Book Sense

Here's a quick reminder of three upcoming Book Sense Picks deadlines:

• Summer Children's Book Sense Picks -- March 25
• Audiobooks Top Ten -- April 1
• June Book Sense Picks -- April 8

Send all nominations to Book Sense Picks Editor-in-Chief Dan Cullen at [email protected], or nominated titles online at www.bookweb.org/read/6305.

Founded in 1955, Kepler's of Menlo Park, California, was created with the goal of serving as a resource and gathering place for civil rights activists, artists, and writers.

"I'm a big romantic at heart," said Charlie Stella -- a statement that might startle readers of this Brooklyn-raised author, whose four published novels, including the just-released Cheapskates (Carroll & Graf), describe the often quite unromantic doings of various small-time East Coast hoods and hustlers.

The April Picks fliers incorrectly identified the publisher of the audiobook edition of Alice Hoffman's The Ice Queen. The correct publisher of the unabridged CD edition of the novel is Time Warner Audiobooks (ISBN: 1594830657). Book Sense apologizes for the error.

This week, Book Sense and The History Channel present the Spring 2005 History Top Ten, which focuses on titles about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his era. The list is based on the nominations of independent booksellers nationwide and is the fifth time Book Sense has compiled a list in association with The History Channel.

The April Book Sense Notables selections with booksellers' quotes are now available in a downloadable PDF flier on BookWeb.org. The flier includes jacket image, bibliographic information, and bookseller quotes. These additional 20 titles are also featured in an electronic file of shelf-talkers for in-store use.

It's seven weeks until Mother's Day!

... which gives booksellers plenty of time to establish the Book Sense Gift Card program in their bookstores.

The program continues to grow -- approximately $4.86 million was spent on gift card sales in independent bookstores since the program launched late 2003. Bookstores are reporting increases in sales, savings in time, and a high satisfaction in being able to offer a competitive and sophisticated product that adds to their store's profitability.

Here's a look at some exciting new improvements to participating BookSense.com member websites:

Chicago's The Seminary Co-op Bookstore, housed in the basement of Chicago Theological Seminary, was founded in 1961 when 17 students from the University of Chicago and area seminaries each invested $10 to open a co-operative and, shortly after, the bookstore. It has since expanded and has two more branches -- 57th Street Books and The Newberry Library bookstore -- with each store maintaining its own character and the initial co-operative business plan.

Booksellers caught up in the myriad details of running both a bricks-and-mortar and virtual bookstore may give little thought to the importance of affiliate programs, but as anyone who has spent time surfing the Web knows, affiliate links are as commonplace on websites as billboards are on highways. And just as a billboard can lead a hungry driver to a restaurant or a fatigued traveler to a motel, an affiliate link on an author's website can be very effective at driving consumers to a bookseller's site.

Here is the Spring 2005 Book Sense Picks Poetry Top Ten, based on the nominations of independent booksellers from all regions of the country. The March Red Box will contain the Poetry Top Ten pads and a PDF of the list is available on BookWeb.

Here's a heads-up regarding three upcoming Book Sense Picks deadlines:

• May Book Sense Picks -- March 11
• Summer Children's Book Sense Picks -- March 25
• Audiobooks Top Ten -- April 1

Friday, March 25 -- the deadline for the next kids' list -- may seem a bit down the road, but it's a big list, and hearing from booksellers sooner rather than later would help ensure that it's timely, accurate, and full of wonderful books.

A special travel insert appears in the April issue of Good Housekeeping, which directs readers to find featured titles at independent bookstores with Book Sense. Also included is information about a Book Sense sweepstakes in which five contestants will win a $100 Book Sense gift card and a selection of books.