How far from your hand is a book? Probably not far and, look, you have this article in your fingers so you’re obviously someone who knows where to find reading material. Chances are you went to one of two main sources to get your book, right? Read about them in (guess what?) more new books....
Once upon a time (Isn’t that how all good stories start?) Ben Franklin had a small shop that sold books but, author Evan Friss writes in “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore” (Viking, $30). Though Franklin was a bookseller, his store was not a “bookstore” because the word hadn’t yet been invented. That’s no surprise since nearly seven out of 10 Colonial households had no books at all.
That’s just one great tale inside this hefty book, along with those of early publishers, book collectors, the histories of beloved bookstores we loved and still do, and authors who made bookstores what they are today.
That’s all good stuff for book lovers and book sellers, but what will delight readers most are the quick dips into bookstore life: profiles of the customers that keep bookstores afloat, the UPS driver who delivers the orders, the smell of a bookstore, the bookstore cat, kid customers and the buyer who knows (or hopes he knows) what readers want.
This is a book about the history of a business and the wonderfulness of paper books. Book lovers will cherish it.
Four years ago, Louisiana librarian Amanda Jones had a bad feeling when she learned her small town was holding a public hearing about “book content.” In her memoir-warning, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America” (Bloomsbury, $29.99), she writes about her discovery, what she did about it and what she continues to do about book banning.
For the past few years, there’s been a demand for public libraries to carry more diverse books for LGBTQ, Black and otherwise marginalized readers. Alongside the demand for those books comes the demands that those books be removed from the shelves and made unavailable for everyone, whether they seek those titles today, next year or maybe never.
For her efforts, Jones has been called vile names. She’s received death threats (over books!) and, as a result, took her harassers to court, even as she continues to fight for the rights of readers to have access to the books they want and need to read.
This book is a lot of memoir but also quite a bit of a manifesto for anyone who hates seeing books banned. Jones offers ideas and dozens of helpful ways to counteract the banners and to keep people reading, which makes this a must-have for anyone who loves libraries.
And if these books on books aren’t enough, you know where to find more. Your favorite bookseller or librarian (or both!) are waiting for you with shelves and shelves of goodness, and they’ll put those things right in your hands.
Terri Schlichenmeyer’s reviews of business books are read in more than 260 publications in the U.S. and Canada.