The Walt Disney Company is acquiring Marvel Entertainment in a stock and cash transaction for approximately $4 billion. Bloomberg News reported that the purchase "gives Disney, the world's largest media company, more than 5,000 Marvel characters to market in movies, theme parks, stores and on television. Spider-Man, Iron Man and Wolverine films have pulled in billions of dollars at the box office and offer Disney an opportunity to shore up profits at its four main businesses."

The New York Times observed that Marvel’s publishing business is strong: "The company was the top comics publisher in 2008, edging out its closest rival, DC Comics, in both unit market share (46% to 32%) and retail dollar share (41% to 30%). The comic book industry had about $715 million in sales last year, according to Milton Griepp, the publisher and founder of ICv2, an online trade publication that covers pop culture for retailers."

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Obituary note: Sheila Lukins, "who, as an owner of the Silver Palate food shop and an author of four Silver Palate cookbooks, helped usher in the new American cooking of the 1980s," died Sunday, the New York Times reported. She was 66.

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"Whew! We made it!" said co-owner Mike Russo regarding the 20th anniversary of Russo's Books, Bakersfield, Calif. The Californian noted that Russo is not "planning any big bash or other expensive event to celebrate the milestone--as with everyplace else, money is tight. But he is able to look back over the last two decades and recognize he's beaten the small-business odds of survival."

The Californian added that Russo "remains optimistic about the next 20 years, while also being realistic about near-term conditions."

"The times are changing, and they are changing fast," Russo said. "So booksellers like us who have the moxie are definitely being proactive."

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Bestselling author Cecelia Ahern wrote a letter to booksellers "to woo them into pushing her new novel. With her baby due in December, Ms. Ahern will not be able to do a lot of publicity for her new book, The Book of Tomorrow," the Irish Independent reported.

"I believe in the magic of books," Ahern observed. "I believe that during certain periods in our lives we are drawn to particular books--whether it's strolling down the aisles of a bookshop with no idea whatsoever of what it is that we want to read and suddenly finding the most perfect, most wonderfully suitable book staring us right in the face. Unblinking. Or a chance meeting with a stranger or friend who recommends a book we would never ordinarily reach for. Books have the ability to find their own way into our lives."

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Although there will "be no carhops on roller skates," the Houston Public Library is now offering curbside service, HPL To Go, in response to "complaints from customers weary of searching for scarce library parking," according to the Houston Chronicle.

"The parking lots are small and their business is very large," said neighborhood library chief Regina Stemmer. The Chronicle explained that "library patrons first reserve books or other materials via the Internet. When notified by e-mail that the items are ready for pickup, users simply cruise to the library, cell phone a librarian and supply library card numbers, the names of items desired and descriptions of their cars."

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In other library-related roller skating news, CNN showcased Beth Hollis, a 53-year-old reference librarian at Akron-Summit County Library, Akron, Ohio, "who's become a MegaBeth, a roller derby dynamo" for the Rubber City Rollergirls.

"All my life, when I tell people I'm a librarian, they say, 'You don't look like a librarian,'" Hollis said. "And now that I'm a roller derby girl, they say, 'You don't look like a roller derby girl, either.' So I don't know where I fit in."

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Has the shopaholic era of chick lit fallen victim to the economic downturn? According to the Independent, "In hard times, sex-and-shopping sagas are being reinvented. Welcome to the world of recessionista lit."

"We're hearing a lot about the wives of men like Bernie Madoff," said Wendy Walker, whose novel Social Lives comes out today. "Should they be punished for riding the gravy train of embezzlement? I wanted to look at what happens when someone has taken equity out of the house from a woman's perspective. You get a division of labour when a husband is banking so much money on Wall Street: wives give up their jobs and become professional homemakers and mothers, but these skills have no market value unless they're attached to a man."

But the Independent noted that Plum Sykes, author of Bergdorf Blondes and The Debutante Divorcee, "said a credit-crunch backdrop 'just doesn't work' for her social comedies, adding: 'I will not set another book in modern-day America because of the credit crunch.'"

