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 Kingsbane by Claire Legrand.
The sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Furyborn! Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity’s long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana’s power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother’s power, or rejecting it forever.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- Michigan lawmakers push to require librarians in public schools. Meanwhile, Oakland school library workers have been forced out after the district reallocates funds.
- San Francisco city officials are renaming the North Natomas branch teen space after Amber Clark, who was murdered several months ago. The library director is also planning to set up a memorial fund in Clark’s name to extend accessibility programming at the library, which Clark was a huge advocate for.
- Sarah Jessica Parker advocates against Bill de Blasio’s proposed budget cuts to NYC libraries.
- Louisville Drag Queen storytime draws protesters.
- Pittsburgh library news: the University of Pittsburgh Library System acquires the archives of the late great George A. Romero and Dolly Parton opens a Pittsburgh branch of her Imagination Library.
- More libraries are waiving fines.
- Literally the day after I published last week’s newsletter, two of the falcon eggs at the Evanston Public Library hatched!
- OHMIGOD, my former home library rescued a baby deer the other day and the photos are too adorable for words!!
Cool Library Updates
- This former library board member in a tiny Wisconsin town volunteers one Saturday a month to provide mending and tailoring services for the community. The fundraising has allowed the library to purchase additional titles for their adult nonfiction collection.
- School Library Journal has a bunch of recent articles on diverse books and diversifying reading selections: creating diverse summer reading lists, where to shelve diverse books, how diverse characters can impact decisions to buy books, diversity auditing 101, a diversity and cultural literacy toolkit, and finally, a look at whether or not diverse books can save us.
- Columbia University announces the Obama Presidency Oral History Project. You can check out the official website here!
Worth Reading
- The impact of Little Free Libraries over the last 10 years.
- Speaking with OlaRonke Akinmowo, founder of the Free Black Women’s Library.
- The first feminist, community-owned library opens in India.
- Mobbing in the library workplace: What it is, and how to prevent it.
- 100 Scope Notes, a School Library Journal blog has a cool feature on Endangered Series, aka children’s series that are beloved classics but may not be as popular as they once were. The most recent post is about the Arthur series, but there are a bunch of other series to check out here.
- Here’s what happens when you ask the NYPL for John Wick’s murder book in John Wick 3. *Spoiler alerts if you haven’t seen the movie*
- Having a library or cafe down the block could change your life.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Issa Rae options Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
- Annette Bening and Michelle Pfeiffer have joined the adaptation of Turn of Mind by Alison LaPlante.
- Richard Thomas will be starring as Atticus Finch in the national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird.
- The Good Lord Bird is heading to Showtime.
- Amazon Studios picks up Lauren Oliver’s YA series, Panic.
- Queen Latifah and Will Smith are producing a hip-hop version of Romeo and Juliet for Netflix.
- Seth Grahame-Smith is adapting Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon for Hulu.
- Trailers for His Dark Materials, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- There’s been a high profile firing at Alfred A. Knopf over a “breach of company policy.”
New & Upcoming Titles
- After making an appearance in Stephen King’s The Outsider, Holly Gibney, who originally appeared in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, gets her own spinoff story with If You Bleed, which will hit shelves in 2020. (The Stephen King universe keeps getting bigger and bigger…)
- Speaking of Stephen King, there’s going to be a collector’s edition reissue of his 2014 novel, Revival.
- Nora Roberts…er…J.D. Robb…is writing the 50th book in the In Death series! Look for it in February of 2020.
- Michael Wolff is publishing another book about Trump called Siege: Trump Under Fire.
- Elle: 30 best books to read this summer.
- Crime Reads: Most anticipated crime novels of the summer, best debut novels in May.
- Tor.com: Forthcoming queer novels starring queer women.
- Bustle: 25 short story collections this summer.
- Best beach books of 2019.
- 50 books to read this summer.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Barnes & Noble picks The Guest Book by Sarah Blake as its May book club pick.
- Orange World and Other Stories – Karen Russell (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)
- Disappearing Earth – Julia Phillips (Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, NPR, USA Today)
- Red, White, and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston (NPR, Vogue)
- Cari Mora – Thomas Harris (New York Times, USA Today)
RA/Genre Resources
- At the recent Massachusetts Library Conference, Anna Mickelsen presented an enormous list of recent and upcoming diverse novels for your reading, suggesting, and displaying pleasure, and best of all, it’s freely accessible on Google Docs! USE THIS AS A RESOURCE.
