"Which brings me to Amazon. I do indeed like it if I know what it is that I want to buy. Various bits and pieces of electronics have been purchased over the years. But I find it an intensely irritating way to buy a book. Cheap, yes, convenient, most assuredly, but intensely irritating. For I'm almost never going out to buy a book that I know that I want to read. I am, rather, browsing to try and find one that I do want to read.... And try as I might I cannot gain that same experience from Amazon, the recommendation engine (at least the level of my knowledge about the actual use of computers) doesn't manage to replicate that experience."

World Book Night U.S. is adding three titles to its offerings for World Book Night 2014: Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.S. Simon (Candlewick), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (Amulet/Abrams) and The Raven's Warrior by Vincent Pratchett (YMAA Publications). The number of books to be printed to be given away will total 550,000. The three new titles will be added to the 35 picks that were announced on October 23, five more than in previous years.

WBN U.S. executive director Carl Lennertz commented: "Sadly, the call for books for at-risk teens across the country is growing, from underfunded schools to foster homes to tutoring programs, but it's encouraging that our givers are seeing that need and want to reach out with a book. We had to move fast and get publisher approval to bump up the printings on the current YAs, which they did. Thank you! The applications from givers are so strong we added three titles. I didn't have time to go back to the voting committee, so I went through the long list ballot and ALA top 10 listings, and thankfully, Abrams, Candlewick and YMAA agreed to a title each right away, as did the authors, who have all waived royalties and agreed to take part in the 30 simultaneous April 22 WBN launch events across the country. A quick shout-out to Angela Bole of IBPA, who got me in touch with YMAA."

Across the pond, World Book Night U.K. and Ireland has announced the 20 titles that will be given away in the British Isles April 23, 2014. The list includes some titles by U.S. authors, including Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith, Theodore Boone by John Grisham, Black Hills by Nora Roberts and Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

As part of its plan to begin expanding service to 24 hours a day in 2015, Transport for London, which runs the Underground system, is talking with Amazon "about converting its ticket offices--which will be closed in favour of automatic ticket machines--to 'drop-off' points for its goods," Fortune reported. The magazine offered no details about the possible Amazon program.

Underground ticket offices now account for only 3% of ticket sales, in large part because of the popularity of the automated Oyster card. The ticket office closures would lead to the net loss of some 750 jobs, which unions intend to contest.

Mayor Boris Johnson said the move to 24-hour service "will be hugely valuable to London's economy, which is increasingly a 24-hour economy, interacting with time zones around the world."

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Amazon announced plans to open a warehouse in Windsor, Conn., that will have a million square feet of space. The warehouse is being subsidized by the town, which is just north of Hartford, with a 60% tax abatement over five years and a 50% reduction in building permit fees, which the Hartford Courant said will save Amazon, which is valued by Wall Street at about $170 billion, some $3.9 million during the five years. The town will receive about $6.2 million in taxes and fees over the same period.

Amazon began collecting sales tax in Connecticut on November 1.

Inspire!, a four-day Toronto International Book Fair, will make its debut next November at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Plans for the event "have taken shape with the breathtaking speed of an amusement-park ride," the Star reported. "News of the fair's launch comes just three months after the release of a feasibility study, funded by the Ontario Media Development Corp., which raised the tantalizing prospect of a reimagined Toronto book fair after six years without one."

Steven Levy, a "master of big consumer trade shows, showcasing the worlds of fashion, design, real estate and crafts," has partnered in the venture with Rita Davies, former executive director of culture for the city, and publisher John Calabro of Quattro Books, according to the Star. Levy noted that while the show partially fills a gap left by the demise of BookExpo Canada, Inspire! will be 80% public and about 20% publishing industry insiders.

"In Toronto we have a large audience with a serious interest in both print and digital subjects," he said. "And we have a highly diversified society, with many different languages and cultures. Our challenge is to create a number of unique events that will be entertaining and educational, and engage this audience."

