This is our last issue of the decade. (Although we will be tweeting @shelfawareness.) We hope you enjoy the holidays and wish you all a prosperous and happy new year! We'll see you again here on Monday, January 4.

 

In an open letter to the Authors Guild posted on her website, Ursula K. Le Guin explained why she has resigned as a member of the organization after 37 years: because of the Guild's support of the Google settlement.

The Guild "sold us down the river," she wrote. "You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them. I can't. There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle."

 

On its website, the Authors Guild responded to Le Guin, writing that it would have been "deeply satisfying, on many levels," to sue Google, but that litigation would have been "irresponsible, once a path to a satisfactory settlement became available....

"The lessons of recent history are clear: when digital and online technologies meet traditional media, traditional media generally wind up gutted. Constructive engagement--in this case turning Google's [copyright] infringement to our advantage--is sometimes the only realistic solution....

"The settlement is a good one for authors. It will open up new streams of revenues for authors from out-of-print books, books that provide no income to authors now. The settlement allows authors to decide whether, when and to what extent to make their works available through Google. In an increasingly challenging online environment, authors need every bit of income they can earn."

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BlackBerry wasn't the only company suffering service problems yesterday.

Websites operated by Amazon and several other e-retailers, including Wal-Mart, were attacked yesterday, shutting them down for short periods, according to Mashable. No culprit was identified.

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People who were promised delivery of Barnes & Noble's nook e-reader by Christmas will receive it on time, the company told the Wall Street Journal. Last week, B&N had said some shipments might not make it on time and was offering $100 online gift certificates to those whose orders arrived late.

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Books-A-Million is continuing to expand in the mid-Atlantic region. The retailer, which has 200 stores in 22 states, is opening a store in the Paramus Park Mall in Paramus, N.J., which will be its second store in the Garden State.

BAM is also opening a store in Willow Grove Park in Willow Grove, Pa., the company's third store in Pennsylvania.

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The Waldenbooks in Lufkin, Tex., is another of the 20 or so Walden stores slated for closing in January that will stay open after all, the Lufkin Daily News reported.

Last month Borders Group announced that it would close 200 Walden stores in the New Year. Yesterday we noted that the Walden in Easton, Pa., was issued a reprieve.

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An amplification on our story yesterday about ABA staff working in member stores during the holiday: this year the Book Stall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka, Ill., has sold 546 copies, not "just" 350, of Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, 93 of them in December alone, owner Robert Rubin proudly wrote. The novel is her book of the year.

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The Stranger had a book--The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, a contemporary of Charles Dickens--printed by the new Espresso Book Machine at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Wash.: "Besides the generic cover (just the title, author's name, and the name of the bookstore, in aqua blue), the finished copy of the book is virtually indistinguishable from any other paperback in the bookstore. It's still warm, and it smells of ink. Total time, from inception to completion: 15 minutes. Like all the other public-domain Google Books, the cover price is $8."

Third Place is also printing books by self-published authors and has founded its own imprint, whose first title is Pioneer Days on Puget Sound by Arthur A. Denny ($10), "a richly illustrated journal of the earliest days of Seattle by one of its founding fathers. The book has been in and out of print for a century."

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Speaking of which, the Book Industry Study Group has published Digital Book Printing for Dummies with the help of Wiley and the sponsorship of CreateSpace, Hewlett-Packard, the Independent Book Publishers Association and Lightning Source. Featuring case studies, the book aims to "de-mystify the short-run, ultra short run and on-demand printing process for publishers." The book draws on the expertise of Barnes & Noble, Blurb, CreateSpace, Harvard University Press, Hewlett-Packard, IBT, On Demand Books, Xerox and the Independent Book Publishers Association, among others.

Copies of Digital Book Printing for Dummies are available on the BISG website and the IBPA website (where they are discounted for IBPA members).

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Christmas season in the U.K. this year may belong to Dan Brown (Shelf Awareness, December 22, 2009), but the decade in books was all J.K. Rowling's. The Guardian reported that Harry Potter's creator sold "more than double the number of books shifted by her closest rival." Roger Hargreaves finished "a surprising second, having sold a whopping 14 million volumes of his low-cost children's tales." According to Nielsen Bookscan, the top-selling authors in the U.K. during the "noughties" were:

1. J.K. Rowling (29,084,999 books)
2. Roger Hargreaves (14,163,141)
3. Dan Brown (13,372,007)
4. Jacqueline Wilson (12,673,148)
5. Terry Pratchett (10,455,397)
6. John Grisham (9,862,998)
7. Richard Parsons (9,561,776)
8. Danielle Steel (9,119,149)
9. James Patterson (8,172,647)
10. Enid Blyton (7,910,758)
11. Bill Bryson (7,409,656)
12. Patricia Cornwell (7,355,180)
13. Jamie Oliver (7,244,620)
14. Daisy Meadows (7,149,788)
15. Ian Rankin (6,848,039)

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James R. Gray, chief strategy officer at Ingram Content Group, is leaving the company at the end of the year. He joined Ingram as CEO of Ingram Digital in 2006, when Ingram bought Coutts Information Services and MyiLibrary. Gray was CEO of Coutts at the time of the purchase. Ingram Digital was later merged into the Ingram Content Group.

 

Today on Talk of the Nation: Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History (Riverhead, $25.95, 9781594488863/159448886X).

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Next Monday morning on Fox News' Fox and Friends: Stacy Johnson, author of Life or Debt: A One-Week Plan for a Lifetime of Financial Freedom (Ballantine, $14.95, 9780345455642/0345455649).

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Next Monday night on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, in a repeat: Madeleine Albright, author of Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box (Harper, $40, 9780060899189/0060899182).

