Book Sense

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.

When Kayt and Donald L. Huttlin, Jr. purchased a house on Second Avenue in Lexington, North Carolina, one of the selling points was its close proximity to Frazier's Bookstore. Kayt Huttlin, a former librarian, had always been a book lover, so she enjoyed the idea that she could just pop into the community bookstore on a whim.

Just over six months later, Huttlin enters the store not on a whim, but with a purpose: She's one of Frazier's new owners.

Booksellers should be aware that the New York Times Book Cash Certificates expire on January 31, 2003. Times Book Cash checks were sent as gifts to consumers who upgraded from a trial subscription to a full subscription to the newspaper and are good for $10 towards payment for any book purchase.

The American Booksellers Association is currently accepting nominations of booksellers' handselling favorites for the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (BSBY). All ABA member stores are eligible to vote for titles in the categories of Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Illustrated Children's, Rediscovery, and -- new this year -- Paperback Book of the Year. The Paperback category is open to both fiction and nonfiction titles.

Resolve to start the New Year right by nominating the books you most enjoyed handselling and recommending to your customers in 2002 for the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (BSBY). The 2003 BSBY Nomination Ballot is now available to all ABA member bookstores. (Stores do not have to be Book Sense participating stores to nominate titles.)

By Carl Lennertz

Dear Booksellers,

1) Sorry to come a nudgin' so soon after the holiday madness, but mid-to-late January and February hold deadlines for recommendations for several new 76s:

January 17 -- for a History 76 top ten (as part of a promotion with the History Channel!), and a possible Teen Readers 76 top ten

January 24 -- the March/April 76

February 7 -- a Poetry Month 76 top ten, plus a Mystery top ten and SF/Fantasy top ten

Based on the last four weeks of sales from over 350 independent bookstores across America.

The January white boxes are in the mail to booksellers participating in the national Book Sense marketing program. Importantly, in this month's white box is an array of Book Sense promotional materials for bookstores to freshen-up their co-branding. Included are a poster (rolled in a tube), a new removable vinyl two-sided decal for the front door or window, a decal for the cash register, a 76 counter card, and an order form for even more marketing materials.

It may be a new year, but one thing that carried over from last year is Book Sense's Good Morning America book club streak. On Thursday, January 2, the popular morning show's "Read This!" book club made its seventh selection, and once again chose a Book Sense 76 pick.

The January/February 2003 Book Sense 76 -- with booksellers' recommendations -- has been posted at http://news.bookweb.org/read/1029. The printed flier will be shipped to stores beginning the first week of January.

These titles were selected from 2,000 nominations from independent booksellers across the country. To access an online nomination form and deadlines for future 76s, go to www.BookWeb.org/booksense/seventysix/2330.html.

As of December 2, new owners took possession of Bookends, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. On that day, Dana and Walter Gilligan, store owners for nearly 19 years, handed the keys over to Pat and Walter Boyer, who were beginning their first days as booksellers.

Two top ten January/February Book Sense 76 picks will be featured in newly redesigned bookmark-shaped ads in The New Yorker in January. The ads feature a clearer typeface and a larger image of the recommended book.

The January 20 issue of The New Yorker, on sale January 13, will feature an ad in which Alayne Hopkins of Ruminator Books in St. Paul, Minnesota, recommends Samaritan by Richard Price (Knopf, 0375411151).

Anyone with doubts as to the popularity of gift certificates and books among holiday shoppers should check out the 2002 American Express Retail Index (AERI) on holiday shopping. According to AERI, gift certificates and books rank in the top five of items consumers plan to give or hope to receive this holiday season.

Over the past few days, a number of booksellers have contacted ABA to say that they have received fraudulent orders from overseas -- via either their retail Web sites or e-mail -- for large numbers of hardcover books, often Bibles or medical texts.

Here's a reminder of important e-commerce advice that BookSense.com sent to participating stores earlier in the year.