Melody and Ken Kurson are the new owners of the Book House in Millburn, N.J. TAPinto Millburn/Short Hills reported that when previous owner Nadege Nicoll "announced in June that she had to close her beloved independent bookshop, Millburn residents were upset to lose the unique establishment because it was much more than a bookstore. Many of her customers posted on her Facebook page about how sorry they were."

Last week, Nicoll told TAPinto the bookshop will be reopening soon, adding: "New owners Melody and Ken Kurson are working hard at getting ready to welcome you back. They will make further announcements with a specific opening date. As of now, they want you all to know that they are shooting for opening around Labor Day. Please follow the store on Instagram and Facebook for further information. And spread the word, because the world needs to know!"

A post on the bookshop's social media accounts noted: "We're coming back! Nadege founded The Book House as a dream and it's now found new owners who share her vision and hope to build upon the strong community foundation here in Millburn."

Noting that many people had commented on and liked Nicoll's post on Facebook's Happy Millburn page announcing the shop's re-opening, TAPinto wrote that "Nicoll is as happy as her former patrons to see the store return."

New owner Melody Kurson shared: "We are so excited to re-open and continue building the warm, friendly community of readers that Nadege has established here in Millburn. We live in this community, we care about it and we know that there are others who value the hand curation and free exchange of ideas that only a fiercely local, independent bookstore can provide. Great coffee, too!... Anyone wants to support us now can deal Amazon a death blow by going to bookshop.org and selecting the Book House to order whatever great books at affordable prices you want shipped to your house."

Ken Kurson was editor-in-chief of the New York Observer when it was owned by his close friend Jared Kushner and is now head of Sea of Reeds Media, where Melody Kurson, formerly an educator, is a v-p. Ken Kurson has been in the news for legal problems involving his ex-wife.

Bear Den Books has opened in Knoxville, Tenn., WLVT 8 reported. Located at 1200 Kenesaw Avenue in the city's Sequoyah Hills neighborhood, the store sells general-interest titles for all ages, with a particular focus on children's and local titles. According to co-owner Nick Windel, community members have readily embraced the bookstore.

"People think that local bookstores are dying, but they are not because they foster such a sense of community, especially somewhere like Knoxville," Windel told WLVT.

Bear Den Books hosts storytime sessions every week, and earlier this month hosted a children's event with local author Katie Cate, who read her book Have You Seen a Black Bear? Going forward, Windel and the team hope to give more regional and local authors a "platform and voice to share their creations."

Record-breaking rains and flash floods are making headlines again this week in the U.S. Booksellers in Texas and Utah checked in on social media with updates. 

Deep Vellum in Dallas tweeted: "So our store is closed today because of... well... this. If you want to use code RAINRAINGOAWAY on http://deepvellum.org, you can get free shipping & pretend you just stopped by in person. We might not ship for a day or two though."

Owner Will Evans added: "They say Deep Ellum has gotten about 16" of rain in the last 16 hours. Our bookstore @deepvellumbooks was flooded like many of our neighbors including Fleastyle & @Sneakerpolitics. Please support all @deepellumtexas businesses this week as we dry out & clean up."

In an update, Deep Vellum noted that it would be closed until Wednesday to dry out and clean up, and shared a photo of the sign placed in its window: "Rainy days might be ideal for reading but too much rain is bad for books! Closed till Wednesday... Y'all stay dry and safe." A tweet yesterday added that Deep Vellum's "floor's cleaner than it's ever been, some of the books are still a little wet though."

In other flash flood news, Back of Beyond Books, Moab, Utah, posted on Instagram: "No books, nor shop dogs were harmed in the making of this video."

Tildy Banker-Johnson, store manager and gift buyer at Belmont Books in Belmont, Mass., reported that Pride Pins, which were designed by a bookseller and represent a number of different pride flags, have been strong sellers for the past two months. Also popular are small metal hearts made by GeoCentral called Chime Hearts. The store recently started carrying sponges from Fred & Friends. They come shaped like mushrooms, avocados, rubber duckies and more, and they've been "surprise sellers for us."

