Within the next few months, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, Va., is moving into larger space across the street from its current location, which it will keep and use in a different way, likely for events and classes, according to a Facebook post for customers.

"We're doing this to better serve you with more space for books and bodies and to give our staff comfortable places to work and take breaks!" Fountain said. "Your support has finally made it possible 💛"

The store has added a new membership program, in addition to its in-store loyalty accounts: "Your memberships will help us increase bookseller wages and health care benefits and help us grow into our new location!" Six membership levels range from a free option up to $100 a month for "Fountain Freak," which includes free merchandise, a 20% discount on all store purchases, a two-hour private after-hours event at the store once a year, and more.

Novel Read Books will host its grand opening celebration this Saturday, January 4, at 210 Main Street, Watsontown, Pa. The Daily Item reported that the business is owned by Jay Jones, with day-to-day operations overseen by his son, Logan Jones.

"It's been a lot of work, all the titles, stocking up, making sure that we're ready to go in early January," Logan Jones said. "But it's been gratifying, and I'm excited about the opening. A great start to the New Year. "

"Logan has loved to read since he was a child, so we bought this for him," said Jay Jones, who is originally from Ohio but moved with his family to Watsontown for work purposes. 

They had the idea for starting the business about a year ago. "Most of the time during the last year was spent working with Watsontown Borough, getting the paperwork sorted out," Jay Jones recalled. "Once that was done, it was just a matter of getting into the space. We didn't have to do any kind of construction. It was all ready to move in. We didn't even have to do painting."

Novel Read Books will offer used and new books, specializing in manga. There will also be some collectables for sale, including posters and puzzles.

"It's not a big space, but we'll have a few chairs available for customers to relax," Jay Jones said.

Holiday sales at independent bookstores were solid, with sales brisk through Christmas Eve and the beginning of Hanukkah, according to early comments and posts from booksellers. (We'll have a full report on holiday sales in bookstores in tomorrow's issue.)

General holiday sales rose 3.8% this season, between November 1 and December 25, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Online sales rose 6.7% while in-store sales were up 2.9%. The figures do not include auto sales.

This year's general holiday season was marked by heavy and early discounting that seemed to lure hesitant shoppers. Still, the Wall Street Journal called it "a holiday season of the haves and the have nots... the gains were increasingly driven by higher-income households, those making more than $100,000 a year. Lower-income Americans were squeezed by higher prices for groceries, child care and other monthly expenses."

Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks, said, "This holiday season, we saw consumers motivated by deals and retailers respond with promotions to meet the demand."

The New York Times quoted Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, as saying, "The holiday season is coming in pretty healthy because that's the period of time that people have to concentrate their spending. They know that promotions are heavy. They want to gift for others and for themselves."

A federal judge has declared unconstitutional an Arkansas law that would have made bookstore owners and librarians subject to criminal prosecution for making materials available on bookstore and library shelves that could be deemed harmful to minors. The law also mandated a procedure whereby individuals could challenge books in public libraries based on "appropriateness." In addition, outside review boards would have been allowed or encouraged to challenge books.

Ruling that the law is overbroad and vague, Judge Timothy L. Brooks permanently enjoined enforcement of those key parts of the law. In a court memorandum, he found that the criminal sanctions section "violates the due process rights of professional librarians and booksellers and the First Amendment rights of library and bookstore patrons." And he found that the part that "empowers local elected officials to censor library books they feel are not 'appropriate' for citizens to read and allows (if not encourages) content- and viewpoint-based restrictions on protected speech" has no "compelling governmental purpose."

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed June 2, 2023, by a large group that includes two local bookstores--Pearl's Books, Fayetteville, and WordsWorth Books, Little Rock--the American Booksellers Association, parents and students, local libraries and library associations, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, and others.

A statement issued by many of the plaintiffs read: "Together with librarians, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers everywhere, we applaud the Court's carefully crafted decision upholding the constitutional right to access books."

