In the first quarter ended March 31, net sales at Amazon rose 28.2%, to $29.1 billion, and net income was $513 million, compared to a net loss of $57 million in the same period in 2015. This was Amazon's most profitable quarter ever, and the results far surpassed analysts' expectations. As a result, in after-hours trading, Amazon stock jumped about $75 a share, or 12%, to $675. As Quartz pointed out, the gain increased Amazon's market value by $35 billion in less than 15 minutes.

The gain was largely attributable to growth in Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing division whose sales rose 64% to $2.57 billion and whose earnings accounted for two-thirds of Amazon's profits in the quarter. As the Wall Street Journal observed: "In other words, AWS is supporting Amazon's sprawling, 20-year-old business that spends billions of dollars in an effort to upend traditional brick-and-mortar retail by providing customers nearly everything imaginable in as quickly as one hour."

The New York Times had a similar take, observing that "cloud computing is also much more profitable than Amazon's North American retail business, which runs on thinner margins, and its international retail business, which runs at a loss."

And while noting that "the numbers are great for Amazon," Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru told USA Today: "Overall the company still has economics that aren't as strong as other public retailers and are much worse than other established technology companies. That will be their challenge to overcome in the years forward."

The company predicted that in the second quarter net sales will be between $28 billion and $30.5 billion, up 21%-32% compared to the second quarter last year.

The American Booksellers Association has named the 53 booksellers who will be attending this year's ABC Children's Institute in Orlando, Fla., on scholarship, Bookselling This Week reported. The awards cover the conference fee, a two-night stay at the host hotel, and up to $400 in travel expenses to the June 21-23 event at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International. They are funded by Baker & Taylor, the event's lead sponsor; 38 publisher sponsors; and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

Senior program officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger said, "We extend sincere thanks to all the sponsors of the fourth ABC Children's Institute. Because of their generosity and ongoing commitment to children's bookselling, more than 50 ABA members will join with their bookselling colleagues from around the country at the outstanding educational program we have planned for this June."

Bel & Bunna's Books children's bookstore will open in Lafayette, Calif., by the end of May, Bookselling This Week reported, adding that the "823-square-foot store, which replaces a florist's shop in Lafayette's downtown shopping district, will carry books for children ages 0 to 18 in a friendly environment that will feature bean bag chairs, Lego tables, a story time seating area bordered by windows, and furnishings from the former Storyteller Bookstore, the only other children's bookstore in the small affluent city of 25,000 people for 30 years, until it closed in 2015."

Owner Clare McNeill said Bel & Bunna's will feature bright colors "and will have multicolored chandeliers on the ceilings with multicolored bunting going across. The plan is to have it be light and airy so you don't feel closed in by the books, but you still feel surrounded by them."

McNeill, who had worked in the information technology field since the 1990s, is now following her true passion for books and children's literacy. She said "the amount of support and enthusiasm I've had from people locally and from booksellers across the country has been amazing, absolutely incredible. I think there is a real resurgence in people wanting to read actual physical books and sniff the paper, and more than anything, they want their children to do it, too."

"I am so passionate about this, I really am," she added. "I've never been as passionate about anything in my life. Having children read and encouraging them to read is so fundamental. I'm an example of somebody who somehow stumbled her way into following her dream and her passion."

Nikki Griffiths is the new managing director of Melville House U.K., succeeding Zeljka Marosevic, who left the company to become co-publisher at Daunt Books earlier this month, the Bookseller reported. Griffiths, who will be based in the company's London headquarters, was previously head of publishing at Hesperus Press, and has also worked at Random House, Profile Books and Granta Books.

"Nikki was the first person we asked to run Melville House U.K. back in 2013, but she had a mega-bestseller just breaking--The Hundred-Year-Old Man--and so our timing then wasn't fortuitous," said Melville House co-publisher Dennis Johnson. "But we're thrilled to finally hook up with her now. An experienced company head who's savvy at acquisitions, production, sales and marketing, her skill-set is formidable."

Griffiths said she is "incredibly proud to have joined the Melville House team, extending our reach in the U.K. The list is exciting and diverse and I look forward to contributing to the future of such a vibrant and respected independent."

