Spurred by the popularity of the movie Julie & Julia, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck will be No. 1 on the New York Times advice and how-to bestseller list next Sunday, today's Times reported in a front-page article.
Among tidbits in the delicious story:
- The book sold 22,000 copies in the last week tracked by Nielsen BookScan, more copies than it sold in any year since appearing in 1961.
- Julie & Julia, the basis for the movie that has drawn so much attention to Julia Child, has been reprinted 13 times this year.
- My Life in France, which also served as a basis for the movie, has been reprinted nine times.
- Julia's Kitchen Wisdom will be No. 1 on next Sunday's advice and how-to paperback list, the second-fastest selling cookbook next to Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
- Discount stores such as Sam's Club, which has never sold Mastering the Art of French Cooking, are placing orders.
- Many stores have run out of Julia Child's classic. Knopf's Paul Bogaards said, "We won't be caught up for a while.
- Julie & Julia screenwriter and director Nora Ephron commented: "This was a secret dream that the movie would sell a lot of books. I'm completely delighted that people are walking out of the multiplex and into the bookstore."
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Posman Books, which has a store in Grand Central Terminal and began with a store near New York University, is opening a branch in Chelsea Market, between 15th and 16th Streets, in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, in September. Coincidentally September marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of Posman's Grand Central store.
The new Posman will be managed by Logan Fox, who was the longtime owner of Micawber Books, Princeton, N.J., which closed in 2007 (Shelf Awareness, December 5, 2006). The space is near the 10th Avenue end of the shopping arcade "in the shadow of the High Line" and will offer "a generous selection of new books catering to a broad yet discerning readership" as well as a strong food and wine section. In contrast to the Grand Central store, this Posman will be able to host readings, children's story times, book club meetings and more, in an events space next to the store.
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A second company that intends to introduce an e-reader competitive with the Kindle said that it will ally itself with Barnes&Noble.com, All Things Digital reported. The company is Irex Technologies, which plans on a fall introduction of its e-reader. Last month, Plastic Logic said that it would sell its e-reader early next year via B&N.com (Shelf Awareness, July 20, 2009). In both cases, the alliance will be nonexclusive.
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Downtown Books, Craig, Colo., will stay open despite the tragic
death of owner Carol Jacobson July 29 in a rafting accident near
Dinosaur National Monument. The Daily Press
reported that "Caroline Dotson, who has worked at Downtown Books for
two years, is gaining full ownership of the store and plans to keep it
open."
"She would have wanted it that way," said Dotson. "A lot
of people I know come into the store because they want to be where she
was. They want to be where her energy is. Others called me and said
they really wanted to come down but just thought it would be too hard.
"The
community support has been phenomenal, though," she continued. "People
have come in and said, 'What do you need? Time? Money? Anything I can
do to help.' I'm so grateful for it. I just want to keep it the way we
envisioned it. I think we really figured out what the community needs."
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In
Saturday's edition of the e-newsletter from Nantucket Bookworks,
Nantucket, Mass., readers were given a literary heads up (surf's up?)
on Hurricane Bill's approach: "BILL THE STORM WARNING: Check supplies,
you might need more books! If you get lucky, maybe you'll even end up
stuck on Nantucket for an extra day or two . . ."
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The Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt., "comes with strings attached," according to the Rutland Herald,
which spoke with sales floor manager Erik Barnum about the shop's
decision to blend books and bluegrass in a corner of the sales floor on
Saturdays.
"It was kind of an experiment. I wanted to keep it
low-key and informal . . . some nice mellow musicians to kind of
serenade our browsing clientele and guests," said Barnum of the
appearances by the Bondville Boys. "It was an experiment that happily
came to a good conclusion."
According to the Herald,
Barnum hopes to go "full steam ahead to expand the live entertainment
program so music and other fun treats will be found more frequently
'round a corner. He is looking to branch out and audition more local
acts--customers can look forward to a classical duo playing soon--as
well as have live entertainment on Friday and Sunday."
"I like
in-store surprising things," he said. "It's all about the organic,
spontaneous musical events. They're always the best. I want our guests
to discover things in the store that are unique. What it does to the
ambience of the place . . . it adds to the nice feeling of the
bookstore."
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"Best Places for Freelancers to Work," MediaBistro's
series on friendly and productive locations for New York's burgeoning
freelance workforce, showcased Housing Works Bookstore Café, Brooklyn,
which has "a homey vibe and is filled with hipsters, and their laid
back attitude is contagious. We'd suggest a visit on your most
stressful days."
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Shades of Larry Portzline's bookstore tourism:
The Boston Globe
reported that "Alan Korolenko makes his home in New Bedford, but his
heart belongs to the one-of-a-kind bookstores in Greenwich Village. . .
. Over the past year Korolenko has organized four bus trips from New
Bedford to explore the 20-plus bookstores in the Manhattan
neighborhood."
"If you love books and love the literary
atmosphere that you can rarely find except in Greenwich Village, it's
sort of the perfect day," Korolenko said.
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October is the third annual National Reading Group Month, sponsored by the Women's National Book Association. Celebrations and events will take place in the association's 10 chapter cities, including the newly formed Charlotte, N.C., chapter.
The National Reading Group Month Signature Event takes place in conjunction with the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tenn., at the Nashville Public Library on October 10. The event features a breakfast and book signings with Marie Brenner, Holly Goddard Jones, Perri Klass, Inman Majors and Kathryn Stockett.
For a full list of events and participants, go to NationalReadingGroupMonth.org or wnba-books.org.