Henry's Books, an all-ages bookstore with a focus on community and diversity, opened yesterday in downtown Spearfish, S.Dak., KEVN reported.

Located at 111 E. Hudson Suite A, the store sells new titles for children, teens, and adults in a variety of genres. Co-owners and married couple Elizabeth and Dylan Mattson named the bookstore for their son, and they helped fund the store through a program that allows community members to sponsor genres or specific titles. They aim to make the bookstore a community hub, and their event plans include classes, workshops, book clubs, parties, and more.

"We're excited to see a lot of friendly faces, familiar faces," Elizabeth Mattson told KEVN. "We're excited to connect with a lot of new people in the community and get them excited about something that maybe they hadn't thought to read before or maybe they've got some books that they're hoping to see."

Mind Virus Counter-Culture Books and Media, which features new and used titles in "an eclectic selection of high weirdness with the intent of both educating and culture jamming," opened in early May at 124 8th St. S. in Fargo, N.Dak.

Owner Isaac Kobrinsky told InForum he has spent much of his life collecting what he described as weird ephemera that speaks to the "eclectically bizarre" side of humanity. "It's been my lifetime dream to open a bookstore," he said, adding that for the past five years he rented the basement of the building and used it as a shipping department for selling items online.

Kobrinsky has long been part of the counterculture, including underground music, art, poetry, and activism, and said what Mind Virus has to offer reflects that journey. "I believe wholeheartedly that everyone has a voice and a vote and the right to peaceful demonstration," he said, adding that bookshop strongly advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and other groups that can be marginalized by mainstream culture. He also plans to hold special events at the store, including talks by authors and others, and to provide a space for local artists and writers to sell their zines and build their audience.

The amount of foot traffic the store has had since opening has surprised him. Customers of all ages have been showing up, which is consistent with something he discovered about two years ago when he began taking his two teenage children to art shows and other cultural events in downtown Fargo. "I experienced an extremely vibrant and creative youth culture scene, and I thought to myself, 'Now is the time to (open a bookstore).' I've always wanted to do it," he recalled.

"We want to support the counterculture, to have a safe bookstore for people of like minds," Kobrinsky told High Plains Reader. "Not to get too political, but we have a lot of creeping authoritarianism going on and women's rights being stripped. I felt that I could do something to combat this very difficult moment in our country's history by having in-print books that are about intelligent ways to organize and get engaged civically, about how to combat this moment peacefully and to organize."  

HarperCollins is launching a new imprint, Harper Influence, that will publish a range of nonfiction "spanning popular culture, from general lifestyle and entertainment to stories of survival and inspiration," the company said. "Whether in the fields of entertainment, science, medicine, nature, music, lifestyle, spirituality, cooking, design, or news-driven narratives, the defining theme of the list will be cultural impact and relevance."

Lisa Sharkey

Harper Influence aims to publish some 15 books annually, and its first titles will appear this fall. Senior v-p Lisa Sharkey, who has been with HarperCollins for 17 years, will head the imprint as publisher. Also acquiring for Harper Influence and supporting Sharkey are Maddie Pillari, editor, and Lexie von Zedlitz, editorial assistant.

Sharkey said, "I'm thrilled to launch Harper Influence and publish a list of compelling, innovative, and unique books across various nonfiction genres. It is my greatest honor to be able to lead this new and exciting adventure into the future, creating a legacy of ideas and inspiration from the zeitgeist."

David Nenke

Australian online bookstore company Booktopia made a series of changes this week that point to a challenging future for the company. AAP (via the Sydney Morning Herald) reported that Booktopia's CEO David Nenke has resigned, effective immediately, following CFO Fiona Levens's resignation on May 15. Booktopia also said it was withdrawing its guidance issued in February that it would make between A$1 million (about US$667,500) and A$3 million (about US$2 million) in 2023-24.

In addition, at least 50 positions are being considered for layoffs at Booktopia's Rhodes headquarters in a bid to save A$6.1 million (about US$4.1 million) in 2024-25. To help pay for costs associated with the layoffs, the company has secured a A$1 million revolving debt facility with AFSG Capital at an 18% interest rate.

Economic headwinds and the continued soft performance of the Australian book market were cited by Booktopia as having affected its core business, selling physical books via websites Booktopia.com.au and angusrobertson.com.au, AAP noted. 

As a cost-saving measure, Booktopia's directors have agreed to have their fees paid in the form of shares for the next six months, during which time chairman Peter George will assume the role of executive chairman.

