"I've been banned for years. I've been banned ever since the beginning of my career.... And I'm one of these sort of woowoo guys who does believe in some of the esotericism of art, that it will find its way, it will find who it's for.... I have no qualms over you wanting to adjust your curriculum, I honestly don't. It's not my place.... I'm just asking that you leave the books available, so that the young people who might want to read these books can get them."

Barnes & Noble plans to open 30 stores in 2023 and over the past year opened more stores than it closed, according to the Wall Street Journal, which said the company has "experienced robust customer demand coming out of the pandemic as all booksellers benefited from people turning to books while stuck at home."

B&N CEO James Daunt told the newspaper that the company also benefited from changes made to its stores during the pandemic, adding, "We've now got both the profitability and the confidence to start opening up stores again."

The Journal noted that B&N has about 600 stores now, after peaking at 726 in 2008. As the company has emphasized, the new and renovated stores are usually smaller in size than their predecessors. Referring to a new B&N in Riverhead, N.Y., that has full-height bookshelves arranged in a layout that the Journal called "more analogous to an independent bookstore 'maze' than the supermarket-style layout of the chain's standard big-box locations," Daunt said, "It creates a completely different browsing experience."

This contrasts, he said, with the old B&N approach of opening "big stores that were crammed with books and staffed with the cheapest labor possible," the Journal said. Daunt commented: "It was running really bad bookstores that were dull, unengaging and dispirited. If you do that, your sales go down by a lot and you end up having to close stores."

For Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Ore., the holiday season got off to a bit of a slow start, explained store owner Lane Jacobson. While weekends were "stellar," weekdays were "slower than normal," and there were a few storms in early December that kept people at home. Sales were down about 5% through the first half of the month, Jacobson noted, but for the last two years the store has been "smashing records every single month" and things were "bound to cool off at some point."

October and November were a "few points down from last year," he continued, but Black Friday/Small Business Saturday weekend was up about 10% compared to 2021. Thinking ahead, Jacobson said it was hard to know what to expect--he wouldn't be surprised if the store had a "crazy finish to December" or if Paulina Springs Books ended up "5%-10% down from last December."

While the store hasn't had any runaway bestsellers yet this holiday season, a mix of new releases, evergreen backlist, regional authors and Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association holiday catalogue titles have done well. They include: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny; The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy; Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama; Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer; Inciting Joy by Ross Gay; Big Panda and Tiny Dragon by James Norbury; Beneath the Bending Skies by Jane Kirkpatrick; The Overstory by Richard Powers; and The Bear by Andrew Krivak.

On the subject of supply-chain issues, Jacobson said there have been a few regional catalogue titles that publishers "clearly underestimated demand for," but otherwise things have been manageable, "with the exception of our Ingram deliveries." Shipments from the Roseburg, Ore., warehouse, he reported, used to arrive reliably next day; over the past two months or so, they've been taking up to a week to arrive and sometimes come in split shipments, with some cartons "trailing behind as much as 10-12 days." There have also been more delays with print-on-demand titles from Ingram's Tennessee warehouse.

Other than that, deliveries from a few of the Big Five are arriving in a consistent 2-3 days and sidelines are actually arriving faster than the team expected, so "overall we've been very happy with supply-chain stuff so far this season."

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Kasey Kane Charbonneau, manager of Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, Mont., reported that the store is "definitely in the swing of things" and it "feels very much like we're in the homestretch at this point." There were a few downtown events in late November and early December that brought some early foot traffic to the store, but there was not "an extraordinary surge in early shopping" this year.

Charbonneau noted that although the weekend of the 17th was "potentially our busiest weekend ever," overall sales seemed to have cooled off compared to the past two years. However, the Country Bookshelf team "never expected to keep up with those pandemic levels of sales, and it feels like a far more sustainable pace this year."

With less than a week until Christmas, Braiding Sweetgrass is in the lead for book sales, followed closely by Breathless by David Quammen, Demon Copperhead and The Alpha Female Wolf by Rick McIntyre. Charbonneau pointed out that many of the store's bestsellers in 2022 have strong local ties.

