Mercedes and Rod Clifton have bought Books on the Square, Providence, R.I., which was under state receivership, the Providence Journal reported. The pair bought the store for $51,000, plus the settlement of debt and other expenses. "Our expectations aren't terribly high," Rod Clifton told the paper. "Our retirement does not rely on this." They hope, he continued, to break even or make a modest profit.

Previous owners Sarah and Richard Zacks placed the business they founded in 1992 into state receivership to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with the City of Providence. The court-appointed receiver had been seeking a buyer since 2005.

The store's new owners said they wanted to combine their love of books with the desire to run a business. They are both 69; he is a professor of engineering at Brown University. Their son Jeffrey, who worked for 10 years at the Providence Public Library, will work at the store. The Cliftons have asked manager Jennifer Doucette, the sole full-time employee, and the 13 or 14 part-timers to stay.

For now, the Cliftons plan few changes but will emphasize learning and education.

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Normally we'd save something like this for Media Heat, but this appearance is a special one. Today between 12:40 and 1 p.m., PW's West Coast correspondent, Bridget Kinsella, a former colleague and friend for many years, appears on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show to talk about her book, Visiting Life: Women Doing Time on the Outside (Harmony, $24, 9780307338365/0307338363). This evening she's also doing a reading at 7 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble on Broadway and 82nd St. in New York City.

Her story is surprising but wonderfully told and inspiring. Hear her while you can!

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We're sorry to note that because of "a sudden illness in his family," Khaled Hosseini has cancelled the rest of his tour for A Thousand Splendid Suns, which was continuing at least through the end of the month.

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The San Francisco Chronicle's excellent profile of Diesel, A Bookstore began by focusing upon co-owner Alison Reid's buying session with Knopf sales rep Charles Spaulding. Of their negotiation over the merits of buying two, rather than just one, copies of a particular title, the article stated that "the path to profitability is paved with a thousand such tiny decisions. . . . Diesel and its owners--Reid and her life partner, John Evans--are an example of what it takes to make a small bookstore succeed in today's era of chain megastores like Barnes & Noble and price-slashing online competitors like Amazon."

According to the Chronicle, Diesel managed to generate a "profit of $138,000 on sales of $1.8 million last year, a margin of 7.5%. In the bookselling world--where the average independent bookstore had a net loss of 1.15% in 2005--that is considered wildly successful."

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In an open letter, Jim Draeger details plans to turn People's Books, Milwaukee, Wis., into People's Books Cooperative. The 30-year-old store had been considering closing.

This month the store will canvass the community about participation in a cooperative and establish business relations with the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee faculty. In July, the store will set up a coordinating committee to handle the legal issues of the transition, and by the end of July the store will order books that the UWM faculty need for the fall semester. In August, the bylaws of People's Books Cooperative will be signed and a board of directors established.

For more information, contact Draeger at 262-370-7709 or edraeger@uwm.edu.

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The Nashville Public Library's website has won the Library Public Relations Council's top honors in the large budget category, according to the Tennessean. The award will be presented during the American Library Association's annual conference this month.

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Are consumers growing web-weary? The New York Times reported that online sales growth is slowing "sharply in major sectors like books, tickets and office supplies. . . . Growth in online sales has also dropped dramatically in diverse categories like health and beauty products, computer peripherals and pet supplies. Analysts say it is a turning point and growth will continue to slow through the decade."

The Times cited a number of factors for this trend, including the possibility that "consumers seem to be experiencing Internet fatigue and are changing their buying habits."

John Johnson, a customer shopping in San Francisco's Book Passage Bookstore, credited bricks-and-mortar retailers for striving to meet the online challenge with improvements. "They're working a lot harder," he said. "They're not as stuffy. The lighting is better. You don't get someone behind the counter who's been there 40 years. They're younger and hipper and much more with it."

A bricks-and-clicks hybrid model is developing, the Times continued. One example: Borders, which will soon take back control of its website from Amazon, "recently revamped its Web site to allow users to reserve books online and pick them up in the store." And B&N has upgraded its website to include online book clubs, reader forums and interviews with authors in an effort "to make the online world feel more like the offline one."

Forrester Research has projected that online book sales will rise 11% this year, compared to nearly 40% last year. Forrester also estimates that 21% of all book sales occur online.

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A federal bankruptcy court judge has awarded Ronald Goldman's family the rights to O.J. Simpson's canceled book, If I Did It, according to the AP.