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation has launched its second annual Campaign to Sustain. Binc reported that last year, 49 contributors pledged to become monthly sustaining donors and this "ongoing funding has ensured that bookseller assistance programs such as serious medical expenses, domestic violence, homelessness prevention and funeral expenses will continue to be provided by the foundation."

To celebrate the organization's 20th anniversary this year, Binc has set the goal of adding another 50 sustaining donors during the month of May. "To mark this milestone we are asking new and current supporters to take our 20 for 20 challenge," said executive director Pam French. "If you are not a sustaining donor. start at $20 a month. If you are a donor, bump your donation up to $20 or add $20 for this year. By becoming a sustaining donor, you are ensuring the safety net is available when a bookseller is in need."

Thus far in 2016, nine booksellers have received grants for situations ranging from loss of income due to disability to disaster assistance after a house fire to homelessness prevention, Binc said, adding that last year it was able to assist 28 booksellers and their families with more than $54,000 in financial assistance. Binc's scholarship program provided higher education scholarships to 53 booksellers or their family members totaling $200,000 in educational assistance.

Jenny Diski, a prolific writer "for whom no subject was taboo" and who "was her own woman on the page, incapable of sounding like anyone else," died yesterday, the Guardian reported. She was 68. The author of novels, short stories, essays, memoirs and travelogues, Diski published 18 books.

Her columns in the London Review of Books "were virtuoso performances," the Guardian noted. "She was original, opinionated and wayward. In the LRB, writing about her diagnosis with inoperable cancer, she brazened it out: 'Under no circumstances is anyone to say that I lost a battle with cancer. Or that I bore it bravely. I am not fighting, losing, winning or bearing.' The columns that followed were collected in In Gratitude (2016). She knew how to use her life as copy, and her self-commentary had a gallantry to it. It required her to take a step back, and write with a willed casualness about her past, as if on the brink of disowning it. 'I start with me and often enough end with me,' she wrote."

Describing Diski as "an extraordinary writer of rare spirit and vision," Peter Straus, her literary agent, told BBC News: "In all her writings spanning 40 years she showed herself to be funny, frank and fearless and she leaves as a legacy a remarkable body of work."

Alexandra Pringle, group editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury, commented: "I had the pleasure of working with Jenny some years ago and we were reunited for her latest book, In Gratitude. She was, to the very end, remarkable to work with--funny, acerbic, clever, demanding and entertaining. Peter Straus and I went to see her a few days before publication. It was wonderful to see her joy at holding the first copy of what we all knew was her final book. As her publishers we are very proud of her achievement."

Lennie Goodings, publisher at Virago, told the Bookseller: "We publish nine of Jenny’s extraordinary books, both novels and nonfiction. Her fiction was fascinating: intelligent and searching and quite unlike other novels. I would say though that her best subject was herself.  Beginning with the astonishing, award-winning Skating to Antarctica, and the three memoirs that followed (Stranger on a Train; On Trying to Keep Still and What I Don’t Know about Animals) she used her own inner life to observe the world and it was always utterly fascinating and surprising--even gripping. I honestly can’t think of another writer like Jenny Diski. Original seems too weak a word for her."

Tulsa Literary Coalition and BookSmart Tulsa founder Jeff Martin was interviewed by TulsaPeople about Magic City Books, his current effort to create an indie bookshop "that aims to bring more authors to the area as well as pop-up shops and events." Among our favorite exchanges:

What is Magic City Books?
Magic City Books is a project of the nonprofit Tulsa Literary Coalition for which I serve as president of the board of directors. We plan to open late 2016 or early 2017 on the corner of Archer and Detroit in the Brady Arts District in a building operated by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

What's the goal of Magic City Books?
Our goal is simple: to foster a love of books, reading and literary culture through events, partnerships, outreach and, yes, a physical bookstore with a curated selection and amazing one-on-one service.

What do you hope the bookstore will bring to Tulsa?
We will continue to bring in a variety of today's best authors on all topics, beginning with our first pop-up event with the one-and-only Stephen King on June 15 at Cain's Ballroom.

