Four years ago today, we published the first issue of Shelf Awareness, which went out to what we like to call our "friends and family" list. Now we have a circulation of 18,000, composed of some of the most interesting, smart and challenging readers we could want.

During the past year, we've been fortunate to continue to grow and thrive in a variety of ways. Among other things, we launched our "dedicated issues," focusing on one company or imprint. They have been quite popular--some of these once-a-month issues have more ad click-throughs than regular issues of Shelf Awareness.

During the coming year, we look forward to launching Maximum Shelf, an issue dedicated to a particular book and author that we find exceptional, done with the support of the publisher.

And we are continuing to work to provide the industry and consumers with essential information about books and authors, new titles, media buzz, movie tie-ins, sleepers and more. We're trying as hard as you to understand new technology and new markets--as well as explain them! And last but not least, we want to keep on helping everyone sell more books, which, of course, is all the more important in this economy.

As always, thank you all for your support and comments. You make us truly blessed.

As threatened, Amazon.com has "ended business relationships" with its marketing affiliates in North Carolina so that it can avoid having to collect sales tax on sales to people in the state, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The North Carolina legislature is expected to pass a bill requiring online companies to collect sales tax if they have in-state marketing affiliates, and the Governor will likely sign the measure into law.

The Journal noted that "the decision highlights mounting tensions between online retailers and cash-strapped states across the country. Other states are considering similar laws that would use affiliates as a way to force companies to collect a sales tax for online purchases. Amazon also has threatened to pull out of its affiliate business in California, Hawaii, Rhode Island and other states. States including Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee have rejected similar laws."

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"Avid traveler" Julie Hunt recently purchased Wide World Books & Maps, Seattle, Wash., from longtime owner Simone Andrus, according to the Seattle Times.

"I hadn't been looking to buy a business, so it's not like I had a bunch of money saved up, and I was very nervous about the economy," said Hunt, a behavioral scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. "But I was able to get a loan from a family member to cover the down payment. Then, I felt confident I could pay off the rest with the proceeds of the business, and that certainly seems to be the case. . . . To have a place where people want to come and meet is very appealing to me. I love hearing about people's travels. It's partly why I bought the store."

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The international media frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson's death included the book trade as well. The Los Angeles Times explored the concept of  "Michael Jackson, the bookworm" by contacting bookstores in the city.

"He was a longtime and valued customer," said a representative of Hennessey + Ingalls Art & Architecture Bookstore in Santa Monica. "We'll miss him."

The Times reported that a "few years ago, Doug Dutton, proprietor of then-popular Dutton's Books in Brentwood, was at a dinner with people from Book Soup, Skylight and other area bookstores."

"Someone mentioned that Michael Jackson had been in their store," Dutton said. "And everybody said he'd shopped in their store too."

MTV's Splash Page blog examined the illustrated legacy of Jackson as "Comic book fan, collector--and almost the owner of Marvel Comics."

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The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, N.H.--youngest of the three Toadstool locations--celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. "We were the baby," said manager Regina Barnes.

The Cabinet observed "a secret to Milford Toadstool's success has been catering to its local audience."

"You can be a half-hour down the road and you won't sell the same thing," said manager Jan Locke.

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And now, "a word from the summer reading booksellers" via the Greenwich Citizen.

"There have never been so many fabulous books. Never in the 25 years of my career have I seen so many fabulous books, one after another," Diane Garrett of Diane's Books, Greenwich, Conn., told the Citizen, adding that June is her busiest month. "Everyone is doing summer reading, graduation presents, and school reading lists. We are real booksellers this month."

Marion Holmes, owner of Just Books Too, emphasized the importance of networking with other book people to find the best new releases: "the secret books, not the bestsellers."

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On a "Road trip to Lexington, Mo.," the Kansas City Star visited River Reader bookstore, which "sells books, coffee drinks and antiques. River Reader employee Melina Baca, 17, said people love the homey feel. Baca moved to Lexington from Gibson, Ill., and has grown to appreciate the city."

"I really like the atmosphere," Baca said. "There are a lot of nice people and the town is always active."

"We don't have chain shops. Our stores are locally owned and managed by the owners," said Dan Cambridge, tourism director of the Lexington Tourism Bureau. "They like to get to know the people that come in."

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen The Little Book by Selden Edwards (Plume, $15, 9780452295513/0452295513) as her pick of the month for July. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:

"Pardon me if I sound presumptuous, but I think we could all use a little more fun in our lives. Selden Edwards' The Little Book is just that: 400 pages of lighthearted joy.