"The sustained volatility of the economic climate, in addition to changing consumer spending behaviors, have continued to contribute to business results that have been below our expectations," George said. 

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German bookstore chain Thalia plans to integrate an AI tool into its e-commerce website, "with the aim of aiding business growth and improving product discovery for customers," the Bookseller reported. Thalia operates more than 500 bookshops in German-speaking countries, with 6,500 employees and a significant digital presence comprising its website and app. 

During the next three years, the chain plans to double its marketplace from 20 million items to 40 million items. To achieve this goal, the company is partnering with the AI platform Coveo, with the aim of "improving product discovery, delivering more personalized book recommendations and reducing manual site maintenance." Thalia's new AI-powered website will be rolled out later this year.

"Coveo is exactly the right partner for us. With their decade of AI experience, AI search and recommendations, and strength in security, Coveo is the best option to effectively support our strong growth targets in the digital sector," said Thalia chief customer officer Roland Kölbl.

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Children in the U.K. and Ireland are reading fewer books than they did last year "as post-Covid absences from school and a lack of dedicated reading time contribute to lower reading abilities," the Guardian reported. This is the first year there has been a decline in the number of books read since the research began in 2008, excepting the first year of the Covid pandemic.

The 2024 What Kids Are Reading Report, which surveyed more than 1.2 million pupils, revealed a 4.4% decrease in the number of books read by pupils. According to the study, the decline in reading is "particularly acute" in secondary schools, and affects the difficulty of books being read as well as the volume. The respondents read progressively more challenging books until year six, after which the difficulty level of books being read tended to plateau until year nine, before a "sharp drop" in the difficulty of those read by older secondary students.

"The key takeaway from this report is that more reading practice at an appropriate level of difficulty improves pupils' reading performance, with more reading time in school leading to higher reading attainment," said University of Dundee's Keith Topping. "There are a number of possible reasons for the decline, but the high number of pupils persistently absent from school post-Covid is likely to be the biggest factor." --Robert Gray

This past week, Shelf Awareness sent our monthly pre-order e-blast to more than 960,000 of the country's best book readers. The e-blast went to 967,769 customers of 253 participating independent bookstores.

The mailing features 11 upcoming titles selected by Shelf Awareness editors and a sponsored title. Customers can buy these books via "pre-order" buttons that lead directly to the purchase page for the title on each sending store's website. A key feature is that bookstore partners can easily change title selections to best reflect the tastes of their customers and can customize the mailing with links, images and promotional copy of their own.

The pre-order e-blasts are sent the last Wednesday of each month; the next will go out on Wednesday, June 26. Stores interested in learning more can visit our program registration page or contact our partner program team via e-mail.

For a sample of the May pre-order e-blast, see this one from the Curious Cat Bookshop, Winsted, Conn.

The titles highlighted in the pre-order e-blast were:

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (Morrow)
The Bright Sword: A Novel of King Arthur by Lev Grossman (Viking)
The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey (Avon)
The Adventure Zone: The Suffering Game by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Carey Pietsch (First Second)
Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon (W by Wattpad)
The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood for All of Us by Rachelle Bergstein (Atria/One Signal)
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire)
Nicked by M.T. Anderson (Pantheon)
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (Morrow)
Reckless by Lauren Roberts (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Monday night in New York City Michael Bloomberg hosted the launch party for Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of America Democracy by Francis S. Barry (Steerforth Press). Barry (l.) is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering national affairs. He also served as a speechwriter for Bloomberg during his time as New York City mayor and during his 2020 presidential campaign.

The Books Inc. store in Palo Alto, Calif., shared a photo on Instagram of the shop's sidewalk chalkboard message: "What is a bookshop other than a treasure for a curious mind?"

Longleaf Services will handle fulfillment and publishing services for the University of Pittsburgh Press, effective July 1.

Michael Guy-Haddock is joining Simon & Schuster Canada as v-p of sales. He has worked for 17 years for HarperCollins Canada, most recently as a senior sales director.

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Lizzi Middleman has returned to Choose Your Own Adventure as marketing director. Middleman started her career in publishing as the editorial assistant at Chooseco more than a decade ago. After building the marketing department at CYOA, she worked at Gibbs Smith and Algonquin.

All That Really Matters: A Novel by David Weill (Rare Bird Books).

Today:
Fresh Air: Colson Whitehead, author of Crook Manifesto: A Novel (Vintage, $18, 9780525567288).

Here & Now: Khushbu Shah, author of Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora (W.W. Norton, $35, 9781324036258).