If you could pick someone to write the story of your life, who would it be?
Robert Caro. He has spent the past four decades writing a multi-volume biography of President Lyndon B. Johnson. He spends so much time exploring a life, I believe that he has the skill to make even the most average life utterly fascinating.

Effective May 1, Norton will sell and distribute Tilbury House Publishers, Thomaston, Maine, the 40-year-old publisher of children's, nonfiction, literary, New England and maritime titles. Tilbury House has strong sales to librarians and teachers and a growing list of nonfiction picture and early-reader books. The partnership with Norton should, the publisher said, enable it to increase its reach in the trade market for children's books and its development of how-to titles for adult readers.

Norton v-p and sales manager, affiliate publishers, Michael Levatino, commented: "Tilbury House's independent spirit and emphasis on editorial excellence fit well with the Norton sensibility, while aspects of its list, including literary, maritime, and country living titles, call to mind specific elements of our Norton and Countryman offerings. It will be a distinct pleasure to introduce Tilbury House titles to a rapidly expanding market."

Jonathan Eaton and Tristram Coburn, co-publishers of Tilbury House, said that the new relationship with Norton "will allow us to broaden our readership for many of our best-known classic titles while also developing a vibrant new trade audience as our list evolves and becomes more national in scope."

Diana Velasquez has been promoted to senior marketing manager for the Gallery Books Group imprints: Gallery, Pocket, Pocket Star, Threshold Editions, Scout Press, Jeter Publishing and North Star Way.

This trailer for Hurts Like a Mother: A Cautionary Alphabet by Jennifer Weiss and Lauren Franklin (Doubleday) is narrated by Florence Henderson, aka Mrs. Brady. Hurts Like a Mother is an adult picture book that is a parody of Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies.

Today:
Fresh Air: Bruce Eric Kaplan, author of I Was a Child: A Memoir (Blue Rider Press, $16, 9780399183416).

Marketplace: Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller and Paul Solman, authors of Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security (Simon & Schuster, $20, 9781501144769).

Tomorrow:
NPR's Weekend Edition: Don DeLillo, author of Zero K (Scribner, $27, 9781501135392).

Also on Weekend Edition: Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone (Little, Brown, $26, 9780316261357).

NPR's Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me: Lesley Stahl, author of Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Sorrows of the New Grandparenting (Blue Rider Press, $27, 9780399168154).

Sunday:
NPR's Weekend Edition: Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (Scribner, $28, 9781501111105).

The official trailer has been released for Snowden, Oliver Stone's upcoming film adaptation of two books: The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus, a novel by Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's Russian lawyer, Signature reported. The cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in the title role), Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Wilkinson and Zachary Quinto. It is set to hit theaters September 16.

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Tulip Fever, based on Deborah Moggach's novel, "will be blossoming in theaters this summer," Entertainment Weekly reported in featuring "an exclusive look at the first trailer for the Weinstein Company's star-studded period drama." Directed by Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) and adapted by Tom Stoppard, the project stars Dane DeHaan, Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Judi Dench, Matthew Morrison, Cara Delevingne, Jack O'Connell and Zach Galifianakis. Tulip Fever opens in limited release on July 15.

A six-book shortlist has been announced for the £2,016 (about $2,940) Arthur C. Clarke Award for best science fiction novel of the year. The winner will be named August 24 at an award ceremony held in partnership with Foyles. This year's shortlisted titles are:

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Way Down Dark by J.P. Smythe
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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The winners of the James Beard Foundation's book awards are:

Cookbook Hall of Fame: Deborah Madison
Cookbook of the Year: Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking by Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook (Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
American Cooking: The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook by Chris Fischer with Catherine Young (Little, Brown)
Baking and Dessert: Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories and More by Sarah Owens (Roost Books)
Beverage: The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson & Julia Harding (Oxford University Press)
Cooking from a Professional Point of View: NOPI: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi & Ramael Scully (Ten Speed Press)
Focus on Health: Lighten Up, Y'all: Classic Southern Recipes Made Healthy and Wholesome by Virginia Willis (Ten Speed Press)
General Cooking: The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt (Norton)
International: Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking by Michael Solomonov & Steven Cook (Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Photography: Heidi Swanson for Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel (Ten Speed Press)
Reference and Scholarship: The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin (University of Texas Press)
Single Subject: A Bird in the Hand: Chicken Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood by Diana Henry (Mitchell Beazley)
Writing and Literature: Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) by Marion Nestle (Oxford University Press)
Vegetable Focused & Vegetarian: V Is for Vegetables: Inspired Recipes & Techniques for Home Cooks by Michael Anthony (Little, Brown)

