Botanica Books has opened at 456 Broadway, Ste. 302., in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., "a couple flights of stairs removed from the shoppers, drinkers, and gallivanters," Saratoga Today reported, adding that the boutique-style store "looks more like a treehouse... a plant's tendrils fall between two bookshelves; a floral rug rests beneath two green cushioned armchairs; and a bird named Stevie Nicks is perched above the patrons." 

"I wanted something that felt a little bit off the beaten path, something that people might be curious about," said owner and manager Carissa Mina. "The foot traffic has been great.... Booklovers will go as far as they need to see a bookshop."

A New York native, Mina moved back to the state after living in Colorado, where she owned and operated the Wandering Jellyfish children's bookshop. She is also a writer who was active in Colorado's writing scene and hopes "to recreate that community here in the Spa City. To that end, Botanica offers itself as a meeting place for writing workshops, book clubs, classes, and other small gatherings," Saratoga Today noted.

"Writers, we're a lonely bunch," she said. "I missed my community and [wanted] to give writers a reason to get together."

Regarding the store's book selections, she noted: "I think my distinct personality would be that I love to read and I love to learn, and I really wanted to have a bookshop [where] all the books in it are books that I'm really interested in reading or learning from. People can come in and find something that maybe they weren't looking for and that they might have an interest in reading or learning about."

After debuting as an online and pop-up store, Wallflower Book Co. opened a bricks-and-mortar store last month in Walnut Cove, N.C., the Stokes News reported. 

Wallflower Book Co., at 416 N. Main St., sells new and used books along with stationery, keychains, handcrafted bookmarks, and other gifts. Co-owners and sisters Brittany and Kristen Massey held a grand opening for the bookstore on Saturday, November 9. 

The earliest iteration of Wallflower Book Co., Brittany Massey explained, was an online shop primarily selling bookmarks made by Massey. Next, Massey added blind dates with a book, and began appearing at vendor fairs and craft markets. 

"The blind dates became a hit at the markets and I realized how much I truly enjoyed creating and selling bookish items, and meeting other people who also love books," Massey told Stokes News. 

She'd been thinking of opening a bookstore for a while, but always assumed it was something she'd do later in life. Kristen Massey, meanwhile, had always wanted to own her own business. About seven months ago, their father encouraged them to open a bookstore together.

"With the help of my sister who is the other owner, my parents, and family, we have made this dream a reality," Kristen Massey said. "It would have never been able to come to fruition without the support and help and guidance of my family."

Kristin Tardif, a professor at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, is the new owner of Bookish: An Indie Shop for Folks Who Read, located in the Bakery District of Fort Smith, Ark., KHBS reported. The shop was launched by Jennifer Battles and Sara Putnam in 2018. 

"Independent bookstores are really community oriented businesses," said Tardif. "The goal is to create an experience to bring the community in."

Her research "focuses on the development of creative and experience economies, and she sees owning the bookstore as an opportunity to practice what she teaches," KHBS wrote.

"By supporting me and the coffee shop and the restaurant and everything else, the food trucks, you're actually supporting the economy and building Fort Smith to be a better community," she said.

Hachette Book Group is investing $200,000 in its Raising Readers campaign, founded a year ago by CEO David Shelley to combat the growing decline in children's reading for fun and entertainment. The campaign's focus began with Hachette authors, illustrators, and translators being given the option of having a page at the back of their Hachette adult books where they could talk about "the value of fostering a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure and tips on how to do so."

Shelley commented: "In 2026, we aim to take Raising Readers to the next level. 2026 serendipitously marks the 200th anniversary of Hachette Livre. Milestones like this are often celebrated internally, but given the urgency of the reading crisis, I believe the most meaningful way to mark the bicentenary is to invest more deeply in Raising Readers."

With the $200,000 investment, the company is expanding Raising Readers' purview to include:

• Providing curated classroom libraries to 200 underfunded schools and education programs in confirmed book deserts. This will allow at least 50,000 students to gain sustained access to books that support literacy, rehabilitation, and educational advancement. 
• Mobilizing at least 200 volunteers to deliver reading or literacy support.
• Launching a minimum of 200 Little Free Libraries in book deserts with committed replenishment throughout 2026. Priority will be given to neighborhoods with low access to bookstores and libraries, plus areas surrounding reentry housing and transitional communities. This will allow Hachette to place at least 40,000 books in circulation throughout the year.
• Hosting 200 author visits to classrooms (virtually or in-person) for immersive author sessions and read-alouds, providing access to at least 10,000 participants, all of whom will gain direct exposure to the joy of reading.
• Supporting evidence-based literacy programs that measurably improve reading proficiency via structured tutoring, classroom literacy coaching, family literacy, community library rebuilds, or community programs that aim to close the gap in lower-than-average literacy rates.

