A story in the business section of Saturday's New York Times (sadly unavailable online without a subscription) dissected the financial angle of selling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The title said it all: "Making Money on Potter? That's Magic."

After explicating some "screwball" book industry practices familiar to most readers--heavily discounting the most popular titles and returnability, among others--the article argued that Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble gained despite the deep discounts (and in Amazon's case an estimated loss of $10 per book). For example, Amazon acquired many new customers and their e-mail addresses for future marketing efforts; selling Potter has conditioned more people to buying books online; and Potter purchasers bought other things at the same time. For B&N, Potter drew people into its stores where they bought other items, too; it's added new customers; and the title will be a backlist staple for years.

Still the Times noted a major irony: many independents, who compete more on service and other things than price, are the rare retailing group to reap direct financial benefits from the book--since many of them didn't discount it or did so sparingly. Thus, in the Times example, "Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla., which has sold fewer than 2,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will make more money on it than might Amazon."

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Talk about an emerging leader. Andrea Colton, 18, who graduated from high school last month, is opening a bookstore on Wednesday. She told the Lockport Journal, "This is something I've wanted to do since middle school."

The Pathways Christian Bookstore, Lockport, N.Y., will feature Bibles, autobiographies, parenting books, children's books and gifts and have music and entertainment for children and young adults, the paper said.

Besides some financial help from her grandparents, a local family and "several book providers," the project is Colton's alone. "I wanted to do this because of my religion," she said. "If it wasn't a Christian store I probably wouldn't have wanted to open it because I really feel that there's a need for a religion and family oriented store in Lockport."

Her advice for other young entrepreneurs: "Follow your heart and what you believe in."

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The Turner Classic Movies website has a Q&A with Thomas Gladysz, event coordinator at the Booksmith, San Francisco, Calif., a sponsor of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival for the last 10 years. At the Festival, the store has three large tables and hosts signings by a range of writers and film historians.

With some exceptions, Gladysz said, "books on individuals sell better than topical or thematic books. . . . In general, the best selling books are biographies. People like reading well researched, well written biographies of their favorite stars."

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"The key thing is not to compete with Borders or Barnes & Noble on the price of the books they have," James Drayton, owner of the African American Heritage Bookstore, West Palm beach, Fla., told the Palm Beach Post. "The key thing is to have the books Borders and Barnes & Noble don't have."  

The Post interviewed Drayton as well as Akbar Watson, owner of Pyramid Books, Boynton, regarding the challenges and rewards for African American booksellers.

"Basically, it's a labor of love and I try to squeeze some business out of it," said Watson. "It's a constant hustle." According to the Post, Watson "is a certified minority business owner and supplies some books for state businesses." He believes his store is as much a community center as a book store, with "Sunday discussion groups at 1 p.m. that can touch on current events, but there are also history classes on the Moors, Egyptology and religions."

"A bookstore needs to be a growth experience," said Watson "Just by focusing on black history, you will touch on every fiber of this country: ideology, religion, politics."

Drayton added that he is always aware that the book business is, above all, a business. In addition to his regular inventory, Drayton sells church hymnals, choir and judicial robes; and reading material for Alcoholics Anonymous.

"My overhead is $1,500 a month whether I sell a book or not, whether I open for business or not," he said. "I would like to carry everything germane, but everything germane isn't asked for and doesn't necessarily sell. I'm old enough not to be doing anything. In one sense, I'm crazy to be bothered here. It's trouble . . . but it's enjoyable. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to have somebody come in looking for a book they can't find, and I have it. I love it. I will always be in the book business."

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"For a place that bills itself as a feminist bookstore, its products appeal to a variety of people," noted the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a visit to Broad Vocabulary bookstore, Milwaukee, Wis.

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The Kansas City Star featured a compelling profile of Karen Spengler, owner of I Love a Mystery bookstore, Mission, Kan., who has survived breast cancer for more than a decade.

"I feel very lucky," said Spengler, 55. "I learned a long time ago I was capable of facing the fact that I'm probably going to die younger than my peers."

The bookstore's manager, Becci West, who has been a friend of Spengler for more than 30 years, said, "She has always been a strong, intelligent, caring person. She's never wavered. I'm telling you, she should be a poster child for getting through adversity. She never complains."

 

Just in time for Harry Potter Day, Camalli Book Company, a general interest bookstore with a sizable children's books and toy section, opened in Bend, Ore.