Howard Stern Show: Tiffany Haddish, author of I Curse You with Joy (Diversion Books, $28.99, 9781635769531).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Kellie Carter Jackson, author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance (Seal Press, $30, 9781541602908).

Today Show: Dan Churchill, author of Eat Like a Legend: Delicious, Super Easy Recipes to Perform at Your Peak (HarperOne, $34.99, 9780063284227).

Live with Kelly and Mark: James Patterson, co-author of Eruption (Little, Brown, $32, 9780316565073).

Tamron Hall: Darius Rucker, author of Life's Too Short: A Memoir (Dey Street, $29.99, 9780063238749).

MSNBC's 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle: Francis S. Barry, author of Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of America Democracy (Steerforth, $35, 9781586423889).

Netflix is developing a film adaptation of None of This Is True, the bestselling novel by Lisa Jewell, with Eleanor Burgess (Perry Mason, WeCrashed) writing the script. Deadline reported that Netflix "won rights to the book in a competitive situation that involved multiple offers out of the U.S. and U.K." 

Actress and producer Molly Sims (Kinda Pregnant) and her production company Something Happy Productions and Modern Magic are attached to produce, with Jewell exec producing. Gaby McCormick will co-produce through Modern Magic.

The Writers' Trust of Canada announced that Faith Paré (poetry) and Nayani Jensen (short fiction) are winners of this year's RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, which was established in memory of poet and short story writer Bronwen Wallace and "has a proven track record of helping talented developing authors secure their first book deal." Each winning author receives C$10,000 (about US$7,330).

Paré won for her poetry collection Selections from "A fine African head", which the jury called "stunning and necessary," adding that the poems "are not merely inspired by a historical event but emerge ingeniously from it. Faith Paré returns the truth not only to the victims, but also to the survivors of the 1969 Sir George Williams University computer centre incident. This urgent, chimerical, and devastating work is finely crafted from the unreliability of archive and the misery of memory."

Jensen won for her short story collection Like Rabbits, which the jury praised as "historical fiction at its most intimate and convincing. This story beautifully harks back to the golden age of Dutch science, a time when men played gods. As one such man attempts to conceive with his wife, he seeks credit for his groundbreaking discoveries at great personal cost--only to face tragedy and his own mortality. With elegance, authority, and vitality, Nayani Jensen gives us a timeless story of ambition and a tender portrait of a marriage."

The other finalists for the poetry prize were Balcony buffalo by Ashleigh A. Allen and Hiraeth by Sneha Subramanian Kanta. The other short fiction prize finalists were Our Rez Anomaly by Henry Heavyshield and ON VENLAFAXINE AND GHOSTS by Reid Kerr Keller. Each writer receives C$2,500 (about US$1,830).

photo: Elizabeth Unseth

S.T. Gibson is the author of A Dowry of Blood, An Education in Malice, and other romantic fantasies. Her newest novel, Evocation (Angry Robot, May 28, 2024), is the first book in the Summoner's Circle, about a deal with the Devil, and a man who has to reach out to a rival and ex-boyfriend for help to escape it. Gibson lives in New England with her partner.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

An arrogant, psychic Boston lawyer is forced to team up with his sorcerer ex-boyfriend and the ex's new witch wife to break a family curse.

On your nightstand now:

The Folk Tales of Scotland: The Well at the World's End and Other Stories by Norah Montgomerie and William Montgomerie. I try to read a couple of folk tales before bed at night as research for an upcoming series.

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. The Eternity Code was my favorite installment.

Your top five authors:

Catherynne M. Valente, Vladimir Nabokov, Maggie Stiefvater, Donna Tartt, and Sierra Simone.

Book you've faked reading:

I tell everyone I've finished House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski even though I stalled out about halfway through.

Books you're an evangelist for:

I'm a Lolita apologist (I am never beating the pretentious lit student allegations) and am always trying to get more SFF fans to read the Innsmouth Legacy series by Ruthanna Emrys. Also, we as a culture do not talk about The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht enough.

Book you've bought for the cover:

So many of them! Most recently, I bought Rouge by Mona Awad. The blurb sounds excellent (this would be my first Awad), but the cover just screamed chic city hot girl. I could easily imagine myself reading it on the subway looking troubled and literary and effortlessly cool.

Book you hid from your parents:

I hid my mother's own copies of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles from her! I would steal her keepsake '80s clothbound editions from storage when I was 13 and read them in secret because she said I wasn't old enough for them yet. Turns out, they completely rewired my brain. That led me to sneaking Anne Rice's erotica when I could. I was also very into reading memoirs of rock-and-roll groupies and mobster girlfriends and other women who had taken up with dangerous men, and my parents were definitely a little concerned about that.

