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The Association of American Publishers (AAP), the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), and a broad coalition of free speech groups went to court to defend Americans' right to parody and satirize public officials without fear of being sued for defamation. On Tuesday, November 4, the groups filed an amicus brief in support of the Dallas Observer, an alternative newsweekly that is being sued for libel by two elected officials for a satirical article it published in November 1999.
Last year, Los Angeles (through the offices of its mayor and library system) chose an official novel for the entire city to read, a work by native son Ray Bradbury -- Fahrenheit 451, named for the temperature at which book-paper burns. For much of the past twelve days, as L.A. and surrounding communities suffered the unprecedented catastrophe of nearly a dozen huge wildfires raging over four counties, from Ventura to San Diego, that choice took on a dreadful aptness.
On Monday, November 3, a coalition of free speech groups led by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) filed an amicus brief in support of the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) legal challenge to Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. The ACLU filed its lawsuit in July 2003 in Detroit federal court on behalf of six nonprofit organizations that provide a wide range of religious, medical, social, and educational services to various communities around the country.
Though his critics might think that President George Bush is a joker, he's the ace of spades in the new Bush Cards -- a trio of entrepreneurs' answer to the Iraqi most-wanted deck, and a fast-selling new sideline.
BTW recently spoke to booksellers to find out which other sidelines were grabbing consumers' attention. Other notables mentioned were the whole line of retro-with-an-edge Anne Taintor products, the environmentally friendly Boku journals, and the classic Folkmanis puppets.
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About ABA
The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.
Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.
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On Wednesday, November 5, the USA Today Book Club announced that Balance of Power by Richard North Patterson (Ballantine) was its latest selection. President Kerry Kilcannon takes on the gun lobby and tort reform in Patterson's 12th novel.
Stores with Book Sense participating in the Bacardi Mixers/Book Sense Book Club Sweepstakes, which ended on September 30, must submit entries to D.L. Blair, Att: C.R., 1548 Front Street, Blair, NE 68008-1641 to arrive no later than Thursday, November 13. The drawing for the sweepstakes winners is scheduled for November 21. Winners will be announced in Bookselling This Week and by mail.
