Jerry Lazar

Consumer spending on books will reach $44 billion by 2008, and publishers will be serving up a menu of more than 2.3 billion books from which readers can choose, predicts a recent study by the Book Industry Study Group, a nonprofit industry organization. With so many titles vying for a piece of the pie, each book's cover becomes increasingly important to catch the book-buyer's eye, despite the old caveat about judging a book by its cover. But does pomp and circumstance help sell books? Beauty Is Only Cover Deep, But It's The Cover That Buyers See Many in the industry agree that a

The drive for recycled paper in the book industry seems to be picking up speed. Twenty-five U.S. publishers have signed a letter of intent to begin phasing in post-consumer recycled paper over the next three to five years. Indeed, publishers throughout North America are beginning to take strong stands on recycled paper. Canadian firms, such as Broadview Press of Calgary, Alberta, are making similar commitments. The U.S. effort is spearheaded by the Green Press Initiative (GPI), a non-profit effort dedicated to preserving forests and natural resources. "We're trying to mobilize the book publishing sector," says Tyson Miller, program director for the