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has chosen Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson (Penguin, $14, 9780143038078/0143038079), first published in 2007, as her pick of the month for September. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the warehouse club's members, she wrote:

"I am drawn to unlikely friendships. And when I read Linda Olsson's Astrid and Veronika I was charmed by Olsson's skill at giving credence to the value of friendships between older and younger women. When 30-year-old Veronika moves to a rural town in Sweden, she strikes up a friendship with Astrid--who's in her 80s and has a reputation as the town witch.

"In Olsson's novel, as in life, both women benefit from the friendship. The younger woman has the advantage of learning life lessons from the older woman's perspective. The older woman finds value in her life once more--or perhaps for the first time."

"Change is all we can count on," said Clara Villarosa, who has had at least four careers in her long life, including stints as a psychiatric social worker and a banker and most important for us, a bookseller. She founded the Hue-Man Experience in Denver, Colo., sold it and retired--only to open the Hue-Man Bookstore in Harlem in New York City. Now retired yet again, it would seem her series of careers has come to an end.

But no. Not for Clara Villarosa, who may be the most lively, engaging, funny, direct, wise bookseller we've ever met--and someone who will always be busy, whether she wants to or not.

As she put it, all of her experiences have led to her latest venture: business coach, entrepreneurial workshop leader and author of Down to Business: The First 10 Steps to Entrepreneurship for Women written with her daughter Alicia Villarosa (Avery, $17, 9781583333549/1583333541), whose official pub date is today.

"The journey to this has been fascinating," she said. "I had to come to New York because I wouldn't have been able to write this book without opening the Harlem store and learning and using even more skills than I had before." All of the skills she needed to be a successful entrepreneur she learned in her different careers, she said.

The book is full of information and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs. "I don't overwhelm with details," she said. "I tried to keep it simple." Among other things, she tells wannabe entrepreneurs that they need their own trio of superheroes: "an accountant, a lawyer and a banker." She recommends going slowly: some entrepreneurs should consider setting up a business in their homes before expanding them. Most important is the business plan, which she defines as "a series of questions," not necessarily a legalistic document whose creation might turn off some potential entrepreneurs.

In each chapter, she talks about her experience with the subject--among them, researching the competition, knowing the market, hiring employees--then uses stories about women who have set up businesses to show a range of approaches to the matter. (None of the others is a bookseller.) Altogether more than 20 women and their experiences are outlined. The stories are important, Villarosa said, because people love to learn through stories.

Originally Villarosa wrote Down to Business for black women because she drew on her friends in Harlem and all were black women. Penguin suggested the book should be for all women. In fact, Villarosa said, the book "is for women and some good men." Asked who is a good man, Villarosa answered, "A good man is a man who listens to a woman." Unfortunately, she said, many men don't readily accept information from women, particularly business information.

The book grew out of story hours that Villarosa conducted at Hue-Man Bookstore. One day, she said, she had a read a story to a group of middle school kids and was stumped about what to do next. So she asked if the group had any questions. One student wanted to know how she started the bookstore. "They were very surprised that I started the store, because they didn't know any African American business owners," Villarosa said.

In a kind of Socratic dialogue, she illustrated how she founded Hue-Man Bookstore. Villarosa: "I've decided to open a bookstore. What do I need?" Hands shot up and someone said, "You need books." Villarosa then explained how to get them, adding, "What else do I need?" Answer: "Money!" Then she told them how she acquired the necessary finances. Other questions had to do with advertising, marketing, staffing, computers, and more.

She repeated this exercise with others, and it became the story of how she started her business, which eventually became a story of how to start any business. Villarosa spoke on the subject at churches, then a manager at Chase suggested she come in to speak to bankers because so many people wanting to start a business approach the bank unprepared. This led her to conduct workshops, some sponsored by banks for their customers, at which people took copious notes. Several attendees suggested she write a book, "anything so they didn't have to write so much!" (Villarosa noted that she learned about how to conduct workshops when she taught at the old ABA Booksellers Schools, for which she went to train the trainer classes.).