Book that changed your life:

I really have to shout out KJ Charles's Spectred Isle! It was the book that made me fall in love with romance and, more importantly, made me want to write romance myself. I followed it up quickly with KJ Charles's Band Sinister, which cemented my love for the genre.

Favorite line from a book:

"If the world is divided into seeing and not seeing, Marya thought, I shall always choose to see." --from Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Deathless was really crucial to my formation of identity as a young woman of 18 or 19, and there was something so powerful about reading about a female protagonist choosing curiosity, choosing hunger, choosing knowledge.

Five books you'll never part with:

My signed copies of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater; my paperback of Sierra Simone's Saint with the original non-discreet cover; my battered editions of Anaïs Nin's diaries that I have scribbled in and underlined; the original 1991 mass-market paperback of the Life on the Border anthology edited by Terri Windling that I miraculously found in a roadside used bookstore; and a handful of devotional books gifted to me by a theology professor before her retirement.

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

I would love to capture the emotional rollercoaster of reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt for the first time, but I read it the winter of my freshman year of college when I was 17, and I'm not sure anyone can top that developmental experience.

Your favorite nonfiction book:

I read a lot of spiritual nonfiction, and I think Honoring Your Ancestors by Mallorie Vaudoise is a really wonderful introduction to the practice of ancestor veneration that is friendly to a lot of different worldviews and access points.

Alex Brown (Damned if You Do) ups the fright ante in her second anthology of YA horror, The House Where Death Lives, with a superb ensemble of nightmarish stories about demons of all kinds.

Every teen in this collection has faced death in some form. Many, for example, grieve lost loved ones. The narrator of the otherworldly fae story "Let's Play a Game" by Shelly Page (who coedited Night of the Living Queers with Brown) must remember a would-be girlfriend's disappearance to quell a haunting sense of "running away and toward something." A teen bares her heart to the rotting specter of a deceased friend in a tragic tale by Tori Bovalino ("Bloom"), while a disquieting version of a girl's dead mother lurks in a hallway in "Vanishing Point" by Traci Chee. Other lives drift perilously close to their end. A starving girl locked in her attic befriends the invisible entity within her mirror in "Good Morning, Georgia" by Courtney Gould. In "The Grey Library" by Nova Ren Suma, a babysitter succumbs to a strange charge's desires. Fear, though, is not a certainty for them all--some see darkness as a gift.

Unfettered emotions run rampant here: envy that breaks, bitterness like expired food, regret that can "destroy a person quicker than any poison." There is guilt like "a rabid beast with thick claws, gouging" and grief that feels like a "vacuum kind of silence." Contrasting this torrent of foreboding, however, is joyous love: " 'I see the world.' I touch her wrist, pressing my fingers against her pulse point. 'Here... and here... ' I brush my thumb across her inner elbow. 'And here.' I bring my hand to rest just above her heart." Blistering prose breathes life into malevolent beings, describing "vertebrae popping out of place," breath "reeking of meat, raw or rotten," and a mouth that is "a tunnel straight to hell."

The tales are grouped according to the architecture of their shared setting (Attic, Down the Stairs, Second Floor, First Floor, Grounds) and connect in other, unsettling ways. Gay, bi, sapphic, and nonbinary characters are beautifully represented. Incorporated too are strong multicultural identities (Jamaican, Lebanese, Chinese, among them) and mythology, such as an Italian strega (witch) in "What Lies in Silence" by Justine Pucella Winans and a Tiyanak, a vampire of Filipino lore that takes the form of an infant in Kay Costales's "Cradle and All." Compellingly horrifying. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer

Shelf Talker: This compelling YA horror anthology of nightmarish tales features a diverse cast of teens encountering strange manifestations of their complex emotions surrounding death.

The following were the most popular book club books during May based on votes from book club readers in more than 83,500 book clubs registered at Bookmovement.com:

1. The Women: A Novel by Kristin Hannah (HarperCollins)
2. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead Books)
3. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Harper)
4. First Lie Wins: A Novel by Ashley Elston (Pamela Dorman Books)
5. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Dial Press)
6. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday)
7. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Doubleday)
8. The Measure: A Novel by Nikki Erlick (Morrow)
9. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (Grove Press)
10. Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel by Shelby Van Pelt (Ecco)

Rising Stars:
James by Percival Everett (Doubleday)
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Forever)