In the past year, at Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, six million books include the Raising Readers message about the reading crisis and sharing the importance of encouraging a child's lifelong love of reading. By the end of 2026, the company predicts this number will be more than 25 million in more than 3,000 works. 

Already 23 organizations have partnered with Hachette to tackle this reading crisis, including the American Booksellers Association, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, the National Book Foundation, PEN America, Poets & Writers, We Need Diverse Books, and the Book Industry Study Group, among others. In addition, Reese Witherspoon is the Raising Readers audio spokesperson.

Shelley added, "I really believe it's possible to change behavioural patterns if an industry is able to get the message out there in the right way, and to make its products widely available. All of us in the book's ecosystem know the benefits of reading, but any vox pop of the wider community will tell you that not everyone does--and that not everyone has equal access to books.

"I'm realistic about the fact that what we can do at Hachette is only part of the solution--but equally, we're the world's second largest trade publisher, and we want to do all we can to encourage more people to discover a love of reading, and to make books available to everyone. And we believe, if we all work closely together on it, Raising Readers can have an impact."

Carole Bidnick, a trailblazer in book publishing passed away on December 2 in Berkeley, Calif., at 76 years old. She was born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y.

Carole Bidnick

Her career began in 1975, working in the sales department of Holt Rinehart & Winston. In short order, Bidnick learned to drive and became the publisher's sales representative for New York and Pennsylvania. Then, in the early '80s, she served as regional sales manager for Charles Scribner's Sons, also in the Northeast.

In 1986, David Cohen and Rick Smolan, founders of A Day in the Life photographic series, lured Bidnick to their young company, a huge leap of faith for her at the time. As director of sales, she became the unstoppable force at the heart of their books. As her obituary, written by our friend Gary Todoroff, noted, "She was the one whose enthusiasm and incredible attention to detail made their success possible. She had that rare gift of making the monumental feel manageable and the frantic feel focused. And beyond her extraordinary competence was the warmth and humanity Carole brought to everything she touched. She cared deeply--about the work, about the people, about getting it right."

A Day in the Life of America sold more than a million copies and remained on the list for a year. In late 1987, Bidnick and the company moved to San Francisco, which became her home for the next 38 years.

In 2000, Bidnick took another giant leap. With the launch of Bidnick & Company she became a literary book agent, and along with her authors created great success in the cookbook, health, and wellness fields. She secured deals for her clients with major publishers such as Rodale, Ten Speed Press and Chronicle Books. Among her clients was New York Times bestselling author Dean Karnazes. She had a keen talent and ability to connect her authors with the ideal editors and publishing houses.

"Carole's incredible instinct and fierce advocacy for books combined beautifully with her deep love for publishing. A voracious reader, to her, publishing was simply another facet of her love for the arts: music, painting, theater, film, travel, museums, food and cooking--art in all its forms.

"Above all else, Carole's greatest love was her friendships. She had many. And she tended to each and every one. Carole was one of the best friends you could ever have. Her loyalty was legendary. Carole never knew a stranger.

"Carole was a force of nature, fueled by street-smart wit, a formidable spirit and insatiable curiosity. Sassy, direct and generous to a fault, Carole was known as a great supporter of women, especially as they worked to break into publishing. She was one of a kind.

"The Yiddish word she taught all of us, by how she lived and treated others, was 'mensch.' And so she was!

"May Carole's memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved her. Her life was far too short. But her impact will endure."

At her wish, there will be no funeral or memorial service. A Celebration of Life will take place in San Francisco. Donations in her memory may be made to Planned Parenthood and the Alameda County Community Food Bank or your local food banks.

Bart Carithers at Next Page Books

Congratulations to Next Page Books in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary during the month of December. In a December 3 Facebook post, owner Bart Carithers noted: "I'm not sure how to adequately express how grateful I am to Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell, Councilwoman Ann Poe, and the city council for proclaiming December 'Next Page Books of Cedar Rapids Month' in recognition of our decade of book selling in the New Bohemia neighborhood. I heard enough 'whereas' and 'therefore' statements to last a lifetime. Thank you, Cedar Rapids. I couldn't ask for a better place to call home."

