Nick Gomez-Hall

More very sad news about the Oakland, Calif., warehouse fire on Friday night: besides Johnny Igaz, the music buyer at Green Apple Books on the Park, the fire claimed the life of another book person. Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, who worked at Counterpoint Press in Berkeley, was among the first victims to be identified. 

According to Berkeleyside, he was an administrative assistant at the press, which called him "a talented artist who'd just started doing book design." The site quoted an involved person as saying: "Everyone on staff here in Berkeley, and in Portland and New York, is simply heartbroken."

A bizarre story slandering Democrats that began circulating during the presidential campaign has led to nasty real-world repercussions in the capital.

On Sunday, a man fired an assault rifle inside a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant on the same block as Politics & Prose, causing the area to be shut down for several hours as police searched the block--and put the bookstore on lockdown, the Washington Post reported.

No one was injured in the restaurant incident and 45 minutes after it began, police arrested the heavily armed North Carolina shooter, who said he was there to "self-investigate" what has been called "pizzagate," a right-wing conspiracy theory that claims Hillary Clinton, Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and a friend, the owner of the Comet Ping Pong restaurant, are running a child sex trafficking ring from tunnels underneath the restaurant.

"Pizzagate" has been an online phenomenon and led to many threats against the restaurant, which have continued after the election. In fact, the Post said, after it ran a story about the situation on Sunday, reporters became the target of online threats.

Politics & Prose co-owner Bradley Graham told the Post that the store was in the middle of an author event when police converged on the block. The store was locked down for about an hour, until customers were allowed to leave through a back door. But P&P's main entrance was closed for three hours when the whole block was shut down by police. "The staff behaved professionally and reassuringly during the lockdown," Graham told Shelf Awareness. The store closed early but reopened Monday morning at its regular time, with what Graham called "an enhanced police presence" on the street, which he hopes will last a while.

Lissa Muscatine and Bradley Graham, Politics & Prose owners

Yesterday, the store fielded lots of media, Graham said, and "received a tremendous outpouring of support from the community. We're heartened by that and the community's continued patronage."

Graham noted that in the past two to three weeks, the "ludicrous" fake news story had led to many threatening phone calls to the store and other area businesses, as well as "hateful messages" on the store's Twitter account. A few people noted co-owner Lissa Muscatine's association with Hillary Clinton, and Graham was mentioned by name, too, and "other businesses with no association were also linked with this." Before the weekend, "it was all just verbal, but we were afraid it would escalate."

He said "it's hard to fight this as a small business or a group of small businesses. In some sense, it's emblematic of the growing problem posed by fake news when such made-up stories take a vicious turn. How the authorities respond and if they can take down and trace threatening phone calls will indicate how other businesses targeted in the future will fare."

The story and situation "defies reason" in several ways, Graham continued. Besides the insanity of the story itself, he stressed, Politics & Prose has "long stood for dialogue, discussion and community values. That suggests the total absurdity of the whole allegation."

Politics & Prose is "still looking forward to a holiday season of strong sales," Graham said, adding that sales so far have been good.

Chloe Eudaly, the bookstore owner who won an upset victory in Portland, Oregon's City Council election on November 8, is closing her store, Reading Frenzy, at least temporarily, Willamette Week reported, because Portland prohibits commissioners from "having an outside job or owning a business."

In a statement, Eudaly said that Reading Frenzy "is going on hiatus," effective January 1. "There is a chance it may reemerge in a new form later this year but that plan has not taken shape enough to share."

Eudaly said, "The truth is [Reading Frenzy] has taken an extraordinary amount of work, along with support from friends and community members to keep it open off and on for the last several years. And I realized that it really cannot stand on its own two feet without me and well, it can't have me anymore."

She added, in part: "Taking an idea and turning it into reality while getting to put my interests, talents, and skills to their best use remains one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

"Without Reading Frenzy I don't know how I would have earned a living without killing my spirit. I may have never been connected to some of the most important people in my life, to the beautiful, amazing, and vital work that made its way to our doorstep, or to the international arts and literary community I've been so lucky to be a small part of. It's also highly unlikely I would have run for City Council and found my next calling and a greater use for those interests, talents, and skills at this point in my life."

Eudaly implied that she is open to offers for the store, writing, "If you have a serious pitch e-mail me, but I'm not looking for random advice. I have a team of trusted advisors and plenty of my own knowledge and experience. I know I'm making the best decision in the short term. I'm open to possibilities in the longterm."

