Book Sense

Keep watch for the December white box mailing, which should start arriving at stores by mid-week. Among the goodies:

Jill Johnson, owner of Beagle Books Beagle Books owner Jill Johnson spent most of her adult career in the medical field, so when she found the 1937 former medical clinic, she felt sure it was the right place to open a bookstore.

A PDF format "Booked for the Holidays" flier that you can print (in color or B&W) to post in your bookstore or use as a bag stuffer can be downloaded here. The flier features titles highlighted in the December 10 issue of The New Yorker. Room is provided at the bottom of the flier to add your bookstore logo with a stamp or a sticker.  

Book Sense spots on the National Public Radio (NPR) shows All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition continue this week and next. Air dates, title information, and times-where available-are provided below. Air times are Eastern time and are approximate. Programming information will be updated as more times become available online at here.

I'm hearing from publishers that the NEBA and SEBA Book Sense bestseller lists are being noticed, commented on, and relayed to authors. They're becoming a big deal! Besides the local media possibilities, these regional lists can help put your association at the forefront of publishers' agendas … and budgets. But we need more reporting stores in order to produce lists for all the regional associations. PUBLISHER ATTENTION + AUTHOR AWARENESS = MORE $$$$$$$ TO YOU

To be in stores for January 2002: The idea for this 76 Top Ten came together over the last few weeks while going through all of your e-mails for the January/February 76. There were also many nominations in this area over the last year, and, in looking back, we found we had a good message to send out about looking forward. Thank you for your continuing efforts to help people find answers. Again, this is--like the full 76--a compilation of most recommended books, not necessarily bestsellers … though many are, and now can be again.

Muhammed Ali may seem an unlikely likeness for the author of Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, a novel about Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt's dying sister that has been lauded for its sensitivity and delicacy. But Daniel Simon, publisher of Seven Stories Press, compares Harriet Scott Chessman to the heavyweight champion, explaining, "In her subtle way, Harriet hits you at several different angles ...