In an earlier post, Carithers wrote that in his wildest dreams, he "never imagined that the store would stay afloat for so many years, much less continue to grow despite my lack of business experience. It has taken a lot of time, effort, passion, and persistence but here we are 10 years later. I don't know what the future holds, but this has been the ride of my life!... 

"Whatever I have accomplished here at Next Page Books I attribute to my mom. She passed 30 years ago this year and 20 years before I took ownership of the shop. If she were alive today, I think she'd be mighty proud of me for what I've made of the store and for carrying on the 'family tradition' of working with books."

Last Saturday, he posted: "Pop the corks, our biggest weekend of the year has finally arrived! Join us today for our 10th Anniversary Party as we celebrate navigating the ups and downs, in and outs, and flat out fun of owning a small independent bookstore."

He later added: "By day’s end, we nearly set an all-time sales record for a single day. I've never experienced anything like it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making this such a special day. I owe everyone who stopped by the shop a huge debt of gratitude. I'm overwhelmed."

Chapters Books & Gifts, Seward, Neb., had a crucial Christmas message on its sidewalk chalkboard sign recently: "Here comes Santa Claus... and he's arriving at Chapters today! Join us for Story Time with Santa at 3 p.m.--sing along to carols, drop your letters in the Santa mailbox, and get a signed book for your little ones.... chalkboard is ready… are you?"

"Being surrounded by books? Gazing out at falling snow? Decorations abounding? An in-house coffee and wine bar? If you needed a formal invitation to spend quality time at Explore this weekend, here it is: we'd love to have you," Explore Books, Aspen, Colo., posted on Facebook.

Simon & Schuster will handle worldwide sales, fulfillment, logistics, and distribution of Ablaze Publishing's print formats, effective February 1, 2026.

Founded in 2019, Ablaze Publishing publishes original material, art books, international titles from Europe, Asia (manga, manhwa), webtoons, and more in a variety of formats, genres, and age ranges.

Rich Young, co-founder of Ablaze Publishing, said, "Joining with Simon & Schuster gives us world‑class reach and infrastructure to bring our graphic novels to readers in every channel. We believe this alliance will expand our audience and support our mission of delivering bold and innovative storytelling."

Kennedy Rooke has been promoted to retail director at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, Montreal, Quebec. Rooke joined the bookstore in 2017 as a part-time bookseller in D&Q's bricks-and-mortar shop, and subsequently held the positions of children's coordinator and assistant manager before becoming the bookstore manager in 2021. Rooke is responsible for booking events and book clubs, as well as overseeing buying for all sections of the store. They have served on the Quebec Writers Federation awards jury and are a board member of the Mile End Business Association.

Today:
Fresh Air: Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation (Viking, $35, 9780593296967).

Daily Show: Annie Leibovitz, photographer of the two-volume collection Annie Leibovitz: Women (Phaidon, $99.95, 9781837290499).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, authors of What Happened to Your Hair?: How We Played Loud... Loved Proud... and Never Backed Down... Together (Permuted Press, $35, 9798888451021).

Today: Mel Robbins, author of The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About (Hay House, $15, 9798349681455).

Apple TV has revealed the premiere date and shared a sneak peek (via Variety) at its upcoming series Margo's Got Money Troubles, based on the bestselling novel by Rufi Thorpe. Starring and executive produced by Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, the eight-episode series will premiere globally on April 15, 2026 with three episodes, followed by a new one each Wednesday through May 20. 

The cast also includes Nick Offerman, Thaddea Graham, Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Rico Nasty, and Lindsey Normington. The project is from A24 and David E. Kelley, who serves as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Dearbhla Walsh directs the pilot and will be an executive producer. Additional directors include Kate Herron and Alice Seabright.

The story: "Margo's Got Money Troubles is a bold, heartwarming and comedic family drama following recent college dropout and aspiring writer, Margo (Fanning), the daughter of an ex-Hooter's waitress (Pfeiffer), and ex-pro wrestler (Offerman), as she's forced to make her way with a new baby, a mounting pile of bills and a dwindling amount of ways to pay them." 

In addition to the bookish Golden Globe Award nominations mentioned here yesterday, Amanda Seyfried was nominated for Best Actress Musical or Comedy for The Testament of Ann Lee, which is based on Mother Ann Lee, Morning Star of the Shakers by Nardi Reeder Campion, published by Brandeis University Press.