We leave the longer tributes to the late Jimmy Carter to others, but we want to note that in his long "retirement," among the many things that the former President did was write books, more than 30 altogether, on a range of subjects, from Bible study and the importance of religion in his life, to memoirs of his Presidency and early years, to fly fishing and aging as well as peace, foreign affairs, and the Middle East. His best-known titles were An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety, Faith: A Journey for All, and The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. He also wrote The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War, the first novel by an ex-President, and Always a Reckoning and Other Poems, the first book of poetry by an ex-President.

He wrote some titles with others, including Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, with his wife, Rosalynn, and the children's book The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer, which his daughter, Amy, illustrated.

Carter also was nominated 10 times for Grammy Awards and won three, in the best spoken-word album category, for Our Endangered Values, A Full Life, and Faith.

Carter promoted his books with national tours and is remembered by many booksellers as an exemplary author and person--respectful, curious, and friendly to all staff and customers as well as an efficient, quick book signer.

Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, N.Y., posted a photo on Instagram of legendary author Judy Blume, owner of Books & Books @ the Studios of Key West, Fla., and "our fabulous" co-owner and author Emma Straub "in their iconic bookstore hats."

Posted on Instagram by Hearthside Books, Watertown, Minn.: "Hi, My name is Koda but I also go by Koda Kitty. I work part-time at Hearthside Books and I love it there. My human thinks she owns the store but we all know that I do. I like to make sure my human doesn't get anything done, cuddle, and get so many pets. I mean I REALLY like pets even on my tummy. I also am raising three mini humans. They aren't very good at being cats but what can you do? Now that my mini humans are starting human school I figured I could help my other Human at the bookstore. So come in on Tuesdays and Sundays to meet Hearthside Book's Only Employee of the Month."

"There are few things more magical than getting engaged in *your* bookstore. Congratulations Mark & Courtney! Thank you for choosing this special little bookshop for your big question," the Book & Cover, Chattanooga, Tenn., posted on Instagram.

Today:
Good Morning America: Rocco DiSpirito, author of Everyday Delicious: 30 Minute(ish) Home-Cooked Meals Made Simple (Rodale, $32.50, 9781984825230).

Today Show: Yasmine Cheyenne, author of Wisdom of the Path: The Beautiful and Bumpy Ride to Healing and Trusting Our Inner Guide (HarperOne, $26.99, 9780063315006).

Fresh Air repeat: Alex Van Halen, author of Brothers (Harper, $32, 9780063265707).

Drew Barrymore Show repeat: Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert, authors of Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves (Celadon, $35, 9781250859990).

Tonight Show repeat: Martha Stewart, author of Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen (Clarkson Potter, $40, 9780593139202).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: Alex Guarnaschelli, author of Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat (Clarkson Potter, $35, 9780593578001).

Also on GMA: Caroline Manzo, co-author of Food & Other Things I Love: More than 100 Italian American Recipes from My Family to Yours (Chronicle, $29.95, 9781797225258).

Today Show: Steven Petrow, author of The Joy You Make: Find the Silver Linings--Even on Your Darkest Days (The Open Field, $29, 9780593654224).

Drew Barrymore Show repeat: Keke Palmer, author of Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative (Flatiron, $27.99, 9781250372512).

Tamron Hall: Brandi Sellerz-Jackson, author of On Thriving: Harnessing Joy Through Life's Great Labors (Ballantine, $28, 9780593496671).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert repeat: Kate McKinnon, author of The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 9780316554732).

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, January 5
8 a.m. Sam Brown, co-author of Alive Day: Finding Hope and Purpose after Losing Everything (‎Houndstooth Press, $22.99, 9781544546018). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. Michael Morris, author of Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together (Thesis, $30, 9780735218093). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

10 a.m. Mark E. Green, author of We Before Me: The Advantage of Putting Others Before Self (Salem Books, $24.99, 9781684515226). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Kavin Senapathy, author of The Progressive Parent: Harnessing the Power of Science and Social Justice to Raise Awesome Kids (Hanover Square Press, $28.99, 9781335455062), at A Room of One's Own bookstore in Madison, Wis.