Games are a staple at Belmont Books, and Banker-Johnson noted that she usually brings in more in advance of fall and the holiday shopping season. Classics like Catan and Ticket to Ride always sell well, with Banker-Johnson also pointing to Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest and Azul. Over the summer she brought in Ticket to Ride First Journey, a simplified version of the game meant for younger audiences, and that did well enough that she plans on stocking more. The game Wingspan was another new addition that has done very well.

Other popular sidelines include shaped erasers from Ooly, which Banker-Johnson said are perennial bestsellers and "good party gifts." Bookmarks from Paperblanks, pencils from Whiskey River Soap Company, Bookaroo Pens from If USA and socks from Gibbs Smith and Sock It to Me are all strong, consistent sellers as well. On the subject of supply chain issues, Banker-Johnson said the store has been pretty lucky recently, though she is already starting to put in orders in advance of the holiday season.

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Sticker display at Paulina Springs Books

In Sisters, Ore., Paulina Springs Books has a consistent trio of bestselling gift items, said store owner Lane Jacobson. Those items are stickers, generally priced from $3 to $6 and sourced from a wide variety of markers and artists; buttons and pins, sourced by the box, poured into bins and sold for $2 each; and dice, particularly box sets of D20 dice (used Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games). Jacobson added that he and his team routinely sell through locally themed tote bags from Lantern Press.

Soaps from Sonder Farmstead

Some popular and "out of left field" sideline items include the Bug Soother line of bug spray, as well as Oregon-themed cutting boards made of bamboo. Asked about locally sourced items, Jacobson pointed to soaps from Sonder Farmstead (founded in Sisters but now located in Bellingham, Wash.), jewelry from local artisans and stickers from local artists. He noted that when it comes to quality handmade things, shoppers seem more than willing to spend a little extra, especially if they know it's local.

On the subject of children's sidelines, Jacobson said the store doesn't have a ton of those items in general, but he and his team do carry a large amount of Melissa & Doug toys and art supplies. There's also a sizable board game selection, which includes both family-friendly games and hobbyist games. Jacobson noted that the store's board game and toy sales account for "about 20% of our total sales."

Discussing supply-chain issues, Jacobson said most of the store's sideline suppliers are behind "at least a bit," and things tend to go "in fits and starts." The only consistent thing, he remarked, is the "inconsistency of availability." The team has adjusted and gotten used to placing bigger orders meant to last longer.

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Quirky Latina stickers at Whose Books

At Whose Books in Dallas, Tex., co-owner Claudia Vega partners with local artisans to create a variety of custom sidelines that have become customer favorites. There are bookish stickers by Quirky Latina Co. and a signature store candle made by Wicks and Wonder Candle Co. Whose Books also designs and stocks its own merch, including totes, baseball caps, T-shirts, coffee mugs and reading kits. Vega noted that since the store is only about a year old, it's hard to say whether anything is a perennial bestseller, but customers clearly love to support local makers and vendors, and Whose Books will form even more of those partnerships going forward. --Alex Mutter

BookNet Canada featured new data about book buyers who have shopped at Canadian independent bookstores thus far in 2022, including what books they are buying, how they are spending, why they bought at indies and more. Among the highlights:

According to data culled from the annual Canadian Book Consumer survey, 13% of Canadian book buyers purchased books from independent bookstores during the first half of 2022, and of all the books tracked by the survey, 10% were purchased at indies. The majority of these purchases were print books--53% paperback and 37% hardcover. 

While the majority of buyers at indies purchased their books at full price (57%), the survey found that 29% bought discounted or on-sale titles, 6% used a coupon, 5% as part of a multi-buy deal and 3% as part of a subscription. Thus far in 2022, 49% of indie book buyers felt they received excellent value and 37% good value. 

Altogether, 87% of books purchased at indie bookstores were bought in person during the first half of 2022 and 88% of all indie book buyers visited an independent bookstore in person at least once during that time period. 

