Notes: V Vanquishes Competition; Avid Bookseller Honored
The movie V for Vendetta was A-1 at the box office over the
weekend, with ticket sales of $26.1 million. The graphic novel by Alan
Moore and David Lloyd (Vertigo, $19.99, 0930289528) is in the top 10 at
both Amazon.com and B&N.com this morning.
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Since buying Wonderland Books, Hickory, N.C., last May, owner Dr. Fred Gachet and his wife, Shirley, have expanded and revamped the children's section, added hours, increased a focus on customer service (which has included tidying up the store), held a customer appreciation day and created a book club focusing on censorship and banned books, according to the Charlotte Observer. The 5,000-sq.-ft. used bookstore has 150,000 books. One marketing "tool" that the store is just making use of: advertising on a sign that the store has new ownership.
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Alzada Knickerbocker, owner of the Avid Reader and the Avid Reader for Young Readers in Davis, Calif., and a bookseller for 19 years, has been named California's Small-Business Champion of the Year by the National Federation of Independent Business, the Sacramento Bee reported.
She was cited by the NFIB's California director for "her total dedication to the mission of small businesses to get the word out on the problems that small-business owners face. She's willing to testify and do almost anything to let legislators know how difficult it is to run a business."
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The Arizona Republic profiles the Book Connection, a primarily used bookstore whose owners have "worked to distinguish themselves from the south Tempe shopping center's other bookstore, Changing Hands." Among the ways the store has distinguished itself: by specializing in "science fiction, with hard-to-find or out-of-print titles, and the wildly popular paranormal romance books."
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A day after its stock hit in all-time high, last Friday Barnes & Noble was downgraded by Jeffries to hold from buy.
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The limits of technology. After a complaint from a pro-abortion group that a search of books on abortion would result in recommendations headed by the question "Did you mean adoption?" Amazon.com deleted the query. The company told the New York Times today that many people who search abortion also search adoption (although not the other way around), which accounted for the question.
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On Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m., a 92nd St. Y panel will address "what it takes to make the right book take off in an industry that's in flux" as well as the opportunities and challenges of Internet marketing, demographic change, evolving habits and the growing number of books. Panelists are Jonathan Karp, publisher and editor-in-chief of Warner Twelve; Johnny Temple, publisher of Akashic Books; and Sarah Weinman, an editor of Galleycat.com. Bryan Keefer, editor of CJR Daily, will moderate. Called A Manuscript and a Magic 8-Ball: Secrets to Success in Publishing Today, the panel takes place at the Steinhardt Building, 35 W. 67th St. in New York City. Tickets are $12 in advance; $15 at the door.
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When Melville House rushed out Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush ($9.95, 1933633085) last month (Shelf Awareness, February 28), done in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, it made an unusual offer: it would pay shipping and handling fees to send the book to the Representative of any buyer who purchased the book on Melville House's Web site for that purpose.
As of today, the publisher has sent out nearly 1,000 copies to members of Congress. Dennis Johnson told Shelf Awareness that as a result, he is learning "a lot more about the makeup of the House of Representatives." A Roll Call article notes that Johnson's next campaign for the book will be to offer the same deal for buyers' favorite journalists.
---
Since buying Wonderland Books, Hickory, N.C., last May, owner Dr. Fred Gachet and his wife, Shirley, have expanded and revamped the children's section, added hours, increased a focus on customer service (which has included tidying up the store), held a customer appreciation day and created a book club focusing on censorship and banned books, according to the Charlotte Observer. The 5,000-sq.-ft. used bookstore has 150,000 books. One marketing "tool" that the store is just making use of: advertising on a sign that the store has new ownership.
---
Alzada Knickerbocker, owner of the Avid Reader and the Avid Reader for Young Readers in Davis, Calif., and a bookseller for 19 years, has been named California's Small-Business Champion of the Year by the National Federation of Independent Business, the Sacramento Bee reported.
She was cited by the NFIB's California director for "her total dedication to the mission of small businesses to get the word out on the problems that small-business owners face. She's willing to testify and do almost anything to let legislators know how difficult it is to run a business."
---
The Arizona Republic profiles the Book Connection, a primarily used bookstore whose owners have "worked to distinguish themselves from the south Tempe shopping center's other bookstore, Changing Hands." Among the ways the store has distinguished itself: by specializing in "science fiction, with hard-to-find or out-of-print titles, and the wildly popular paranormal romance books."
---
A day after its stock hit in all-time high, last Friday Barnes & Noble was downgraded by Jeffries to hold from buy.
---
The limits of technology. After a complaint from a pro-abortion group that a search of books on abortion would result in recommendations headed by the question "Did you mean adoption?" Amazon.com deleted the query. The company told the New York Times today that many people who search abortion also search adoption (although not the other way around), which accounted for the question.
---
On Wednesday, March 29, at 7 p.m., a 92nd St. Y panel will address "what it takes to make the right book take off in an industry that's in flux" as well as the opportunities and challenges of Internet marketing, demographic change, evolving habits and the growing number of books. Panelists are Jonathan Karp, publisher and editor-in-chief of Warner Twelve; Johnny Temple, publisher of Akashic Books; and Sarah Weinman, an editor of Galleycat.com. Bryan Keefer, editor of CJR Daily, will moderate. Called A Manuscript and a Magic 8-Ball: Secrets to Success in Publishing Today, the panel takes place at the Steinhardt Building, 35 W. 67th St. in New York City. Tickets are $12 in advance; $15 at the door.
---
When Melville House rushed out Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush ($9.95, 1933633085) last month (Shelf Awareness, February 28), done in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, it made an unusual offer: it would pay shipping and handling fees to send the book to the Representative of any buyer who purchased the book on Melville House's Web site for that purpose.
As of today, the publisher has sent out nearly 1,000 copies to members of Congress. Dennis Johnson told Shelf Awareness that as a result, he is learning "a lot more about the makeup of the House of Representatives." A Roll Call article notes that Johnson's next campaign for the book will be to offer the same deal for buyers' favorite journalists.
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