Book Sense

The 2007 Book Sense Bestsellers, a special listing of the year's 15 bestselling titles in six categories -- Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Nonfiction, Paperback Fiction, Paperback Nonfiction, Children's Fiction, and Children's Illustrated -- will be published in Bookselling This Week on Thursday, December 13. The lists will be produced in six downloadable 8-1/2" x 11" PDFs that can be displayed individually or together to create one large 2007 Book Sense Bestsellers poster.

After managing a food co-op that grew from four employees into a 100-person operation, Brad Smith was looking for a business where he could once again know most of his customers personally. He found that in Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Oregon, population 2,000.

Gregory Maguire Candlewick Press and BookSense.com are partnering to host an online chat with bestselling author Gregory Maguire on Monday, November 19, at 11:00 a.m. EST.

The Winter 2007 - 2008 Book Sense Children's Picks List is available now for preview. The list will be coming to independent bookstores with Book Sense in the Children's White Box, which will arrive in stores this month. Additional copies of the Winter Kids' Picks list may be requested via e-mail to lindaf@bookweb.org.

For the eight-week period ending November 13, 2007, and based on sales in independent bookstores nationwide. 1. The World Is Flat Thomas L. Friedman, Picador, $16, 9780312425074 2.

1. AGATE: What Good Is a Moose?, by Joy M. Dey, Nikki Johnson (illus.) (Lake Superior Port Cities, $17.95, 9780942235739 / 0942235738) "Agate is a moose with self-esteem issues. He really is a gem -- he just doesn't know it. Dey's lively, lyrical text reminds us to look for inner strength in ourselves and others. Johnson's stunning yet simple watercolors capture the personality and beauty of every animal in the book." --Anita Zager, Northern Lights Books & Gifts, Duluth, MN

Booksellers participating in the Book Sense Gift Card program have yet another opportunity to benefit from the generosity of a Publisher Partner. On Wednesday, November 21, at noon Eastern Time, the "You're Great!" Book Sense gift card and matching presenter, featuring art from Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham Books), will be available via the reorder website, booksenseorders.givex.com.  

A Feast for Fiction Readers THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER: A Novel, by Tom Perrotta (St. Martin's, $24.95, 9780312358334 / 0312358334) "A sex-ed teacher and a Christian soccer coach, the teacher's daughter's soccer coach no less, find themselves on opposite sides of the hot-button issues of abstinence education and school prayer.

Here is the full listing of December Book Sense Picks, with booksellers' comments, as well as a preview of the month's Notables. Independent booksellers in the Book Sense program will be receiving their December Picks fliers in the November Red Box.