Owned by Tina Davis, the 2,400-sq.-ft. store is in Ray's Shopping Center and stocks some 9,000 books, which will grow over time. The store emphasizes local books and authors, and its largest categories are fiction and children's. The store also carries "a small selection of barely used titles" as well as journals, gifts and toys. Camalli Book Company serves coffee and has space in its café for book clubs to meet.

"I'm really proud of the children's section, as I worked with local teachers and librarians on selecting titles that they'd like to see in a bookstore for a range of ages," Davis wrote to Shelf Awareness. Camalli Book Company will hold weekly story times.

The fiction section is almost as large as the children's section and includes "a healthy amount" of classics. Another key area is the outdoors section, since Bend, whose population continues to grow, is "an outdoor recreation paradise." Among popular activities: biking, skiing, rock climbing, kayaking.

The store has inherited some fixtures and décor from the previous tenant in its space, Baptista Tile & Stone Gallery, including "a beautiful and eclectic tile floor and gorgeous counters," Davis reported.

Davis has been self-employed in educational publishing for eight years, mostly doing advertising and marketing work for Thomson Learning as well as Pearson and McGraw-Hill, among others. Camalli is named after her children: Cameron and Allison.

Camalli Book Company is located at 1288 SW Simpson Ave., Suite C, Bend, Ore. 97702; 541-323-6134; camallibookcompany.com.  

Becoming Jane, directed by Julian Jarrold, opens in theaters this coming Friday, August 3. This biographical portrait chronicles Jane Austen's life prior to fame, including her romance with an Irishman. The movie tie-in edition of Becoming Jane: The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen by Anne Newgarden (Hyperion, $12.95, 9781401309046/1401309046) is available now. Coincidentally, The Jane Austen Book Club opens September 21.

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The Bourne Ultimatum, directed by Paul Greengrass with a screenplay by Tony Gilroy, opens in theaters August 3. The government is after Bourne again in this third and final installment of Robert Ludlum's Bourne saga. Matt Damon stars as the amnesic assassin trying to escape his old life despite the fellow assassins dispatched to take him down. The movie tie-in edition is The Bourne Ultimatum (Bantam, $7.99, 9780553287738/0553287737).

Speaking of Ludlum, today's New York Times outlines how the estate of the writer, who died six years ago, continues to churn out Ludlum books, both by polishing up old unpublished manuscripts and having other writers, such as Eric Van Lustbader, write Ludlum titles.
 

This morning on Good Morning America: James Blake, author of Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life (Harper, $25.95, 9780061343490/0061343498). He will also appear tonight on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

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Today on NPR's Fresh Air: journalist Frank Owen, author of No Speed Limit: The Highs and Lows of Meth (St. Martin's, $24.95, 9780312356163/0312356161).

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Alan Weisman will discuss his new book, The World Without Us (Thomas Dunne Books, $24.95, 9780312347291/0312347294).

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Today on the Charlie Rose Show: former Maryland Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, author of Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way (Grand Central, $24.99, 9780446577151/0446577154).

Also on Charlie Rose, Alastair Campbell, press secretary for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, will discuss his new book, The Blair Years: The Alastair Campbell Diaries (Knopf, $35, 9780307268310/0307268314). Campbell also appears tonight on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

 

To promote his new novel, Devils in the Sugar Shop (Unbridled Books, $14.95, 9781932961331/ 193296133X), a May Book Sense pick and a Midwest Connections pick, Timothy Schaffert has been visiting bookstores in the Midwest meeting and greeting, signing stock, dropping off boxes of chocolates and doing some events. At the Book Vault in Oskaloosa, Iowa, he met with the book club, which had picked his book at its July read. Besides a reading and discussion, the group had a tasty reception (l.) in keeping with the book's sensual theme. [Many thanks to Book Vault owner Nancy Simpson for the photo!]

 

From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at BookSense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:

Hardcover

Hooked: A Thriller About Love and Other Addictions by Matt Richtel (Twelve, $24.99, 9780446580083/0446580082). "This fast-paced thriller by a first-time author begins in a San Francisco cafe that soon becomes the site of an explosion. Protagonist Nat Idle safely escapes because a stranger warns him via a note seemingly written by his girlfriend Annie . . . who died four years ago. A great read and a wild ride--I couldn't put it down!"--Margie Scott Tucker, Books Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

