Book Buzz: Ephron back on bestseller list

Book Buzz: Ephron back on bestseller list

By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY

Here's a look at what's buzzing in the books world today:

--We the booksellers: To mark Independence Day, Shelf-Awareness, a digital newsletter, has posted a video of Ann Patchett, the bestselling novelist/bookseller, rallying other indie booksellers against their rival, Amazon, the giant online retailer. Last month, Patchett accepted the "Most Engaging Author" award from the American Booksellers Association, and recited the St. Crispin's Day Speech from Shakespeare's Henry V.

--Nora Ephron books get second life: After her death at 71 on June 26, and an outpouring of tributes by friends and admirers, Nora Ephron, essayist, novelist and moviemaker, is back on USA Today's Best-Selling Books list: her 1983 novel Heartburn is No. 127, her 2006 essay collection I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman is No. 151, and her 2010 collection, I Remember Nothing, is No. 174.

--Get back to your 'Roots': From No. 1 (Alex Haley's Roots) to No. 50 (Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist), The Huffington Post ranks 50 books "every African American should read."

--Book-Mart: And in McAllen, Texas, an old Wal-Mart, the size of two football fields, has been con verted into "the country's largest single-story library." The project was a winner at the 2012 Library Interior Design Awards.