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Next Tuesday morning on the Today Show: Bethenny Frankel, author of The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life (Fireside, $16, 9781416597995/1416597999).


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Next Thursday, December 31, on the Rachel Ray Show: Al Gore, author of Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis (Rodale, $26.99, 9781594867347/1594867348).

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Next Thursday on KCRW's Bookworm: Wallace Shawn, author of Essays (Haymarket Books, $18.95, 9781608460021/1608460029) and Grasses of a Thousand Colors (Theatre Communications Group, $13.95, 9781559363457/1559363452). As the show put it: "Wallace Shawn's newest play intermingles fact and fantasy in such a bizarre and original way that one would have to see (or even read) the play two or three times to get things (relatively) straight. Shawn discusses innovative theater in relation to his political beliefs as expressed in his new collection of essays."

Rumors of delays involving the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit are greatly exaggerated, according to director Peter Jackson. He told the Hollywood Reporter that the project is on schedule, with auditions currently underway and filming planned for the middle of 2010.

 

One of my favorite cartoons by Charles Addams appeared in the December 23, 1950, issue of the New Yorker. The Addams family has gathered round a cold hearth, where stockings are hung without care on the cobwebbed mantlepiece beneath a cracked mirror, and Gomez shares his mischievously edited version of a beloved and ghoulish holiday classic, saying, "Then good old Scrooge, bless his heart, turned to Bob Cratchit and snarled, 'Let me hear another sound from you and you'll keep Christmas by losing your situation.'"

This is not the first year that I've found myself sympathizing a little more than is probably good for me with Ebenezer. I do understand the generous spirit of that final, redemptive chapter in the Dickens tale, but I also get the gnarly, anxious businessman in Scrooge--the short-tempered SOB who confronts holiday well-wishers with a snarl.

Hey, it's a down economy, the weather has been disruptive and who knows what the future will bring? And the fuel prices? Put down that lump of coal, Cratchit! If you're lucky, it'll be in your stocking on Christmas Day.

So this week I went looking for redemptive holiday messages among booksellers, my comrades in arms for many years and people who truly understand how to balance on that highwire stretched between holiday business and holiday cheer because they must walk it without a net each December.

I've collected a bagful of good wishes, including a few that nestled snugly in the bookstore e-mail newsletters that have been stacking up like digital gifts in my Shelf Awareness inbox.

Cornerstone Books, Salem, Mass., acknowledges that this has been "a challenging year for all of us, and so we want to wish all of you a very peaceful holiday with your friends and families. As we look forward to 2010, we do so with the optimism, joy and renewal that each New Year brings."

From Tom Campbell at the Regulator Bookshop, Durham, N.C.: "Thanks once more for being part of the Regulator community. Thanks for another great year. Thanks for supporting local independent businesses. Thank you in more ways than we can name. And 'God bless us every one!' Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year."

Susan Weis and Jenn Northington of breathe books, Baltimore, Md., "wish you all the warmest, sweetest holiday and we thank you so much for including thoughtfully chosen presents from breathe books in your bounty! This year it means more to us than ever. A deep, deep bow and namaste to you all."

"I hope this finds all of you out there in bookland happy and healthy and enjoying the season with a hearty Ho Ho Ho," writes Wendy Hudson of Nantucket Bookworks, Nantucket, Mass., on behalf of her "Merry Bookworkers."

Among the blogging booksellers, Hans Weyandt of Micawber's bookstore, St. Paul, Minn., notes that although this can be a frantic season for people, "we get to see some of the best that this season and its spirit can bring. Shoppers are calm and enjoy their time browsing and frequently help one another and give suggestions. The books are whirling in and out of hands. It is fantastic fun. 2009 has been a challenging year for small businesses, retail in general and the world of books. Yet we've made it thanks to the support we get from loyal customers who've decided to put their money into stores they believe in. For that, and much more, we send our best to all of you."

Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y., is celebrating its first holiday season and co-owner Jessica Stockton Bagnulo's message to patrons is: "Here's wishing you and yours the holidays you most wish for--whether it's partying or relaxing, being sociable or spending time on your own, feasting or cleansing, traveling or staying home. And of course, happy holiday reading!"

In celebration of the season, Rediscovered Bookshop, Boise, Idaho, exclaims: "We are truly spoiled by amazing customers. One of our oh-so-awesome customers made us a present! She hand knit us a pillow with our logo on it. Isn't that adorable? Chaucer is thoroughly enjoying it. We really do love how amazing our customers are, and we all hope you guys have a great holiday season. Thanks for making my job the best job ever!"

Now I feel better. Here's to indie booksellers--and everyone in the book trade--who continue to sustain a Bob Cratchit spirit and focused, Scroogey business plan in the face of ghostly, ghastly visitations year after year.

Bless us, every one.--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)

 

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland Last Week

The following were the bestselling titles at independent bookstores in and around Chicago during the week ended Sunday, December 20:

Hardcover Fiction

1. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
4. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
5. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
2. Stones into Schools by Greg Mortensen
3. Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
4. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
5. SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Paperback Fiction

1. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
4. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Paperback Nonfiction

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
2. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
3. Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis
4. American Lion by Jon Meacham
5. My Life in France by Julia Child

Children's

1. Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
4. Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1 by Jeff Kinney

Reporting bookstores: Anderson's, Naperville and Downers Grove; Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock; the Book Table, Oak Park; the Book Cellar, Lincoln Square; Lake Forest Books, Lake Forest; the Bookstall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka; and 57th St. Books; Seminary Co-op; Women and Children First, Chicago.

[Many thanks to the reporting bookstores and Carl Lennertz!]