Founded 22 years ago, Reading Frenzy focuses on independent, small press and self-published titles, and is home to Show & Tell Press and Minikin Gallery.

Elizabeth Scarpelli

Elizabeth Scarpelli has been named director of the new University of Cincinnati Press, effective January 9. She has more than 25 years of experience in publishing and comes from Baker & Taylor and Bookmasters, both owned by Follett, where she has been director of publisher services, managing the print-to-order program for academic publishers and university presses worldwide, fulfillment relationships for client publishers and developed programs to expand international printing capabilities and faculty services. Before that, she was assistant press director and sales and marketing director for Rutgers University Press and the college sales manager for Cambridge University Press. She started her publishing career at Prentice Hall, where she held a variety positions in higher education sales and marketing.

"As we move forward with UC's innovation agenda, we are excited to attract a top candidate such as Liz who will shape and pursue the research-based approach and social justice focus of the Press to further strengthen UC's engagement with scholars, the community and academic institutions globally," said Peter Landgren, interim senior v-p for academic affairs and provost.

The operations of the Press will be located in and supported by the University of Cincinnati Libraries. At its start, the University of Cincinnati Press will focus on two programs: peer-reviewed scholarly works in social justice and a community engagement imprint featuring the history of Cincinnati and its university, especially with social justice themes.

Author and motivational speaker Luis Carlos Montalván, whose bestselling book Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him, chronicled his "suffering from physical combat-related wounds and a crippling post-traumatic stress disorder" as well as his road to recovery "thanks to the help of his service dog Tuesday," has died, KVIA News7 reported. He was 43.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of our author, friend and U.S. Army Captain (Retired) Luis Montalván," Hachette Books said in a statement. "Luis dedicated 17 years of his life to active military service for which he received a Purple Heart, among other awards. With his beloved service dog #Tuesday at his side, Luis spent the past decade educating the public about trauma and advocating for #veterans and people with disabilities. He will be missed greatly and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.

"In support of Luis and veterans everywhere suffering with #PTSD, we would like to point you to an organization dear to Luis' heart: ECAD, Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities--the organization that united Luis with Tuesday--where a donation can be made in Luis's honor. You can find the dedicated page here."

This past Saturday, as Book Passage celebrated its 40th anniversary at its main store in Corte Madera, Calif., the common thread among members of the community who turned out--famous authors who have graced the stage, prospective authors who take classes there, students who became authors, readers who see the store as their special place and more--was the idea of celebrating a beloved home.

Elaine and Bill Petrocelli with (front) Isabel Allende, Don George and Anne Lamott

Kicking off the daylong celebration, a group of local schoolchildren read from their work. In the afternoon, the store hosted a reception for wood-cut artist Tom Killion, whose work has been available at the store almost since it opened. And then Book Passage president Elaine Petrocelli invited three special guests to have a conversation about their experiences at the store: Anne Lamott, who started BP's writing programs; Don George, who has run the store's Travel Writers Workshop for 25 years; and bestselling author Isabel Allende, Elaine's BFF, who's been known to help out at the store on many occasions--even making cappuccino in the café.

"I'm the very lucky woman who gets to be the founder, I guess, of this country we call Book Passage," said Petrocelli. "It's thanks to all of you that we are not only still here, but are stark-raving mad, because in a few weeks we are about to open a new store in Sausalito." Before handing the stage over to her guests, Petrocelli thanked her staff spanning 40 years--people, she said, who could have made big money working in that other little industry that took off in the area, technology--but who chose to be booksellers.

Petrocelli recalled that, as a new bookseller and a fan of Lamott's debut novel, Hard Laughter, when she couldn't find any more copies, she simply used the phone book to look up the author, who informed her that the publisher planned to remainder it. After getting her "in-house lawyer"--her husband, Bill Petrocelli--to negotiate a deal, Book Passage bought all the remaining copies, which they sold at full price, splitting the profits with Lamott. "This is my place," said Lamott, noting that her son grew up on its floor playing with Legos and had his first crush on Luisa Smith, now the head buyer.

Similarly, when Petrocelli decided she wanted to start a travel writing conference, she simply called travel writer and editor Don George and invited him to chair it. Then, George explained, he got the crazy idea that Jan Morris (whom he did not know) should be involved; he reached her by phone in Wales where she accepted his invitation while lounging in her bath. "Which is an image that has stayed with me forever," he joked.

For a man who sees traveling as his "religion," George explained, "I am the pope of the Church of Wanderlust and this is the Vatican." He even said he'd want his memorial service at Book Passage.

