Book Sense

The BookSense.com free trial may have ended, but many trial participants are continuing with the BookSense.com program. Since September 30, over 20 bookstores that participated in the free trial have officially joined the BookSense.com program, and "we're expecting more than double that number to ultimately convert from the free trial to the official product," Len Vlahos, BookSense.com director, told BTW. These bookstores join an ever-growing BookSense.com family, which currently numbers more than 230 bookstores.

The fliers are on press now; 100's will go out in the November white box, and additional quantities, as in the past, will mail from the printer.

Thank you for the great recommendations!!

Carl
[email protected]

1. A HOUSE CALLED AWFUL END: Book One of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, by Philip Ardagh; illus. by David Roberts (Holt, $14.95, 0805068287) Ages 9-12.

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

Thanks to all the stores that report, the new expanded electronic reporting options, and the software our team here has built to sort and slice a ton of data according to BISAC categories, this is the latest of many subject category lists to run in BTW each week. These are intended as inventory checking tools for booksellers, alerts to publishers as to what's selling, and lists that the media can run.

By Carl Lennertz

So, when I'm on deadline for each 76, madly double-checking ISBNs and ship dates, and store city and state, if you don't provide them (hint, hint), I always make one big boo-boo. I'm also usually amused about what I was thinking when I made said boo-boo.

The decade-old Outwrite Bookstore moved from a small space in a midtown shopping center to an old disco in the center of a gentrified, historically gay and lesbian neighborhood in Atlanta. The store doubled its size, to 3,000-square-feet, and created a vibrant place to gather, drink coffee, and buy books and gifts -- from morning until late at night.

Andro Linklater, English author of Measuring America: How the Greatest Land Sale in History Shaped the United States (Walker), a November/December Book Sense 76 pick, is continuing a long and worthy tradition, going back at least as far as de Toucqueville, of Europeans showing their American cousins the truth and relevance of what's under their very noses.

Or, in this case, beneath our feet.

By Peter Schertz, co-owner of Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado

Last week, Book Sense and the History Channel announced that Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, was one of three bookstores recognized for their efforts in orchestrating a Fire on the Mountain fundraising campaign (for full story, click here). In the following article, Peter Schertz, co-owner of Maria's Bookshop, details the store's winning promotional campaign, and the steps taken to create it.

Silas House grew up in a family of storytellers. The most gifted among them was Dave Sizemore, his great-uncle. Sizemore died in 1997, and with his death, House suddenly realized that a rich and wonderful history had gone with him.

That's when House, who had had writing aspirations since childhood, finally decided to seriously pursue his own brand of storytelling.

Booksellers' Fire on the Mountain campaigns have been so impressive that Book Sense and The History Channel announced on October 18 that they had decided to recognize, not one, but three independent booksellers for their firehouse fundraising efforts.

The bookstores are:

Here's the first of the Winter Kids' 76, intended for use from December and into the new year. (The next Kids' 76 won't be until late spring 2003.) This is the result of great recommendations, as always, but the Top Ten was child's play to figure out, if you will!

This 76 will be in the November white box mailing, if we can get it off to, and back from, the printer in time. Stay tuned.

Full 76 to run here next week.

Carl
[email protected]

The full November/December Book Sense 76 -- with booksellers' recommendations -- has been posted on BookWeb.org at http://news.bookweb.org/read/888.

By Carl Lennertz

November/December 76 Picks just out:

The flyers are still on press, but will be mailing soon, and here is a reminder about the November/December Top Ten picks already out:

In late August, the American Booksellers Association announced that it would be holding a lottery to win a color inkjet printer for booksellers who dropped off photos of their current Book Sense 76 displays at the ABA booth at the fall regional trade shows. The prize at each was the printer that the association was using at its booth to demonstrate the ease with which booksellers can download and print the weekly Book Sense Bestseller lists.

An Interview with Michael Perry, Author of Book Sense Pick Population: 485