"Wheeler Burden, 47, is the exiled heir of the famous Boston banking Burdens. He is a philosopher, writer, rock-and-roll idol and Harvard baseball hero. He is also, quite suddenly, transported back in time to 1897 Austria. There, his first goals are to procure appropriate clothing and find out more about a woman he sees. While trying to figure out how he ended up in Austria 50 years before his birth, he learns much about his family."

This morning on Good Morning America: Christopher Buckley, author of Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir (Twelve, $24.99, 9780446540940/0446540943).

Also on GMA: Jennifer Weiner, author of Best Friends Forever: A Novel (Atria, $26.99, 9780743294294/0743294297).

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This morning on the Today Show: Claire Cook, author of The Wildwater Walking Club (Voice, $24.99, 9781401340896/140134089X).

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This morning on Fox & Friends: Andy Borowitz, author of Who Moved My Soap?: The CEO's Guide to Surviving Prison (Simon & Schuster, $9.95, 9780743251426/0743251423). He will also appear today on NPR's Here and Now, NPR's the Takeaway and Fox's Alan Colmes Show.

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Today on Fox News's Hannity Show: Senator Jim DeMint, author of Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide into Socialism (Fidelis, $26.99, 9780805449570/0805449574). He is also on Fox's Glenn Beck Show tomorrow.

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Today on Talk of the Nation: Bruce Weber, author of As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travels in the Land of Umpires (Scribner, $26, 9780743294119/0743294114).

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Today on the Howard Stern Show: Mary Jo Buttafuoco, author of Getting It Through My Thick Skull: Why I Stayed, What I Learned, and What Millions of People Involved with Sociopaths Need to Know (HCI, $24.95, 9780757313721/0757313728).

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Tonight on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (Vintage, $14.95, 9781400033539/1400033535).

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Tonight on the Colbert Report: Neil DeGrasse Tyson, author of The Pluto Files (Norton, $23.95, 9780393065206/0393065200).

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Joey Kramer, author of Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top (HarperOne, $26.99, 9780061566608/0061566608).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Jane Stanton Hitchcock, author of Mortal Friends (Harper, $25.99, 9780061173707/0061173703).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Kristine A. Huskey, author of Justice at Guantanamo: One Woman's Odyssey and Her Crusade for Human Rights (Lyons Press, $24.95, 9781599214689/1599214687).

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Tomorrow night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Mike Kim, author of Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country (Rowman & Littlefield, $24.95, 9780742556201/0742556204).

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Tomorrow night on the Colbert Report: Kevin Mattson, author of 'What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President?': Jimmy Carter, America's 'Malaise,' and the Speech that Should Have Changed the Country (Bloomsbury USA, $25, 9781596915213/1596915218).

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Tomorrow night on the Late Show with David Letterman, in a repeat: Michael J. Fox, author of Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (Hyperion, $25.99, 9781401303389/1401303382).

"DreamWorks is firming up a deal to preemptively acquire screen rights to I Am Number Four, the first of a six-book science fiction deal," Variety reported, noting that the "real surprise in the deal, though, is the identity of one of the two authors. Though WME began shopping the book Thursday under a pseudonym, sources said one of the writers is James Frey, best known for writing A Million Little Pieces. Neither the agency nor the studio would confirm."

Six works that "will provide some great holiday reading before the winner is announced September 15" made the shortlist for the £10,000 (US$16,503) Royal Society Prize for Science Books, the Guardian reported.

"There's clearly a large audience for books that explain science clearly and gracefully, and no shortage of authors," said Sir Tim Hunt, chairs of the panel of judges. "Choosing a final list of six books from the big boxes of books that arrived on our doorsteps--over 120 books were submitted--was a challenging pleasure."

The Royal Society Prize shortlist:

• What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life by Avery Gilbert
• Bad Science by Ben Goldacre
• The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
• Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer by Jo Marchant
• The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
• Your Inner Fish: The Amazing Discovery of Our 375-million-year-old Ancestor by Neil Shubin

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Finalists for the 2009 Great Lakes Book Awards, honoring books with "a Great Lakes theme or setting or . . . written by an author living in the region," are:
 
Fiction

• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (Random House)
• The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno (Norton)
• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
• Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster)
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (HarperCollins)

General

• Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting by Michael Perry (HarperCollins)
• The Foie Gras Wars by Mark Caro (Simon & Schuster)
• Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton (Simon & Schuster)
• Ripped by Greg Kot (Simon & Schuster)
• A Splintered History of Wood by Spike Carlsen (HarperCollins)

Children's Chapter Books

• After the Trains by Gloria Whelan (HarperCollins)
• The Blind Faith Hotel by Pamela Todd (Simon & Schuster)
• I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer (Random House)
• Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka (Penguin)
• The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (Random House)
• My Brother Abe by Harry Mazer (Simon & Schuster)

Children's Picture Books

• Baby Dragon by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (Candlewick Press)
• Birds by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (Harper Collins)
• Old Bear by Kevin Henkes (Harper Collins)
• That Book Woman by Heather Henson, illustrated by David Small (Simon & Schuster)
• The Underwear Salesman by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Serge Bloch (Simon & Schuster)

Winners will be announced in late August and be honored Friday, October 2, at GLIBA's fall trade show in Cleveland, Ohio.

