Book News

The March/April Book Sense 76 -- with booksellers' recommendations -- has been posted at http://news.bookweb.org/read/1144. The printed flier will be shipped to stores beginning the first week of March.

These titles were selected from thousands of nominations from independent booksellers across the country. To access an online nomination form and deadlines for future 76s, go to www.bookweb.org/read/2330.

By Carl Lennertz

Three books to watch, thanks to the almost 400 stores who reported last week! Are YOU one of the stores contributing to this wealth of knowledge?

As it turns out, all of these are also on at least one Regional Bestseller List:

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

On Wednesday, February 12, Good Morning America's "Read This!" book club made its eighth pick. The ABC morning show's book club's latest choice is dot.bomb: My Days and Nights at an Internet Goliath (Back Bay Books), by J. David Kuo.

Scholastic announced today that the suggested retail price for the next Harry Potter title, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will be $29.99.

The fifth book in the bestselling series by J.K. Rowling will be published on June 21, 2003. The title will have 38 chapters and will be over a third longer than Rowling's previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

By Carl Lennertz

Here's an update on books to watch, thanks to the almost 400 stores who reported last week! Are you one of the stores contributing to that wealth of knowledge?

Hardcover Fiction:

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

Thanks to all the stores that report, the expanded electronic reporting options including BookScan, and the software our team here has built to sort and slice a ton of data according to BISAC categories, here is the latest subject category list.

On Thursday, February 6, NBC News' Today Show announced that the eighth selection of its monthly "Today Book Club" is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith (Anchor). The title was an Autumn 2002 Top Ten Book Sense Mystery 76 pick.

The Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) has announced the winners of its annual Regional Book Awards, which are presented to outstanding books published in 2002 that are set in the Mountains and Plains region.

The Regional Book Award Winners are:

When Barbara Freese was an assistant attorney general for Minnesota, she represented the state's pollution control agency. In that capacity, she regulated industries that burn coal; eventually, she got involved in a proceeding that focused on the effects of coal burning on climate change.

The American Library Association announced the winners of its prestigious children's book awards on January 27, igniting a flood of orders for the selected titles, many of which were Book Sense 76 picks over the past year.

Dear Booksellers,

In our continuing efforts to support your work highlighting deserving young adult fiction, here's our third Teen 76 Top Ten in the last year.

The top five titles will be featured in a USA Today Snapshot box in early March, just as the pad of fliers gets to you. Thank you!!

Carl
[email protected]

Dear Booksellers,

As always, thank you for all the great recommendations. A few very deserving mysteries you e-mailed me about are due in March, so we may have enough for another mystery 76 top ten.

And look for more category 76s soon; go to http://www.bookweb.org/read/2330 for a schedule and nomination deadlines. Thanks again!

Carl
[email protected]

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.

The long-awaited new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by British author J.K. Rowling, is scheduled to be published on June 21, 2003, Rowling's publishers announced today. The fifth book in the bestselling series will have 38 chapters and will be over a third longer than Rowling's previous book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.