Jeannine A. Cook, owner of Harriett's Bookshop, has purchased the four-story building at 258 E. Girard Avenue in Philadelphia from landlord Sang Casenta for $700,000, "ensuring the future of the world-renowned bookshop," the Inquirer reported.

"I'm still in shock," Cook said. "I'm so excited that people are excited. I hope it ignites a faith for people to go forward with their dreams. It's really about putting one foot in front of the other."

Cook began renting the storefront in 2019, with plans to use it as office space for her then-consulting business before deciding to sell books as a second income stream. In 2020, she opened Harriett's Bookshop, which "has since become one of the Philadelphia area's most influential bookshops, a community meeting space, and a center for advocacy against anti-Blackness and for self-care," the Inquirer noted. She has also opened other bookshops, including Ida's in Collingswood, N.J., and Josephine's in Paris, France. 

"Everything that Jeannine does is wonderful and impacts not just the Philadelphia community, but people around the world," said Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Fishtown Business Improvement District. "She's the only one who does what she does and she chose Fishtown to bring that vision to life."

The idea to purchase the building first occurred to Cook two years ago when she saw so many Black-owned business closing because owners couldn't keep up with rising rents. "I couldn't get this idea that I felt like a sharecropper out of my head," Cook said. "I had a vision for something different, but I had no idea about how I was going to pull that off."

Cook launched a GoFundMe campaign in 2021 that ultimately raised the $200,000 she would use to secure a down payment. Last year, she approached Casenta about the possibility of buying the building, but the landlord wasn't ready to sell yet. As Cook looked at other buildings in Fishtown and neighboring Kensington, she "stayed positive, continuing to work closely with Casenta to solve plumbing issues, including a major flood during Black Friday weekend," the Inquirer wrote.

Negotiations to sell the building finally began this past spring. "If anyone was going to buy this building from me, I wanted it to be her," Casenta said. "There is always a lot of excitement in her shop."

In addition to Harriett's 500-square-foot first floor, the 250-square-foot basement, and garden in the back, the building has three apartments that Cook will maintain as rentals. She is renovating Harriett's, plans to open a café, and hopes to unveil the initial stages of her progress during the Philadelphia Book Crawl on September 24. "Up until now, Harriett's has been a gallery space," Cook said. "In this next iteration, she will feel more like a home."

Last weekend, Love & Other Books hosted a grand opening celebration at 251 E. 9 Mile Rd, Ferndale, Mich., with a family event that included games, activities, giveaways, and prizes.

"At Love & Other Books, we believe that everyone deserves a place of comfort, belonging, and love," co-owners Erin and Mike Cambron say in their mission statement. "That's why we've created a space where readers can take their time and connect with others over their shared love of books. Our diverse collection is carefully curated to cater to all interests, and we hope that every visit leaves you feeling a little more loved than before."

Erin Cambron has a background in education in history, French, and English as a Second Language. Her passion is in forming community and talking about books. Max Cambron works full-time for a software company and is the finance/tech brain behind the business.

Earlier this year, Erin Cambron had posted on Facebook: "Together with my husband, Max, we had a dream to be more community-minded. We have lived in Ferndale for 12 years and adore our little city of love. Our house is brimming with books and we love bonding with others over books.... I'm looking forward to seeing you at our store."

Spiracle is launching Audiobook in a Card, designed to integrate the digital audiobook market with bookshops in the U.K. The Bookseller reported that the initiative "will make audiobooks of titles published by independent publishers available in brick-and-mortar bookshops for £12 [about $15.25]. The aim is to offer customers the benefit of the recommendations of booksellers, rather than having a purely algorithmic experience."

Available audiobooks through the program are those that Spiracle has co-published with indie presses that may not have been released as audiobooks in the past. Income from sales of Audiobook in a Card is split between the publisher, bookseller, and Spiracle. 

Indie bookshops taking part in the pilot include Burley Fisher Books and Libreria Bookshop in east London; the Mainstreet Trading Company in Melrose; the Book Hive in Norwich;  Hewson Books in Brentford; La Biblioteka in Sheffield; Dead Ink Books in Liverpool; Medina Bookshop in Cowes on the Isle of Wight; Mostly Books in Abingdon; and the Stoke Newington Bookshop in north London.

"We are delighted and proud to be able to share great literature from small publishers in a new form with the Audiobook in a Card series from Spiracle," said Ross Hoey of Hewson Books. "They are visually striking, appealing to customers with their original aesthetic, and very well made. The range is curated and diverse, so there really is something for everyone."

