During the California Independent Booksellers Alliance annual meeting and town hall Wednesday morning, in South San Francisco, Calif., executive director Hannah Walcher announced that the association had "grown significantly this year" with the addition of 33 new stores, bringing the total number of CALIBA member stores up to 191.

Walcher added that since May of last year, CALIBA staff have visited 91 of the association's member stores and hope to eventually visit them all. "It's truly been an amazing experience to see all of the hard work you're doing," Walcher said.

Mary Williams, general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, Calif., and president of the CALIBA board, said the Golden Poppy book awards constituted a "growing area for us," and reported that the association was working on a mentor and mentee program. She also highlighted some of the lesser-known benefits of membership, including reimbursement for courses at the Professional Bookseller School. 

CALIBA executive director Hannah Walcher

She took a moment to thank attendees for "showing up in person to CALIBA." By showing up together to support the regional, Williams continued, California booksellers can show the rest of the country, particularly New York, "how vibrant and talented this community of booksellers is." And that, she hoped, might convince publishers to "give us some extra points" and maybe even "build a warehouse west of the Mississippi."

Touching on the association's financials, board secretary Zack Dubuc, operations and logistics manager at Book Passage in Corte Madera and San Francisco, Calif., said income from the fall trade show has "bounced back dramatically" from 2024 and is also above 2023. Income from the holiday catalog is projected to be even while member outreach is projected to be ahead; dues are also up 27%. Outlining expenses, Dubuc explained that payroll was projected to increase about 12% due to increases in staff hours, website expenses were projected to drop by about 30%, and office expenses would stay about the same.

At the start of the meeting's town hall portion, Williams reminded attendees that CALIBA will be hosting a virtual town hall focused on Barnes & Noble's acquisition of Books Inc., noting that "such a large B&N expansion in our region" has naturally caused some anxiety.

For the most part, discussion during the town hall meeting focused on the rising price of books and the effect of economic uncertainty on consumers. 

Addressing the rising costs of books, American Booksellers Association CEO Allison Hill remarked that one contributing factor is that book prices over the preceding few years had not increased at the same rate of inflation, and there is a "little bit of catching up" going on. At the same time, while books are excluded from tariffs, things like ink have been impacted, which has led publishers to increasing prices. A number of publishers have also announced a "hard first half of 2025," and it remains to be seen whether prices will "level off" or continue to rise. Hill said she believes that "a lot rides on fourth quarter."

When it comes to communicating with customers about price increases, board member Claire Bone, owner of Wild Sisters Book Company in Sacramento, Calif., emphasized that "costs are up everywhere" and "we can't hide from it" even though some community members may not appreciate hearing that Trump's tariffs are responsible. Vanessa Martini, board member and head buyer at Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Calif., said that it is a good time to talk to customers about how dollars spent at an indie bookstore will stay in the community, and it was "worth pointing out that we can't set prices."

On the subject of consumer confidence and spending, Bone said she leans more heavily into used books when "stuff like this happens," and when ordering new titles, she'll think twice about ordering $35 hardcovers. She also called it a "great opportunity" to get to know backlist titles and less popular authors, and she recommended carrying inexpensive children's sidelines like GEDDES. Williams pointed out that remainders are a good option for stores that don't carry used books. --Alex Mutter

Monstera's Books, Overland Park, Kan., which suffered smoke and water damage on August 14 from an electrical fire that started at the restaurant next door, shared an update on the bookstore's rebuilding progress. Although the firefighters were able to put out the fire quickly and saved the building, Monstera's was layered with soot and ash from the fire, its inventory ruined, and toxic smoke fumes got into personal belongings and electronics. In addition, firefighters had to break through the front and back doors to put out the fire.

In an update on the store's blog, co-owner Justin Wieners wrote that the bookstore has been closed since then. They had to wait initially for the building to be inspected and, a few days later, were able to return, with some precautions.

After cleaning out the inventory and equipment, disposing of everything that couldn't be salvaged, they moved what they could from the store to their house, "filling the garage, driveway, and back patio," Wieners noted. "We are slowly getting things cleaned and ready to use again, with the help of several people who have generously offered their time, skills, or garages for storage. That's one of the bright spots--so many people have pitched in, and most of them are people we only met because we opened this bookstore. Your world opens up quite a bit when you put yourself out there." Monstera's is still receiving new book shipments, and on August 23 hosted its first outdoor popup, with more planned.