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

Hardcover

Far Bright Star: A Novel by Robert Olmstead (Algonquin, 23.95, 9781565125926/1565125924). "Napoleon Childs, a veteran soldier, is on the hunt for Pancho Villa in the rough terrain of northern Mexico. Accompanying him is a group of young soldiers who have not yet seen the brutality of war. After a terrible encounter with a band of renegade soldiers in search of vengeance, Napoleon, beaten and shot, is left stranded to try to survive on his own. Olmstead is incredibly adept at describing the horrors of battle contrasted with the beauty of reflection and hope, and he is at his best in Far Bright Star."--Sherri Gallentine, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif.

Love in Condition Yellow: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage by Sophia Raday (Beacon, $23.95, 9780807072837/0807072834). "When an Army reservist and Oakland police officer meets a Northern California peace activist, sparks fly. The tension between the two drastically different world views gives birth to a deeper and greater understanding of not only what love is, but what it requires of us."--Elizabethe Plante and Dan Chartrand, Water Street Books, Exeter, N.H.

Paperback

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji (NAL, $15, 9780451226815/045122681X). "This novel, set in the 1970s, beautifully captures the heart and soul of the characters who inhabit a Tehran on the verge of revolution. The appealing characters and vivid sense of time and place make this a terrific read and a great book club choice."--Linda Walonen, Bay Books, San Ramon, Calif.

For Ages 9-12

The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil (Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 9780375848148/0375848142). "Sophie and her friends must use cunning, luck, and an awful lot of math to figure out the puzzles that will lead them to the next clue in a decades-old scavenger hunt and enable them to find a priceless artifact--before anyone else does, of course. This is, I hope, the start of many adventures with the Red Blazer Girls."--Melissa Posten, Children's Book World, Haverford, Pa.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

In his 1970 book, The Greening of America, Yale law professor Charles Reich perceived the first stirrings of what he called Consciousness III, a new ethos he predicted would sweep aside the decaying values of the Corporate State. Now, almost 40 years later, activist and Air America talk show host Thom Hartmann calls for "a new vision of how life can be in a world where the core assumptions of modern culture are challenged and modified." And while he doesn't explicitly acknowledge the provenance of his work in Reich's manifesto, there are undeniable echoes of it in this passionate brief against the perilous state of Western (chiefly American) civilization.

Though he's an accessible writer and thinker, from the outset Hartmann makes clear he's going to grapple with big ideas, focusing on the broad sweep of history, not the limited horizon of a single presidential administration. In doing so he identifies three "thresholds"--impending environmental collapse, the inequity of our current economic system and the explosive growth of the earth's population--from which he argues we can proceed in only one of two directions: transformation or disaster. According to Hartmann, four fundamental mistakes have brought us to this dangerous pass: our alienation from nature, our misguided infatuation with free market capitalism, our refusal to accord equal rights to women and our readiness to resort to violence to solve human conflict. The challenge, he contends, involves more than tinkering around the margins of conventional policies, "Because it's not our behaviors, our laws, or our actions that are, at their core, destroying the world and endangering our lives and cultures; it's the thinking that has led to them."

There is no shortage of examples sprinkled throughout the book to support Hartmann's typically bold assertions, although a more systematic set of notes and a bibliography would have been helpful. He's enamored of the Danish welfare state and quick to decry cultures like New Zealand's Maori, whose environmental depredation he claims caused the collapse of their culture. Citing that and similar collapses, Hartmann argues that our failure to live in harmony with the environment (while creating an economic system capable of distributing its benefits peacefully and equitably) places us on an unsustainable course.

Threshold's arguments seem designed both to provoke and to enlighten. Whether or not we accept his persuasive, if sometimes uncomfortable, diagnoses and prescriptions, one suspects he'll feel he's achieved something of lasting value if he impels us to think, to talk and ultimately to act.--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: A passionately-argued brief against the excesses and inequities of Western culture the author says have placed us on the road to economic and environmental disaster.