Matthew Zoni has joined the American Booksellers Association as ABC Children's Group manager and will be the association's "point-person for children's booksellers and, working closely with other ABA staff members, will oversee the management of the ABC Group's programs," according to Bookselling This Week.

Zoni formerly worked at Barnes & Noble for 13 years in New York City, holding various positions, including frontline bookseller and community relations manager, where, among other things, he maintained relationships with local schools, arranged school field trips to the bookstore and acted as a liaison to literacy organizations that partnered with B&N to provide free books to underserved populations.

Zoni can be reached at 800-637-0037, ext. 7551, or at matthew@bookweb.org.

Author and journalist Herbert Mitgang, "whose wide-ranging work included Abraham Lincoln biographies and an exposé [Dangerous Dossiers: Exposing the Secret War Against America's Greatest Authors] of the FBI's bulging files on America's most renowned writers," died yesterday, the New York Times reported. He was 93. For many years, he was the Times's book publishing correspondent and a daily book critic.

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John Egerton, "known for his writing on the earliest stirrings of the civil rights movement, Southern food and other topics," died yesterday, the Tennessean reported. He was 78. Egerton's books included Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South, which won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, and Southern Food: At Home, on the Road, in History.

Mary Grey James of Parnassus Books, Nashville, said Egerton was "beloved by the book community for his wealth of knowledge about all things Southern and his accessibility and willingness to share that knowledge."

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Scottish journalist, biographer and author Andro Linklater, who "chronicled the enormous impact on civilization of private property" in numerous books, including Measuring America and The Fabric of America, died November 3, the Guardian reported. He was 68.

Ray Russell, founder of British independent publisher Tartarus Press, told the story of his Mild Case of Bibliomania and how it led to his becoming a publisher in a YouTube video. TeleRead noted that, "ironically for a publisher who produces some marvelously high-quality and reasonably-priced e-books of dark fiction and horror, he is a complete devotee of the printed word, with a book collection that needs to be seen to be believed."

In London, a new public art project is underway that will place BookBenches, shaped like open volumes, across the city. The Bookseller reported that beginning next July, the BookBenches "will be designed by international and local artists, and aim to promote reading for enjoyment and to celebrate stories linked to the capital." Titles represented include Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt, J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Kenneth Graeme's Wind in the Willows. The project, supported by Visit England, will help raise money for the National Literacy Trust.

"We are delighted to be launching Books about Town to spread the love of reading across the capital," said Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust. "This is such an exciting opportunity for businesses to be a part of this unique literary attraction set to hit the streets of London next summer."

"Home to two literary festivals, busy book fairs, clubs and writer after writer," as well as "a town where people queue for poetry," Kraków, Poland was recently named a UNESCO City of Literature, the Guardian reported, adding that the city "lives and breathes literature. No city could be more eminently qualified for the UNESCO title.... It's hard to imagine how it can add to its existing plethora of literary events: it hosts two annual international literary festivals, a book fair, and any number of poetry readings; it is home to the Polish Book Institute--a superb public organization which exists to promote Polish literature at home and abroad. It's also home to several publishing houses, from old and traditional to young and ground-breaking."

Kraków "is the best place to indulge in a bookshop crawl--even the passageway under the station platforms is lined with secondhand book stalls--and the English-language Massolit bookshop, café and venue is a book-lover's dream," the Guardian wrote.

Russell Perreault has been promoted to v-p, executive director of publicity & social media, at Vintage Anchor. He has been with Random House for more than 20 years, the last 13 as director of publicity for Vintage Anchor.

Kate Runde has been promoted to director of publicity at Vintage Anchor. She joined Vintage Anchor in 2004 as a publicity assistant, leaving briefly to work at Picador, and then returned in 2007 as a senior publicist.

The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story Limited Edition, a graphic novel by by Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson with Kyle Baker (Dark Horse).