Browsing was the third most popular way indie patrons became aware of their books (18%), while 21% cited having read other books by the author or illustrator, and 19% from recommendations or reviews. Inside the bookstore, most indie book buyers found the book they purchased displayed on a main shelf (47%), in the front window (15%) or on a display or promotional table (11%). Almost 35% had planned ahead to buy a particular book at the specific time of their purchase during the first half of 2022. 

The top five reasons mentioned by indie book buyers for choosing to shop at independent bookstores so far in 2022 are: a good selection of books (29%); books that are in stock or available immediately (26%); happened to see the book there (26%); convenient place to shop (24%); and to support their local bookstore (23%).

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The Beijing International Book Fair "has been rescheduled again this year and is now due to take place in November," the Bookseller reported. The fair was originally scheduled to take place August 24-28 at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. Yesterday, the BIBF committee announced the event has now been rescheduled November 24-27. 

Its statement, BIBF said: "We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused by the changes of the book fair, and express to you our sincere appreciation for your continuous understanding and support. We look forward to meeting you at BIBF!" 

The fair was also postponed last year due to the spread of Covid-19. The Bookseller noted that China has seen a number of localized lockdowns and mass testing campaigns in recent months under president Xi Jinping's zero-Covid policy. This has resulted in the Shanghai Book Fair being postponed three times, and now rescheduled to run November 18-20, "meaning it has skipped a year. It will be held at its usual venue, the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre."

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Tourists have returned to Paris, "and for the riverside booksellers--known as 'bouquinistes' in France--it's the end of fears that the Covid-19 pandemic might spell the end of a business that dates back to the 16th century," Reuters reported, adding that there "are even 18 new riverside booksellers along the roughly 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) stretch of river embankment."

One of them, Rachid Bouanou, said, "I used to be a sailor... but I always loved books, beautiful books, and I thought why not share this passion and share the books and authors I love with other people. We're helping people discover books, new authors."

The coveted bookseller spots are allocated for five-year periods by the city council. The booksellers pay no rent but must open at least four days a week. Bouanou and the other new sellers were approved recently, bringing the total to around 230, the first new riverside booksellers appointed since 2019, before the pandemic kept local and foreign tourists away.

"Life is finally back (to normal)," said Jerome Callais, who heads the booksellers' association. "We have just had two years of pandemic with confinements which put our activity to a halt ... now tourists are returning and new booksellers are settling in."

Noting that the riverside bookstalls are not just for the tourists, Reuters spoke with Parisian Kubilai Iksel, who observed: "It's very encouraging (that new sellers have arrived), it's sign that it's not going to disappear. It's one of the most wonderful things about Paris." --Robert Gray

Earlier this summer, Main Street Books, Davidson, N.C., invited artistically inclined patrons to "channel your graphic design skills and your reading lifestyle vibes, and your design just might land on the front of our short- & long-sleeved Ts and tote bags for the 2022-23 year."  

A judging panel narrowed the field of entries to nine, a public vote was held and this week the winner of the summer design contest was announced. Main Street Books posted on Instagram: "It is so remarkable to see Main Street Books reflected back to us through the eyes of an artist. Our summer design contest gave us so many different perspectives, too.

"Congratulations are in order for @stirabout whose block print rendering of our store front charmed a lot of you!! Mary Moore Rabb has won the popular vote and secured first place with our panel of bookstore judges. Thank you to the many creators who entered the contest--your energy and enthusiasm is tremendous! Look for a limited edition long-sleeve tee and tote early this fall."

Novel Bay Booksellers, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., shared a photo of the shop's banned books display on Facebook, noting: "This morning: Overheard at the banned book display: man pointing to Where the Wild Things Are says, 'That book scared me.' Another man says, while pointing to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 'Maya Angelou? She's a national treasure!' A group makes a beeline for the display because as one young adult said, 'That's how you know what to read.' " 

Posted on Facebook Monday by Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore, Middletown, Conn.: "Good morning bookstore! We are ready for the week! It's a great day to browse."