The bookstore will reopen, though they do not have an exact timeline yet because several parties are involved (landlord, insurance, etc.). They are starting repairs next week. "It's important to us that we open before the holidays, so that is the main goal," Wieners wrote. "To get back open, our building must be cleaned and the fumes mitigated, drywall and flooring needs replaced (checkered floors, of course), we need new front and back doors, the ceiling in our storage room needs repaired, and I'm probably missing quite a few items on the checklist. But we are not afraid of hard work, and we will figure out how to get it done.

"The first time we did this, we didn't know if it would even work.... But we've learned a lot, and things will fall into place faster than they did two years ago. This time, we know what kinds of books our neighbors love. We've made wonderful new friends who are waiting (very impatiently!) to help us put the shop back together. This time, we have a wonderful staff who will help stock shelves and be there to say 'hello' at our grand re-opening."

Monstera's opened in March 2024, at 7930 Floyd St. in downtown Overland Park.

Magical Forest Bookstore celebrated its grand opening last month in the Stone Hill Shopping Center at 902 Ill. Route 22, Fox River Grove, Ill. Shaw Local reported that owner Susan Kelly, a former grade-school English teacher, "remembers how magical books were for her growing up. Now she's aiming to pass on that same feeling in her newly opened independent children's bookstore." The shop sells children's books and toys and hosts programs like story times and dance parties.

"A bookstore has always been my dream, and Magical Forest is truly a reflection of my passion for stories and the power they hold," Kelly said. "I wanted to create a space where children and their families could experience the wonder of reading together, discover new favorites, and feel part of a community built around creativity and connection."

The bookstore's book collection is chosen by Kelly to match a "certain vibe," she said, noting that the bookstore "is small so I have to be selective." The idea for the store's "magical forest" theme came to her in the middle of the night: "Every good story happens in a forest."

The original idea "was solidified when Kelly... came across three large metal mushrooms that now anchor the store," Shaw Local wrote. "Kelly's bookstore is colorfully and whimsically decorated with paint in shades of yellow and green on the walls to mimic the feeling of walking through a forest. Plenty of children-sized seating is placed around to encourage families to stick around."

"I love when toddlers come in and immediately grab a toy or a book. That's exactly what I wanted," Kelly said, adding, "Reading should be fun. I want this to be a fun, safe place to be."

Ultimately, she hopes to expand the store and sell fiction titles for all ages, but for now she is looking into getting a bookshelf this winter to sell a small section for "grown-up fiction," as she described it. 

Thomas Perry, the author of 31 mystery and thriller novels, died suddenly on September 15. He was 78.

Thomas Perry

Mysterious Press said Perry "was beloved by all who knew and worked with him and was part of the Mysterious Press family for a quarter of a century."

His first book, The Butcher's Boy, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1983. He launched his popular and critically acclaimed series about Jane Whitefield in 1995 with Vanishing Act; it was chosen as one of the "100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association and was included in Parade's list of "101 Best Mystery Books of All Time." The last book in the series, The Tree of Light and Flowers, will be published in March 2026. Perry also wrote many stand-alone mysteries, including Death Benefits, Pursuit (which won a Gumshoe Award in 2002), Dead Aim, Night Life, and Fidelity. He received many awards, including the Barry for Best Thriller of the Year for Hero earlier this month.

Many of his books were acquired by Hollywood studios, most recently The Old Man, a limited-run TV series starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow that premiered on FX in 2022. A second series made its debut in 2024. His novel Strip has completed filming as Bear Country, starring Russell Crowe.

Otto Penzler, who published Perry for 25 years, spoke for all those at the Mysterious Press who worked with him, especially Luisa Cruz Smith, his editor for the past four books, stating, "Tom was not only one of the most distinguished writers of crime fiction for more than four decades, he was an unfailingly kind and thoughtful gentlemen that it was a joy and honor to know. We all will miss him, as will his countless fans in all parts of the world."

Law professor and death penalty expert Corinna Barrett Lain, author of Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection (NYU Press), recently began a 30+ city tour across the U.S. At All Good Books in Columbia, S.C., she was in conversation with Seth Stoughton, who is a former prosecutor, a former police officer, and a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. The event was sponsored by South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

"Happy Gilmore Girls Season to all who celebrate!" Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, La., posted on Facebook along with a photo of the shop's sidewalk chalkboard message: " 'We could go to a bookstore. I'll watch you browse for six or seven hours.' --Dean to Rory in one of his least problematic Gilmore Girls moments."

