Low e-book prices set by retailers such as Amazon.com, B&N.com and Google could destroy publishers' profits and ruin hardcover sales, according to Arnaud Nourry, CEO of Hachette in France, as quoted by the Financial Times online.

Nourry said publishers are "very hostile" to Amazon's pricing of most e-books at $9.99, which is less than publishers are charging Amazon. "That cannot last," he continued. "Amazon is not in the business of losing money. So, one day, they are going to come to the publishers and say: by the way, we are cutting the price we pay. If that happens, after paying the authors, there will be nothing left for the publishers."

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Susan Novotny, owner of the Book House of Stuvyesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y., and Market Block Books, Troy, N.Y., (see profiles below) and David Didriksen, Willow Books & Cafe, Mass., Acton, Mass., have rejoined the American Booksellers Association, a decision they explained in a letter to fellow members of the Veteran Booksellers Club, an informal social group of experienced booksellers in the Northeast.

Based in part on discussions with new ABA CEO Oren Teicher, the two believe, they wrote, that "the new leadership of ABA will be more conciliatory in the future toward diverse viewpoints within the Association membership" and that the transition "offers an opportunity to engage in healthy discussions of issues which deserve more attention, such as dealing with publisher policies and setting more realistic business objectives for independents." In addition, the two wrote that "the current economic climate demands that we pool resources and cooperate with trade associations and other businesses to promote our own local interests."

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To no one's surprise, demand is high for the late Senator Edward Kennedy's upcoming memoir, True Compass. Earlier this morning, it was No. 4 on Amazon.com's bestseller list and No. 3 on B&N.com.

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On his blog, David Byrne offers a thoughtful account of his Kindle experience.

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On her blog, Stephanie Anderson of WORD, Brooklyn, N.Y., speculates in a most amusing way on independent bookselling if it were like professional football.

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Award addendum: Things We Didn't See Coming, the apocalyptic novel by Steven Amsterdam that won the Age Book of the Year Award and won in the fiction category, too (Shelf Awareness, August 27, 2009), is being published in the U.S. by Pantheon next February.

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Novato, Calif., resident Leigh Blair, "an avid reader, book club member and former employee of the former Brentano's bookstore at Northgate mall," told the Marin Independent Journal that she "would love even a miniature version" of Powell's bookstore "for Novato, a city of about 52,000 residents that does not have a retail store that focuses on selling new books."

But the Journal observed that in the current uncertain business climate, "prospects for the type of Novato store Blair envisions are as uncertain as ever. . . . Will a reputed independent bookstore like Book Passage or Copperfield's ever open in downtown Novato?"

"Somebody would lose their shirt opening there," said Sharon Jones of Habitat Books, Sausalito. "You can't fight the two chains and Amazon plus Costco and Target. Not in this economy."

The Journal added that "officials at Book Passage and Copperfield's said interest in Novato remains high but finding the right location and lease terms remain challenging."

Hut Landon, executive director of the Northern California Independent Bookstores Association and former owner of Landon Books on South Novato Boulevard, "contends that Novato has a population that would support an independent bookstore, but location, existing foot traffic and nearby stores staying open later hours is crucial to success," the Journal noted.

"If I were the planning department or the City Council, I would get the building owners and landlords together to really try and attract a new business and give them a break to get started," Landon said.

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The Marin Independent Journal also reported that Gary Kleiman, owner of Bookbeat bookstore and café, Fairfax, Calif., plans to close his store by mid-September and "you can blame it on the slow economy."

"There's quite a bit of sadness," said Kleiman. "I've heard there's some grief that we're not just losing a bookstore. It was so much more for the community with all the music and special gatherings. The ones who know about it have expressed sadness."

Kleiman "didn't provide much information on what will happen at his store. He said negotiations are ongoing with a merchant who won't be selling books," according to the Journal.

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Wildcat book fever. Brooke Raby, public relations and events coordinator for Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington, Ky., told the Herald-Leader that last Saturday, University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari signed about 400 copies of his new book, Bounce Back: Overcoming Setbacks to Succeed in Business and in Life. The bookstore had sold 644 copies of Calipari's book in the past two weeks.

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The Mountainside Free Library, Queensbury, N.Y., "has no computers or automated book return systems. There's no heat or air-conditioning. Despite some minor updating through the years, it looks much like it did when it was built more than 100 years ago," according to Glens Falls Post-Star, and this Tuesday the town "will note the contribution the building has made to the area for more than a century by unveiling a historical marker."