On the topic of supply-chain issues, Charbonneau said there's been "nothing extraordinary." While some shipments have been a bit slow to arrive, there's been "heavy winter weather" all month.

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The Sly Fox in Virden, Ill., is having a "banner year," reported store owner George Rishel. The shop's sales for 2022 surpassed the 2021 total during Thanksgiving weekend, and Rishel said this will be the store's best holiday season since the shop opened 25 years ago. 

Rishel noted that despite strong fourth-quarter sales--higher than the fourth quarter 2021--sales this December will actually be down about 20%-25% compared to December 2021. He attributed that decline to the effects of high gas and food prices as well as the bleak economic outlook. And although books with printed prices on them have been "inflation proof" so far, he expects prices to start increasing in 2023.

The store's bestsellers this holiday season have included Number One Is Walking by Steve Martin; The Mosquito Bowl by Buzz Bissinger; The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book; The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham; Demon Copperhead; and Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall. Popular sidelines include store-branded sweatshirts, dish cloths and tote bags from Chronicle. The totes, Rishel added, have been particularly popular with book club members. --Alex Mutter

British retailers were urging their customers to buy holiday gifts in person last week rather than online, as strikes by the Royal Mail postal service meant deliveries might not arrive in time, the Telegraph (via MSN) reported. 

Waterstones CEO James Daunt told the BBC: "If people want to be certain of getting deliveries in time for Christmas, they need to go into stores. That's definitely the advice we're giving.... I know it's easy for us to say go into shops, as we're a national retailer. It's the independent retailers all over the country who will be suffering the most from this. I feel desperately sorry for them."

The Booksellers Association noted there could be "positive consequence" from the strikes, however. BA managing director Meryl Halls said: "If the silver lining from the very challenging situation around Royal Mail strikes does help produce busy local high streets this Christmas, many bookshops will be pleased to welcome the increased traffic."

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Many Germans will find a book under their Christmas tree this year, according to a recent survey from EY that showed 34% of respondents will be giving books as presents. The European & International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash also reported that "despite online shopping being the preferred option, the percentage of customers who plan to shop physically during this period rises to 41%, slowly approaching pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, sustainability is one of the most important aspects in the list, as two-thirds of the participants (66%) say it plays a significant role in their shopping choices." 

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In Japan, the Book Santa project, which has the motto "anyone can become Santa Claus at a bookstore," delivers donated books as Christmas gifts to children in vulnerable situations. The Japan News reported that "if people buy children's books at partner bookstores across Japan and tell store clerks that they are for donations, the books will be delivered by volunteers dressed as Santa Claus and other figures to homes with and facilities for children in need of support."

The project was launched by the Tokyo nonprofit organization Charity Santa in 2017, and the number of participating bookstores has been increasing, with more than 35,000 books provided to children last year. A total of 779 bookstores are joining the 2022 project.

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A few #HolidaySeason social media treats:

Drawn & Quarterly, Montreal, Que.: "It's snowing in Montreal! It's the holiday season! We asked the... booksellers what holiday windows they wanted and it was unanimous--MOOMIN! So our bookstores are all decked out in their Moomin glory! Thanks to @arizonaoneill & Megan Tan for making this happen!"

The Booklover Bookshop, Milford, New Zealand: "A big thanks to two of our favourite loyal customers, Frida and Lev, for their wonderful Chalkboard quote!"

Soma Nami, Nairobi, Kenya: "A huge appreciation to the corporate clients that have trusted us this year with their end of year gift boxes. We strongly believe everyone should consider including books in their gifting. They make the perfect and most thoughtful gifts to clients, employees, and prospects; to encourage a conscious effort towards personal improvement, and career development and to encourage lifelong learning. P.S we love putting these together so talk to us for your personal and corporate book gifts! Happy Holidays."

The Little Bookshop, Wassenaar, Netherlands: "Surround yourself with people who get you--and things that make you smile! ...such as big sh#tty yellow mugs from Paris, girlfriends dressed as Santa, and bookshop dogs in festive jumpers--or whatever it is that makes you happy. 'Tis the season.' "

Blackwell's Bookshop, Oxford, England: "Late evening, when the books rest and dream of further lands and the floorboards expand to accommodate their original space. Happy Christmas from all at Blackwell's, Oxford." --Robert Gray

Canadian children's author and storyteller Aubrey Davis, who published four award-winning picture books with Kids Can Press, died December 15. Quill & Quire reported that after "discovering the stories of Sufi writer and thinker Idries Shah in the 1970s, Davis began traveling the continent and sharing those stories on radio, television, at libraries, schools and festivals in the 1980s."