Barbara Lowenstein, the woman who became her agent, also encouraged her to write a book. Villarosa responded: "I don't write books. I sell them!" Lowenstein suggested a memoir. Villarosa said, "Who's going to buy it besides my friends and family, and I'm not even sure about them!"

Villarosa wrote a proposal and two chapters. Penguin showed an interest, invited her down to meet her and signed her up three days later.

Of course, Villarosa knows much more than the average first-time author about the publishing process. "I have contacts," she said. "I know how to do a book signing, even though I've never been the author." For Down to Business, she is doing combined booksignings and workshops. This Thursday she'll make an appearance at the Hue-Man Bookstore in New York. Other events include an appearance at the Tattered Cover in Denver, as well as several banks in New York City. "I'll walk people through it and ask questions like, 'What kind of business you want to start?' On the spot, I can give information."

She was interviewed last week on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show and hopes to be on other TV or radio shows. "It's not easy getting booked," she said. "But I think once people hear me, they'll recognize I have something to say and could be of value to listeners." We agree.--John Mutter

Today on Fresh Air, where Animal Week continues:

• Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26, 9780151014897/0151014892).
• Michael Schaffer, author of One Nation Under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food (Holt, $24, 9780805087116/0805087117).

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Today on Talk of the Nation: former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, author of The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege . . . And How We Can Be Safe Again (Thomas Dunne, $25.99, 9780312534875/0312534876).

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Tomorrow morning on Good Morning America: Jane Goodall, author of Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink (Grand Central, $27.99, 9780446581776/0446581771).

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Tomorrow on the Diane Rehm Show: Helen Scales, author of Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality (Gotham, $20, 9781592404742/159240474X).

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Tomorrow on Craig Ferguson: Alex Dryden, author of Red to Black (Ecco, $25.99, 9780061803864/0061803863).

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has purchased the rights to "Shake," a short story by Derek Haas, "and hired the writer and his regular collaborator Michael Brandt to expand it into a feature screenplay. The deal was for more than seven figures," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Haas, who co-wrote the scripts for Wanted and 3:10 to Yuma with Brandt, is also the author of novels The Silver Bear and upcoming Columbus: A Silver Bear Thriller.

"Shake" was originally published at a new website, Popcornfiction.com, which Haas "recently created for TV and film writers to showcase their pulpy short fiction," THR reported.

Alice Munro has withdrawn her story collection, Too Much Happiness, from consideration for Canada's prestigious Giiller Prize. The Globe and Mail reported that the decision "has disappointed literary punters hoping for a close contest for this year's prize between Munro and veteran novelist Margaret Atwood, author of The Year of the Flood (out in September), which is sure to be nominated."

"Her reason is that she has won twice and would like to leave the field to younger writers," said Douglas Gibson, Munro's Canadian publisher. "In my role as greedy publisher I pointed out that the Giller Prize produces so much publicity, that even to be nominated for it is tremendous publicity. But her mind is made up on this. Alice preferred to withdraw from the competition."

"I appreciate the reason she's doing it, but I also think it's a bit of a shame," said Giller Prize administrator Elana Rabinovitch. "Ultimately the prize is for the best work of fiction in Canada, period, and this takes a likely contender out of the mix."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, September 8:

You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives by Deborah Tannen (Random House, $26, 9781400066322/1400066328) explores sisterhood through hundreds of interviews and personal experience.

Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin by Kathy Griffin (Ballantine, $25, 9780345518514/0345518519) chronicles the life of a comedian and television star.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central, $24.99, 9780446547567/0446547565) follows a teenage girl spending the summer with her alienated father.

Dexter by Design: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay (Doubleday, $25, 9780385518369/0385518366) continues the popular saga of a serial killer devoted to killing serial killers.

