In 1951, journalist Edward R. Murrow debuted his This I Believe series on CBS Radio.

This Friday, August 10, is the deadline for:

• the Fall Reading Group Book Sense Picks list, and
• the Halloween Top Ten List.

Since its debut four years ago at the suggestion of booksellers, the Book Sense Reading Group list has been an enormous success with book-buying consumers. The Fall Reading Group List is a new addition to the yearly Picks roster.

Since 1986, Fact & Fiction in Missoula, Montana, and its owner, Barbara Theroux, have been fixtures in the city's cultural and literary life.

Here is the full listing of September 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 September Picks fliers in the August Red Box.

A new gift card featuring Ian Falconer's OLIVIA will be available to stores participating in the Book Sense Gift Card Program via the reorder website, booksenseorders.givex.com, beginning Wednesday, August 8, at noon EDT. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, the card's sponsor, is covering the cost of the card (22 cents), the transaction fee (50 cents), and the presenter (8 cents). Booksellers are encouraged to act quickly as supplies are limited, and orders will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

Booksellers have three opportunities in August to nominate titles for Book Sense Picks lists:

In May 2008, Iowa's Prairie Lights Bookstore will be celebrating 30 years of bookselling. "In the beginning, we were running on energy and love and no knowledge," said owner Jim Harris. "Prairie Lights, as with other stores -- Hungry Mind, Tattered Cover, and Powell's -- were all growing at about the same time. We were running on adrenaline, and it was lots of fun."

For the eight-week period ending July 31, 2007, and based on sales in hundreds of independent bookstores with Book Sense nationwide.

One Shared World, a campaign to raise awareness of global poverty and generate dialogue about solutions, is reaching out to booksellers in the Book Sense marketing program.

The August Book Sense Notables flier is now available in a downloadable PDF on BookWeb.org. The flier includes jacket images, bibliographic information, and bookseller quotes.