Friday's Today Show to Feature Independent Bookseller Recommendations

On Friday morning, December 21, NBC's Today Show will feature a segment highlighting holiday gift recommendations from four independent booksellers: Marva Allen of Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe in New York City; Jamil Zaidi of Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle; Roberta Rubin of The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Illinois; and Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut. The booksellers were asked to present coffee-table books, as well as titles in the fiction, children's, general interest, and memoir categories.

Marva Allen told BTW she was pleased the Today Show had chosen to work with independents and that Hue-Man was invited to participate. She was asked to submit her choices in advance of the show and doesn't know which titles she'll be asked to discuss. "I'll find out at 6:00 a.m. [on Friday] morning," she said. One title was a Book Sense Pick, but she said the producers of the show asked the participants not to discuss their choices before the show airs.

The Today Show with the bookseller segment will air on Friday, December 21, from 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. EST.