"That's so mushy," teased Allende, who got a little mushy herself. "Elaine was my first friend when I came to this country. Together we've seen our children grow up. She's been with me through the death of my two stepchildren and my daughter. I can't imagine my life without this safe place."

And you just never know when someone at Book Passage will have the right words at the right time. Once, when Allende suffered writer's block, she ran into Lamott at the store, who told her there's no such thing. "The reservoirs are empty and you need to fill them up," was the advice Lamott had for her.

"A bookstore and a library really is a cathedral," Lamott told the packed room of true believers. "It's a clinic where you can breathe again after an anvil dropping on your family... when the only thing that can save you is in a book."

"Bill and I are very blessed. And we plan to be here a long time," concluded Petrocelli. "Now let's have some booze and talk." --Bridget Kinsella

Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, Ill., was co-sponsor of an event last week that featured Zadie Smith discussing her new novel, Swing Time (Penguin Press), with Vu Tran, author of Dragonfish. The conversation took place at the DuSable Museum of African American History, where a sold-out crowd of more than 500 filled the auditorium (and overflow room), then waited eagerly in line for signed copies of Swing Time, as well as Smith's backlist. Pictured: (l.-r.) Alex Houston, Jeff Deutsch, Adam Sonderberg, Zadie Smith, Kevin Elliott and Colin McDonald.

Staff and some family members (note retired owner Neal Coonerty!) of Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif., got in on the fun of the #mannequinchallenge. Check it out here.

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen The Spy: A Novel by Paulo Coelho (Knopf, $22, 9781524732066) as her pick of the month for December. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:

"I'm not afraid to gush about authors I like. For the author of this issue's book pick, Paulo Coelho, and his new novel, The Spy, I have nothing but a flood of compliments.

"We all have some vague idea of who Mata Hari was: a seductress and spy. But Coelho imagines her as someone much more than a stereotype. He sees her as a woman whose only crime was to be independent in an era when women still had much to gain.

"The Spy is written with all of the eye and mind-opening wonder for which Coelho is known. It's an ideal read for his fans and for anyone interested in beautifully written books."

At Running Press:

Cassie Drumm has been promoted to associate digital marketing manager. She was formerly associate publicist.

Valerie Howlett has joined the company as children's publicist and marketing manager. She was formerly an author marketing consultant.

Today:
Fox & Friends: Sebastian Bach, author of 18 and Life on Skid Row (Dey Street Books, $27.99, 9780062265395).

Fresh Air: Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different (Little, Brown, $27, 9780316403436).

Tomorrow:
Imus in the Morning: Craig Nelson, author of Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness (Scribner, $32, 9781451660494).

The View: DJ Khaled, author of The Keys (Crown Archetype, $18, 9780451497574).

Watch What Happens Live: Trevor Noah, author of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Spiegel & Grau, $28, 9780399588174).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Andy Cohen, author of Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries (Holt, $27, 9781250116482).

Broadway's Lyric Theater "will be dramatically reconfigured--shedding one-fifth of its seats--to create a home for the most coveted theatrical tenant of the moment: the two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is expected to open there in spring 2018," the New York Times reported.

Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, who are overseeing the hit London production of the play in London, said they were "in advanced discussions" and "exclusive talks" to open the play in New York, and had been looking for a Broadway theater, but avoiding the 1,900-seat Lyric because it was too big.

Ambassador Theater Group, however, "expressed a willingness to reimagine the space completely, and that that was persuasive; the show's designer will be allowed to reconfigure the theater and bring it down to 1,500 seats," the Times wrote.

"ATG was prepared to spend millions of dollars to build us a theater within the theater, designed to meet the specifications of what we were looking for--intimate, but big enough so we can have a considerable number of low-priced seats around the house," Callender said.

The Royal Society of Literature announced the three winners of this year's Jerwood Awards for Nonfiction, which recognize authors engaged on their first commissioned works of nonfiction. Violet Moller took the £10,000 (about $12,730) award for The Geography of Knowledge, which "explores how the big ideas of the ancient world found their way into Western culture from 8th century Baghdad to Renaissance Venice."

The two £5,000 (about $6,365) prizes went to Afua Hirsch for BRIT(ish): Getting Under the Skin of Britain's Race Problem, which "looks at Britain's failure to allow non-white people a history and makes the case for change"; and Damian Le Bas for Stopping Places, "a Traveller history showing how 'alien' culture is an ancient part of the U.K. and how an urge for freedom co-exists in an increasingly restrictive environment."