3:05 p.m. Ajay Singh Chaudhary, author of The Exhausted of the Earth: Politics in a Burning World (Repeater, $19.95, 9781915672117), and Sarah Jaffe, author of From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire (Bold Type Books, $32.50, 9781541703490), at the 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago.

4 p.m. Greg Epstein, author of Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World's Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation (The MIT Press, $29.95, 9780262049207).

4:55 p.m. Marietje Schaake, author of The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley (Princeton University Press, $27.95, 9780691241173).

6:10 p.m. Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of The Message (One World, $30, 9780593230381), at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Md.

Kazuo Ishiguro, Jacqueline Wilson, and Alan Hollinghurst were among the people recognized for their achievements and service in King Charles III's New Year's Honors list," the Bookseller reported. 

Author and screenwriter Sir Ishiguro OBE has been made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor for his services to literature, an accolade presented to only 65 people. Dame Wilson DBE was awarded Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. Hollinghurst received a knighthood for services to literature. Other honorees with ties to the book world included:

Caroline Michel, CEO of Peters Fraser and Dunlop, who has also served as chair and trustee of Hay Festival: Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). 

Nicola Solomon, who has served as CEO of the Society of Authors and more recently the chair of the Creators' Rights Alliance: Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to literature and the creative industries.

Author Richard O'Neill: Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to education and literature

Donald Robin Mead, the Oscar Wilde Society's v-p and chair: Order of the British Empire for his services to literature.

Author Matt Cain: MBE as a writer for his services to LGBTQ+ culture. 

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, January 7:

Never Say Never: A Novel by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press, $29, 9780593498644) follows a woman living in the French countryside after losing her husband and job.

Simply Jamie: Fast & Simple Food by Jamie Oliver (Flatiron, $39.99, 9781250374004) is a new cookbook adapted for U.S. measurements.

Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly (Atria/One Signal, $28.99, 9781668083505) explores the music streaming service Spotify.

The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut (Knopf, $40, 9780593316160) is the biography of the Haitian revolutionary.

A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross (Tordotcom, $28.99, 9781250357847) is the 13th Laundry Files fantasy novel.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire (Tordotcom, $22.99, 9781250848338) is book 10 in the Wayward Children fantasy series.

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (Putnam, $30, 9780593712993) follows a Chinese couple across decades and continents.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman (Quirk Books, $24.99, 9781683693956) is a horror novel about an epidemic of violence spread through the media.

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke (Gallery Books, $29.99, 9781668065396) is a memoir about an abusive YouTube channel.

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee (Wednesday, $21, 9781250902672) is a fantasy YA collaboration between the World Fantasy Award and Locus Award winner and the daughter of Bruce Lee and CEO of the Bruce Lee Family Companies about a warrior eager to prove himself.

Girls on the Rise by Amanda Gorman, illus. by Loveis Wise (Viking, $19.99, 9780593624180) is a picture book that features girls and women supporting one another and working for a fairer future.

Paperbacks:
No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally (Sourcebooks Fire, $12.99, 9781728270142).

Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology to Perfect Your Practice by Ann Swanson (DK, $24.99, 9780593844335).

All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles (Sourcebooks Casablanca, $17.99, 9781464224294).

Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura (Berkley, $19, 9780593547489).

The Bewitched Bourgeois: Fifty Stories by Dino Buzzati, trans. by Lawrence Venuti (NYRB Classics, $19.95, 9781681378671).

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

Hardcover
Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (Minotaur, $28, 9781250909954). "Madeline inherits her aunt's bookstore and mansion. She finds herself in the middle of much drama and mystery, with a murder to solve. In the midst of everything, Madeline finds kindred spirits and possibly a home." --Alexandra Bender, Fonts Books, McLean, Va.

Private Rites: A Novel by Julia Armfield (Flatiron, $27.99, 9781250344311). "No one does atmosphere like Julia Armfield: vivid and utterly engrossing. Private Rites is a haunting story about family, grief, and love in a slow-burn apocalypse. You won't be able to come up for air--or want to." --Evan Fornicola, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, Mo.