The library works on an honor system and "there is a posted list of basic rules to be followed: No. 5 reads, 'Please turn off the lights when you leave.'"

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Clara Heyworth is joining Verso Books as marketing manager. She was formerly publicist at Melville House and began her publishing career as publicity and marketing executive for Verso's U.K. office.

The indefatigable Deb Hunter, who among other things calls herself the top banana at Chicklet Books, Princeton, N.J., has a request for people in the industry. She has promised to delivery 1,000 new children's books free to Wise County, Va., in July next year as part of Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps, which provides free medical, dental and optical care to the most desperate citizens of Appalachia. The book giveaway will be managed by Julie Winklestein, who is earning a Master's at the University of Tennessee and has already donated books through Rural America, most of which she has purchased herself.

To facilitate the project, Hunter and Winklestein have formed the Books with Wings, whose goal, borrowed from other book angel projects, is to place artificial trees with paper angels with book titles written on them. (The titles will be chosen by committee; there will also be a few blanks for the stores to fill in as they wish.) Customers can purchase the book, give it to the store and receive a thank-you donation letter for tax purposes.

Books with Wings needs "creative board members and people with experience writing mission statements, by-laws and constitutions." The organization needs indie bookstores to offer space for a book angel trees. For more information, call Chicklet Books at 609-279-2121 or e-mail Hunter at topbanana@chickletbooks.com.

This morning on the Today Show: Carolyn Rubenstein, author of Perseverance: True Voices of Cancer Survivors (Forge Books, $24.99, 9780765317780/0765317788).

Also on Today: Susan Olsen, author of Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (ECW Press, $22.95, 9781550228885/1550228889). She is also on Fox & Friends tomorrow.

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Today on the Diane Rehm Show: Haleh Esfandiari, author of My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran (Ecco, $25.99, 9780061583278/0061583278).

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Today on Fresh Air, as part of Animal Week: Nancy Kay, author of Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life (Trafalgar Square Books, $19.95, 9781570764059/1570764050).

Also on Fresh Air: Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process (Harper, $13.99, 9780061673986/0061673986).

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Tomorrow morning on the Today Show: Leslie Gilbert-Lurie, author of Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir (Harper, $25.99, 9780061734762/0061734764).

Also on Today: George Foreman, author of Knockout Entrepreneur (Thomas Nelson, $22.99, 9780785222088/0785222081).

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Tomorrow morning on NPR's Morning Edition: Bill Knoedelseder, author of I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy's Golden Era (PublicAffairs, $24.95, 9781586483173/158648317X).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Linda Perlman Gordon and Susan Morris Shaffer, authors of Too Close for Comfort?: Questioning the Intimacy of Today's New Mother-Daughter Relationship (Berkley, $15, 9780425229606/0425229602).

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Tomorrow on the Glenn Beck Show: Ted Bell, author of Nick of Time (Square Fish, $7.99, 9780312581435/0312581432). 

A suitably diverse longlist has been named for the £10,000 (US$16,270) Guardian First Book Award, which honors debut books of all genres and "includes four novels, four works of non-fiction, a short story collection, and a poetry collection," according to the Guardian. This year's judges are Martha Kearney, Tobias Hill, Nadeem Aslam and John Gray. The winner will be announced in December.

"This year the longlist reflects the way in which the divisions between genres are shifting and collapsing and shows the energy and imagination with which the best new writers are confronting a world in transition," said Claire Armitstead, the Guardian's literary editor and chair of the judging panel.

The longlist:

• The Secret Lives of Buildings by Edward Hollis
• Direct Red by Gabriel Weston
• The Strangest Man by Graham Farmelo
• A Swamp Full of Dollars by Michael Peel
• The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
• The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
• The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw
• The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
• An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah
• The Missing by Siân Hughes

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

Hardcover

Sandman Slim: A Novel by Richard Kadrey (Eos, $22.99, 9780061714306/0061714305). "How a book this dark can be this much fun to read is just one of many amazing things about Sandman Slim. After surviving 11 years in Hell--literally--Stark is ready for vengeance on the magicians who killed his girlfriend and sent him there. If he happens to avert the Apocalypse while he's doing it, that will be icing on the cake. Good Omens meets Raymond Chandler!"--Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, Mich.

Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $23, 9780151013241/0151013241). "Matthew Amster-Burton's account of cooking for and sharing the delights of food with his young daughter had me giggling aloud at their adventures and drooling over the book's recipes. Sweet, enthusiastic, accessible, and unabashedly biased, it is full of good advice, good food, and good humor."--Beth Simpson, Cornerstone Books, Salem, Mass.

Paperback

Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing: Stories by Lydia Peelle (Harper Perennial, $13, 9780061724732/0061724734). "A superlative collection of stories spanning the breadth of the American psyche. These are tales of ordinary people with questions and longings that will strike a familiar chord. Best of all, Peelle has the good sense to leave the unanswerable in its proper and distant place."--Roger Pantano, Book Passage, Corte Madera, Calif.

For Ages 9 to 12

Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise (Harcourt Children's Books, $15, 9780152057275/0152057277). "When washed-up children's book writer I.B. Grumply rents out an old haunted house to finish his very overdue last book, he's shocked to discover he's not the only inhabitant. Told completely in letters, newspaper clippings, drawings, and other forms of correspondence, this is a wholly original and thoroughly enjoyable tale."--Shannon Grant, Books Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

"Never reveal you are Jewish."

That's all, just one small favor. The father of the bride asks to speak with Dino alone, man-to-man, and young professor Carpi can't refuse. He's hopelessly in love with Sonia. He's just the son of a hotelkeeper, and she comes from the wealthy, prestigious Gentile family, but she loves him back, and for her love he would agree to anything. Sure, he can keep quiet about his religion. It's never been very important to him anyway.

When his best friend Ruben finds out about the favor, he's furious. It's a question of self-respect, Ruben tries to hammer into Dino's head. But is it? Fascism is on the rise in 1930s Italy, Mussolini is charming everyone, and more and more Jewish rights and privileges are being lost every day. Pretending to be Catholic doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

This prize-winning novel by Lea Levi, newly translated into English by Antony Shugaar in a gorgeous paperback edition from Europa, is a heartbreaking little tragedy that sums up the whole genocidal horror in miniature, telling its truths simply in the life of one man, who as though in a fairy tale, becomes caught up in a wealthy family with three lovely sisters. It's Gilead meets The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. Author Lia Levi convincingly crosses the gender line writing as an old man, a literature professor who needs to confess to someone (you don't learn whom until the last 40 pages) what happened 30 years before in 1938, when Italy was in the grip of Fascism and his Jewish religion, always so half-hearted and perfunctory, suddenly became a one-way ticket to hell.

Levi knows exactly how to slowly tighten the screws. We watch as Professor Carpi is no longer allowed to enter the high school where he has taught for 20 years. His marriage into a prestigious Catholic family occurs just as mixed marriages are declared illegal. Worst of all, there's the question of his son, Michele. The boy is only six, the love of his father's life, but because his father is a Jew, little Michele won't be allowed to go to the best schools. Unless something is done.

Told as an honest man's confession, with a blunt candor in the language and a quiet urgency of tone, Levi's novel builds subtly until it's quietly devastating. Yet it's such a clean, solid story and so well written, the sadness is endurable and the beauty is luminous.--Nick DiMartino

Shelf Talker: The devastating story of a young Jewish professor who marries into a Catholic family during Mussolini's rise in Italy, told with subtlety and quiet beauty.

The week before last John Mutter of Shelf Awareness spent two days with New England Independent Booksellers Association executive director Steve Fischer visiting bookstores in Connecticut and New York. It was a great little working vacation! Here's the third part of a multi-part series reporting on what we saw.

The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, which includes the Little Book House, Albany, N.Y., opened in 1975 and is in one of the largest open shopping malls we've ever seen. Built in 1959, Stuyvesant Plaza has been upgraded and has many high-end retailers such as Jos. Bank, Talbots, Chico's as well as an array of independent stores. At any time of day, it seems, the huge lot is mostly full. Stuyvesant Plaza draws from a wide area as well as the nearby University at Albany, formerly SUNY Albany.

Susan Novotny bought into the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza in 1986 and became the full owner in 1991. Over the years, the store expanded several times and now has 6,000 square feet of space.

