Shelf Awareness for Monday, February 2, 2009


William Morrow & Company: Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

Del Rey Books: Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

Peachtree Teen: Romantic YA Novels Coming Soon From Peachtree Teen!

Watkins Publishing: She Fights Back: Using Self-Defence Psychology to Reclaim Your Power by Joanna Ziobronowicz

Dial Press: Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood

Pantheon Books: The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

Peachtree Publishers: Leo and the Pink Marker by Mariyka Foster

Wednesday Books: Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber

Quotation of the Day

Indie Bookshops: The 'Spirit of Resistance Fights On'

"Few places are as undeniably valuable in the artistic life of a community than great independent bookshops. For an individual, they can provide a refuge; for a community, they provide a meeting place for like-minded people; and for the wider population, they provide an alternative source of information to the mass market chain bookstores. . . . The chain stores and the Internet are winning the price war, but still, the spirit of resistance fights on. It is a fight in which our future literary culture may rest. The removal of these shops would damage the opportunities for upcoming writers and make our cities a little more lifeless."--Alan Perkins in Seven Magazine, writing about City Lights Books, San Francisco, Calif., and Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France.

 


Now Streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME: A Gentleman in Moscow


News

Notes: Adults Read Kids' Books; Google Scans Book Frontier

Cool Idea of the Day: The Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul, Minn., will host a book club for adults who love children's literature. The discussion group, sponsored by the bookstore and the Children's Literature Network, meets on the third Thursday of each month, beginning February 19.

"When I was in high school and was supposed to be reading The Iliad and the works of Shakespeare and preparing myself for college, I got a part-time job at the public library, working in the children's room," wrote Laurie Hertzel in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "What heaven. I now had a legitimate reason to hang around all those great books of my childhood . . . . I bought myself a big canvas bag and started smuggling books home every night to read when I was done with my homework. . . . And now the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul is allowing people like me to come out into the sunlight. No more smuggling. No more shame."

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Is Google Book Search "creating a new reason to go to public libraries," as Thomas Augst--an English professor at NYU who has studied the history of libraries--contends in today's New York Times?

Noam Cohen's article examines Google's monumental effort to scan millions of books, the settlement of a class-action suit and the impact of this issue upon libraries in particular. It also addresses concerns raised recently by Robert Darnton, head of the Harvard library system, in the New York Review of Books.

"Google will enjoy what can only be called a monopoly--a monopoly of a new kind, not of railroads or steel but of access to information," Darnton wrote. "Google has no serious competitors. Google alone has the wealth to digitize on a massive scale. And having settled with the authors and publishers, it can exploit its financial power from within a protective legal barrier; for the class action suit covers the entire class of authors and publishers."

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The Pointer showcased Book World, voted "the number one bookstore in Stevens Point [Wis.]," and observed that the bookshop "gains much of its reputation for its dedication to its customers, providing service above and beyond just what is in the store."

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"Support our local bookstore!" urged Yourhub.com, noting that Clear Creek Books, Golden, Colo., "is so much more than just a bookstore. . . . Competition is tough for independents. It's so easy with a click of the mouse to order online, however, as easy as ordering online may be, nothing can replace a visit to your local bookstore. Stop by Clear Creek Books and support Craig [Morgan]. He is here for US! Visit, browse, buy a book or two. Every small town needs a bookstore. We got one. . . . let's support it!"

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Gottwals Bookstore, Warner Robins, Ga., is "seeing an increase in sales, despite the downturn in the economy," according to WMAZ, which reported that Shane Gottwals, owner of the used bookshop, "says they really thought that the economic downturn was gonna hurt them, but it seems like people are realizing that they need to get used books and not pay full price for new books."

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OnMilwaukee.com followed up its profile Lanora Hurley (Shelf Awareness, January 29, 2009)--who will take over the former Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Mequon--by interviewing Daniel Goldin, who will reopen the Downer Avenue Schwartz bookshop under the name Boswell Book Company.

"I'm like a Hare Krishna follower in a 1970s airport," said Goldin. "I want the world to know that reading books does something to the brain like no other activity. When I'm in love with a book, it's like having sex while eating chocolate and watching a good The Simpsons episode. A really good one. I'm talking season four here."

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Duquesne University officials expressed dismay that John Grisham chose their college as the scene for a fictional gang rape in his new novel, The Associate. The Associated Press (via USA Today) reported that Duquesne spokeswoman Rose Ravasio said it was unfortunate the author "chose to use our name and associate it with a fictional incident of this nature."