Tomorrow on NPR's Weekend Edition: Clint Hill, author of Five Days in November (Gallery, $30, 9781476731490). He'll also be on Face the Nation on Sunday.

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Sunday on NPR's Weekend Edition: David Harris-Gershon, author of What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife?: A Memoir (Oneworld Publications, $17.95, 9781851689965).

A new U.K. trailer and poster are out for The Invisible Woman, starring Ralph Fiennes (who also directed) and Felicity Jones as Charles Dickens and his mistress Nelly Ternan, Indiewire noted. The film opens December 25.

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New images from Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the book by Jordan Belfort, "give us a slightly different look at some scenes that we've already seen, whether it's Leonardo DiCaprio giving Kyle Chandler a hard time on his yacht or Scorsese giving Margot Robbie and DiCaprio some direction while laying on some pink carpet," Indiewire wrote. The movie opens Christmas day.

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Also on the Christmas Day release slate is Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, adapted from James Thurber's short story. Indiewire noted that a new clip shows "how trying to operate his eHarmony account turns into a daring rescue mission all from the comfort of a subway station."

FX has put in development a six-hour miniseries based on Ron Hansen's novel Desperadoes. Deadline.com reported that the project, produced by Fox TV Studios, is written by actor-writer-producer Robert Knott, who also authored the bestselling novel Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse and has a second Parker novel, Bull River, scheduled for a January release.

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The CW network and CBS TV Studios are developing The Painted Girls, based on the novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Deadline.com reported that Tony-nominated playwright Geoffrey Nauffts (Next Fall) will write the adaptation and co-executive produce with Dan Jinks (Pushing Daisies, Emily Owens, M.D.).

Penn Jillette is one half of Penn & Teller, the world-famous magic act who headline at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. He is the author of God No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales and the novel Sock; and co-author, with Teller, of Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends; Penn and Teller's How to Play with Your Food; and Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic. His latest book is Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday!: More Magical Tales from the Bestselling Author of God, No! (Plume, October 29, 2013). In his spare time, he has made countless TV and film appearances, produced the movie The Aristocrats and been a guest on Dancing with the Stars and The Celebrity Apprentice. He lives with his family in Las Vegas.

On your nightstand now:

It's an iPad, so all of what I'm reading is on it. Always Moby Dick and the Bible. There's also Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature; Tenth of December by George Saunders; and Collins and Skover's Mania. 

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I don't remember any real children's books--I guess Make Way for Ducklings. 

Your top five authors:

Melville, Nicholson Baker, Christopher Hitchens, Samuel Beckett, Nabokov.

Book you've faked reading:

Anything by James Joyce.

Book you're an evangelist for:

God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens.

Book you've bought for the cover:

All the James Bond books when I was young.

Book that changed your life:

Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

Favorite line from a book:

I've got two:

"Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian." --from Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

"Personally of course I regret everything.
Not a word, not a deed, not a thought, not a need,
not a grief, not a joy, not a girl, not a boy,
not a doubt, not a trust, not a scorn, not a lust,
not a hope, not a fear, not a smile, not a tear,
not a name, not a face, no time, no place...that I do not regret, exceedingly.
An ordure, from beginning to end."
    --From Watt by Samuel Beckett

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

The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. I was blown away the first time.

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

Hardcovers
Two Prospectors: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark, edited by Chad Hammett (University of Texas Press, $35, 9780292735828). "With photos, facsimiles, and full texts, this volume of correspondence between playwright and actor Shepard and his former father-in-law and close friend, Dark, is as multifaceted as the voices and lives of its principals. Since Shepard has said he won't write a memoir, this spirited 40-plus year correspondence may well be the closest we will get to the playwright's perspective on his own life and work. It is fitting that this insight comes in the form of an adventurous and frank dialogue with another man; like many of Shepard's plays, the complex relationship between two men is at the heart of this collection. Similarly apt is the book's title, which the editor took from a play Shepard and Dark wrote together but that, like their long friendship, remains unfinished." --Laurie Greer, Politics and Prose Bookstore and Coffee House, Washington, D.C.