Natch by Darrell Kinsey (University of Iowa Press) has won the $15,000 Center for Fiction 2025 First Novel Prize. The Center said, "Set in the foothills of north Georgia, Natch tells the story of a tree cutter, nicknamed Natch, whose solitary lifestyle is upended when he meets--and falls in love with--Asha, an alluring woman who works the nightshift at a convenience store."

One of the judges, Adam Haslett, said, "In this year's winner, Natch, readers will discover a work of art that renders in clear-sighted, almost crystalline prose a world few of us have visited, and fewer still have understood with the acumen and love Darrell Kinsey displays on nearly every page. Like all great fiction, it's both a pleasure and an education."

---

Aaron Williams won the C$10,000 (about US$7,230) Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction for his book The Last Logging Show: A Forestry Family at the End of an Era (Harbour Publishing). Administered Wilfrid Laurier University, the annual prize "recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second work of creative nonfiction with a Canadian locale or significance," Quill & Quire reported.

Harry Froklage, one of the judges, said Williams "has written a book about such a community. The Last Logging Show is a compelling chronicle of the lives of loggers and their families as their rugged way of life is endangered by global economics, environmental activism and the assertion of sovereignty over their own resources by Haida Gwaii's Indigenous people. As a logger's son who has abandoned the logger's life, Williams presents a nuanced, often very funny, examination of a divisive topic through the voices of those who have lived their lives in the diminishing shadow of old growth forests."

Martin Bauman, also a Halifax journalist, was the other finalist this year for his book Hell of a Ride: Chasing Home and Survival on a Bicycle Voyage Across Canada (Pottersfield Press). An award ceremony for Williams will be held on April 1, 2026.

photo: Courtney Molyneaux

Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author, illustrator, and artist who has received numerous awards for her books, which include My Friend May, recently published by Greystone, a "true story about a big black cat who started out gray." We All Love, a companion picture book to Flett's 2021 We All Play, will be published by Greystone in February 2026.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

We All Love: Flowers communicating through molecules, turtles dancing to magnetic fields, stars and music through math and story, mama bears rescuing cubs, and shrews navigating their way.

On your nightstand now: 

There's always a pile of fiction and nonfiction to choose from. Right now it's No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh; The Cree Word for Love: Sâkihitowin by Tracey Lindberg and illustrated by George Littlechild; Portrait of a Body by Julie Delporte; Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto and illustrated by Ann Xu; Indigenous Poetics in Canada, edited by Neal McLeod; and Starting Point: 1979-1996 by Hayao Miyazaki. I recently finished rereading Ways of Seeing by John Berger, which I passed on to my son for his nightstand (we also watched the series together recently).

Favorite book when you were a child: 

Picture books: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and The Owl and the Woodpecker by Brian Wildsmith. I loved Ant and Bee and the Secret by Angela Banner and Frederick by Leo Lionni because I loved little imagined worlds with little creatures. And Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.

I wasn't much of a reader until later but Watership Down by Richard Adams and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett both factor in.

Your top five authors:

This is almost impossible but here's a start:

Maria Campbell, Louise Erdrich, Tarō Gomi, Ezra Jack Keats, and Annie Pootoogook (visual narrative artist).

Books you would take to that proverbial desert island: 

It would be great to watch the sky with Wilfred Buck's Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories. I would bring the Tao Te Ching, the works of Louise Erdrich and Mary Oliver, and Moccasin Square Gardens: Short Stories by Richard Van Camp. Also, anything by Rumi and Rilke, a sketchbook, and some of the books "I wouldn't part with" listed below. I'd be set.

Book you've faked reading:

I wouldn't say I've faked reading books. It's more that there are some I picked up with good intentions but never quite made it to the end.

Book you're an evangelist for:

A Bubble by artist and musician Geneviève Castrée. I always have this one propped open and upright on my bookshelf. This was her last work, it was for her daughter and for the love of doing what she loved, drawing and making. I love her work and this one in particular holds so much tenderness for everything and everyone she loved. 

Also kâ-pî-isi-kiskisiyân / The Way I Remember by Solomon Ratt, who calls for others to "breathe life back into Cree language and culture."

Books you've bought for the cover:

Arctic Dreams and Nightmares by Alootook Ipellie: this is a book I found in a secondhand bookshop years ago. Beautiful ink drawings and short stories. 

