For a week supposedly devoted to politics, a fair amount of book news has been scattered throughout the coverage of The Democratic National Convention currently taking place in Denver. First, before the convention even got underway, booksellers around the country were up in arms about publisher Chelsea Green’s decision to offer their book “Obama’s Challenge” to convention-goers via a discount coupon for a copy printed by Amazon’s POD service Booksurge. Next came word of Bush/McCain Tijuana Bibles available in Denver; several booksellers quickly expressed their desire to obtain copies. And most recently, it’s been nice to see my old employer The Tattered Cover in the news as well. Manager (and writer) Tamra Monahan penned a guide to Denver for USA Today. And Bookselling This Week covered the store’s convention reading selections, including a “reading list for the President-elect.” The store asked “a handful of Western writers […]: ‘What Western books would you urge on the next inhabitant of the White House? What do they need to know about our region, and where can they find information, inspiration, and guidance?'” Authors who answered include Barry Lopez, Rick Bass and Laura Pritchett.