He wrote the story that would become his first book when he was asked to tell a Chanukah story to a big audience of young children and he couldn't find one he liked. Bone Button Borscht has remained in print since it was published. His other books include The Enormous Potato, Bagels from Benny and A Hen for Izzy Pippik.

"I've always said that one of my favorite moments at KCP was getting to watch Aubrey seemingly pull a story out of thin air in a gymnasium full of kids at North Kipling Junior Middle School," said Naseem Hrab, associate publisher, creative at KCP. "He was accepting the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for A Hen for Izzy Pippik, and instead of reading from the book, he said, 'Let me tell you all a new story I've been working on'.... I don't remember what the story was about, but I do remember being completely enthralled. His storytelling was magical."

The Idries Shah Foundation wrote that Davis "first encountered Idries Shah's writing when he was a young man travelling in Europe and North Africa. '[Shah's] bottomless tales provoked, puzzled and delighted me,' he once wrote. 'They helped me look at things in fresh, new ways.' Aubrey began to tell these stories in nursing homes, schools, festivals, libraries and jails. For some 17 years, he used teaching-stories to help special needs students in Toronto. Aubrey also worked tirelessly through the Institute for Cross-cultural Exchange and Books Without Borders to make Shah's children's books available to kids in need in deprived societies around the world. His efforts ensured that a quarter of-a-million books were donated to children in Canada and Afghanistan alone."

"Neither wind nor sleet nor snow. Just me and Santa out there today," Robert Sindelar, managing partner of Third Place Books, which operates three stores in or near Seattle, Wash., posted on Facebook as he worked his way through a snowstorm that hit the city yesterday.

It all started at Brazos Bookstore, Houston, Tex., which shared a photo on Instagram of its Lone Star state alternative to a snowman, noting: "We don't get snow (usually) in Houston, but there's always enough supplies to make a boxman! Everyone, we'd like to introduce you to Bertram the Boxman!"

Sherlock Boxman at Murder by the Book

This inspired Murder by the Book, which created its own version: "Looks like boxmen are popping up all over the city! Inspired by our friends at @brazosbookstore, we'd like to introduce you to Sherlock Boxman! Who needs a snowman when you've got your very own mystery solving boxman! Hey @bluewillowbooks, any signs of boxmen over there?"

Blue Willow Bookshop accepted the challenge: "Wow, @murderbooks, you were right! The boxmen parade continues through Houston--Willow popped up in our bookshop this afternoon. So far, Sherlock Boxman has visited our friends at @murderbooks, and the original boxman, Bertram the Boxman, popped up at @brazosbookstore!"

Fairytales Bookstore, Nashville, Tenn., shared a photo on Facebook of the shop's sidewalk chalkboard yesterday, noting: "We're counting down to Christmas and have so many wonderful gift options for you to choose from! Here until 6pm."

The Science of Light: Things that Shine, Flash, and Glow by Margaret Peot (Holiday House).

Tomorrow:
Jennifer Hudson Show repeat: Tabitha Brown, author of Cooking from the Spirit: Easy, Delicious, and Joyful Plant-Based Inspirations (Morrow, $30, 9780063080324).

Friday:
Drew Barrymore repeat: Michelle Obama, author of The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times (Crown, $32.50, 9780593237465).

Creation Entertainment Media and Magic Frame Animation (Netflix's Secret Magic Control Agency) will team up to adapt Georges Alexander Vagan's book series Paul Martin and the Magic Magnifying Glass. Deadline reported that the production companies will co-develop and produce the fantasy adventure tales into a film series for family audiences, with the first movie expected to be released in 2025. The scripts are in development.

Originally written in French, the books and audiobooks are available in a variety of languages, including English, German, Italian and Spanish. The series includes five novels, with a sixth currently being written by Vagan.

