this teeming maelstrom of (in)humanity, Ali posits a wrenching, everyman tragedy that shrewdly reads as prophetic warning, nimbly cast in potent storytelling. --Terry Hong, BookDragon

Shelf Talker: Farah Ali's impressive first novel reveals an unnamed town in crisis--its climate, its communities, its people--through the coming-of-age of an abused teen growing into crushing adulthood.