The Cure for Anything Is Saltwater: How I Threw My Life Overboard and Found Happiness at Sea by Mary South (HarperCollins, $23.95, 9780060747022/0060747021). "A perfect blend of how-to plus travelogue plus poignant reflections on life (for which being at sea for so long obviously affords you time). This is the perfect carpe diem book: follow your bliss, even if it leads you into some seriously odd places. But this memoir isn't cutesy or feel-good--it's a real story with all of the author's fears, obstacles, and disappointments left in."--Michele Sulka, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio

Paperback

Never Shower in a Thunderstorm: Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths About Our Health and the World We Live In by Anahad O'Connor (Times Books, $14, 9780805083125/080508312X). "This entertaining, fascinating volume debunks--or, in some cases, reinforces--old wives' tales about health, genetics, food safety, and, of course, sex. From myths about exercise (Don't do it on an empty stomach!) to whether loud music makes you deaf (What? I mean, yes . . .), this book is educational, and a great read!"--Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, Mich.

For Ages 4 to 8

The Cemetery Keepers of Gettysburg by Linda Oatman High, illustrated by Laura Francesca Filippucci (Walker, $16.95, 9780802780942/0802780946). "With lovely art and brief text, the story (set during the time of the Battle of Gettysburg) tells of the trials faced by a mother and her young children while husband and father Peter Thorn is away at war. This historical picture book also includes an author's note and the text of the Gettysburg Address."--Janice Card, BYU Bookstore, Provo, Utah

[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]

 

Doug Parker is a widower at 29, stuck in suburbia with overwhelming grief and an equally-grieving 15-year-old stepson, Russ. Since his mother died, Russ has developed a habit of getting picked up by the cops for fighting and getting stoned. Doug prefers to self-medicate with booze:

"When the doorbell rang, I was sprawled out in my usual position on the couch, only half asleep but entirely drunk, torturing myself by tearing memories out of my mind at random like matches from a book, striking them one at a time and drowsily setting myself on fire."

Doug and Hailey had been married just under two years, and he was still getting used to being a husband instead of "a prowling dick in the city." Also new, but beginning to fit, was his role as a stepfather to a sullen teenager. Then his wife was killed in a plane crash. He hasn't disturbed anything in the house in the year since her death, and he's trapped in an "endless, pathetic spin cycle where all the dirty laundry goes around and around and nothing ever gets clean." His mantra: "I had a wife. Her name was Hailey. Now she's gone. And so am I."

He has two outlets for his grief. He battles rabbits on his lawn, none of whom he has managed to hit with anything. They dare him and mock him, "trash-talking with their beady rabbit eyes." He writes a magazine column, "How to Talk to a Widower," which has proved so popular that his agent is begging him to sign a book deal, which he refuses: "But it's been a year now, and my family and friends seem to think that's the shelf life on grief, like all you need is one round through all the seasons and then you're tapped like an empty keg, ready to start living again."

Doug has a fairly wacky family, including his pregnant twin sister, Claire, who's left her husband and moved in with Doug. His younger sister, Debbie, is getting married to a man she met while Doug was sitting shiva, which he resents deeply--if Hailey hadn't died, they would have never met. After moving in, Claire decides that if she can build a life in nine months, Doug's life can be rebuilt in the same amount of time, so she takes over his non-dating state with determination, and sets him up. Predictably, he has enough lousy first dates to merit a musical montage, "romantic lyrics laced with irony to convey the utter futility . . . the boredom, the wasted time . . . a song that ends in fading minor chords."

How Doug and Russ come to terms with Hailey's death and their sorrow and rage unfolds with humor and sadness in this marvelous novel, where grief is examined in its myriad forms. Doug is possessive about his mourning; he doesn't want sympathy, but doesn't want to seem O.K., because that would be a slight to Hailey; he resents being left alone, he resents being cared for; his pain seems to be the last link to his wife. Trips to the store become a "grueling obstacle course of pity and gross fascination, friends and neighbors all eager to squeeze my arm, or hug me." And, being young and bereaved, he finds that "everyone wants to buy the widower a lap dance."

Cover caveat: I picked up How to Talk to a Widower because Shelf reviewer Nick DiMartino is over the moon about Jonathan Tropper's The Book of Joe, and I trust Nick's enthusiasms. I almost put it down because the cover seems to promise a romantic comedy. There is romance, there is comedy, but a romantic comedy? No. A bittersweet story well told with depth and charm, yes.--Marilyn Dahl

In Friday's story about Beauty and the Book's move, we inadvertently gave the store's old, pre-makeover address. The new address is 608 North Polk, Jefferson, Tex. 75657.