The store is in the middle of a renovation, which includes a new, handsome facade, new carpeting, a revamped cash wrap, a new foyer that will be a big help during the cold northern New York winters. The renovation also includes a kind of living room near the front that will feature Stickley chairs and lamps.

A few sections of the store along the walls have mirrors behind the shelves. Banners hang from the ceiling, which lend a festive air and cover the institutional-style ceiling tiles.

The Book House has cut back inventory somewhat because of the recession and has adjusted by "doing little cosmetic things to look as pregnant as possible," Novotny said. Concerning the state of the industry in general, Novotny commented: "The sky isn't falling. Yes, we're tightening belts and cutting corners, but this is a viable business that's here to stay."

Among the staff's favorite books that have sold impressive numbers:

• Staggerford by Jon Hasler, published in the 1980s, has sold nearly 1,100 copies.
• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, a 2002 title, has sold 940 copies.
• The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran has sold 134 copies.
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout has sold 145 copies.

Like many booksellers, Novotny said she is "delighted" by the fall and holiday lists.

The Book House carries a range of sidelines, including many chocolates, chai tea, several DVDs at the counter (which do well, Novotny said). The most popular sideline at the moment is Bananagrams.

The store also has a strong map department, including U.S. Geological Survey maps and NOAA charts, although sales are not as strong as they used to be.

The store does a "large business with school systems," and part of the Little Book House, the children's store, is "like a show room," as Novotny put it. Teachers and others come in, grab a box and start filling, she said. The store has regular educators' nights. Children's sales in general are good.

Book House does many author events. "I don't say no to any author who is willing to work to make the event successful," Novotny said. Sometimes the store has seven or eight authors on Sunday afternoons. The New York State Writers Institute, founded in 1983 by William Kennedy, is located at the University of Albany and draws major writers for which the Book House acts as bookseller, usually on the campus. This fall the program is attracting Denis Lahane, who will appear at the Book House, as well as Richard Russo and Lorrie Moore.

The store does not discount titles but has a loyalty program through its Bookaholics Bonus Card.

Susan Novotny's other store, Market Block Books, is in an elegant, inviting 2,700-sq.-ft. space in downtown Troy, N.Y., an area that unlike nearby Albany, was spared the wrecker's boom during the ill-advised period of urban renewal projects. The business district is full of late 19th century buildings, most of which are beautifully restored, by the Hudson River and just down the hill from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Market Block Books is in the Market Block Building, which has several other stores and offices in it, including the offices of Troy Book Makers. (More on this interesting short-run printing venture later this week.)

Market Block Books has a much smaller inventory than the Book House, on average about a quarter of the Albany store's inventory. The titles are carefully selected and turn at a healthy rate. All the back office functions and most buying are done at the Book House in Albany. Economies of scale are very important in running the two stores, Novotny said.

Market Block opened in 2004, "after the owner worked on me for six months," Novotny said. The store has many dramatic, elegant mahogany fixtures from the 1850s that were rescued from Troy Publishing, which was getting rid of them. (Incidentally the many newer bookcases came from a company that Bernie Rath, former executive director of the American Booksellers Association, was associated with.) The store is full of other furniture and objects that "people gave to us because the town was so happy to have us," Novotny said. "It was like a barnraising." These gifts include sofas and tables. The store also has a baby grand piano, on which many music books are displayed. (Novotny said that the piano is broken and too expensive to repair.)

Novotny called Market Block Books "Stanley's store," referring to manager Stanley Hadsell, who has put an emphasis on selection and customer service. Staff recommendations are important at the store, and as a result Market Block Books has some striking sales stories. For example, since the book was published in 2006, the store has sold nearly 170 copies of The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. (The store stocks all Millar's work.)

With most back office functions handled in Albany, at Market Block Books, there are only five staff members, who work two at a time, so as Hadsell put it, "We get to know customers."

The store has "a ridiculously large" international customer base because of RPI, Hadsell said. Among those customers: a man who lives in London who stops in the store four times a year and buys children's books. Another is a British man who lives in the U.S. and travels internationally regularly and likes to have reading material. A French contingent who visit relatives in Troy during the summer stops and shops at the store.

In addition, because of the store's location at the center of a main intersection, people frequently stop in asking for directions and recommendations on where to eat and shop, "even where to get an apartment," Hadsell said. The store is also near the dock, where tourist boats come upriver and let off large groups of people. Hadsell added, "We're like a tourist bureau here."--John Mutter