The Biloxi Sun Herald profiles Bay Books, Bay St. Louis, Miss., and its owner, Kay Gough, who said that business at the store, which opened in early September, is "picking up. We're doing better than we predicted. People are beginning to find out we're here. I've been around visiting schools and librarians and teachers to spread the word."

Two months ago, Bookselling This Week wrote about Bay Books, one of the first new stores to open in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

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The new 32,100-sq.-ft. Barnes & Noble in Silverdale, Wash., which opens soon, is unusual in that the company bought the building it's located in.

The Kitsap Sun reported that B&N is using much of the space in the former Gottschalks building, which is at the front of the Kitsap Mall, and is leasing the rest to Cost Plus World Market, which has opened. 

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Stanley Newman, author with Mark Lasswell of Cruciverbalism: A Crossword Fanatic's Guide to Life in the Grid (Collins, $14.95, 0060890606), which has just come across many booksellers' loading docks, has created a bookseller puzzle with book titles and terms of the trade. Anyone interested in seeing--and attempting--the puzzle should send an e-mail down to Carl Lennertz.

For more about the world of crossword creation, tips on solving them, 100 "essential words" and other crossword lore, clue into the book.

Because many forecasters have developed different ways of calculating holiday sales, most early predictions for November and December sales gains range between 5% and 7.5% although one is only 2.5%, according to today's Wall Street Journal.

Some organizations exclude online sales, which have become ever more important each year. This year, for example, ComScore estimates nontravel online spending will reach $24 billion this year, up 25% over last year. Others now include January or some January sales because gift cards have become a more significant part of holiday giving. Michael Niemira, economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, estimates that 38% of the value of gift cards bought during the 2005 holiday season was redeemed in January 2006.

Among contradictory economic indicators that are affecting predictions this year: falling energy prices and rising stock market values on one hand and a slowing housing market and lagging September general retail sales figures on the other.

Other variables particular to this year: the extra shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas should result in higher sales, but because Christmas is on a Monday, some shoppers may procrastinate more than usual.

And in case anyone frets too much about holiday sales prognostications--or the value of this recap--rest assured that they may not matter: last year, most forecasts were off, "underestimating what turned out to be a strong season," as the Journal put it.

Dial-A-Book, which through its Chapter One program provides browsing excerpts from more than 100,000 books to online booksellers, wholesalers, search engines and others, has launched Publishers Portal, an excerpt distribution service designed, in cooperation with PMA, for independent publishers.

The Publishers Portal program initially makes available book excerpts only from PMA's 4,500 publisher members. Already companies that are mounting all Publishers Portal excerpts on their Web sites--so long as they handle the book--are Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Books-in-Print Online, EBSCO, Buy.com, OCLC First Search, Syndetics, among others.

In addition, the excerpts will be mounted in the online public access catalogues of more than 1,200 public and academic libraries if their collections include the books. The excerpts will be available for mounting on the publishers' sites and for use in promotion and advertising.

The excerpts will also be added to Dial-A-Book's Chapter One database, which includes titles from more than 1,200 publishers and imprints.

This morning the Today Show warms up with Dean Karnazes, author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner (Tarcher, $12.95, 1585424803).

Also on the Today Show: Bill O'Reilly, author of Culture Warrior (Broadway, $26, 0767920929).

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Today on WAMU's Diane Rehm Show: Margaret Atwood discusses Moral Disorder (Nan A. Talese, $23.95, 0385503849), a series of interconnected stories.

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Today on the Rachael Ray Show, the program's hostess is scheduled to dish about her new cookbook: Rachael Ray 2,4,6,8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds (Crown, $19.95, 1400082560).

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Tonight on Larry King Live: Philip Rosenthal, creator and executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond and author of You're Lucky You're Funny: How Life Becomes a Sitcom (Viking, $25.95, 0670037990).

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Tonight on the Colbert Report: Mark Halperin, political director of ABC News and co-author of The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008 (Random House, $26.95, 1400064473).  

 

The World Fantasy Awards were presented at the 2006 World Fantasy Convention, held in Austin, Tex., over the weekend. Judges were Steve Lockley, Barbara Roden, Victoria Strauss, Jeff VanderMeer, and Andrew Wheeler. The winners were:

• Life Achievement: John Crowley and Stephen Fabian
• Novel: Haruki Murakami, for Kafka on the Shore (Knopf)
• Novella: Joe Hill, for Voluntary Committal (Subterranean Press)
• Short Fiction: George Saunders, for "CommComm" (The New Yorker, Aug. 1, 2005
• Anthology: The Fair Folk edited by Marvin Kaye (Science Fiction Book Club)
• Collection: Bruce Holland Rogers, for The Keyhole Opera (Wheatland Press)
• Artist: James Jean
• Special Award, Professional: Sean Wallace (for Prime Books)
• Special Award, Non-Professional: David Howe and Stephen Walker (for Telos Books)

It has been a banner year for the late Elvis Presley's Graceland. President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid a visit. The hit FOX-TV show American Idol filmed there. And it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Now, the King of Rock 'n' Roll's Memphis, Tenn., manse is immortalized in Quirk Book's Graceland: A Pop-Up Tour ($40, 159474131X), which arrived in stores in October. Quirk president and publisher David Borgenicht, a self-described "big fan of Graceland," came up with the idea. Borgenicht had been looking to do "quirky, high-end books" and decided to pair the two interests. "It made total sense to use paper engineering to bring Graceland alive," he said, "and let people take it home and interact with it in a way they actually can't on the tour."