Simon & Schuster will handle worldwide sales and distribution for Shortwave Publishing, beginning December 1.

Founded in 2022 by Alan Lastufka, Shortwave Publishing is located in the Pacific Northwest and publishes in a range of genres, including dark sci-fi, thrillers, and numerous horror subgenres. Its titles have won or been nominated for the Bram Stoker, Hugo, Shirley Jackson, Nebula, Hoffer awards, and more. Upcoming key titles include Rest Stop and Other Nightmares by Nat Cassidy, Chimera Skin by Johnny Compton, Memories Are Only Valuable If They Can Be Lost by Ai Jiang, Traps and Specters by Philip Fracassi, and When by Jamie Flanagan.

Marco Jochum has been appointed to the newly created position of executive v-p, director of global human resources, at Penguin Random House. He joins PRH's global executive committee and continues as senior v-p of people & culture at Penguin Random House Germany. Jochum has more than 25 years of experience in HR and has headed human resources at PRH Germany since 2021. He earlier held senior HR positions in several Bertelsmann divisions and worked in HR at Commerzbank.

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At the Random House Publishing Group:

Emily Isayeff has been promoted to director of publicity, Ballantine.

Caro Perny has joined the company as director of publicity, Bantam Dell. She was formerly at Tor.

If You Lived in the Sea, Who Would You Be? by Julie Honan Johnston (Web of Life Children's Books).

Tomorrow:
Tamron Hall: Jayne Kennedy, author of Plain Jayne: A Memoir (Andscape Books, $28.99, 9781368110952).

Drew Barrymore Show: Misty Copeland, author of Bunheads, Act 2: The Dance of Courage (Nancy Paulsen Books, $18.99, 9780399547683).

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, September 20
9:35 a.m. Bill Bleyer, author of The Roosevelts in New York City (The History Press, $24.99, 9781467150309). (Re-airs Saturday at 9:35 p.m.)

Sunday, September 21
8 a.m. Scott Anderson, author of King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation (Doubleday, $35, 9780385548076), at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C. (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. Misty L. Heggeness, author of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy (University of California Press, $26.95, 9780520403116). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

2 p.m. Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? (W.W. Norton, $31.99, 9780393242133). 

3:50 p.m. Shoshana Walter, author of Rehab: An American Scandal (Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 9781982149826).

7 p.m. Yaakov Katz, author of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East (St. Martin's Press, $29, 9781250345684).

Six finalists have been selected for the 2025 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, honoring the "most exceptional debut novels" of the year. The winner will be announced October 9. The finalists:

Kaplan's Plot by Jason Diamond (Flatiron)
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin (S&S/Summit Books)
Tilt by Emma Pattee (S&S/Marysue Rucci)
The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds (Union Square)
Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu (Little, Brown)
Maggie: Or, a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee (S&S/Summit Books)

B&N campaign manager for fiction Lexie Smyth commented, "Elevating debut voices is, hands down, one of the best parts of being a bookseller. The Discover Prize shortlist was selected by a panel of booksellers from around the country--after many lively and impassioned conversations--and we believe these six writers are well on the way to becoming household names."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, September 23:

What We Can Know: A Novel by Ian McEwan (Knopf, $30, 9780593804728) revolves around a poem composed in 2014 being studied in 2119.

Circle of Days by Ken Follett (Grand Central, $40, 9781538772775) is historical fiction about the building of Stonehenge.

107 Days by Kamala Harris (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781668211656) is the former Vice President's memoir about the 2024 election.

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis by Priscilla Presley and Mary Jane Ross (Grand Central, $32, 9780306836480) is a memoir by Elvis's wife.

Alchemised by SenLinYu (Del Rey, $35, 9780593972700) is a dark fantasy debut about a woman with amnesia imprisoned by necromancers after losing a war.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: A Novel by Kiran Desai (Hogarth, $32, 9780307700155) is a love story set in India and the U.S.

Holly Jolly Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Abrams, $19.99, 9781419768798), features Unicorn and Kitty the kitty-corns celebrating the holiday despite a few mishaps.

A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $20.99, 9780374389420) is the second novel in the Blood and Tea YA fantasy series in which a group of teens are drawn into accomplishing a heist with a group of vampires.

Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker (Avid Reader Press, $30, 9781668083680) is the memoir of an author and podcast host dealing with divorce.

Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit by Brené Brown (Random House, $32, 9781984855749) is a guide for good leadership. 

Paperbacks:
Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig (Penguin Books, $24, 9780593298664).

Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti (St. Martin's Griffin, $19, 9781250910981).

Intermezzo: A Novel by Sally Rooney (Picador, $19, 9781250397560).

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 City Changes Its Face by Eimear McBride (Faber & Faber, $29, 9780571384211). "The City Changes Its Face is the story of a struggling romance, of Eily's and Stephen's inability to resolve misunderstandings. A beautiful reflection on modern love. Once you start, you will not be able to stop." --Lori Feathers, Interabang Books, Dallas, Tex.

Forget Me Not: A Novel by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur, $29, 9781250887979). "This thriller was exactly what I needed! I kept wanting to know more and how everything was tied together. So many good reveals and things you won't see coming!" --Brooke Reno, Spellbound Bookstore, Sanford, Fla.

Paperback
Banal Nightmare: A Novel by Halle Butler (Random House Trade Paperbacks, $18, 9780593730362). "Banal Nightmare crackles with humanity. You may hate these feckless--at times ugly--characters, or recognize yourself in them (and still hate them). But it'll thrill you in its fearlessness. Either way, this will leave a mark on you. It blisters." --Matt Nixon, A Cappella Books, Atlanta, Ga.

Ages 4-8
What If We... by Vivienne Chang and Eugenia Yoh (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316377201). "A brother sets off to find new adventures, wondering, 'What if I…?' When his little sister's had enough, she finally shouts: 'What if WE?' A joyous picture book about finding things to do together, filled with gorgeous illustrations on every page." --Aerie Brown, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex.

Ages 8-12: An Indies Introduce Title
Lost on Doll Island by Cassandra Ramos-Gomez (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9781665975131). "This is no ordinary class field trip. Inspired by the real Isla de Las Muñecas, Lost on Doll Island is clever, suspenseful, and haunting (literally!). It will have you desperately searching for answers." --Heather Albinson, Wild Rumpus, Minneapolis, Minn.

Ages 14+
A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance (Putnam Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593856338). "In this bewitching YA novel, protagonist Mazzy and her best friends Nora and Elliot never really know what they're doing, except when they do. The story keeps you guessing until the climax unfolds, and all your theories dissolve in the wonder of it all." --Paul Swydan, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, Mass.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

British food journalist Bee Wilson turns her keen eye on kitchenware--and the deep emotions it engenders--in her engaging, insightful ninth book, The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects. Wilson (The Secret of Cooking; First Bite) delves into the varied roles of cherished kitchen objects: gifts from loved ones, emblems of a bygone time (such as a baby's pre-solid-food stage), mementos of a past relationship or a faraway home, and even faddish purchases that eventually become junk. She draws together meticulous research; interviews with chefs, immigrants, and others who hold dear their often-used kitchenware; and her own experience of living with (and using) her kitchen paraphernalia as she navigated her divorce, her mother's dementia and death, and her two older children leaving home.

Wilson recounts the incident that sparked the book: the titular heart-shaped tin, an enduring symbol of her marriage, fell out of its cupboard just months after her husband left her. Wilson kept the tin, but knew she wasn't yet ready to use it for any new, post-divorce occasions. Instead, she began searching for other people who harbored "intense and even magical feelings" about their kitchen items. She found a wealth of such people, and she records their stories with care: the food writer who started using the best china after her husband became seriously ill; the Venezuelan woman who treasured the budare pan her father gave her when she moved to Spain; the cookbook seller in New York who reveres her Polish mother's tomato-shaped salt shaker.

As she describes the objects and examines the meaning they hold for their owners, Wilson broadens her exploration to well-known cooking artifacts, such as the "poetry jars" made by enslaved American potter David Drake in the mid-19th century. She muses on cultural associations with cooking and serving food, but also with owning prestige objects (like her mother's cream-colored Aga stove), even if they are seldom used. Throughout the narrative, Wilson chronicles her mother's descent into dementia, and the kitchen-related family memories stirred up by packing up her mother's house. On a happier note, Wilson also remembers her grandfather and describes her joy in a whimsical blue Wedgwood teapot he designed.

Like all cared-for objects, kitchen items provoke strong feelings both particular and universal. Wilson's heart-shaped tin finally gets its redemptive turn when Wilson bakes her own milestone birthday cake in it. As she shares the cake with her children, she honors her mother by pulling out a set of platters her mother had cherished but never used.