The animated features will be based on "the extended Paul Martin universe, with the first film largely adapted from the first book in the series, Paul Martin and the Magic Magnifying Glass," Deadline noted.  

"I couldn't ask for a better partnership to turn Paul Martin's fantasy detective world into films fit for the screen," said Vagan.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was chosen as the 2022 Dymocks Book of the Year, Books+Publishing reported, adding that booksellers at the Australian bookstore chain chose the winner from a shortlist of six titles. 

Kate Mayer, Dymocks fiction category manager, said Lessons in Chemistry (published in the U.S. by Doubleday) is "a cracker of a novel that ticks all the boxes of a great read--you won't want to look up once you start, you'll want to give it to everyone you know, you'll enjoy it immensely and learn from it, and you'll have a new favorite literary heroine. We can't wait for more people to fall for Elizabeth Zott as we have here at Dymocks."

Garmus commented: 'I am completely over the moon to learn Lessons in Chemistry has won Dymocks Book of the Year! To be honest, I haven't fully recovered from being shortlisted yet! Thank you to each and every Dymocks bookseller, for your beautiful store windows, your interior displays, and most of all, for putting my book in your readers' hands. I am humbled and grateful."

This year, the newly added Young Readers Book of the Year Award went to Australian author Craig Silvey's Runt. Dymocks children's category manager Hsu Tin said, "Runt is so very deserving of our first Dymocks Younger Readers Book of the Year Award. It is simply a standout story that is a charming reminder that there is always good in the world. I promise you; it will warm your heart and soul. If you buy one book for the young reader in your life this year, make it this one."

photo: Ming Poon

Jeremy Jones is a professional snowboarder, the owner of Jones Snowboards and the founder of Protect Our Winters, a global nonprofit that unites outdoors people in protecting the places they love from climate change. The recipient of 11 Big Mountain Rider of the Year awards from Snowboarder magazine and a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Jones has starred in dozens of snowboard films, including his trilogy Deeper, Further and Higher. He is the author of The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains (Mountaineers Books), a personal approach to how to think about mountains, snow and adventure.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

This book peels back the layers of my mountain life, the lessons learned and intimacy gained. It's a guide for the whole mountain community.

On your nightstand now:

A random selection! I've been dipping in and out of Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose for a few years now, trying to see our western landscapes with new (old?) eyes and to learn what drove Lewis and Clark.

I've also been making my way through A Promised Land by President Obama, whom I've been lucky to meet and greatly admire.

I read more nonfiction than fiction, but I just finished The Overstory by Richard Powers. I am a tree hugger and this book gave me a new perspective on the intricacies of trees and forest that I was missing.

Surfing has been a part of my life since I was a kid. When I want to go on a mental vacation, I dig into No Bad Waves by Mickey Muñoz, a California surf master who has lived a full life of adventure that is very inspiring to me.

The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford is another inspirational book I turn to again and again.

See You Tomorrow by Jeremy Evans is about the disappearance of fellow rider Marco Siffredi on Everest. It will be a tough read, but I owe it to him.

Finally, I have a daughter and a son who were both inspired to read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas after seeing news headlines about Black Lives Matter. I want to read it, too, so we can all talk about race and social justice issues together.

Favorite book when you were a child:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It was the first book I can remember being affected by. It wasn't just homework. Up until this book, I viewed reading as a chore, not a pleasure.

Your top five authors:

Right now I would say Ryan Holiday, as he seems to always sum up things I've been feeling but have been unable to articulate, especially in his Stillness Is the Key. I love his discussion of the Buddhist concept of "walking meditation."

Obi Kaufmann! He is brilliant and combines art and science in such beautiful and cool ways. I look forward to everything he does.

Jon Krakauer's work never gets old; it's always compelling. He contributed to The Art of Shralpinism, which has me revisiting some of his earlier books.

And I've been on a Vonnegut kick ever since I can remember. I love how loose and radical his writing feels. My father grew up next door to the Vonnegut family and was close with Kurt's kid. My brothers and I actually hung out with him at that same kid's wedding when I was just 15.

