BTW News Briefs

Obama and McCain Reveal Their Favorite Books

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric asked the presidential candidates to reveal the names of their favorite books, as reported by the Christian Science Monitor. Sen. Barack Obama chose Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, while Sen. John McCain chose Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

CSM noted, "The appeal of For Whom the Bell Tolls for McCain is easy to understand. Robert Jordan, the protagonist, is an American fighting on the side of the Republicans in Spain. The mission he is sent on, to blow up a bridge, is a doomed one, but Jordan's greatest fear is being captured and tortured by the enemy....

"Obama's attraction to Song of Solomon is equally easy to understand," said the newspaper. "The book is the life story of an African-American man named Macon 'Milkman' Dead III, set during the 1950s and '60s. The narrative weaves together the points of view of various members of Milkman's family. It touches on themes of identity, family relationships, the rootlessness of African-Americans who live in northern cities, and the effects of slavery."

NECBA Launches Interactive Online Touring Map

The New England Children's Booksellers Advisory Council (NECBA), the children's arm of the New England Independent Booksellers Association, has announced the creation of an interactive author touring map. The map was launched to help and encourage publicists to create itineraries for children's book author tours to New England indie bookstores.

The map features pop-up contact information as well as hyperlinks to bookstore websites. Booksellers who want to add their stores to the map must be active NEIBA members who are at least somewhat directly involved in NECBA. Booksellers with any questions should visit the NECBA Author Touring Map FAQ Page.

NRF Says Online Sales to Grow "Only" 12 Percent, Asks Congress to Spur Consumer Spending

While experts predict only slight sales increases for this holiday season, according to Forrester Research, the holidays will be much merrier for online retailers, as noted on the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Shop.org blog. Forrester predicts that online sales in November and December will increase by 12 percent. While bricks-and-mortar retailers of all shapes and sizes would love to hear this kind of holiday forecast, for online retailers, the 12 percent increase represents a "significant slowdown," according to Forrester. As Shop.org noted, "Yes, it's a slowdown from years' past. But, compared to the 2.2 percent growth NRF forecasts for overall retail it's pretty good."

In related news, on October 29, NRF asked a congressional committee to consider possible economic stimulus initiatives to include a second round of tax rebate checks or other direct relief for consumers. "With most economists predicting a weak economy into 2009 and consumer spending at record lows, NRF believes additional congressional action would help the economy and soften the negative impact on the American people," NRF Vice President and Tax Counsel Rachelle Bernstein said in written testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee. "We believe an immediate stimulus that will put money into the pockets of consumers where it can have a ripple effect throughout the economy is needed."

Bernstein said tax rebate checks distributed earlier this year by the Treasury Department contributed to a modest increase in retail sales. The Senate is scheduled to return November 17, though its agenda has not been determined.

Study Finds Blogs Influence Purchases More Than Social Sites

Want to convince your customers to purchase a great new book? Blog it. A new study, Harnessing the Power of Blogs, sponsored research by BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research company, recently revealed that blogs can have more of an impact on consumer purchasing decisions than social networks, as reported by the ClickZ Network.

JupiterResearch data revealed a 300 percent growth in monthly blog readership in the past four years, and these readers "look to links and multiple blog sources to extend the conversation." Moreover, the survey indicated that consumers are influenced by blogs at the moment of purchase decision. The channel plays a greater role than social networks in the buying process because "bloggers establish themselves as an authority on a topic, particularly in niche areas, and create a relationship with the consumer," the article noted.