Editorial director Jason Rekulak took the lead in making Graceland pop in pop-up form. "We had a hunch the house would lend itself really well to a pop-up because there is some unusual architecture in the building," said Rekulak. With paper engineer Chuck Murphy and a designer, "We went through room by room and took a lot of pictures and thought about how different parts of the house would lend themselves to paper engineering," he added.

The result is a full-color, large format book with eight spreads recreating Graceland's eclectic interior, from a dazzling display of jumpsuits to the Tiki-inspired furniture in the Jungle Room. "I think both core Elvis fans and new ones will not be disappointed," said Borgenicht about Graceland. "It could have been a very static book," he added, but rather than simply replicate the rooms on a smaller scale the editorial team "conceived it in such a way that there are some really cool interactive features." Readers can peruse Elvis' record collection, change the channels on his television, flip through a photo album and peer inside the refrigerator stocked with foods he demanded be on hand at all times. Text throughout the book illuminates aspects of the singer's life at Graceland.

An unexpected boon was the book's foreword by Priscilla Presley, in which she reminisces about meeting Elvis in Germany--where he was stationed in the Army--and hearing him talk about Graceland. Partway through the production process, Elvis Presley Enterprises facilitated an introduction with the actress, who was enthusiastic about participating in the project. "It's a great extra draw for sure," Borgenicht said of the foreword. "It very much legitimizes the effort and makes it, I think, a real kind of authentic work and collectible for Elvis fans."

Quirk is now focused on "getting the word out to the fan base," noted Borgenicht, through online and viral marketing. The company's marketing strategy includes working with other Elvis Presley Enterprises licensees on co-promotions and events at places like theme restaurants and entertainment-oriented venues. Graceland will be a headliner at several major chains, as well as at airport stores in Memphis and elsewhere in the South. The book is also being sold at Graceland and online at www.shopelvis.com.

Quirk has shipped nearly all of its 40,000 copies of Graceland and is planning to reprint early next year. "Elvis books are clearly one of those evergreen categories of celebrity books," Borgenicht commented. "This one is so unique and has not been done before, and I think it has a long life ahead of it." 2007 marks both the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death and the 25th anniversary of Graceland's opening to the public, two media-worthy events likely to keep the beat for the book going.

At least one high profile Elvis fan is sure to be happy with a memento of his visit to the King's abode. "My one regret is that the book wasn't out for the Japanese premier's visit this summer," said Borgenicht. "But we'll certainly send him a copy."--Shannon McKenna

From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at booksense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:

Hardcover

Pascal's Wager: The Man Who Played Dice with God by James A. Connor (HarperSanFrancisco, $24.95, 0060766913). "This is a fascinating read about the trials and tribulations of Pascal, a young math and science genius, who died in his thirties, but who paved the way during the early 1600s for many of today's discoveries and their applications, such as computers and atomic energy."--Harold Hicks, Books on the Bluff, Townsend, Ga.

Lights Out by Jason Starr (St. Martin's Minotaur, $22.95, 0312359721). "Two bright young men play side by side on their high school baseball team. In the blink of an eye, Ryan's life is changed forever while Jake goes on to become what Ryan had always wanted to be, a player in the major leagues. This is a tight, well-written story with over-the-top action and plenty of suspense."--Andra Tracy, Out Word Bound, Indianapolis, Ind.

Paperback

Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell (Harper Paperbacks, $14.95, 0061137464). "Vince and Joy is full of near misses--two teenagers who fall in love quickly and then part unexpectedly, only to spend the next 20-odd years almost meeting up again. This one will have you cheering--so read it!"-Sherri Ashburner, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Conn.

For Ages 9 to 12

Extraordinary Ordinary People by Alan Govenar (Candlewick, $22.99, 0763620475). "Meet a Chinese opera singer, a boat builder, a rug weaver, and a tissue paper wreath maker. Each of these artists has received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and each of them is wonderfully represented here, with engaging text and photographs that show step-by-step how they create amazing and unusual works of art."--Alison Morris, Wellesley Booksmith, Wellesley, Mass.

The Floating Island: The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme by Elizabeth Haydon, illustrated by Brett Helquist (Starscape, $17.95, 0765308673). "Magical creatures, spirited heros and heroines, despicable villains, and a fantastical landscape all combine to create a wonderful new fantasy adventure that feels like an old favorite, even on the first read through."--Rich Rennicks, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, N.C.

[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]

The following were the bestselling books on AbeBooks.com during October:
 
1. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
2. Marketing Management by Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller
3. Mathematics: Applications and Connections by William Collins
4. Introductions to Futures and Options Markets by John Hull
5. Managerial Accounting by Ray Garrison, Eric Noreen and Peter C. Brewer
6. The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry by Larry Gonick and Craig Criddle
7. Hullabaloo in Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai
8. Law For Business by Norman J. Mietus
9. Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
10. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Note: Abebooks offers more than 100 million new, used, rare and out-of-print titles listed from more than 13,500 booksellers around the world.