Bookstore Sales Up 3.4% in August, First Gain of Year
August bookstore sales rose 3.4%, to $1.69 billion, compared to August 2013, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau. This marked the first jump in sales this year in any month over the comparable month last year. For the year so far, bookstore sales have fallen 5.3%, to $7.5 billion. Total retail sales in August rose 3.3%, to $455.6 billion, compared to the same period a year ago. For the year to date, total retail sales have risen 3.7%, to $3,333 billion.
Note: under Census Bureau definitions, the bookstore category consists of "establishments primarily engaged in retailing a general line of new books. These establishments may also sell stationery and related items, second-hand books, and magazines."
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Founded by Dave Eggers in 1998, 
Following the announcement that Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Knopf, which published the novel here, has gone back to print for another 53,000 copies. The title was already in a fifth printing.
The GBO described the book this way: "In this rollicking novel, 96-year-old ornithologist Luka Levadski forgoes treatment for lung cancer and moves from Ukraine to Vienna to make a grand exit in a luxury suite at the Hotel Imperial. He reflects on his past while indulging in Viennese cakes and savoring music in a gilded concert hall. Levadski was born in 1914, the same year that Martha--the last of the now-extinct passenger pigeons--died. Levadski himself has an acute sense of being the last of a species. He may have devoted much of his existence to studying birds, but now he befriends a hotel butler and another elderly guest, who also doesn't have much time left, to share in the lively escapades of his final days. This gloriously written tale, in which Levadski feels 'his heart pounding at the portals of his brain,' mixes piquant wit with lofty musings about life, friendship, aging and death."
Make & Give: Simple and Modern Crafts to Brighten Every Day
The life of Jerry Lee "The Killer" Lewis is so much more than his signature hard-rocking, stand-up piano performance of "Great Balls of Fire!" and boffing his 13-year-old child-bride cousin. It's the story of a consummate performer with a knack for knowing the next big thing and the talent to capitalize on it. Of course, his seven marriages, taste for whiskey and guns, flirtation with death, flamboyant concerts and scandalous evangelist cousin Jimmy Swaggart haven't hurt his celebrity and fortune nor prevented his early induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
With Halloween fast approaching, Shelf Awareness has put together a selective list of scary books--fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, kids' books and young adult titles, frontlist as well as backlist. This list is not meant to be exhaustive; it was compiled from the recommendations of many of our bookseller friends and represents their diverse tastes and interests. 
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi (Norton, $16.95, 9780393322231). In Helter Skelter, Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecuting attorney in the Charles Manson case, tells the story behind the Manson family murders and Charles Manson's desert cult. The justification for putting the book on this list was simple: "Nothing that scary should be real," said Mysterious Galaxy's Christine Van Such.
The Other Side by Lacy Johnson (Tin House Books, $15.95, 9781935639831). More than a decade ago, Lacy Johnson was kidnapped by an abusive ex-lover. He imprisoned her in a soundproof room, intending to keep her and rape her there until she died. Johnson eventually escaped, and now, years later, has written about the experience. "Scary, yes, and not easy to read, but we do know that the author escaped and survived to tell the compelling and insightful story," said Jesica DeHart from Bookpeople of Moscow.
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhaut and Sara Corbett (Scribner, $16, 9781451645613). In her 2013 memoir, Lindhaut, who backpacked through Latin America and much of Asia before beginning a career as a television reporter in the Middle East, recalls her 460-day captivity at the hands of a group of kidnappers in Somalia. Lindhaut's descriptions of that time are harrowing and unflinching. Recommended by the booksellers at Parnassus Books.
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (Margaret K. McElderry Books, $21.99, 9781442465954). Through the Woods is a collection of five graphic stories--the webcomic hit "His Face All Read" plus four original tales. "If you're squeamish or easily spooked, maybe you should keep the lights on; this book will make you shiver," said Molly Templeton of WORD Bookstores. "In her debut graphic short story collection, Carroll melds art, fairy tales, and fear into a perfect witching hour read."
Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët, translated by Helge Dascher (Drawn and Quarterly, $22.95, 9781770461291). The beautiful watercolors of artist Kerascoët belie the darkness at the core of this French graphic novel. Although Beautiful Darkness looks as though it's meant for children, it is anything but. "Like many fairy tales, it starts off pleasantly enough, with a prince and princess, then quickly darkens, with blood, guts, death, and cannibalism," said Carol Spurling.
Heap House: The Iremonger Trilogy: Book One by Edward Carey (Overlook, $16.99, 9781468309539). Heap House tells the story of Clod, a young Iremonger who lives in an alternate world made up of London's lost and discarded artifacts called the Heaps. After a young girl arrives in the Heaps from London, Clod begins to discover some dark, scary truths about the world in which he lives. This book was recommended by a member of Bookpeople of Moscow's Kids Advisory Board, who said: "It was hilarious, odd, suspenseful, and unlike all the other books. It has dark mysterious drawings that spooked you. It was great."
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Ember, $9.99, 9780375843297). This young adult novel is about a boy named Jeremy Johnson Johnson who lives in a fairy tale town called Never Better and is watched over by the ghost of Jacob Grimm. After a young girl eats a bewitched cake and falls in love with him, Jeremy begins to learn of the evil lurking in Never Better. A modern take on fairy tales and a National Book Award finalist, Far Far Away was recommended by Bear Pond Books.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (Scholastic, 9780590431972). Schwartz's classic collection was recommended by both Parnassus Books and Bear Pond Books. The stories themselves are scary enough, especially when read out loud, and the iconic illustrations add an extra level of creepy.