The rights are going to an independent trustee whose attorney said he will try to sell rights to everything pertaining to the book and the HarperCollins contract "so that there will be funds to pay creditors of LBA [the company that had held the rights and was going to profit from the book], including the Goldmans." The attorney said there had been some interest in buying the rights. The AP said the family wants to rename the book Confessions of a Double Murderer.

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For those of us who've witnessed the painful process of writers trying to shop their manuscripts at BookExpo America, Lissa Warren's Huffington Post column offered sound and gentle advice. While BEA is neither the time nor the place for "the pitch," productive venues do exist, including "writer's workshops, literary festivals, and other events that are less potentially soul-crushing than BEA."  

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"Of all art forms, book publishing is most Canadian," noted the Edmonton Journal in its reflections on BookExpo Canada and Alberta's cultural landscape. "Though it's notoriously difficult to make a profit--for writers, publishers or booksellers--it's a relatively cheap way to build culture."

For Albertans, however, the Journal cautioned that prospects are uncertain: "Creative writing . . . has a direct role in creating and sustaining the idea of Alberta, past and present and future. . . . When the last literary press in the province moves to Victoria or Guelph, far more of us will be worried about the plight of Nicole Richie's dog than the end of Alberta storytelling."

 

Copperfield's Books, which has five stores in Napa and Sonoma counties, north of San Francisco, is buying Toyon Books in Healdsburg and will open the store as a Copperfield's on July 1.

Toyon Books has been owned by Martha Dwyer since 1986. She is retiring and moving to British Columbia to develop a small coastal farm with her husband.

"We have been big fans of Toyon and all that Martha has done over the years, and we were very excited when offered this opportunity," Tom Montan, CEO of Copperfield's, said in a statement. "We will be able to add to the great work that has been done and infuse this store with a larger and deeper selection of books and gifts."

Some of Toyon's employees will stay to work for Copperfield's Books. In connection with the purchase, Katie Thompson has been promoted from assistant manager of Copperfield's store in Sebastopol to manage the new Healdsburg Copperfield's.

The Copperfield's in Healdsburg will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The store is located at 104 Matheson in Healdsburg Plaza, Healdsburg, Calif. 95448; 707-433-9270; copperfields.net.

Today on WAMU's Diane Rehm Show, Dina Rasor talks about Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War (Palgrave Macmillan, $24.95, 9781403981929/0061195405).

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Today the Martha Stewart Show re-airs an episode featuring Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, whose cookbooks include Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most (Knopf, $35, 9781400040360/1400040361).

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Today the Oprah Winfrey Show brings back an episode with trainer Bob Greene, author of The Best Life Diet (S&S, $26, 9781416540663/1416540660).

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Tonight the Tavis Smiley Show headlines Drew Curtis, founder of Fark.com and author of It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap as News (Gotham, $20, 9781592402915/1592402917).

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Tonight on Fox's Hannity & Colmes: Dick Morris and Eileen McGann on Outrage: How Illegal Immigration, the United Nations, Congressional Ripoffs, Student Loan Overcharges, Tobacco Companies, Trade Protection, and Drug Companies Are Ripping Us Off . . . And What to Do about It (HC, $26.95, 9780061195402/0061195405).

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Tonight on the Charlie Rose Show: Steven Bach, whose new book is Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl (Knopf, $30, 9780375404009/0375404007).

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

Hardcover

Male of the Species by Alex Mindt (Delphinium, $22.95, 9781883285289/1883285283). "This book resonates with the landscape of manhood in all its forms. If being male in America could be described as an intelligent, well-crafted pie, the slices would be the stories that make up this collection--stories with as much heart and insight imaginable."--Calvin Crosby, Books Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

A Buffalo in the House: The True Story of a Man, an Animal, and the American West by R. D. Rosen (New Press, $24.95, 9781595581655/1595581650). "This book was a surprise to read: I learned about the anatomy of the buffalo, and how it became part of American culture. I really enjoyed the book's humor, and the bond between an orphaned buffalo and the couple that raised him."--Sue Stahl, Reading & Rhythm, Bad Axe, Mich.

Paperback

Stray by Rachel Vincent (Mira, $6.99, 9780778324218/0778324214). "The first in a new urban fantasy series from a debut novelist. Faythe is a grad student . . . and a shape-shifting werecat who must forgo her attempts at a normal life and defend her family's werecat pride. A really engaging read about a strong female character!"--Pam Headrick, A Thirsty Mind, Lakeway, Tex.