Pairs of People by Mark and Jeanne Shriver, illustrated by Laura Watson (4U2B Books & Media).

Today:
Fresh Air: Michael Beckley, co-author of Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China (Norton, $30, 9781324021308).

Tomorrow:
Tamron Hall repeat: Tunde Oyeneyin, author of Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (Avid Reader Press, $27, 9781982195441).

Mireille Enos (The Killing) will play the female lead opposite Bob Odenkirk in Straight Man, AMC's series adaptation of Richard Russo's novel from former The Killing writer-producer Aaron Zelman and The Office alum Paul Lieberstein, Deadline reported.

"We could not be more thrilled to have Mireille on board to play Lily. She brings with her a steamer trunk full of dramatic chops, an unflinching eagerness to explore character, and a megawatt smile that absolutely lights up every Zoom. She's a delight," said Zelman and Lieberstein. They will serve as co-showrunners and are executive producers. 

Also exec producing are Odenkirk, Peter Farrelly, who directs, Russo, Naomi Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero. Sony Pictures' Television TriStar TV and Mark Johnson's Gran Via are producing.

The Children's Book Council of Australia named the winners of the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year Awards, which "affirm the quality of some of Australia's most creative people and provide a boost to their capacity to devote time to their craft." This year's final prize pool exceeded A$100,000 (about US$69,175) for the first time. See the complete list of CBCA Book of the Year Award winners here.

photo: Becky Green

Deborah Liu is the president and CEO of Ancestry, a board member of Intuit and co-founder of the nonprofit Women in Product. Previously, at Facebook she created Facebook Marketplace, and at PayPal, she headed the eBay marketplace product department. She lives with her husband, three children and mom in California. Her book, Take Back Your Power: 10 New Rules for Women at Work, was just published by Zondervan.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

For every woman who grew up competing on the uneven playing field, this book is the battle cry you need to learn to thrive within today's workplace.

On your nightstand now: 

Originals by Adam Grant
The Founders by Jimmy Soni
7 Rules of Power by Jeffrey Pfeffer 
The Conversation by Robert Livingston 
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Bible. I read it cover-to-cover multiple times as a child, though I have to admit, I skipped over the "beget" sections. 

Your top five authors:

Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner; Kim Scott; Adam Grant; Jared Diamond; Dan Ariely. 

Book you've faked reading:

My son and I started reading Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein--it's long! I had started it once already because I am a political analysis junkie. I loved Klein's narrative and deep research, but it's fairly dense. The same goes for The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. I actually got a chance to meet the author, and it was amazing, but his book is a challenging read. I love books on history and how humankind has evolved, but again, these can take quite a while to get through. 

Book you're an evangelist for:

I love The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I was an early adopter of the book's philosophy. When it came out in the '90s, I read it, shared it with my then-boyfriend, and now we have been married over 20 years! My two love languages are acts of service and gifts, and his are words of affirmation, quality time and physical touch. We are total opposites, and we work really hard on this. The kids have different love languages, too. It's just a really great way to examine how you look at the world and at love. 

Book you've bought for the cover:

I haven't bought a book for its cover in so long! I buy a lot of books online, so the cover factors into the decision a lot less. I will usually listen to a podcast, hear about an interesting book, and then buy it online. I did get one book, The Founders by Jimmy Soni, because it has pictures on the cover of people I know from back when we worked at PayPal! 

Book you hid from your parents:

Any novels. My parents were not big into novels. We were Christian, so we read a lot of Christian books, but I also loved to read fiction: mysteries, romance, thrillers, sci-fi--anything I could get my hands on at the library! I was a voracious reader, and I would check out a stack of 10 books at a time and read ALL of them.

Book that changed your life:

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. It's very easy to go through life and not have a purpose. Its central theme is, "Why are you here on earth? What's your purpose?" That really centered me. It was a wake-up call to not drift through life, and to be intentional about the choices I made. I read it so long ago, but I still remember it.