Lloyd Sowerbutts of Libreria Bookshop added: "This year we are proud to broaden our offer into audiobooks by partnering with Spiracle, who work with the best indie presses, such as And Other Stories, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Peninsula Press and Prototype, to bring readers a different way to enjoy exceptional and inventive writing."

Kate Bland, founder of Spiracle Audiobooks, commented: "We're really glad to have found a way for bookshops, the vital community hubs around the U.K., to benefit from the burgeoning audiobook business as well as a new way for listeners to discover audiobooks--to find brilliant, diverse writing read by talented narrators, brought to the listeners with genuine curation and care."

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Melissa Oliver (l.)

At this year's Aetorea NZ Book Industry Awards, held during the recent Booksellers Aotearoa Annual Conference & Trade Day in Auckland, Melissa Oliver of Unity Books Wellington was named Emerging Bookseller of the Year, one of 15 honors presented at the event.

"Melissa was a clear standout among a group of standouts. We were so impressed by what she is doing to foster community and support local writers and publishers," said the judges.

The Nielsen BookData NZ Bookshop of the Year was jointly awarded to Petronella's Bookstore in Tekapo and The Booklover in Milford. The judges say they were impressed with all entries in this category, which reflected the strategy and effort that sits behind selling books.

"The decision was difficult, but ultimately Petronella's and the Booklover share the award for their business success, place in the community, inviting stores and for their outstanding knowledge of their respective markets," the judges noted.

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand association manager Renee Rowland observed: "Booksellers, like most retailers, are impacted by the softening in sales across the motu. The winners celebrated this evening have all pushed the boat out, working extremely hard, as all our bookseller members do, to ensure success now and in the future. On behalf of the association, I thank and salute you all."

Claire Mabey, books editor for the Spinoff Review of Books, filed a report from the "litterati glitterati" event, noting that the awards night "brought together an Aotearoa of bookish brilliance: a constellation of movers and shakers representing intergenerational collegiality. The old wave and the new together riding the ebb and flow of the industry, and the world."

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Bookshop window display: "How can you stroll past a window display like this at an indie bookstore and not head inside? It’s just not possible!" the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association posted on Facebook. "These great picks from @cavershambooks are from an array of genres for any kind of reader that you should definitely check out from your local indie bookstore." --Robert Gray

Barbara Howar, a bestselling author, TV interviewer and "gleefully nonconformist fixture of the Washington social scene," died August 2, the New York Times reported. She was 89. By her 30s, Howar had already become known in Washington as a successful hostess, but it was Laughing All the Way, her irreverent 1973 memoir, that put her on the map.

Laughing All the Way spent months on the Times bestseller list. People magazine called Howar "one of the most uninhibited, outspoken women in Washington." The book also "put her on television," the Times noted. "There she was on The Tonight Show, chatting with Johnny Carson about a minor bad-boy-on-staff scandal within the Jimmy Carter administration and suggesting that 'the media kind of controls everything.' "

Howar followed Laughing All the Way with a novel, Making Ends Meet (1976), about a divorcée who works as a Washington film critic.

Nora Ephron's book Crazy Salad (1975) included a chapter on Howar, adapted from her Esquire article, "Crazy Ladies I," which described Laughing All the Way as "almost a case study of a kind of woman and a kind of misdirected energy." But she found Howar's attempts to make a life and an identity for herself "genuinely, and surprisingly, moving."

In 1957, after working for the Raleigh Times, her hometown newspaper, she applied for a job with the Washington Post but was rejected. Through a friend, she found a secretarial job on Capitol Hill with the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

"She socialized with the Kennedys when they entered the White House, later became a volunteer on President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 campaign and ultimately went to work for his family," the Times wrote, adding that the Johnsons dismissed her after it became public that she had been involved in an extramarital affair with a White House aide. Howar turned that career setback into "Why LBJ Dropped Me," an article in Ladies' Home Journal, which led to more writing assignments and television hosting jobs. 

This past week, Shelf Awareness sent our monthly pre-order e-blast to more than 915,000 of the country's best book readers. The e-blast went to 916,511 customers of 257 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, August 28. 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 July pre-order e-blast, see this one from Dragonfly Books, Decorah, Iowa.

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

Intermezzo by Sall Rooney (FSG)
Atlas Obscura: Wild Life by Atlas Obscura (Workman)
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (Tor)
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (Random House)
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam (Riverhead)
Sky Full of Elephants by Ceba Campbell (Simon & Schuster)
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Pamela Dorman)
Connie by Connie Chung (Grand Central Publishing)
Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves by Stephen Colbert (Celadon)
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Gracie Under the Waves by Linda Sue Park (Allida)

The most popular book club titles at Reading Group Choices in July were The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster: A Novel by Shauna Robinson (Sourcebooks Landmark) and How the Light Gets In: A Novel by Joyce Maynard (Morrow).

