76 Pick Mentions in Publisher Advertising

By Carl Lennertz

The stack on my desk of publishers' own ads that included a mention of a book's 76 Pick status hit a precarious two feet high by the end of 2002.

The new year is off to a great start, with Time Warner set to include a significant 76 Pick plug for Pete Hamill's Forever, a January/February 76 Top Ten. The full-page color ad in last Friday's NYT had "BOOK SENSE 76 TOP TEN PICK" in big letters, and more ads are to come. Forever: A Novel, by Pete Hamill (Little, Brown, $25.95, 0316341118)

This coming Sunday's NYTBR has two 76 Pick mentions. They appear in ads for Old Flames, by John Lawton (Atlantic, $24, 0871138646) and A Box of Matches, by Nicholson Baker (Random House, $19.95, 0375502874).

Thanks to all who had a part in this wonderful validation of independent bookseller recommendations!

Carl
carl@booksense.com