Favorite line from a book:

My husband and I read a lot of Chuck Swindoll's books when we were dating. My favorite quote of his is, "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."  

Five books you'll never part with:

Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't by Jeffrey Pfeffer. I speak to Professor Pfeffer's class every year at the Stanford Graduate School for Business, and every year, I read this before we go in. It was the inspiration for the book I wrote, which is a contemplation of women's approach to power. 

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Chapman's book teaches us how we can demonstrate care and love with regard to how others receive it. My husband and I have used these insights throughout our two-decade relationship. 

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt. It's a really good explanation of how right-leaning and left-leaning people look at the world differently.

Influence by Robert Cialdini. This was a powerful book about persuasion that everyone should read, both to learn how to influence and to understand the influence others have on you. 

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. Sheryl Sandberg gave me the "lean in" talk to convince me to join Facebook. And it transformed my career. An important message for women in the workplace. 

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

Freakonomics was a delightful read. I love its unconventional look at the world through behavioral economics. I mostly read nonfiction, but I adore Loveboat, Taipei by my friend Abigail Wen. It's a coming-of-age story about an Asian American girl. It was great to see a book where the most important thing about it wasn't the fact that the character was Asian American, but rather the people, their relationships and how they grow and evolve. 

Genre of book you wish there were more of:

I wish there were more women who wrote nonfiction! I was working through this list of "great nonfiction you should read," and it was all male authors. I then realized that most of the books on my shelf and on my TBR list were also authored by men.

Rin Chupeco's The Sacrifice is a chilling YA horror novel about Alon, an 18-year-old Filipino fisher, and their experience as a guide for a group of derisive and exploitative documentary filmmakers.

The Philippine island of Kisapmata is a tropical oasis blanketed by the winding, tentacle-like roots of balete trees. Despite its tranquil appearance, the island is far from serene. Rumors of a sacrificial cult, strange disappearances, a colonial prophecy and a cave-dwelling god (the Diwata) have attracted a group of enterprising documentarians. When the group meets Alon on the island, they assume Alon is the "ghost whisperer" whom the locals say is the "one person the island won't curse." Alon accepts their offer to pay them as a guide but warns the crew they shouldn't be on the island. Hollywood's money-making venture quickly turns sour: members of the crew are driven mad by sightings of grotesque, ghoul-like creatures who shapeshift into those the crew has harmed. As some crew members disappear into the balete, others, like celebrity survivalist Reuben Hemslock, are determined to seize the island's power for themselves. Alon tries to defend the crew, but there is only so much a person can do once the island has found a worthy sacrifice.

Eerie and haunting, The Sacrifice uses elements of traditional Filipino folklore and contemporary horror to bring readers' awareness to the harms of neo-colonialism. The documentarians clumsily and disrespectfully enter Kisapmata then abuse the island's resources and attempt to commodify it, depicting it as a dangerous and malicious land rather than a place of beauty worthy of respect. The island, however, fights back and shows them the error of their ways. The action of the novel centers on the sacrifice of "worthy" victims to the Diwata, who doesn't even have to threaten the interlopers with his supernatural might. Instead, he has only to remind them of their sins. As Alon explains, "The living bring their own ghosts to shore, and only the latter are honest about why."

Through Alon's gentle, direct first-person point of view, Chupeco (The Bone Witch) uses the titular theme to explore interpersonal relationships: Alon's determination to protect and defend the island, the documentarians' willingness to wreck the island's ecology to produce a good film and Hemslock's readiness to "sacrifice the world" if it gets him what he wants. A haunting, hypnotizing Philippines-based folk horror novel that interrogates the evils of neo-colonialism. --Cade Williams, freelance reviewer and staff writer at the Harvard Independent

Shelf Talker: The author of The Bone Witch presents a chilling YA horror novel about an young Filipino fisher who acts as a guide for a group of derisive and exploitative documentary filmmakers.