In his defense, the AP continued, Grisham "told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he chose the school because he saw it once, and has been to Pittsburgh for Steelers and Pirates games. The novel contains several other references to Pittsburgh."

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Campus Marketplace
surveys several college bookstores that offer programs under which the stores match textbook prices students find online.

Titan Shops, California State University-Fullerton, pays 125% of the difference in prices; about 100 students a year take advantage of the program. "You'll find out that most students aren't going to use the price matching," director Chuck Kissel told the newsletter. "And if they do, they're going to find out the prices aren't that different." He added: "We want to have all the students purchase their items from us and support the university at the same time."

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Because "the amount of news and information about retail and higher education on the Web has become too extensive to contain in one section," the National Association of College Stores is launching a second e-mail newsletter, called CM Scan, which will be delivered on Wednesday mornings, starting this coming Wednesday. CM Scan will expand on Campus Marketplace's What Others Are Saying section, which has summaries and links to stories appearing in other publications.

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The New Yorker's Book Bench blog offers an ongoing series of literature-inspired cocktails from mixologist Michael Cecconi. This week's seasonally-appropriate treat is the Frozen Siberian, in honor of Peter Hoeg's chilly bestseller, Smilla's Sense of Snow.

According to Cecconi, "Smilla wants something comforting and familiar while shuttling between Greenland and Denmark, an outsider caught in the purgatory between two cultures. . . . So I introduce the mother's milk of the frozen tundra [vodka] and cut the sweetness of the Kahlua. The ice cannot be simply cubes: no, we need to destroy the ice in a blender with the vodka and Kahlua, remake it into something new. For Smilla, taking the ice in, feeling it in her mouth, and learning all she can from it as it dissolves is a common pastime, and one that will prove useful in her search for an artifact that some people consider worthy of murder."

 


GLOW: Greystone Books: brother. do. you. love. me. by Manni Coe, illustrated by Reuben Coe


Winter Institute: Surviving (Cheerfully) in Tough Times

Considering that many of them have had recent sales declines of 10% and more, the hundreds of booksellers at the fourth annual Winter Institute, held this past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, were remarkably cheerful and energetic. As always at these events, participants enjoyed being together in a focused environment and talking shop for several days straight. The mood may also have stemmed from a streak of good-natured fatalism that has long existed among many independent booksellers. After all, in the last two decades, they've dealt with a range of bricks-and-mortar competition, the rise of online bookselling, uncertainty about new digital forms, a supposed decline in reading, storms, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes--and other recessions. So what's new? And unlike some other retailers, booksellers tend to be especially creative, intelligent people who rise to challenges like this and share camaraderie in good times and bad.

Booksellers spent much of this conference in sessions and informally trading hundreds of tips and ideas that ranged from the simple--one store that cut hours put up a sign saying "now open at 10," which many customers took as indicating that the store was expanding its opening times--to the sophisticated--follow financial data carefully to keep key costs within certain percentages of revenue. They also took heart hearing about stores that had done such things as cut inventory significantly while increasing sales and about booksellers who are using all kinds of inexpensive, effective ways of marketing and promoting themselves and books--often on the Internet. (Some attendees were commenting on sessions on Twitter, allowing people who were clued in to keep up in real time on what was happening elsewhere at the Winter Institute.)

One of the best-attended sessions of the conference was the longest, consisting of two parts lasting much of one day. At Surviving Tough Times, ABA staffers, several veteran booksellers and many people in the audience shared ideas about how to respond to the economic realities.

Among the major bits of advice:

Booksellers were counseled to renegotiate leases. ABA CEO Avin Domnitz said that he had worked recently with a half dozen booksellers who received reductions in rent. He recommended booksellers approach landlords with a business plan or budget as they would prepare to talk with an investor or bank. To those who think a reduced rent is impossible, he added, "I suggest that any landlord who has not gotten a notice of a renegotiation interest [from a commercial tenant] is sitting there thinking I can't believe they're not asking about this."