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800-CEO-READ today announced the shortlist for its 10th annual Business Book Awards. Editorial director Dylan Schleicher commented: "The choices for this year's shortlist reflect the general attitude and outlook of the expert staff at 800-CEO-READ, and also represent a continuing trend in business books toward a more humanistic and inclusive view of the business world. You will see a broadening in the definition of what constitutes 'business,' who business is meant to serve, and who should be allowed--even welcomed--to sit at the table." For full descriptions and categories, click here.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (Grand Central)
Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation by Edward Humes (Harper)
An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, with Matthew L. Miller, Andy Fleming and Deborah Helsing (Harvard Business Review Press)
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (Crown)
Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways by William C. Taylor (Portfolio)
Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends by Martin Lindstrom (St. Martin's Press)
What Works: Gender Equality by Design by Iris Bohnet (Belknap Press)
Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson (Riverhead Books)

LibraryReads, the nationwide library staff-picks list, offers the top 10 titles public library staff across the country love. These are their Favorites of Favorites choices for 2016:

Favorite
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press, $26, 9781501132933). "An intruder in the middle of the night leaves Lo Blacklock feeling vulnerable. Trying to shake off her fears, she hopes her big break of covering the maiden voyage of the luxury cruise ship, the Aurora, will help. The first night of the voyage changes everything. What did she really see in the water and who was the woman in the cabin next door? The claustrophobic feeling of being on a ship and the twists and turns of who, and what, to believe keep you on the edge of your seat." --Joseph Jones, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Ohio

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (Harper, $27.99, 9780062491794). "The Cousins and the Keatings are two California families forever intertwined and permanently shattered by infidelity. Bert Cousins leaves his wife for Beverly Keating, leaving her to raise four children on her own. Beverly, with two children of her own, leaves her husband for Bert. The six children involved are forced to forge a childhood bond based on the combined disappointment in their parents. As adults, they find their families' stories revealed in a way they couldn't possibly expect. Patchett has written a family drama that perfectly captures both the absurdity and the heartbreak of domestic life." --Michael Colford, Boston Public Library, Boston, Mass.

My Name is Lucy Barton: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout (Random House, $26, 9781400067695). "Set in the mid-1980s, Lucy Barton, hospitalized for nine weeks, is surprised when her estranged mother shows up at her bedside. Her mother talks of local gossip, but underneath the banalities, Lucy senses the love that cannot be expressed. This is the story that Lucy must write about, the one story that has shaped her entire life. A beautiful lyrical story of a mother and daughter and the love they share." --Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, Mass.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald (Sourcebooks Landmark, $16.99, 9781492623441). "Sara arrives in the small town of Broken Wheel to visit her pen pal Amy, only to discover Amy has just died. The tale of how she brings the love of books and reading that she shared with Amy to the residents of Broken Wheel is just a lovely read. Any book lover will enjoy Sara's story and that of the friends she makes in Broken Wheel. If ever a town needed a bookstore, it is Broken Wheel; the healing power of books and reading is made evident by this heartwarming book." --Barbara Clark-Greene, Groton Public Library, Groton, Conn.

A Great Reckoning: A Novel by Louise Penny (Minotaur, $28.99, 9781250022134). "Armand Gamache is back, and it was worth the wait. As the new leader of the Surete academy, Gamache is working to stop corruption at its source and ensure the best start for the cadets. When a copy of an old map is found near the body of a dead professor, Gamache and Beauvoir race against the clock to find the killer before another person dies. A terrific novel that blends Penny's amazing lyrical prose with characters that resonate long after the book ends. Highly recommended." --David Singleton, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Charlotte, N.C.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Ecco, $26.99, 9780062414212). "If you think your family is dysfunctional, move over, because here come the Plumbs. Suddenly faced with the dismantling of the nest egg they've counted on to solve their financial woes, the four Plumb siblings have to grow up, and fast. But though they all do some terrible things in the name of ambition, there's something lovable about the Plumbs. You can't fail to be moved by the beating heart of this novel, which seems to say that family, for good or ill, unites us all." --Mary Kinser, Whatcom County Library System, Bellingham, Wash.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books, $18.99, 9780399160301). "Titanic. Lusitania. Wilhelm Gustloff. All major maritime disasters, yet the last is virtually unknown. Ruta Sepetys changes that in her gripping historical novel. Told in short snippets, Salt to the Sea rotates between four narrators attempting to escape various tragedies in 1945 Europe. Powerful and haunting, heartbreaking and hopeful--a must read." --Jennifer Asimakopoulos, Indian Prairie Public Library, Darien, Ill.