The Cartographer of No Man's Land: A Novel by P.S. Duffy (Liveright, $25.95, 9780871403766). "The Great War has inspired great literature and this novel takes its place in the ranks of unforgettable World War I novels. A pacifist, Angus finds himself at the front while searching for his brother-in-law and discovers that he must not only confront the horrors of combat but also every value he holds. At home, a Canadian fishing village is also being devastated by the results of the war. Duffy deftly portrays the total destruction wrought by combat. A powerful and poignant debut." --Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Paperback
Monument Road: A Novel by Charlie Quimby (Torrey House Press/Consortium, $16.95, 9781937226251). "A taciturn, ornery man grieving the loss of his wife plans to release her ashes off a spectacular cliff, which she loved, and fling himself off after her. Various interruptions ensue, however, and while driving he revisits decisions, beliefs, and relationships, all with some regrets and some surprises. This novel is remarkable for the layers of meaning inherent in the stories that evolve. Fear, risk, religion, connection, and the landscape all resonate in ways both beautiful and dangerous. The debut of an author with a deft touch and the ability to create a story that is rich and lasting." --Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, Calif.

For Teen Readers
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 9780062207296). "With an impressive mix of magic, adventure, joviality, and romance, Thomas throws her characters--and the reader--immediately into danger with the 'simple' act of fixing a spell gone wrong. Magic flies loose and fast through the pages as Iolanthe Seabourne and Prince Titus fight both with each other and toward their goal of destroying the Bane, the ruler of Atlantis and despicable villain. In the meantime, there's cricket to learn, disguises to maintain, and dragons to slay. Full of fairy tales and damsels who are certainly not in distress, this first book in the Elemental Trilogy is chock full of marvelous storytelling and clever twists. As the prologue states--expect magic!" --Annie Carl, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Part, Wash.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Book clubs, take note: it's not every day you find a story as moving, thoughtful and discussion-provoking as Kathryn Craft's The Art of Falling.

After falling from the 14th story of an apartment building, Penelope Sparrow wakes up in a hospital bed, unable to move and with no memory of the accident. Recently squeezed out of the modern dance company that had once looked like her big break, Penny isn't sure if she fell or if, seized by the impulse to destroy her too-big-to-conform body, she jumped. Her mother and doctors firmly believe the latter, and Penny's recuperation progresses from critical care to a few days in the hospital psych ward.

First, however, she makes an odd pair of new friends: Marty Kandelbaum, the baker who saw her land, and Angela Reed, a 29-year-old cystic fibrosis patient with a zest for life but little time left to live it. During her recovery, Marty and Angela become Penny's lifeline to the world beyond the artistic community that rejected her because her talent came with a body too tall and powerful to fit expectations. However, despite the dance industry's frequent snubs, Penny knows that the motion of her body expressed most fully in dance has always given her life meaning. How can she leave dance behind?

As Penny's journey progresses from regaining a full range of motion to wondering if she might one day dance again, she must finally face older problems, such as the fear of becoming as overweight as her mother, a fear that's kept her from fully assuaging her hunger for years. Throughout her journey back to health and self-knowledge, Penny also has to contend with dance critic Margaret MacArthur, an irritatingly persistent journalist who wants to tell Penny's story in an exposé of the prejudice against diverse body types in dance.

Craft's experience as both a dancer and a critic help her tell Penny's story without damning either the artistic community or Penny's actions. Industry expectations of female dancers hurt Penny's self-image and confidence, but self-consciousness causes Penny to undervalue herself and causes her to make questionable career choices. Craft shows readers a vicious cycle prevalent in all artistic careers, not just dance. At the same time, her ability to capture the glory of human motion exemplified in modern dance imbues Penny's voice with a joy that keeps the reader cheering her on in her fight to find her path. --Jaclyn Fulwood

Shelf Talker: Craft's debut novel introduces readers to a dancer struggling to rebuild herself after a 14-story fall (or jump?) nearly takes her life.

