Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).
“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Carolrhoda Lab ®, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group.
Riley was born to be a cliché. A “Manic Pixie Dream Boy” from TropeTown, he’s always ready to play his part for Authors and their Developed protagonists… until he starts going off-script. It’s against all the rules, but if Riley doesn’t reject his training and expand his role, he may meet a fate far worse than any stereotype. As romantic as 500 Days of Summer and as meta as The Rest of Us Just Live Here, The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project will leave you questioning just who should be in charge of your story. Available now!
A couple items before we dive in:
1) If you’re a Check Your Shelf reader, we want to hear from YOU! Take this short survey and be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Entries will be accepted until 3/31, and is open to US and Canadian residents.
2) Kelly Jensen wants to hear your funniest and weirdest stories about why a book was returned to your library damaged! The form will only be open until Friday, March 15th, so if you have a story to share, this is your last chance to send it in! Responses will be rounded up for an April Book Riot post to celebrate libraries.
Libraries & Librarians
- White House budget proposal seeks to eliminate the Institute of Museum & Library Services for the third year in a row.
- The challenge of preserving the historical record of #MeToo.
- Drag Queen Story Time canceled at the Louisville Library. Meanwhile, Anne Arundel County Public Library (MD) trustees gave themselves power over future library events after a branch library hosted a drag queen story hour last year, and are now holding 16 LGBTQ+ & women’s health programs in limbo.
- New York state libraries hope to influence the public with “going green” initiatives.
- St. Paul Public Library launches the “Read Brave” city initiative to encourage discussion around tough topics.
- Brooklyn Public Library hosts Genderful!, a series that allows children and caregivers to explore gender through art and creativity.
- Cleveland Public Library goes fine free this summer.
- Mountain View Library in Silicon Valley launches the first automated book-return robot.
- San Diego County libraries partner with The Princess Project to provide free, gently used prom dresses and ball gowns for teenage girls.
- It’s time we talk about librarians and money.
- Library of Congress wants to attract more visitors.
- Libations in the library?
- We’ve heard about libraries that have had to close because of snow or cold, but how many libraries have had to close because of a moose?
Book Adaptations in the News
- James Patterson signs a deal with Imagine Kids & Family to bring 5 of his children’s books to film & TV.
- The Hypnotist’s Love Story is coming to ABC, starring Jane Seymour.
- There’s a new TV series coming for Miss Marple.
- FX is turning Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy into a TV series.
- All the Light We Cannot See is getting a limited series on Netflix.
- Information about Season 2 of The Terror.
- The Stephen King/Peter Straub collaborative novel The Talisman is becoming a film.
- Nidhi Chanani’s graphic novel, Pashima, is being turned into an animated musical.
- Russell Hornsby is playing Lincoln Rhyme in the NBC pilot, Lincoln.
- No Exit by Taylor Adams is coming to the big screen.
- Amy Adams launches a new production company and will be developing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for HBO.
Books & Authors in the News
- Elton John announces an autobiography for this fall.
- A list of upcoming political nonfiction titles written by journalists.
- Book Expo announces its Buzzworthy titles for adults, teens, and children.
- We’re getting dyslexia-friendly Harry Potter companion books (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, etc.).
- The illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be released on October 9th of this year!
- Leigh Bardugo is writing her first adult novel.
- Karen Abbott did a cover reveal for her new book, The Ghosts of Eden Park.
- Cecilia Ahern is writing a sequel to P.S. I Love You for 2020.
Upcoming Books in 2019
- Best books to read for spring from Book Riot and Elle.
- 2019 new releases in translation.
- Crime Reads highlights the best psychological thrillers and international crime fiction for March.
- Tor.com has a list of genre-bending novels and all the YA sci-fi/fantasy novels coming out this month.
- Paste: Best YA novels for March.
- Bustle: Must-read new releases by women of color – just in time for Women’s History Month!
By the Numbers
- Translated fiction enjoys a sales boom in the UK.
- Amazon shuts all 87 of its pop-up stores in the US.
- Textbook costs have risen over 1000% since 1977. (No, that’s not a typo.)
- Results of a recent Pew Research Center survey on American reading habits.
- As eBook sales drop, audiobook sales rise.
Award News
- Here are the longlists for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Man Booker International Prize.
- Shortlists & finalists for the Simpson Prize, Lambda Literary Awards, and the Stella Prize.
- Award winners for the Bancroft Prize for History, Mathical Prize, Story Prize, Barnes & Noble Discover Awards, and the American Academy of Arts & Letters Literature Award.
Pop Cultured
All Things Comics
- Warner Brothers unveils 80th anniversary plans for Batman.
- 5 comics you must read before watching Captain Marvel.
- Marvel is introducing a new Filipino superhero!
- Entertainment Weekly: 5 comics to read this March.
- The comic series Second Coming is being published by AHOY Comics after DC dropped it last month.
- African comics and graphic novels.
- Graphic novel adaptations of classic books.
- Graphic memoirs.
- Read Harder suggestions for a comic by a LGBTQIA creator.
Audiophilia
- Audible launches Audible Latino for Spanish-language audiobooks.
- The growth of digital audio titles will likely continue.
- Audiobooks to get you through the winter.
- Paste: 19 audiobooks not to miss in 2019.
- Audiobooks for entrepreneurs.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
- Top 100 books made available by libraries, according to OCLC.
- 12 divine fantasy novels where gods roam the land.
- SFF anthologies to celebrate International Women’s Day.
- Thrillers that explore mental health and losing one’s grip on reality.
- 11 feminist books to add to your reading list.
- 24 books to help you face a new beginning.
- 7 collaborative books.
- 50 books recommended by Stephen King.
- Here’s a reading pathway for Sarah MacLean.
- 20 most popular books on Goodreads right now.
- YA books about hockey.
- Romance novels featuring arranged marriage.
- Lin Manuel Miranda’s vacation reading list.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- Ray Bradbury Park in Waukegan, IL is becoming a literary landmark.
- 2019 Tournament of Books.
- Calling books “clean” is a problem.
- Confessions of a sensitivity reader.
- An article about teen fiction and the “perils of cancel culture.”
- London library bars that will make you want to pack your bags immediately.
- Harry Potter meets Pokemon Go in a new AR game.
- 12 Harry Potter escape rooms that are pure magic.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!
–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Dig by A.S. King.