photo: Caleb Price

Tirzah Price is a bookseller and children's specialist at Great Lakes Book & Supply in Big Rapids, Mich., and the assistant children's literature editor at Hunger Mountain. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and blogs about YA books, writing and bookselling.

On your nightstand now:

I'm re-reading the Sally Lockhart mysteries by Philip Pullman. I first discovered these books at a tender age in my local library, and they were the first books to show me just how heartless an author could be to his readers.

Favorite book when you were a child:

It's impossible to pick just one book from my childhood, but I'll compromise and say that the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce was extremely important to me as a kid. It was the first fierce, feminist fantasy series I ever discovered, plus there's a magical talking cat.

Your top five authors:

J.K. Rowling--because I love Harry Potter, of course--but I also adore Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. Melina Marchetta, because each of her books are intense emotional experiences. Tana French, because her mysteries never fail to completely entrance me, and I love how she writes about Dublin. A.S. King, because all of her books are weird and brilliant. And Rita Williams-Garcia, because she's a daring and honest and very wise writer.

Book you've faked reading:

When I was in high school, my AP literature class was assigned Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I struggled through it, taking diligent notes and suffering quietly. When I arrived to class, I discovered that no one else had finished it--it was the last week of school, and my classmates had all flaked. The entire class period consisted of me struggling to explain a book I only half-understood while my classmates giggled and evaded the teacher's questions.

Fast-forward four years, and I was an over-stretched English major taking British Literature. The professor assigned... Heart of Darkness! The horror! I did not re-read that sucker. It was perhaps not the wisest decision of my college career, but I have no lingering regrets. Just please don't tell Dr. Jablonski.

Book you're an evangelist for:

I'm fairly certain I work in one of the the only indie bookstores in North America that has multiple copies of every book written by Melina Marchetta always on hand, and that's entirely my fault. I'm most likely to sell you Jellicoe Road because it's one of my all-time favorites, but I am an equal opportunity Melina book-pusher. Looking for Alibrandi is a must-read for the complicated family and identity dynamics. Saving Francesca for a story about self-discovery and owning your life. The Piper's Son because it'll break your heart and then put it back together again. And the Lumatere Chronicles because it's the best damn fantasy series I've ever read, and I'll argue that claim to the death. I'm sure I'll have glowing things to say about Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil when it's out this fall.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Too many to list here, but the most recent one was The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock. Jealousy, as only a writer who hates titling things can feel, washed over me when I saw that title, and the cover of a cabin nestled amongst the snow and stars is glorious. The story did not disappoint, either.

Book you hid from your parents:

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Really, it was an entire drawer full of lesbian novels. Luckily, they've escaped the drawer and now have their own shelf.

Book that changed your life:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. An English teacher handed it to me when I was in eighth grade, and it was one of the first adult novels I remember reading. It's a dark and twisty story, problematically romantic, and endlessly fascinating. That book gave me a taste for stories with unsettling resolutions.

Favorite line from a book:

"Today, I think I'm leaning on the side of wonder." I'll give you three hints as to where it's from. The author's initials are M.M., it's from one of the best damn fantasy series of all time, and if you come into my store, I guarantee you I have a copy on-hand.

Five books you'll never part with:

I'll fight tooth and nail for all of my beloved books, but I supposed if I have to pick just five, they would be: my signed copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--she was so kind and gracious when I met her, it really impressed me. My favorite copy of Jane Eyre, with all of my scrawled notes and heavy underlining. Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, because it always makes me cry and think. Sunshine by Robin McKinley, because I re-read it every summer. And finally, my copy of Edna St. Vincent Millay's collected poetry.

