Notes: New Books Inc. in Berkeley; Oak Park 'is Cool'
Books Inc., which operates 11 bookstores in California, most in the Bay Area, plans to open a store in Berkeley this fall. Construction is scheduled to start September 1 for the store, which will be on Fourth Street, joining the Fourth Street Shops, which includes Builder's Booksource.
Books Inc. co-owner and CEO Michael Tucker, who is also president of the ABA, said, "We are committed to have this location bring Fourth Street's book buying community experienced, knowledgeable booksellers; diverse, interesting events and a book selection that will reflect the neighborhood’s character." He credited the "right location, the right lease and the right landlord for allowing expansion in this challenging economic climate."
For 10 years, until early last year, Cody's Books had a branch on Fourth Street.
Books Inc. operates eight bookstores under the Books Inc. name in the Bay Area. It also has a Compass Books & bzinc outlet in San Francisco International Airport and Compass Books & Café at Downtown Disney in Anaheim.
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"How cool is Oak Park?" asked Dan Haley rhetorically in the Wednesday Journal. He was responding to a quote sent to him suggesting that you can judge a city's "level of coolness'" by its bookshops (Shelf Awareness, July 31, 2009).
While admitting that, as a former bookseller, he is "predisposed toward bookstores," Haley noted that the Illinois city "currently has four bookstores and, regrettably for the past several years, no used bookstores. That we are supporting four stores, all of them fine stores in their own ways, is pretty wonderful. In a town where you can't buy underwear, you can choose from many editions of Dickens.
"Magic Tree is marking its 25th year. Think of that. In a world of Amazon and Wii and teens endless texting, this independent store focusing on selling books for kids from Goodnight Moon to Harry Potter is still there, still thriving, still recommending, still bringing in authors, still stocking book fairs in local schools. Still being what an independent bookstore is meant to be."
Daley also praised the Book Table, and concluded that "if you want to judge this town by its bookstores, you are in a rich and wonderful place."
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Maple Street Children's Book Shop, New Orleans, La., is closing and
will "become part of an expanded Maple Street Book Shop," according to
the Times-Picayune,
which reported that manager Cindy Dike is "staying on to manage a
one-room children's book department there. The building next door at
7923 Maple St. will become a used bookstore and space for periodicals
and gifts."
Cited as the villain in this case was "a perfect
business storm--the sagging economy, the post-Katrina landscape, the
rise of online bookselling, the advent of superstores Uptown," the Times-Picayune observed.
Donna
Allen, owner of Maple Street Book Shop, sees new possibilities for a
used book outlet. "I've been dabbling in used books since January," she
said. "And this gives us a lot more room to expand. We'll have more
room for readings and signings. We're working to get all our titles
online. And both stores will be open seven days a week."
For
Dike, however, it marks the end of an era. "I love handselling books
and getting feedback from customers," she said. "I love Christmas more
than anything. I actually like wrapping gifts for people and making
them smile."
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WORD bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y., is offering an enticement to inspire customers' interest in the future of books as well as WORD. According to the bookshop's blog, "Our biggest announcement this month is that we’re starting a new program here at WORD. From now on, whenever you pre-order and pre-pay for a book before its release date, we'll give you 10% off the cover price. . . . There are a ton of new books from beloved authors coming out this fall."
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The New York Times reported that Stephenie Meyer has been accused of plagiarism by Jordan Scott, who claims she published a novel, The Nocturne, in 2006, that "contains situations that are similar to those in Breaking Dawn."
The Times also noted that "representatives from Hachette called the accusation 'meritless,' according to Reuters, adding that Ms. Meyers didn't know about The Nocturne and that the Twilight Saga was her work entirely. Ms. Scott plans to file a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court in the coming weeks, Mr. Williams said, though she does not plan to seek monetary damages."
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Think "Woodstock, the Manson Family and the Brady Bunch premiere on TV." Think 1969. NPR's "three books" featured Racy Reads from a Landmark Year.
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Book trailer of the day: Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon.
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HarperStudio's the 26th Story blog showcased the endpapers Mary Schuck designed for Double Take: A Memoir by Kevin Connolly, who "was born without legs and traveled around the world snapping over 30,000 photographs of people staring at him." The book has an October release date.
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There is an amazing story behind The Secret Ingredient, a self-published cookbook that has sold thousands of copies (including a dozen to the Obama White House) and attracted the attention of Collins, "which will repackage and republish it next March, following it up with a second title by Bee in spring 2011," according to the Guardian.
The story? "Four years ago, when Sally Bee was 36, she suffered three major heart attacks in just one week, and discovered she had been born with a major heart defect--spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Initially given hours to live, she survived the ordeal, and went on to devise her own healthy eating and exercise regime, publishing a cookbook of her recipes."
And a happy ending to boot.
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Linda Buckley-Archer, author of Gideon the Cutpurse, chose her top 10 time-traveling stories for the Guardian.
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Obituary Note: Legendary novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg died Wednesday. He was 95. Schulberg's novels include What Makes Sammy Run and The Harder They Fall. He also wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, which earned eight Academy Awards in 1954.
In its obituary, the New York Times observed that Schulberg "wrote about the power of Hollywood moguls, mob bosses and political ideologues to run roughshod over ordinary people--longshoremen, boxers, even writers."
"I’d like to be remembered as someone who used their ability as a novelist or as a dramatist to say the things he felt needed to be said about the society" while being "as entertaining as possible," he said in the 2006 interview, according to the Times.