Highland Books, Brevard, N.C., shared a photo of the shop's recent sidewalk chalkboard message: "I'm in a really good place right now... in my book, of course. In real life, I'm a wreck."

At Chelsea Green Publishing, which was acquired by Rizzoli International Publications in April:

Matthew Derr has been appointed deputy publisher. For the past three years, he has been a freelance editor for the company and served on its board of directors. He earlier led several colleges and was on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations.

Sean Maher has been promoted director of North American sales, marketing, and publicity. He was formerly director of marketing and sales analytics. Before joining the company, he spent 13 years at Da Capo Press, holding multiple positions in the marketing and publicity departments.

Heal Your Past to Manifest Your Future: Trauma-Informed Practices to Release Emotional Blocks and Open to Life's Possibilities by Anna Kress (New Harbinger Publications).

Tomorrow:
Drew Barrymore Show repeat: Arthur C. Brooks, co-author of Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier (Portfolio, $30, 9780593545409).

Kelly Clarkson Show repeat: Jen Psaki, author of Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World (Scribner, $28.99, 9781668019856).

Sherri Shepherd Show repeat: Whoopi Goldberg, author of Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me (Blackstone, $28.99, 9798200920235).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Sunday, August 11
8 a.m. Ken Khachigian, author of Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan & Nixon (Post Hill Press, $35, 9798888452721). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. Nick Romeo, author of The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy (PublicAffairs, $32, 9781541701595). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

2 p.m. John Oakes, author of The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without (‎Avid Reader Press, $30, 9781668017418).

3 p.m. Sal Khan, author of Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing) (Viking, $30, 9780593656952).

4:10 p.m. Madhumita Murgia, author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI (Holt, $29.99, 9781250867391).

Finalists have been announced for the Caine Prize for African Writing, which "celebrates the richness and diversity of African literature and recognizes outstanding achievements in African storytelling." The five shortlisted stories were selected from 320 entries originating from 28 African countries. 

The winner will be named September 17. All of the shortlisted stories will be published in The Caine Prize Anthology alongside stories written at the Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Malawi. The shortlisted writers are:

Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for "The Dishwashing Women" (Narrative Magazine)
Nadia Davids (South Africa) for "Bridling" (The Georgia Review)
Samuel Kolawole (Nigeria) for "Adjustment of Status" (New England Review, Vol. 44, #3)
Uche Okonkwo (Nigeria) for "Animals" (ZYZZYVA)
Pemi Aguda (Nigeria) for "Breastmilk" (One Story, Issue #227)

Chair of judges Chika Unigwe said, "These stories, ranging from speculative to realistic, cover diverse subject matters but share a common thread: they are compelling, universal human stories. They offer insights into our societies, governments, cultures, and the broader world, ultimately posing the fundamental question that all great art asks: How do we navigate life? They explore this question with empathy, thoughtfulness, humor, and prose that is both sublime and accessible."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, August 13:

Joy: A Novel by Danielle Steel (Delacorte, $29, 9780593498613) follows a woman coping with a lifetime of abandonment.

Worst Case Scenario: A Novel by T.J. Newman (Little, Brown, $30, 9780316576796) is a thriller about an airplane crashing into a nuclear power plant.

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything by Nate Silver (Penguin Press, $35, 9781594204128) chronicles a community of tech and finance risk-takers.

In France Profound: The Long History of a House, a Mountain Town, and a People by T.D. Allman (Atlantic Monthly Press, $30, 9780802127846) explores the village of Lauzerte in southwestern France.

Kent State: An American Tragedy by Brian VanDeMark (W.W. Norton, $35, 9781324066255) documents the 1970 murder of four Kent State students by the National Guard.

Shameless: Republicans' Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy by Brian Tyler Cohen (Harper, $27.99, 9780063392885) looks at what has become of American conservatism.

Born of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Blue Box Press, $31.99, 9781957568782) concludes the Flesh and Fire fantasy series.

Burn: A Novel by Peter Heller (Knopf, $28, 9780593801628) follows isolated hunters returning to a world gone violent.

Lady Macbeth: A Novel by Ava Reid (Del Rey, $28.99, 9780593722565) is a reimagining of Shakespeare's villain.

Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang (First Second, $17.99, 9781250754066) is a coming-of-age graphic novel about a teen who moves to the California wilderness.

Pizza for Birds by Bob Shea (Little, Brown, $18.99, 9780316494458) is a sequel to Chez Bob which features the rivalry between a birdseed restauranteur and a pizza-delivery alligator.