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

I really wish I could read I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith for the first time again. The characters are so lovely and charming, and (mild spoiler alert!) I want to re-read that book with the hope that everything will work out perfectly for them all in the end. Of course, the less-than-ideal ending is what makes that book so bittersweet and beloved in my mind, but a girl can dream.

Seven years ago, North Carolina essayist and journalist Bronwen Dickey (yes, that Bronwen, of her father James Dickey's poem "Bronwen, the Traw, and the Shape-shifter") rescued a pit bull mix for a family dog. Friends and neighbors rolled their eyes and advised caution, believing the hype that pit bulls have "a long legacy of human bloodlust and betrayal, hard-line genetic determinism, and unprovoked animal rage." Dickey, however, was won over by Nola's eyes--"It was a look with layers." Curious, she set out to study the history, genetics and mythology of this much-maligned bulldog derivative--a canine that the American Kennel Club doesn't even officially recognize as a separate breed. What Mary Roach did for the alimentary canal (Gulp), Marc Levinson did for the shipping container (The Box) and, more recently, Aja Raden did for the gemstone (Stoned), Dickey has done for the pit bull. Judiciously filled with data, anecdotes, illustrations and a self-deprecating, canny sense of humor, Pit Bull is a constantly surprising compendium of dog lore, human foible and social prejudice.

In her search of official kennel club records, newspaper history and even the advertising and film industry, Dickey traces the American pit bull terrier to the infamous lower Manhattan Five Points dog fighting pits. There, the English bulldog (named for the medieval practice of bullbaiting in order to "worry" an old tethered bull and naturally tenderize its meat) was crossbred with the terrier into a "Nietzchean Überhund." From there, the bull class of dogs rose in the 1920s to be "seen as quintessentially American: good-natured, brave, resilient, and dependable"--even appearing in 224 Pal the Wonder Dog movies (Rin Tin Tin starred in only 27) and earning the nickname "nanny dog" for its role in guarding children. By the 1950s, the rising middle class with big suburban yards turned dog breeds into brands, "almost as if they were new cars," which "followed 'boom-and-bust' cycles... [like] clothing styles and baby names." Collies jumped in popularity with the Lassie TV shows, and Labrador fans grew in the '80s with the Clintons' Buddy and Seamus, but urban gang association rapidly sent regard for the bull terrier downhill. Today pit bulls are banned in 850 U.S. communities and the entire United Kingdom. As Dickey paraphrases them, stereotypes abound: "pit bulls are not for people like 'us'--the respectable and morally upstanding members of society; pit bulls belong to them."

Exploring the history and politics behind the pit bull's current bad rep, Dickey interviews trainers (like breed-loyal Diane Jessup who scowls: "I refuse to face an uncertain future with a f*cking Labradoodle") and taps "news stories" about drug dealers, violent dog attacks on children, unscrupulous puppy mills, the infamous pro football star Michael Vick's fighting dog abuse arrest, and even the symbolism of some Ferguson protestors leading pit bulls in the Michael Brown demonstrations. Of the 77 million domestic dogs in the United States, pit bulls are a tiny fraction. As Dickey clearly and absorbingly illustrates, pit bulls are not evil incarnate--they "are not dangerous or safe... aren't saints or sinners.... Pit bulls are just... dogs." --Bruce Jacobs, founding partner, Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.

Shelf Talker: The much-maligned pit bull finds redemption in Bronwen Dickey's entertaining, thoughtful and well-researched study of this noble canine.

Tomorrow, while booksellers across the U.S. host myriad events marking Independent Bookstore Day, their Canadian colleagues will be celebrating the second annual Authors for Indies Day, during which writers spend time on the sales floors of their favorite indie bookshops chatting with customers, signing books and even handselling a bit. More than 600 authors participated across Canada last year, giving bookstores an 18.5% sales boost for the day.

We'll have follow-up coverage next week, but in the spirit of bookish anticipation, I'm sharing a few words from participants on the meaning of #Authors4IndiesDay to them. In this case, actions do not speak louder than words; they band together for a common cause.