And then there's Muir. I did a film back in 2018 called Ode to Muir about the John Muir Wilderness and High Sierra of California. I know he has become controversial recently, but I continue to find inspiration in how he experienced and wrote about wilderness.

Book you've faked reading:

I have read only about half of Speed & Scale: A Global Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now by John Doerr, but I often reference it.

Book you're an evangelist for:

The California Field Atlas by Obi Kaufmann. I am in awe of his work and ethic and understanding of our physical world.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Kaufmann's The Coasts of California. Stunner. 

Book you hid from your parents:

I don't remember ever hiding a book from them.

Book that changed your life:

Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard started me thinking about how I wanted my career to evolve. I built both Jones Snowboards and Protect Our Winters with many of his ideas and ethics clearly in mind.

Favorite line from a book:

From Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig:

"Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow."

Five books you'll never part with:

Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke is a fable in the form of a letter to a knight's children and explores the meaning of life, spiritualism, humility. I like to start my day with a few minutes of reading, and this one always delivers a line or two of inspiration.

I'll keep my copy of Drawn by Jeremy Collins, because he's a friend and because I aspire to his artistry.

Avalanche terrain is a core part of my life, and Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper is the core book on the subject.

For pure stoke, There and Back by Jimmy Chin, another friend and a master photographer. No one shoots mountains like he does.

And for sentimental reasons, No Words for the Way Down, the first book that I published with my brothers at Teton Gravity Research. The new book is very different, but this earlier one encapsulates my journey filming the trilogy that includes Deeper, Further and Higher.

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

Endurance by Alfred Lansing--the adrenaline, the leadership, the frigid landscape, the cat.

Your favorite guidebooks:

Extreme Alpinism by Mark Twight and Force of Nature by Laird Hamilton. Both taught me that guidebooks could be more than just textbooks or practical instruction and that the mental and emotional states are equally if not more important.

Woven of the World is a splendid mosaic of a picture book, lyrically written by Katey Howes (Rissy No Kissies) and lushly illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova (Russian Tales). "I listen, as I'm weaving,/ to the rhythm of the loom," Howes writes. "I imagine skeins of history/ unfurled across the room." She adroitly intertwines into her rhyming verses stories of "warm tradition" that cross borders and span years.

Weaving, "in its many incarnations, may be the world's most ubiquitous art form." Nestled between the metrical refrain at the book's open and close--"Clack. Clack./ Swish--/ PULL BACK./ Bobbin and heddle,/ foot pedal, no slack"--is a collection of techniques passed down, preserved, adapted and dispersed through generations from across the globe. As Howes's narrative highlights practices and production, Mirtalipova enhances every page with her intricate, vibrant art.

In a spread at the book's start, "Silken threads/ coaxed from a white cocoon" are the tablecloth on a resplendent table set for tea. Steam rises from a pot and bowl, both of which are decorated with scenes of prepping, making and weaving inspired by ancient Chinese art styles. Mirtalipova, using a complementary palette of red, white, blue and black, adds a whimsical layer by turning the tabletop into a pastoral background of mountains, trees and a temple where the rising steam doubles as clouds. In Mirtalipova's gouache illustration is a clever reminder that weaving was historically a daily undertaking: while one tiny figure weaves the silk, another fishes and still another ferries a delivery. A kitty and woman peek over the table's edge, bearing witness to this creative past.

Throughout the book, women, children and cats function as multigenerational guides who demonstrate, display and share expertise. Howes thoughtfully chooses certain words as explicit signifiers for the areas of the world her history visits: "silken" and "dynasty" for ancient China; "flaxen" and "pharaoh" for ancient Egypt; "mountain villages" and "backstrap" for Indigenous Peru. Mirtalipova meticulously matches Howes's verses with carefully researched images, such as dancing women in traditional Peruvian clothing and headdresses, accompanied by gamboling, wool-supplying alpacas. Extensive back matter provides additional provenance and context. Author and artist intertwine their talents to gift "three dimensions of weaving" here: as practice, as art and, perhaps most importantly, as community creation. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon

Shelf Talker: Author and illustrator highlight techniques and tools of weaving across centuries and cultures in this meticulously illustrated picture book presented in captivating rhythmic verse.