The National Parks: America's Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns (Knopf, $50, 9780307268969/0307268969) is the companion to a 12-hour miniseries by PBS.

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A. J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster, $25, 9781416599067/1416599061) presents more social experiments from the author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically.

Now in paperback:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco, $16.99, 9780061374234/0061374237).

Every Boat Turns South by J. P. White (Permanent Press, $28, 9781579621889/1579621880, September 1, 2009)

Opening lines of books we want to read:

I slouch at the end of the day on my parents' front steps and smell threads of rain mixed with the musty tang of things growing and rotting in the same catch. I took a train from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville and hitched north carrying two black trash bags of clothes. The wind off the Atlantic tells me I smell worse than day-old fish bait. My legs are so tight and tired from interstate walking I can feel them twitch inside a wobble. A low grade fever wanders my body like a torched and rolling penny. If I had a mirror, I wouldn't greet the man outlined in grit and stubble.

I got lost in a storm at the tail end of the Bahamas in 1980, and now it's 1983 or is it 1984? I couldn't say for sure what the day is, the month or the year. Flung up on my parents' doorstep, I've reached the threshold of as much trouble as I can lay claim to as a thirty-year-old: I'm soaked in sweat with the thunder nickering, hoping my aging parents will take me in because I've got nowhere to go with my story.

I park my trash bags and stare at their front door. My wrist bones search for any handhold. My body trembles from the taut indecision of what to do next. I lean forward and touch my forehead to the door thinking the termite wood will tell me what to do. It doesn't.

--Selected by Marilyn Dahl

Is there a better way to spend the last few days of this fast fading summer than with William Trevor's haunting account of a doomed summer love affair in a small Irish town? Set in the 1950s, Love and Summer unfolds in the "compact and ordinary" village of Rathmoye, "a town in a hollow that had grown up there for no reason that anyone knew or wondered about." The town's cinema still lies in ruins from a long ago fire and its railway station has been abandoned. Still, its citizens go about their quiet lives, placidly bearing the burdens of their daily routines and, for some, their secret pain.

When they meet, prosaically, in the aisle of the Cash and Carry, there's nothing inevitable about the relationship between Florian Kilderry, the half-Italian son of deceased artist parents, in Rathmoye to see to the sale of the family homestead, and Ellie, the wife of a decent, if stolid, farmer named Dillahan, who's obsessed by his feeling of responsibility for the farming accident that killed his first wife and baby. Ellie, a "foundling" raised by nuns, had come to Rathmoye first as Dillahan's servant only later to become his wife, but she's no Emma Bovary desperate to escape her stultifying life. "She hadn't been aware that she didn't love her husband," Trevor writes, almost offhandedly, of the state of mind that brings her together with Florian.

Trevor spares us the emotional and sexual pyrotechnics that might mar the work of a lesser writer. When Florian pronounces the end of the affair, as he's about to leave Ireland for Scandinavia, he says nothing more than, "We've had our summer, Ellie," to dash her hopes with a devastating finality. Time and again, the novel reflects that gift for understatement, as Trevor offers his characters compassion, not judgment.

While tracing the arc of the lovers' relationship, Trevor also eloquently captures the rhythms of small town life. Though fraught with the tension that arises from Ellie and Florian's affair, the pace of the novel is deliberate, almost languid. And Trevor requires only a couple of terse sentences to conjure up a vivid sense of place: "The dog days of August came; Rathmoye was quiet. Small incidents occurred, were spoken of, forgotten."

William Trevor's genius, demonstrated once again in this, his 14th novel (currently longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), lies in his uncanny ability to expose, with sensitivity and insight, the complexity of even the simplest lives. That he does so in prose that's a model of elegant compression makes his achievement even more impressive.--Harvey Freedenberg

Shelf Talker: William Trevor's 14th novel is a quietly moving account of a summer love affair in a small Irish town.