For All Children

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull, illustrated by Brandon Dorman (Aladdin, $6.99 paper, 9871416947202/1416947205). "Have you always wondered where the fantastic beings lived? Fablehaven provides a wonderful answer. Kendra and Seth's grandparents are the protectors of one of the last preserves for magical beings, which will one day need new caretakers. Might the jobs pass to Kendra and Seth? If you want to believe in fairy tales, this book is for you."--Keri Holmes, The Kaleidoscope: Our Focus Is You, Hampton, Iowa

[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]

 

For co-owner Nancy Bass Wyden, the Strand Book Store is no longer her grandfather's Strand--or her father's, for that matter. Yet despite many recent changes that Wyden has made with her father, Fred Bass, who is still deeply involved in the store, the New York City bookselling landmark has retained much of what has made it so popular to booklovers around the world for 80 years: huge selection and excellent prices.

Most of the changes at the Strand, which was founded by Fred's father, Ben Bass, in 1927, flow from an extensive renovation and expansion two and a half years ago that included opening up the second floor to retailing, installing a store elevator with a staircase around it, and adding new lighting, floors, air conditioning and bathrooms. The store now has a sizable children's section on the second floor.

The renovation "has made operations a lot easier and is more customer friendly," Bass said. "The place is brighter and cleaner." Indeed, the store has lost its traditional dusty, dark feeling. Even the basement level seems cheerier.

Best known for its used books, rare and collectible titles, ARCs and inadvertent contributions of current titles from publishers, the Strand has quietly become a major buyer of frontlist titles from publishers as well. Wyden said that the store is the No. 1 or 2 of Random House's independent bookstore accounts. Bass explained the reason for buying new books: the store, which specializes (if a 55,000-sq.-ft. store with 18 miles of books really can specialize) in art books. When the Strand didn't have the art-book stock customers asked for, "We started buying the books because we didn't want our customers to go up the street to our competition." Although the store discounts 25% on those new books and has very thin margins, "it pays to keep the customer," Bass added. (Used books remain the Strand's "gravy train," as Bass described it.)

The store also now regularly hosts events, which take place on the new second floor. (Many bookcases are on casters, and for the events, the store adds a podium and platform by the huge windows overlooking Broadway and 12th St.) For example, last week the store held an event for Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years, the catalogue for the big exhibition that opened earlier this month at the Museum of Modern Art. And this past Saturday the store hosted its first ticketed event, featuring Chuck Palahniuk who read from Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey, followed by a discussion and signing. (The 150 customers received a copy of the book and a Strand tote bag for $35.) The store has also hosted panels, C-Span2 Book TV tapings, wine tastings and more.

Sales on strandbooks.com now account for more than 27% of overall sales at the Strand, and customers hail from around the world. Wyden called the online retailing world a challenge, saying, "It's not simple to do, as many booksellers know, but our sales are great."

Bass said that he is not exactly sure when the store was founded other than "around June" 80 years ago. "I tried to dig up some of my father's old leases," but was unsuccessful. So far, the store has celebrated its anniversary with a large BEA party co-sponsored by Publishers Weekly. Speakers included former Mayor Ed Koch, Fran Lebowitz, Frank McCourt, Art Spiegelman, Kurt Andersen and Adam Gopnik.

In October, the store will host a "customer appreciation" party, as Wyden put it. There will be champagne, cupcakes and cake, tote bag giveaways, and the store will unveil the Strand 80--the favorite books of Strand customers. (Customers are currently voting; more information online.) At the party, prize winners will be drawn. The grand prize winner will receive all 80 books included on the Strand 80. Second prize is a private walking tour of literary New York City. Third prize is an $80 gift certificate.

Bass and Wyden say they have no plans to expand beyond the main store on Broadway, their store on Fulton Street downtown and kiosks in Central Park. "We want to get better and better and improve our stock," Wyden said. Bass added: "We have enough to handle here, and we want to have control over what we do." Besides, he continued, New York is "the center of the art world and publishing."

The family owns the Strand's 11-story building (most of which is office space), which has made the store's existence easier than it might have been, considering the value of Manhattan real estate. "Owning the building enabled us to expand and make renovations," Bass said.

For the Bass family, the Strand continues to be a labor of love, judging from comments by the second- and third-generation owners. Bass, who has worked in the store since age 13 and continues to do much of the buying, often from his desk on the main floor, said, "The dust got into me, so I got into the store. It's a nice group we've dealt with in the business." Wyden added, "We're really fortunate to be part of the book community."

By the way, Wyden and her husband, Senator Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.), are working on the next generation of owners (who might have a bent toward political books): she is expecting twins this fall. Congratulations yet again!--John Mutter