Elizabeth Haslam, who, with her husband, Charlie "the Bookman" Haslam, was part of the second generation to own Haslam's Book Store, St. Petersburg, Fla., died on Saturday at age 94. She had been in the hospital for more than a month.
Elizabeth Haslam ran the store for many years following the untimely death of Charlie and taught at many of the old ABA Booksellers Schools, where she demonstrated a striking mix of sweet, old-fashioned customer service and no-holds-barred salesmanship.
The Haslam family continues to own the 30,000-sq.-ft. store, which stocks new and used books.
---
Besides Pacific Equity Partners, whose interest was made known in May, "trade and [other] private equity firms" have expressed interest in purchasing Borders's Australian and New Zealand operations, according to Reuters.
Borders's advisor KPMG said that an information memorandum will be sent out by the end of July and the sale would probably take three or four months to complete.
Pacific Equity already owns A&R Whitcoulls. Borders has 20 stores in Australia and four in New Zealand; three more will open by the end of the year.
---
Greg Brandenburgh has become sales and marketing director of Hampton Roads Publishing. Earlier he worked for Thorson/Element (US), Tuttle Publishing and HarperSanFrancisco.
---
---
Tintin in trouble update.
In Thursday's edition of Shelf Awareness, we reported that the Commission for Racial Equality, an official British racism watchdog group, had recommended bookshops across the U.K. ban copies of Tintin in the Congo and that Borders had decided to move the book from its children's section to adult graphic novels section.
Since then, the Associated Press (via Business Week) has interviewed David Enright, the London human rights lawyer who encountered the book while shopping with his family at a Borders bookstore.
"The material suggests to [children] that Africans are subhuman, that they are imbeciles, that they're half savage," Enright told the AP. "My black wife, who actually comes from Africa originally, is sitting there with my boys and I'm about to hand this book to them. . . . What message am I sending to them? That my wife is a monkey, that they are monkeys?"
Over the weekend, copies of the book began "flying off the shelves with sales soaring by almost 4,000%," according to the Scotsman, and the controversial book reached the top 10 list on Amazon.co.uk.
Though publicity has drawn attention to the book, a CRE spokesman said, "It is a delicate balance but because we had a complaint from a member of the public, we felt we had no choice."
The controversy has drawn worldwide attention, including an editorial in the Calcutta Telegraph that explored "two kinds of post-colonials--the guilty and the giggling" and contended that "Human glee is essentially amoral."
Chloe and Sydney Bostian are on an 11-day vigil to be among the first Alaskans to buy a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, according to the Seattle Times. Since last Tuesday, they've been living in their family's camper in the parking lot of Gulliver's Books, Fairbanks.
---
What do the Hungarian Horntails, Harry & the Potters, Draco & the Malfoys and the Whomping Willows have in common? According to Salon, these are just four of nearly 200 Harry Potter-inspired bands playing "wizard rock" who "use MySpace for publicity, produce and release their own music, and book concerts at libraries. The Horntails are named after characters from The Goblet of Fire, and their songs have titles like 'Kill the Basilisk' and 'Which Witch Is Which?' Their first album is called 'Burn Voldemort's Butt.'"
---
A wizard's Cape? The town of Sandwich, Mass., "will be re-imagined as author J.K. Rowling's fantasy world" Friday morning, according to the Cape Cod Times, which added that "town employees are already plotting their costumes" and "town administrator George 'Bud' Dunham agreed to become the Minister of Magic for the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. at town hall."
"This was a way to highlight all the wonderful things in Sandwich," said organizer Vicky Uminowicz of Titcomb's Bookshop. "We love getting this book in the hands of kids."
---
Other Harry Potter community efforts nationwide were highlighted by the Associated Press (via USA Today), with a special emphasis on the long-term prospects for such gatherings after the final installment of the series arrives.
According to the AP, "Enthusiasts in small towns such as Poulsbo, Washington, and larger communities such as Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois--where 10,000 people turned out in 2003--are looking to the wildly popular Harry Potter movies, a theme park to open in Orlando, Florida, in 2009 and increasing fan conventions and conferences to keep the Potter energy flowing."
---
The London Telegraph, which has a Harry Potter home page, reported on a "£10 million [about $20.3 million] security operation" to prevent any detail leaks for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The list of precautionary measures reads like an international suspense thriller, replete with plot devices like storage sites protected by security teams and guard dogs, as well as reports that "print factory workers in Britain have been threatened with the sack if they leak any details, while German publishers banned mobile phones and even packed lunches in the printing plant. Some employees reportedly had to work in near-darkness to prevent them reading the book."
According to the Telegraph, on Tuesday, when copies begin leaving base camps for retailers, the operation will become even more intense: "The trucks Bloomsbury will use are fitted with satellite tracking systems costing up to £1,000 each, which will reveal whether any of the vehicles deviates from its intended route. The books are on sealed pallets fitted with alarms to prevent tampering."