"Was Black Friday a Bookselling Myth?" I asked last week. Everyone has said yes. On reflection, I suspect my haunted memories are linked to the fact that the bookstore where I worked was located in a tourist town full of upscale shopping outlets. What I imagined as Black Friday throngs may well have been shoppers who wandered in either by mistake or seeking retail refuge.

"Black Friday was never our biggest sales day of the year," said Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books stores in southern Florida, the Cayman Islands and New York. "It's always been like a very busy Saturday. Having a more urban store, I've found the real busy places were the malls, the suburban malls. Traditionally, going all the way back 30 years, our biggest days were always the few days right before Christmas. Small Business Saturday has changed the dynamic somewhat. We get a very big bump on that day and it outsells Black Friday for us."

Daniel Goldin, owner of Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis., agreed, noting that he did not recall Black Friday "being as important at the bookstore as it was elsewhere. For my first floor experiences, I was at a downtown bookstore when most of the shopping had migrated to the suburbs, and most of our customers weren't working. So it was a steady but not particularly crazy day. It's a price-driven day and even when we tried to compete in that arena, we simply weren't price-driven enough for the folks that make a sport of it."

At Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kans., COO Roger Doeren observed: "Every day is just as important as any other day. The week after Christmas is normal because we are conscientious about our accurate reading recommendations for gift giving. So, the week after Christmas we have many more gift card redemptions and very few exchanges or returns. No horror stories to tell. Like Halloween, it's all treats and no tricks at Rainy Day Books! If a business is so dependent on seasonal sales to 'make it or break it,' then they might want to rethink their business model."

Just when my Black Friday myth seemed utterly demystified, Chuck Robinson, co-owner of Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., offered a ray of hope, noting that "it has seemed harder over the years to ignore Black Friday, as the media has made a bigger and bigger story of it and apparently convinced folks of its importance. I sometimes fear the expectation is set that folks should shop on Black Friday and they consequently spend a large portion of their allocated holiday budget on that day, leaving less for the rest of the season. Now, with the addition of Cyber Monday and stores opening on Thanksgiving Day, the rush for the retail dollars has escalated."

To counter this trend, about three years ago the bookstore launched a pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday special deal: "We began offering a $5 gift certificate with each $25 a person spent in the store that day--exclusive to our e-newsletter recipients," Robinson said. "While, at first glance, that may seem like a 20% discount, it's not. The store receives the full $25 for the retail sale and gives the customer a $5 gift certificate, the cost of which is the cost of goods for which the customer redeems the certificate--usually no more than $3 at cost, which they will spend on another purchase. If that purchase is for $25 retail, they pay $20 and surrender the certificate. They have now purchased $50 worth of books or other items and have tendered $45 in cash for a total of a 10% on a larger sale."

Although the concept has worked well, he added: "What will happen with Thanksgiving Day opening of stores is hard to predict, but whatever it is I doubt that Black Friday will take on any greater significance for bookstore owners."

Recalling that "in days of yore before the chains, Black Friday was indeed a good day but never close to the Saturday before Christmas or the Saturday before that," Anne Holman, co-owner of the King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, said when indie booksellers "started to talk about Local First issues and launched a huge education initiative about these issues, our community responded well. Our sales began to rise again and it's continued to be above average.

"Adding Small Business Saturday seemed to electrify the buying public. The first SBS was great and the second was as big a sales day as any in December. This year the combo of Indies First and SBS will, we're convinced, take us to new levels in terms of the importance of locally-owned indies for authors and the public, as well as sales numbers (in Salt Lake anyway)."

And nationwide as well, I suspect. My Black Friday bookselling myth now stands corrected. But just in case it does get a little crazy out there next week, I'll leave you with this backup plan: "Katniss Everdeen’s guide to Black Friday shopping." --Robert Gray, contributing editor