Poignant, thought-provoking, and lavishly detailed, The Heart-Shaped Tin is a moving tribute to the objects that shape our lives in (and out of) the kitchen. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Bee Wilson's poignant, insightful ninth book examines the complicated layers of meaning imbued in kitchen objects by their owners.

In our home, we have a lot of art as well as books. That is no surprise; you probably would say the same thing. Books and art weave a spell here, and sometimes even merge, as in British artist Jess Allen's painting, The Empty Book, No 1, which my wife bought a couple of years ago after meeting the artist at Scroll gallery in New York City. 

David Smith's XI Books III Apples

Something that has occurred to me this summer is how often, when I'm in a museum, I gravitate instinctively toward art that has a bookish connection. This may well make me an art-appreciating imposter, but I'm not sure I care, really. Let's just call it my special field of interest.

Some recent examples of this behavior include last week, when we went to the legendary Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, N.Y. It had been 25 years since our last visit and much had changed. As we walked to the top of Museum Hill, however, I found myself back in the presence of David Smith's stainless steel sculpture, XI Books III Apples (1959), and its bronze neighbor, The Sitting Printer (1954-55). 

In August, we were in Boston for a medical appointment and stayed overnight so we could visit the Museum of Fine Arts. In an exhibition titled Qi Baishi: Inspiration in Ink, I was drawn to the piece Browsing by Candlelight, which, according to a note Qi left on the painting, he created "after returning home one night and seeing two mice on an open book under candlelight. He also wrote, 'Men are asleep, while you are awake' " Asia News Network reported.

Persephone Books section at Beacon Hill Books & Cafe

We also stopped at Beacon Hill Books & Cafe on Charles St., a lovely indie bookshop that felt like a work of art itself, perhaps especially a section devoted to beautifully-crafted volumes published by Persephone Books.

A recent Instagram post by Homeworthy described the bookshop as a "storybook escape in the heart of Boston! Step inside @beaconhillbooksandcafe, where every corner feels like a hidden European gem. Cozy nooks, shelves brimming with stories, and the charm of afternoon tea make this whimsical space a true neighborhood treasure--and owner Melissa Fetter's love letter to Boston."

Last spring, at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., among all the great works of art on display, I stumbled upon a modest little exhibit in the Manton Reading Room, where an ongoing series of installations called Paginations was featuring "A–Z: Alphabetic Highlights From The Library's Special Collections." It celebrated "the building blocks of type and text, the letters of the alphabet, and showcases examples from 1488–2024 in which the letters themselves take center stage."

What is the origin story for this habit of mine, connecting art with words so instinctively? The obvious answer might be children's picture books, but I didn't have many of those. I think the connection developed a bit later, in the mid-1970s, when I purchased a copy of Zen Art for Meditation by Stewart W. Holmes & Chimyo Horioka from Tuttle Books in Rutland, Vt., where I lived at the time.

As it happens, many of the artworks featured in the book were, and still are, part of the MFA's impressive Art of Asia collection, though it would be decades before I actually got to see them in person. 

The arc of my book and art journey with Stewart Holmes is a curious one. I originally bought Zen Art for Meditation because of the title and the publisher, but was shocked to discover that the co-author had been one of my college professors several years before. That guy? Really? And yet, now I must admit that almost no teacher influenced me more than he did over the long term, despite the fact that when I had the opportunity to study with him in person he seemed a nonentity. Very Zen of him, I suppose.

When I took his "Origins of the English Language" class in college, I didn't know anything about Zen yet, though Holmes was probably already working on Zen Art for Meditation at the time. Maybe the course was fascinating, but I don't remember. Now I wish I could take it again, or at least apologize to him for my grade-B lack of focus.

What I do recall is the quiet presence of a diminutive, unassuming man in the front of the classroom. He was simply trying to share the wonders of language with students who were otherwise engaged; who knew for certain what they should be learning in college, and it wasn't the origins of the English language from some old dude who didn't seem to notice that they were changing the world.

Zen Art for Meditation is still perfect and, perhaps the greater miracle, still in print. I treasure my hardback first edition. Holmes was and is, in a way, my Zen master. Commenting on a haiku by Meisetsu ("A monk in the mist:/ I can see him/ By his tinkling bell."), Holmes asks: "Where are the boundaries of the monk's being? And yours?"

He may have also sparked the confluence of words and art in me. And so, in tribute to him, I open again to page 90 of Zen Art for Meditation and read this Soseki haiku (translated by "Mrs. Yasuko Horioka"):

Butterfly! These words
From my brush are not flowers,
Only their shadows.