Jillian Tamaki's classic Penguin Threads series: Black Beauty, Emma, and The Secret Garden. Stunning. 

Books that changed your life:

Franz Kafka, in particular his short story The Bridge; Half Breed by Maria Campbell; Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein; and the works of Matsuo Bashō.

Favorite line from a book: 

That's hard to pare down but I keep these two close by.

"So you see, once a person drops the scales of prejudiced certainty and doubts appear, there is no telling how far a heart can open." --Louise Erdrich, Four Souls

"The highest human purpose is always to reinvent and celebrate the sacred." --N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain

Five books you'll never part with:

Arctic Dreams and Nightmares by Alootook Ipellie; Ruth Asawa: All Is Possible organized by Helen Molesworth; I Heard the Drums by Allen Sapp; I Really Want to See You, Grandma by Tarō Gomi; Itee Pootoogook: Hymns to the Silence, written by Nancy Campbell, works by Itee Pootoogook; C.G. Jung and the Sioux Traditions by Vine Deloria, Jr. 

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

I Really Want to See You, Grandma by Tarō Gomi. It's good for the heart and I'd be so happy to read it--for the first time--to a little audience of kids and grandparents.

Book that made you want to become a writer:

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Halfbreed by Maria Campbell.

Nani and the Lion, a story that celebrates courage, community, and the irrepressible force of self-expression, pulses with warmth and musicality. Set in a village shadowed by fear of a ferocious lion, the story, written by Alicia D. Williams (Genesis Begins Again) and illustrated by Anna Cunha (A Story About Afiya, with James Berry), strikes a memorable rhythm between tension and joy, silence and sound.

In this village, everyone tiptoes, for the lion dislikes noise. Animals stay silent; villagers whisper. Yet young Nani cannot resist her drum, whose beats speak "the beautiful language of all the animals." Williams's text carries a percussive energy of its own. Lines hum with rhythm and repetition as Nani treks "to the far-far-farthest part of the village" joyfully playing her drum. Onomatopoeic play enlivens each page, with the "BA-DUMP-BUMP-BUM" of Nani's drums, the "croak-croak gurgles of guttural toads," and "chirp-chirp greetings of bronzy sunbirds." This musical language mirrors Nani's defiant joy, turning sound into her source of strength. Williams also layers the narrative with moments of lyrical description ("mountains kissed the sky" and the lion's mane beaming "as boldly as the sun") that lend the story a poetic quality. When Nani finally drums for the lion, the confrontation transforms into communion: the beast cannot resist the rhythm, dancing until he collapses at Nani's feet in contented exhaustion. Nani's act of bravery is not a triumph over the lion but a turning of fear into understanding through music.

Cunha's illustrations amplify the story's pulse. Expressive sweeps of red, blue, and copper evoke heat, movement, and sound, while playful typography--such as the letters of the lion's "RAWR!" scattered in bold, uneven sizes across the page--gives voice to the noise that defines Nani's world. The compositions balance expanses of open landscapes with intimate character focuses: the small brown-skinned, rosy-cheeked girl standing firm before the golden lion, hands on hips. Cunha tempers any sense of menace, rendering the lion expressive rather than terrifying, ensuring that the story's driving force remains exuberant rather than alarming. Williams's musical prose invites readers to feel the beat as much as read it, and Cunha's dynamic artwork visualizes that beat in color and shape. The result is a picture book that reminds readers, in every beat, that joy and courage share the same rhythm. Like the flowers blooming from Nani's drum on the title page, her music transforms fear into beauty. --Julie Danielson

Shelf Talker: Nani and the Lion, told with rhythm and joy, celebrates courage and resilience in the face of fear.

The following were the most popular book club books during November based on votes from book club readers in more than 93,000 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Doubleday)
2. The Correspondent: A Novel by Virginia Evans (Crown)
3. The Wedding People: A Novel by Alison Espach (Holt)
4. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (Simon & Schuster)
5. The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (Gallery Books)
6. The Briar Club: A Novel by Kate Quinn (Morrow)
7. The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick (Harper Muse)
8. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead)
9. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (Atria)
10. Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (Grand Central) 

Rising Stars:
I See You've Called in Dead: A Novel by John Kenney (Zibby Publishing)
The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple (hardcover: Black Rose Writing; paperback: Union Square & Co.)