---
The same issue of the Telegraph noted that a "flurry of bets on Harry killing himself has seen bookmaker William Hill cut the odds of that happening from 33-1 to 10-11 on."
---
The Detroit Free Press offered a recipe for Harry Potter "Magic Wand Snacks."
This week on the Early Show: a three-part series featuring David Batstone and his Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It (HarperOne, $14.95, 9780061206719/0061206717).
---
This morning on Fox & Friends: C. David Heymann, author of American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy (Atria, $27.95, 9780743497381/0743497384).
---
Today on Regis & Kelly: Blair Underwood, author of Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Story (Tantor Media, $75.99, 9781400134939/1400134935).
---
Today on Fresh Air with Terry Gross: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey whose new collection of poems is Native Guard
(Houghton Mifflin, $13.95, 9780618872657/0618872655)--the title refers
to a regiment of African-American soldiers who fought for the Union in
the Civil War.
---
Today on Hannity & Colmes: syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, author of The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington (Crown Forum, $29.95, 9781400051991/1400051991).
---
Tonight on Larry King Live: Taylor Hicks, author of Heart Full of Soul: An Inspirational Memoir About Finding Your Voice and Finding Your Way (Crown, $24.95, 9780307382436/0307382435).
---
Tonight on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Josh Rushing, former Marine and current military and current affairs correspondent for Al Jazeera English and author of Mission Al Jazeera: Build a Bridge, Seek the Truth, Change the World (Palgrave Macmillan, $24.95, 9781403979056/1403979057).
---
Tonight on the Colbert Report: Richard Florida, author of The Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent (Collins, $15.95, 9780060756918/0060756918).
Sunny days: Mary Slezak (r.) won a trip for two to the beach during a recent event at Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, Mich., to promote Life's a Beach (Voice, $23.95, 9781401303242/1401303242), the new novel by Claire Cook (l.)
International Thriller Writers announced the winners of its 2007 Thriller Awards at ThrillerFest in New York City over the weekend. And the award goes to:
Best Novel: Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder (St. Martin's Press)
Finalists: False Impression by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin's Press), Cold Kill by Stephen Leather (Hodder & Stoughton), The Messenger by Daniel Silva (Putnam) and Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger (Shaye Areheart Books/Bantam).
Best First Novel: Mr. Clarinet by Nick Stone (Michael Joseph Ltd./Penguin)
Finalists: Shadow of Death by Patricia Gussin (Oceanview Publishing), Switchback by Matthew Klein (Orion), A Thousand Suns by Alex Scarrow (Orion) and 18 Seconds by George D. Shuman (Simon & Schuster).
Best Paperback Original: An Unquiet Grave by P.J. Parrish (Pinnacle)
Finalists: Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler with Jack DuBrul (Berkley Trade), The Deep Blue Alibi by Paul Levine (Bantam), Headstone City by Tom Piccirilli (Spectra Books/Crown) and Mortal Faults by Michael Prescott (Onyx Books).
Best Screenplay: The Good Shepherd by Eric Roth
Finalists: Inside Man by Russell Gewirtz, The Departed by William Monahan, Children of Men by Alfonse Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby; and Casino Royale Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis.
From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at BookSense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:
Hardcover
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker (Atlantic, $24, 9780871139627/0871139626). "When actor/writer Tucker and his wife, actress Jill Eikenberry, bought a cottage in Umbria, they fell in love with the house, the place, the food, the wine, and each other--all over again. This charming memoir will make you want to hop on the next plane to Italy with the love of your life (or find the love of your life)."--Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe, La.
A Much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge (Thomas Dunne, $24.95, 9780312363833/0312363834). "You can't help but adore Anthony Anscombe, even as he stumbles into yet another ill-fated love affair. Complete with a deliciously complicated brood of ex-wives, children, obstinate parents, in-laws, and nosy locals, Anthony and his home on his English country estate are as charming as they come."--Mariah Whitney, Colby College Bookstore, Waterville, Me.
Paperback
The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller by Betsy Burton (Gibbs Smith, $15.95, 9781423601241/1423601246). "You'll find joy, heartbreak, and lessons for everyone in an independent bookstore, and that's just from the people who work there. Burton's memoir celebrates a career filled with humor, drama, and self-reflection, and she reveals why a small group of very determined people spend their lives championing literacy."--Vivien L. Jennings, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kans.
For Young Adults
A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling, $16.99, 9780385751087/0385751087). "Written for young adults and inspired by the true story of one 15-year-old girl's determination to sustain life and joy in the midst of events outside her control. This book mixes pure pleasure and relentless hardship in lyrical prose."--Nooy Bunnell, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, Mass.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]