Booksellers were urged to make necessary changes in payroll, a major expense and one over which they have more leeway than in other areas. Steve Bercu of BookPeople, Austin, Tex., said he took a simple approach to the payroll issue, which several people noted can be particularly sensitive. As sales have weakened, he said, he's taken action. "I don't worry about blips and graphs. I'm not worried if sales are down 4% or 11% or 9%. I figure it's happening and I have to cut costs, and labor costs are the main thing I have control over." Bercu said that he had "contracted [staff levels] in a way that makes sense. I haven't fired a single person. Through attrition I've just gone back to the way it was before all was swell. People did a job, then had someone helping them. Now they don't have those helpers." As a result, BookPeople has cut the equivalent of two and a half full-time employees.

He added that in the beginning, at some stores, "three people did everything. Now [after years of growth] there are 25 people. There must be a way to have fewer people working," even though that means some things must be jettisoned. "You can't do the same with 14 as 26 people."

Inventory is another major area of cost that booksellers can manage to conserve cash.

Bercu surprised many in the audience when he said that BookPeople had reduced its inventory 55% during the past nine years and that during that time, other than 2008, sales increased annually, usually in a range of 5%-8%. Above the Treeline is "the tool that allowed us to do that." Concerning his buying philosophy, he said, "I don't care about having really great books on the shelf. I care about having stuff on the shelf that people want to buy.

"It's a little bit painful for some who want to have everything in great quantities," he continued. But he now is able to do many faceouts, including all shelves at "eye level" throughout the store. (Those prime spots are also all staff picks.) "You may think you can't do without a lot of the stuff in your store," he added, "but you can do without it and have better sales."

Bercu added that BookPeople's turn rate is between six and seven "and moving up." As a result, return on investment has improved. "We're generating cash flow," he said. "We have a lot of money in a cash account. We pay our bills in 30 days or less. Everything works better."

Domnitz, who repeatedly emphasized the importance of generating and finding cash in this economy--"cash is king in this world because there is no credit. Banks don't even trust other banks"--advised booksellers to "reduce inventory to a place where it doesn't affect sales. You must be very aggressive in finding that sweet spot."

A woman from Gallery Bookshop, Mendocino, Calif., noted that after a fire damaged most of its books, it had 35% of its standard inventory but maintained sales levels. Many customers liked the change, and surprisingly "some thought we had a better selection," she said. The store has since built up its inventory but is nowhere near its old level--and doesn't plan to reach that point. "We have lowered our sweet spot."

Carole Horne, general manager of Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, Mass., said that besides "upping our game and trying to focus on things we've always done," returns have been "a major part" of the store's reaction to the economy. Harvard Book Store returned "a ton" of titles between Christmas and New Year's so that when it paid its invoices at the end of December, it had a lot to deduct against them, a kind of timing that it had not done so efficiently in the past.

As a result of the significant returns, Harvard Book Store had to deal with "what to do with the extra space," Horne continued. In some cases, the store has simply taken out fixtures. In others, it has increased faceouts. When it cut its philosophy section--a category of great importance considering the store's location near Harvard--it turned one part of the area into an "academic new arrivals section" where all titles are displayed faceout, a move "that's worked pretty well," Horne said.

Other cost savings can be green and include everything from using compact fluorescent light bulbs and turning off computers at night to turning down heat and negotiating with utility companies for lower rates.

Whatever they do, booksellers should take steps to respond to the economic downturn, Domnitz said, adding, "As things get worse, there are greater and greater consequences to doing nothing."

Horne said called it "seductive" to blame sales drops on "the weather or something else." Better to address issues immediately in these times, she went on, saying that "it's easier to add something again after cutting it than not cutting it when it should be cut."

And Alison Reid, co-owner of DIESEL: A Bookstore, which has three stores in California, advised booksellers to "go and check other establishments to see if things slow there, too."

Horne said that it is important to have staff involved in decision making. At her store, which has a union, some union members and managers meet every other week to talk about ways to improve the store. "The union wanted to do this because they said we're all in this together," she stated.

Likewise Reid noted that "if staff is involved in the conversation, they sometimes come up with alternatives and will suggest dropping shifts and hours."

Domnitz also advised that when business improves, booksellers should keep practicing what they have learned and put into effect during tough times. "You need to hold on to those lessons," he said.--John Mutter

[More reporting from the Winter Institute will appear this week and next.]

 


BINC: Apply Now to The Susan Kamil Scholarship for Emerging Writers!


Media and Movies

Media Heat: An Appreciation of Updike on Charlie Rose

This morning on Good Morning America: Helen Fisher, author of Why Him? Why Her?: Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type (Holt, $25, 9780805082920/0805082921).