Paperback
Not in My Book: A Novel by Katie Holt (Alcove Press, $19.99, 9781639109753). "WOW! I loved this book. Great characters, great uses of several romance tropes in a great way, and I was crying through the last few pages. An exciting debut; I can't wait to read more of Katie Holt's work." --Nicole Miller, Barbara's Bookstore, Chicago, Ill.

Ages 7-10
Ten-Word Tiny Tales of Love by Joseph Coelho, illus. by Various (Candlewick, $18.99, 9781536241297). "What if you had to condense your adoration into just ten words? I absolutely love this coffee table worthy picture book with ten-word expressions of love. Stunningly illustrated by some of the best, it's a perfect gift for anyone who makes your heart sing." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C.

Ages 8-12
The Graveyard Gift by Fern Forgettable, as told by Piper CJ (Random House Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780593810477). "This book gave me all the Wednesday Addams vibes. Young Rosemary can see how people die. She's a student at Fern's school for other demi-fae. When a classmate goes missing, she'll have to use her gifts to find him. Mystery, friendship and so much more!" --Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Teen Readers
I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner (HarperAlley, $26.99, 9780358682394). "This Austen retelling allows for a new queer look at regency England. The characters' relationships kept me reading and urgently wanting to know what would come next. For fans of any genre, this graphic novel is adorably written and will have you reading more and more." --Landon Krandall, Back Cove Books, Portland, Me.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Tradition and progress clash when a young man's dramatic death brings outsiders to an isolated, windswept Scottish island in Laura McCluskey's haunting debut gothic mystery, The Wolf Tree.

Eilean Eadar is a rocky, barren dot in the sea, accessible from the mainland only by boat or air and best known for the unsolved disappearance of three lighthouse keepers a hundred years ago. In the present day, a young man is dead after apparently jumping from the top of that same lighthouse, but his alleged suicide looks enough like foul play to merit a closer look. Two detective inspectors arrive after a rough, rain-soaked sea passage and disembark "with all the dignity of two wet socks." DI Georgina Lennox, called George, is eager to get back to investigating after an accident sidelined her for months. Her partner, Richie, is less enthusiastic, especially since this assignment takes him away from his wife and children.

The 206 locals living on Eilean Eadar have a range of reactions to their arrival--from the accommodating to the hostile. A fisherman's wife from the mainland welcomes George, and the postmistress lends her the historic lighthouse logs in case she can crack the mystery of the three vanished keepers. By contrast, a sheep farmer who knew the deceased reacts to George and Richie with enmity, and the island's priest and only spiritual leader acts friendly but subtly exerts control over his parishioners. The inspectors have walked into a simmering disagreement between one faction of islanders that wants to keep to tradition and another that wants to modernize and increase tourism. Their investigation takes them not only into the last days of the deceased but on a winding exploration of the hidden ways and beliefs of a community largely untouched by the outside world for hundreds of years. Then George hears howling in the night and sees a figure wearing a wolf mask watching her from outside her croft, and she begins to wonder how far the island might go to keep its secrets.

McCluskey skillfully crafts a gloomy, brooding atmosphere of tension and isolation through her descriptions of the little isle caught between sea and sky and its inhabitants living at the mercy of both. The mystery underpins a plot that weighs the strength of community and tradition against the dangers of never questioning what has always been. George's past accident and her strained relationship with Richie feel as though they began in an earlier story and could easily carry the characters forward into new adventures. Readers desiring a generous helping of spine tingles with their justice need look no further. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: A suspicious death lures two detective inspectors to a remote, windswept Scottish island in this tense gothic mystery.

The bestselling self-published books last week as compiled by IndieReader.com:

1. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
2. Hooked by Emily McIntire
3. Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
4. Be the Buffalo by Rory Vaden
5. On Being Jewish Now, edited by Zibby Owens
6. How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
7. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
8. Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason
9. The Ritual by Shantel Tessier
10. Mom, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason

[Many thanks to IndieReader.com!]