Guy Gavriel Kay, Authors for Indies spokeperson

"Every author I know is a reader.... For many of us, a local bookstore shaped our lives. Books can do that--and a bookstore can," Guy Gavriel Kay, author and #AFI2016's spokesperson, wrote in Shelf Awareness for Readers this week.

Linda Leith, who founded the Blue Metropolis Festival and heads Linda Leith Publishing, told the Montreal Gazette: "It's a close-knit world, the book world. We all depend on one another and need one another." She added that Authors for Indies Day "feels like a grassroots movement. A way for those of us who love reading and writing to thumb our noses at everything that's become impersonal and dehumanizing about the book world."

In a blog post, Vancouver's 32 Books & Gallery noted: "We are delighted to be hosting twice as many authors for 2016 and expect another enthusiastic response from our customers who thoroughly enjoyed the casual atmosphere and the chance to chat with some of their favorite writers without the hoopla or line-ups that are often par for the course at literary events. We added in some coffee and cookies in the morning, wine and cheese in the afternoon, and voila... what more could a bibliophile want?"

"For me, independent bookstores are like books themselves. They are places to go, for self-discovery, community, and, above all, connection," said author Anita Kushwawa, who will be at Octopus Books in Ottawa.

Barb Minett, owner of the Bookshelf in Guelph, Ontario, wrote: "This year we are inspired by Canada's growing awareness about the importance of building new and meaningful relationships with our First Nations, Metis and Inuit brothers and sisters. So it is with this in mind that we celebrate Authors for Indies Day with indigenous authors of all ages and their author allies. Our journey begins on Saturday April 30 at 10 a.m. and will follow traditional ceremonies which include land acknowledgment, smudging, drumming and song. We will be using an Indigenous traditional way of learning where there is time, a place and space for families to hear stories and discuss insights and teachings as a community. You may find young Indigenous writers reading in the art section or traditional drummers on the patio. If you go upstairs there may be Indigenous authors speaking of their experience with residential schools or the land they live on and love."

Author Karma Brown, who will be at Eat Your Words in Toronto, observed: "I have quite a long bucket list (one I've been keeping since I was 17 years old) and nestled amongst the 120-or-so items is 'own a little bookstore.' In reality (and understanding what it takes) I may never get further than a Little Free Library at the end of my driveway, so am grateful for indie owners who have opened their doors within our communities for the rest of us book lovers to gleefully escape for an hour or so."

Book City in Toronto "is thrilled to again host the visits of authors to each of our four stores. Last year, we shared the day with over 60 authors, and this year, the number of authors participating in Authors for Indies is even greater. The day has been fun to organize and has given us the opportunity to learn more about our favorite writers (and their reading habits, as we've asked them for their 'desert island' reads, a few books that they simply can't live without, to hand sell to 'their' customers on event day)."

But where do booksellers without a "home" spend Authors for Indies Day? Bibliobroads Kelly Beers and Julie Maynard shared their particularly bookish tale of dilemma and resolution: "We were booksellers without a home. Home is a bookstore to indie employees & The Avid Reader was closing after 21 great years. Yes, it was on happy terms but when Julie & I (a.k.a. Bibliobroads) were told that the final day would be March 31, our first response was, 'Oh No! What about Authors for Indies?!'  Not, 'I have no job!' or something responsible. We are fueled by bookselling passion and the thought that we would lose our store, all of the wonderful customers, a place for our book club and #AFI2016 was simply too much. The ol' Bibliobroads were broken-hearted booksellers.

"Then, it happened--the magic that's only found among independent bookstores. Mrs. Lou Pamenter, owner of Furby House Books, a gorgeous indie in the neighboring town of Port Hope, asked if we would collaborate with them for Authors for Indies. Further, they have given our beloved book club a new home--free of charge--and will stock our picks. This would never occur in the corporate book business world where reading is an afterthought and books are solely a commodity. Furby House Books knows that we are crazy about books, especially Canadian writers, and that we're fierce in our devotion to independent businesses. We read to live & live to read. The rest has become history in the making!"

And they have the video evidence to prove it. Happy Authors for Indies Day to our northern neighbors. --Robert Gray, contributing editor (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)