Two in three manufacturers say COVID-19 has accelerated their digital transformation (themanufacturer.com)

James Patterson has achieved many milestones in his long and ultra-successful career as an author, and in early April he hit another: he became the first author to sell more than 100 million copies across all print formats since BookScan—now known as Circana BookScan—started recording unit sales of print books in 2004. Patterson easily topped the print sales accrued by Dr. Seuss, whose books have sold 83 million copies since 2004. Patterson’s top-selling print book as measured by BookScan is Honeymoon, which edged out 3rd Degree for the #1 spot. Like many of his bestsellers, those two are parts of series, and books in the Women’s Murder Club and Alex Cross series have fared particularly well. His top 10 bestselling titles sold just about 12 million copies, meaning that the rest of Patterson’s oeuvre racked up sales of 88 million copies in total.

Remember when Banned Books Week used to be billed as a “celebration” of the freedom to read? This year, Banned Books Week (running October 1–7) will once again be more like a call to arms, as new surveys and reports show that a well-organized political movement is continuing to drive record numbers of book bans across the nation. For more than 40 years, the ALA’s Banned Books Week has spotlighted attempts to censor books in libraries and schools, uniting librarians, booksellers, publishers, and readers in support of free expression. Reading advocate, writer, and actor LeVar Burton is leading this year’s Banned Books Week as honorary chair.

Highlights for the third quarter: • Ended the third quarter of 2017 with $51.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $9.1 million of restricted cash; Torstar has no bank indebtedness. • Cash provided by operating activities was $9.7 million in the third quarter of 2017 reflecting a $7.8 million decrease in working capital combined with $1.9 million of cash generated by operating activities in the quarter. • Our net loss attributable to equity shareholders was $6.6 million ($0.08 per share) in the third quarter of 2017. This compares to a net income of $1.4 million ($0.02 per share) in the third quarter of 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.