What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers and Eva Kolenko (Union Square, $35, 9781454952718) is a cookbook of simple recipes.

Paperbacks:
Live Nourished: Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy by Shana Minei Spence (Simon Element, $18.99, 9781668014974).

The Break-Up Pact: A Novel by Emma Lord (Griffin, $18, 9781250845306).

The Dollmakers: A Novel from the Fallen Peaks by Lynn Buchanan (Harper Voyager, $19.99, 9780063308268).

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean (Orbit, $19.99, 9780316573092).

Big Witch Energy by Molly Harper (Sourcebooks Casablanca, $16.99, 9781728276823).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee, trans. by Sandy Joosun Lee (Hanover Square Press, $21.99, 9781335081179). "Penny is a new hire learning to help the customers select the perfect dreams at the Dallergut Dream Department Store. Dallergut's philosophy: only offer dreams that enhance a customer's reality. This book is a healing, mysterious escape." --Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga.

Hardcover
The Anthropologists: A Novel by Aysegül Savas (Bloomsbury, $24.99, 9781639733064). "The Anthropologists is a slim, impactful novella that cuts to the heart of human experience. Aysegül Savas conveys the complex vagaries and bone-deep loneliness of adulthood. This is a stunning and unique novel." --Jo Swenson, Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, N.H.

Paperback
The Librarianist: A Novel by Patrick deWitt (Ecco, $18.99, 9780063085138). "A thoughtful book about a quiet man leading a quiet life, filled with wonderful language and small nuances. Bob Comet endured loneliness and heartbreak, but found solace in his books and ultimately found friendship and community." --Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

Ages 4-8
The Quacken by Justin Colón, illus. by Pablo Pino (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9781665922487). "Take your kiddos camping, and pack this book for a dramatic flashlight read. What goofy outdoor absurd hilarity! (And seriously, don't feed the ducks.)" --Carrie Koepke, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, Mo.

Ages 7-10
Bodega Cats: Picture Purrfect by Hilda Eunice Burgos, illus. by Siara Faison (Holt, $16.99, 9781250903747). "Bodega Cats is a heartwarming story about friendship and family, with the unique perspective of a first-generation child who doesn't want to disappoint his parents and a cat who finds a new home. The illustrations match the feel of the story so well." --Shari Brown, Jay's House Bookshop & Bakery, Coral Springs, Fla.

Teen Readers
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power, edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker (Tor Teen, $20.99, 9781250861269). "I cannot stop thinking about this horror anthology composed of stories by a brilliantly diverse collective of BIPOC young adult authors. From twists on classic slashers to disturbing tales steeped in mythology, each unique story holds the reader in its thrall." --Elisa Thomas, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

In Ève Curie's biography of her mother, she wrote: "There are, in the life of Marie Curie, so many great moments that one is tempted to tell her story as a legend." This new biography by Dava Sobel (The Glass Universe, Longitude, Galileo's Daughter) traces not only the legend of Curie's own scientific breakthroughs, but her impact on the presence of women in the sciences.

It is not just that Curie set the bar high--achieving two Nobel Prizes for her discoveries--but that she "stood ever ready to explore physics with children, to train young ladies how to teach science to girls, to make X-ray technicians out of women with rudimentary schooling, and to open her laboratory to those who chose to join her in the pursuit of science as a way of life." As such, The Elements of Marie Curie paints a human portrait not of an isolated genius, but of a woman who existed in and built scientific community. She was committed to the expansion of knowledge for all even as she sought to stare down Nature itself and determine what made it up.

Sobel analyzes her subject with care and through detailed historical and personal accounts, following Curie's life from childhood to death. The biography is divided into four parts, defined by the various places where Curie's life and research took place. The chapters are named after people who were close to her or played a major part in her life, and with the element or research that arose from that person crossing paths with Curie. Such figures include, of course, her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie and her work on induced radioactivity, as well as Marguerite Perey, who would become the first woman admitted to the Académie des Sciences. As such it makes more visible not only the number of young women Curie helped to achieve their own scientific discoveries, but also showcases more than 20 further scientific developments born from the work that Marie and Pierre Curie conducted on radium and radioactivity. The end matter includes extensive notes that comprehensively collate the vast historical and scientific information threaded through the text.

The Elements of Marie Curie is a necessary reminder of Curie's remarkable contributions to science, and how one person, using the opportunities given to them, can open doors for other people and reshape entire fields. This is an essential read for anyone who values works that highlight women in the sciences. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Sobel's biographical efforts shine new light on Marie Curie's impact not only on two scientific fields, but in making space for women in the sciences.