Are there any other parents out there with that sinking feeling that August 1 is almost here (aka the other side of halfway through Summer)? Anyone else feeling anxiety about the imminent Staples scavenger hunt? And am I the only one wondering what happened to the days when you had to pick up a notebook and few pencils before school started instead of the 2009 version of the “back to school” laundry list that includes tissues and high tech calculators and costs hundreds of dollars? It’s beyond overwhelming. Seriously.

Anyway, we’re publishing a book in a few weeks called ORGANIZING THE DISORGANIZED CHILD that will hopefully help alleviate some of the stress that comes with school. We just got finished copies in the office and it will be in stores on August 25, though you can pre-order it online now. We’ve got le crème de la crème of quotes for the book, and lots of magazine coverage lined up, including Parenting Magazine and a feature in Time Out New York Kids, which just hit the stands yesterday.

Marcella Moran, the co-author, has a great blog and twitter stream where she gives out helpful really helpful advice for parents of school children. If you’re a parent with kids in school, it’s a must read.

The Keyword Search function in Google Analytics is one of my favorite features. “Porno” and “Animalsex” are consistently in our top 10 (thank you Isabella Rossellini)…and those searches often come from Turkey. Not sure what that means; I’m just sayin’…

Also of note here is that “haste yee back” is often in our top 10 search terms. Haste Yee Back is one of our most consistent commenters — and I have to say, always with a smile on his face, he’s got something sweet to say (Love you Haste Yee ).

There’s nothing older than a day old newspaper, or so the expression goes. Nothing, that is, except for a week old newsweekly. Both Time and Newsweek are trying to remain relevant (and avoid the fate of US News & World Report) by offering more in-depth analysis. But, as Michael Hirschorn says in his excellent article in this month’s Atlantic, they are a decade late.

Hirschorn looks at The Economist‘s somewhat staggering ad revenue which saw a 25 % increase last year (as opposed to Newsweek and Time which, he says, dropped by 27 and 14 percent, respectively). The secret to The Economist‘s success? Well, it’s complicated (exemplary branding, a global recession) but the short answer, and one we might learn from is this: The magazine does not try to be all things to all people. It fills a need. Its promise is clear. In Hirschorn’s words, “niche is sometimes the smartest way to take over the world.” (Read the article here)

Click through to read the rest.

We’ve talked a bit about advertising on this blog,  — and I still maintain that there’s a huge opportunity for “great” advertising. As I’ve said a million times, why do the rest of us have to be fabulous all of the time but advertising only has to be great once a year for the Super Bowl?

I stumbled upon these great ads that Penguin Books did, which gives me hope that great ads do exist, even in the summer.

Nurse Theresa Brown wrote another post for the New York Times‘ Well blog, where she chronicles one of the worst days she has ever had.  It has given me some much needed perspective…remind me to never complain about the little things ever again!

Aubrey Lynch from Tor arranged a little get together last Wednesday night at Lily’s in the city. I had such a great time talking books and publishing with passionate book peeps. One of the many topics covered was why Aubrey loves Prairie Lights. I asked her to write a a post explaining what makes it such a wonderful place:

A few weeks ago I made a trip out to Iowa–the order of business, meeting my boyfriend’s parents for the first time–daunting, to say the least. But one of the things I was most excited about doing while I was in Iowa City was visiting the infamous Prairie Lights Bookstore. Infamous in that it has a reputation for putting on great author events and for being a conscientious and passionate bookseller. How could I resist? I am a booklover to the core and was, at one time, an aspiring writer. Of course I had heard of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the fact that Iowa City is the world’s third City of Literature (as designated by UNESCO). With so much to recommend the city as one of the world’s centers of literature, I was hoping to find the bookstore I’d always been looking for—and wow, did I find it. Here’s what I found.

• Prairie Lights Bookstore felt homey—almost like I was walking into a room in my own house (well, that is, if I had a nice big house and not a “cozy” apartment in Brooklyn)—I can’t explain it—something just felt familiar, comfortable and safe about it. Maybe it was the warm colors or the carpet. Maybe it was the lighting. It was quiet without being a library and the people who worked there seemed very happy to be right where they were.

• What was most impressive was that scattered throughout the store—in places where people would be most likely to see them, were lists of book awards and the titles of the books that had most recently won those awards. Talk about making things easy for a casual browser who might have thought about reading mysteries in the past but didn’t want to risk spending money on a book that wasn’t that great and that would forever be their first impression of the genre (I say this because I am often that cautious browser).

• When I went to find the science fiction and fantasy section, right there, right smack dab in the middle of everything, was an announcement for the release date of the Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson book in the Wheel of Time series that fans have been anxiously waiting for! Here was the exact date that the book would come out—in November! And no one is paying them to do this. No one asked them. It wasn’t a sponsored announcement—they did it because they love the books and they are fans. Honestly, these are the types of people I want to sell me books—people who are anticipating the next book in a series, just like I am—people who love the work of authors and who love to tell the world about it!

• Cubes of bookshelves that you could see over—it opened up the room a lot—I never felt like I had to wonder about what was around the next corner—everything felt very open—the perfect word for the way the books were laid out, to me, would be “organic”—like following the paths your mind would naturally take.

• A café in the bookstore—not a bookstore in a café which is how I sometimes feel when I walk into a store that’s trying to do both. The focus is on the books, not the drinks they are going to sell you. It was tucked away on the 2.5th floor. It was quiet, without obtrusive music blasting—leaving readers to quietly sip and read.

• The people—Wow—the people who work in that store really know their stuff—they are fans as well—they love to read the galleys so that they know what books they can recommend to people before they come out—they have very specific tastes and even if they don’t read the types of books that you do, someone very close by will be able to help you.

• The owner works on the floor. This is important. The owner talks to readers/customers every day—the owner knows what the customers want. The owner cares about you, the books, the authors. The employees and the store.

• A newsletter from the store and community postings. This bookstore is all about the community—but not in a “self-serving, we only want to sell you stuff” kind of way.

There is so much more about this store that’s incredible but I think you should check it out for yourself to see:

Prairie Lights Bookstore

15 South Dubuque Street

Iowa City, IA 52240

http://www.prairielights.com/

I’d love to hear from others about what makes a bookstore great for them — , and then I’ll compile a list of the top 50.

And Juliet Grames — I want a post on “Why I’m a Borders Girl.”

Ian Huebert drew a really fun interpretation of San Francisco for the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review last Sunday, creating a map of literary quotes from the writers that brought it to life. Imagine navigating the rolling hills with just this and a couple of paperbacks…