- Barbara Hoffert’s annual Book Expo galley and signing guide is now available! Even if you’re not going, this is a great collection development resource.
- YA for changing times.
Books & Authors In the News
- Herman Wouk, author of The Caine Mutiny, has died at age 103.
- After her blog post about how her then-husband was slowly poisoning her, author Sherrilyn Kenyon has been jailed for lashing out in court.
- James Patterson is funding “Buy a Book, Give a Book” to encourage reading in children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Stephen King tweets his support for the last season of Game of Thrones.
News & Trends
- Who’s aware of the term #ownvoices? (Spoiler: not many people).
- School Library Journal created an infographic based on survey question, which asked how important it was to have a book collection with diverse points of view.
- Trends in library school accreditation.
Award News
- Nominees for the Best Translated Book Awards, the Nommo Awards (speculative fiction by African authors), and the Anthony Awards.
- Winners for the Nebula Awards, This is Horror Awards, British Book of the Year Awards, and the 100th Annual O. Henry Prize.
- Karen Tongson wins the 2019 Jeanne Córdova Prize for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction.
- The Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction was awarded to Richard Ford.
- The new Prix Monte-Cristo is a literary award where the judges are chosen from the inmates in Europe’s largest prison, Fleury-Mérogis.
- Which authors have won the most prizes?
Pop Cultured
- School Library Journal has a list of summer podcasts for elementary, middle, and high school students.
- A look at the petition demanding that HBO remake Season 8 of Game of Thrones. (I’m not a GOT watcher, so I can’t speak to everyone’s reactions regarding this final season, but the idea that fans should be able to dictate the evolution & progression of a creative work is bonkers.)
- However, if you’re not one of these people, perhaps you may consider getting a Game of Thrones tattoo?
- And finally, let’s be reasonable about spoilers, okay?
All Things Comics
- Robert Pattinson (yes, that Robert Pattinson) is in talks to star in The Batman. As Batman. Discuss.
- Reading comics is not cheating.
- Removable wallpaper for fans of comics and/or vintage books.
- Stan Lee’s former manager has been charged with elder abuse. This is so sad.
- A group of Wisconsin graduates are using comic books to promote science education.
- R.L. Stine’s first comic just reached 200,000 copies in advance sales!
- An Avengers mini-series is coming to Disney+.
Audiophilia
- Libro.fm launches three new book clubs for kids, teens, and romance readers.
- Alyssa Cole is creating an Audible Original about “robot love.”
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 10 picture books that break the fourth wall.
- Feminist fairytales for children that teach modern values.
- 6 children’s books about Asian American culture.
- Bee books for all ages.
- 10 YA standalone fantasies.
- Top YA horror novels on Goodreads.
- 7 YA fantasy novels with heroines disguised as boys.
- 26 inclusive YA fantasy novels.
Adults
- 15 books to read about the abortion debate.
- 41 of the best LGBTQ books that will change the literary landscape in 2019, plus 10 LGBTQ books to usher in World Pride.
- 7 books to read if you love RuPaul’s Drag Race.
- Christina Lauren picks 11 essential summer romances.
- 14 #ownvoices mysteries for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
- 5 must-read short story collections for SFF fans.
- 7 books to make you wonder if your best friend is a serial killer.
- 8 summer affair books featuring lesbian & bisexual women.
- 12 historical fiction novels to read if you love the glamor of old Hollywood.
- 16 of the best science books of all time.
- 50 books about complicated marriages.
- 40 of the most popular translated books on Goodreads.
- 13 single parent romances.
- 12 recent locked room mysteries for fans of escape rooms.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- These are the three books Barack Obama thinks you should read this spring.
- Do you remember the teen vandals who were sentenced by a judge to read books about racism? Apparently it worked – the teens have stuck to their education, have not reoffended, and they all appear genuinely remorseful about their crimes.
- For the first time ever, you can access the entire digital Vanity Fair archive from 1913 – present. It’s fully searchable, and it’s free until June 30th, when it will become a perk to subscribers.
- Reader’s Digest picks the most-loved bookstores in every state.
- New York Times talks about how book clubs have gotten “especially clubby.”
- Get an in-depth look at a Barnes & Noble concept store. (I’m not going to lie – I’ve visited one before, and I did NOT like it, but my opinion is only one of many.)
- Kids reading to horses!
- Reading in the age of the personalized book subscription service.
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 Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Trust Exercise by Susan Choi.