The Summer Before the War: A Novel by Helen Simonson (Random House, $28, 9780812993103). "Fans of Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand have reason to rejoice. She has created another engaging novel full of winsome characters, this time set during the summer before the outbreak of World War I. Follow the story of headstrong, independent Beatrice Nash and kind but stuffy surgeon-in-training Hugh Grange along with his formidable Aunt Agatha. Make a cup of tea and prepare to savor every page!" --Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library, Elm Grove, Wis.

Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly (Ballantine, $26, 9781101883075). "This is story of the Ravensbruck Rabbits: seventy-four women prisoners in the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Using alternating first-person narratives, the characters relate their experiences from 1939 through 1959. Drawing upon a decade of research, Hall reconstructs what life was like in Ravensbruck. More than a war story, this is a tale of how the strength of women's bonds can carry them through even the most difficult situations. Lilac Girls is a solid, compelling historical read." --Andrea Larson, Cook Memorial Public Library, Libertyville, Ill.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty (Flatiron Books, $26.99, 9781250069795). "A typical afternoon barbecue among friends becomes something much bigger when one pivotal moment of inattention leads to repercussions for all in attendance. In trademark Moriarty style, the story flashes back and forth between the day of the barbecue and two months later, slowly revealing the events of the day and its consequences, creating a delicious momentum for the reader as the tension builds and the pieces fall into place. Moriarty has another sure-fire winner with this look at the complexities of friendship, marriage, and familial relationships." --Halle Eisenman, Beaufort County Library, Hilton Head, S.C.

First-time novelist Lindsey Lee Johnson puts to use her years of experience tutoring privileged teens in Marin County, Calif., in a vividly realized skewering of entitlement culture in one of its favorite playgrounds--high school.

The tragedy happens in middle school, when friendless Tristan Bloch slips a love note to Cally Broderick, who bows down to peer pressure and shows the note to the popular boys. The resulting cyberbullying firestorm ends in Tristan's suicide, a shock that resonates silently through the student body as the children involved progress to their junior year of high school. Newly minted teacher Molly Nicholl begins her career as one of the English faculty at Tamalpais High School blissfully unaware of the Tristan Bloch incident. She can barely contain her delight at the beautiful historic building that houses her classroom, and she eagerly anticipates fostering the potential she sees in each pupil. Her most intriguing student is Calista--formerly Cally--Broderick, who has a talent for writing and is "trying to reach someone; the someone was Molly."

Just as Molly remains unaware of the part Calista once played in another child's death, she cannot see the secret lives her students lead outside her classroom. The designer clothes and fast cars the teens treat as their due hide pain and transgressions made possible by plenty of money and little parental supervision. Aloof, mature Abigail Cress carries on an affair with one of Molly's fellow teachers. Mediocre learner Dave Chu works double time, facing terrible pressure from his parents to reward their sacrifices on his behalf with his acceptance to an Ivy League school. The surprisingly insightful Nick Brickston runs an SAT cheating scheme. Substance abuse, dysfunctional families and the constant struggle to be the smartest, best looking or most talented push the teens to the breaking point, and they might take Molly down with them.

Sharp, sarcastic and wise, Johnson's satire also displays unexpected kindness in its devotion to showing the struggles motivating the teenagers' behavior, each a product of a family and society that force-feeds them too many expectations coupled ironically with limitless freedom. Readers may greedily devour the juicy details of the young and the reckless here but, like Molly, they will find compassion a natural impulse as well. The narrative maintains a brisk pace; it has a tendency to hop from student to student as the plot unfolds, constantly shining a different angle of light into a shadowy corner of the viper's nest. An Up the Down Staircase for the era of free-range versus helicopter parenting, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth reminds adults that adolescence is an exquisitely troubled country unto itself. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: Debut novelist Lindsay Lee Johnson takes readers inside the lives of privileged teens with a reminder that high school is a perilous place.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. Over the Edge by Meredith Wild
2. The Elf on the Shelf by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda B. Bell
3. Since I Fell For You (New York Sullivans #2) by Bella Andre
4. Rescuing Harley (Delta Force Heroes Book 3) by Susan Stoker
5. Elf on the Shelf Pets Reindeer by the Elf on the Shelf
6. Buttons and Lace by Penelope Sky
7. Mischief and the Masters by Cherise Sinclair
8. Sweet Cheeks by K. Bromberg
9. Alphas for the Holidays by Various
10. Shifters in the Snow: Bundle of Joy by Various

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]