J.D. Salinger scored a legal victory in his attempt to block publication of 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye by Fredrik Colting under the pseudonym John David California (Shelf Awareness, June 3, 2009). Lawyers for Salinger contended that the novel was derivative of Catcher in the Rye and Holden Caulfield, infringing upon the author's copyright.

The New York Times reported that Judge Deborah A. Batts of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, in a 37-page ruling filed yesterday, "issued a preliminary injunction--indefinitely banning the publication, advertising or distribution of the book in this country--after considering the merits of the case."

The Times added that the case could still go to trial, but the "ruling means that Mr. Colting's book cannot be published in the United States pending the resolution of the litigation, which could drag on for months or years." The book has been published in Britain.

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Cool idea of the day: Tonight is Fireside Books Night at the Forest City Owls baseball game. In its e-mail newsletter, Fireside Books & Gifts, Forest City, N.C., invited readers to "join us as we support the Owls tomorrow night, July 2nd. What an unbelievable season they're having! GO OWLS! Fireside will be giving away books to the first 500 kids through the gate as well as having drawings for great prizes all night long! Join us for an exciting evening of baseball, free books, fireworks and more! SEE YOU AT THE GAME!"

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Bookselling This Week profiled Collected Works Bookstore, Santa Fe, N.M., noting that on June 12, "the same day the 31-year-old business reopened in a new 4,000-square-foot space," co-owners Dorothy Massey and Mary Wolf "were presented with the New Mexico Book Association's Book-in-Hand Honor."

"It's going very, very well," Massey said. "We had a wonderful reception from the community, and we've already had several successful events. . . . We're looking forward to doing more events, as well as starting a series of events, which we couldn't do in the old space. We'll have a regular poetry series, and book clubs in various genres. We're also welcoming community events, which will take place in our expanded cafe area."

The expansion and addition of a cafe are part of a plan to help the area. "Santa Fe needed a downtown gathering place," said Massey. "And I hope very much that we will be that place."

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BTW also showcased Denver's Tattered Cover Book Store and Twist & Shout, an indie record shop. For the two "neighbors in Denver's Lowenstein 'CulturePlex,' cross promotions have become a regular, and successful, way of doing business."

"The theme of all of our promotions is always the importance of independent businesses and why people should shop local," said Heather Duncan, Tattered Cover's director of marketing.

Paul Epstein, owner of Twist & Shout, noted three factors that make the partnership work: "First, we have had the privilege of hitching our wagon to one of the great retailers in the world, and have received the reflected glory of said hitching. Second, we have cemented our place in the independent arts community through our proximity to Tattered Cover. In Denver, when people think about independent business or the arts, we believe that our little 'CulturePlex' is the first place they think of going. Third, and most importantly, we have had the opportunity to create a few events with Tattered Cover that have made a big impact on the community and resulted in sales and good feelings."

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"It was never my dream to own a book store," Anne Laird, owner of the Town Book Store, Westfield, N.J., told the Westfield Patch. Nevertheless, when the previous owner decided to sell, Laird "took the plunge."

Laird "has been using customer service as her main niche to keep business coming into the store when two Barnes & Nobles sit five minutes in either direction in Springfield and Clark. . . .  She said Westfield's location near several book distributors allows her to promise quick turn around in orders," the Patch reported.

"I feel it is a kind of a natural thing that Westfield could support this bookstore since 1934," she said. "It started in the middle of the Great Depression. Our main claim to fame is personal customer service."

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Books ahoy! Although we mention business and book launches routinely here, the word launch is literally appropriate for the Book Barge. The Express & Star reported that the "canal bookstore . . . moored at Barton Marina, Barton-under-Needwood . . . is the brainchild of Sarah Henshaw. She has transformed her 60-foot narrowboat into a haven for book lovers wanting something different from high street chain stores with the help of her trainee carpenter boyfriend."

"Opening my own bookshop was a childhood dream but I began to fear it would never come true," she said. "I didn't have the money to rent a high street shop. Then we came across Barton Marina and loved it, it's so pretty. But when I inquired about units there weren't any available."

The inspired solution to this dilemma was to take to the water. "I very much want this to become the community bookstore, not just a gimmick, and the locals are being very supportive," she added.

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The plot thickens for the James Frey book series that Dreamworks recently acquired the film rights to, with Michael Bay directing (Shelf Awareness, June 29, 2009). Today's New York Times reported that a "week after submitting a young adult novel anonymously to editors, James Frey, the notorious author of A Million Little Pieces, and a writing partner, Jobie Hughes, have sold North American rights to I Am Number Four to HarperCollins Children's Books. . . . Eric Simonoff, a literary agent with William Morris Endeavor who represented Mr. Frey and Mr. Hughes in the deal, said the pair had also sold three subsequent books in a planned series."

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At one time, Richard & Judy's Book Club in the U.K. rivaled Oprah's in its influence upon the reading public and the publishing industry. On the occasion of their final show yesterday, BBC News explored "how Richard and Judy changed what we read."

"There's a certain thread running through a lot of novels that have sold well in the U.K. in the last few years," observed the BBC. "They share nothing so exact as a genre or type, but they have exotic titles, a powerful story and a literary bent. Oh, and a badge. A badge that says 'Richard and Judy.'"

"When it started I was skeptical," said Claire Armitstead, the Guardian's literary editor. "I thought their choices would be trashy and it wouldn't make any difference to anything of any quality. The summer list tended to be more potboilery, but the winter list had some really serious books. The [literary] world is better off."
   
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"Let the debate begin," Newsweek challenged with its meta-list of the top 100 books of all time, which the magazine created by crunching "the numbers from 10 top books lists (Modern Library, the New York Public Library, St. John's College reading list, Oprah's, and more)."