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Today on Oprah: Kent Whitaker, author of Murder by Family: The Incredible True Story of a Son's Treachery and a Father's Forgiveness (Howard Books, $22.99, 9781416578130/1416578137).

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Tonight on Charlie Rose, an appreciation of the late John Updike.

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Tonight on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Lawrence B. Lindsey, author of What A President Should Know: An Insider's View on How to Succeed in the Oval Office (Rowman & Littlefield, $24.95, 9780742562226/0742562220).

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Tonight on the Late Show with David Letterman: Steve Martin, author of Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life (Scribner, $15, 9781416553656/1416553657). He's also on Live with Regis and Kelly tomorrow.

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: John West, author of The Last Goodnights: Assisting My Parents with Their Suicides (Counterpoint, $25, 9781582434483/1582434484).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Douglas Preston, author of The Monster of Florence (Grand Central Publishing, $25.99, 9780446581196/0446581194).

Also on Today: Adriana Trigiani, author of Very Valentine (Harper, $25.99, 9780061257056/0061257052).

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Tomorrow on Oprah: Jenny McCarthy, author of Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds (Dutton, $24.95, 9780525950691/0525950699).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Jeff Benedict, author of Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage (Grand Central Publishing, $26.99, 9780446508629/0446508624).

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Tomorrow on NPR's All Things Considered: Joe Torre, author of The Yankee Years (Doubleday, $26.95, 9780385527408/0385527403).

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Tomorrow on PBS's Nova: James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America (Doubleday, $27.95, 9780385521321/0385521324).

 


Movies: Tropper, Trussoni Novels Acquired

Calling two "major book auctions" that wrapped up recently "a sign that the comatose book-to-movie biz may be waking up," Variety reported that Columbia Pictures and Warner Brothers have acquired the rights to a pair of upcoming novels.

Columbia "won a spirited auction late Friday for Danielle Trussoni's Angelology, paying $1 million for the title. Feature adaptation will be produced by Will Smith and James Lassiter's Overbrook Entertainment and Marc Forster's Apparatus." Variety added that the auction "came on the heels of a Viking publishing deal for what is potentially a three-book series."

Angelology, written by the author of the memoir Falling Through the Earth, "revolves around a 23-year-old nun who teams with an angelologist to thwart a group that tries to destroy mankind by harnessing the destructive powers of a race of angel/human hybrids."

Although Warner Brothers lost its bid for the Trussoni novel, the company did acquire This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, "which Dutton will publish. A Jewish father's last wish is that his nonreligious family sit shiva for him. Over seven days, they are forced to confront their own dysfunctional family dynamic," Variety added. Tropper will write the first draft of the screenplay. Greg Berlanti will direct; Paula Weinstein and Jeff Levine will produce.

 



Books & Authors

IndieBound: Other Indie Favorites

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

Hardcover

Bad Traffic by Simon Lewis (Scribner, $25, 9781416593539/1416593535). "Meet Inspector Jian, a Chinese cop who can't speak a word of English, who is trying to solve a crime in rural England involving his daughter. Quirky, with subtle humor, this fast-paced mystery/thriller is a great read."--Sue Richardson, Maine Coast Book Shop, Damariscotta, Me.

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson, Ph.D. (Viking, $25.95, 9780670020478/0670020478). "Ken Robinson's book about creative purpose and education is brilliant and funny and oh-so-deftly right-on about the state of education and how we can rediscover the intersection between passion and ability."--Drea Firth, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, Colo.

Paperback

Shelter Me by Juliette Fay (Avon, $14.99, 9780061673399/0061673390). "This debut novel features family, friends, and grief in a touchingly warm and funny way. I cried and laughed with Janie LaMarche as she figures out how to go on living without her beloved husband. Fay's characters run the gamut and could live next door to any of us."--Judy Manzo, Book Ends, Winchester, Mass.

For Teen Readers

Wondrous Strange
by Lesley Livingston (HarperTeen, $16.99, 9780061575372/0061575372). "When Kelley gets to perform in her dream role, Titania, in her dream city, New York, it seems as if all her dreams will come true. In a twist of fate that would make Shakespeare himself proud, Kelley is thrown into a plot with real faeries in an all-too-real struggle for power right in the middle of Central Park. What with the gorgeous stranger who seems to be following her and the horse who is living on Lucky Charms in her bathtub, when will she ever get her lines memorized?"--Mara Lynn Luther, Chapter One Book Store, Hamilton, Mont.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

 


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