USA TODAY has expanded its coverage of books with its new online destination books.usatoday.com. The new site allows consumers to discover, discuss, share, preview and purchase books online. It is available on computers, smart phones and tablets.

Books.usatoday.com provides readers with an interactive experience to browse books across a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books; read reviews; and, share personal recommendations in conversations that also allow for tweeting about books or responding to other readers’ comments.

Unique to the books.usatoday.com site is the opportunity for consumers to now preview a book from the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list and purchase it from a vendor of their choice, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iBookstore or IndieBound, an association of independent booksellers.

USA TODAY’s respected Best-Selling Books list ranks the 150 top-selling titles each week, based on analysis of sales from such U.S.

FastPencil has added world-class authors who are signing to FastPencil Premiere, a new and exclusive publishing imprint where top-tier and best-selling authors can create and publish books with all the advantages of FastPencil’s next-generation digital and social media publishing services. FastPencil gives them the opportunity to publish their books in print and digital formats in a timely manner while collecting higher margins and maintaining complete control every step of the way.

The exclusive publishing imprint has added:

Jim Dratfield - Author of almost a dozen popular animal oriented fine art photographic coffee table books and creative director behind Petography® traveling the country offering photo commissions of people’s pets

Steve Greenberg - The Innovation Insider and author of “GADGET NATION: A Journey Through The Eccentric World of Invention”

Mark Victor Hansen - Co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises, Inc.

Bloomington, IN, February 04, 2010 –(PR.com)– Trafford, the pioneer in on-demand self publishing, has announced its top ten best-selling books for December 2009, according to point-of-sale data from major U.S. booksellers.

1. Principles of Marketing Engineering, by Gary L. Lilien, Arving Rangaswamy, and Arnaud de Bruyn; (Marketing).
2. Yoga Posture Adjustments and Assisting, by Stephanie Pappas; (Health).
3. Better than Steroids, by Warren Willey; (Health).
4. Workbook of Australian Idiom—Aussie Slang, by Kerrin & Carol Rowe; (Reference).
5. My Husband’s Affair Became the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, by Anne Bercht; (Family).
6. Text Messaging Survival Guide, by Evie Shoeman; (Reference).
7. Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth, by Dr.

For three days this month at the International Christian Retail Show, thousands of retailers, vendors, publishers and authors from all 50 states and 63 countries were surrounded by a wealth of opportunities for learning about the newest trends in Christian retailing.

For the third year in a row, Defender Publishing Group (Anomalos Publishing LLC) – a full-service publisher that seeks to partner with unknown writers – was the “busiest booth on the trade floor.” Their distributor, STL Distribution also provided a report showing that the unusual publishing house had 8 of the Top 50 Best Sellers for the last quarter, more than any of their other publishers.

“I love it when a plan comes together,” says Donna Howell, acquisitions editor for the company.