The Best Books of 2019 (So Far), #BookstoresAgainstBorders, and All the July Book Picks You Could Ever Want

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 Dynamite Entertainment.

The adventure begins for children and adults alike, as the classic character Rainbow Brite comes to comics and brings a little color to your life! Wisp and Willow are best friends who live in a small town. They are inseparable, until one night Wisp discovers something is stealing the color from the world! To escape their grasp, Wisp must use her wits and the help of a new friend…from somewhere else

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Find ALA Conference coverage here.
IL lawmakers are questioning prison officials over the removal of hundreds of books from prison libraries.
ALA issues a statement on the SCOTUS ruling that temporarily blocks the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Jacksonville (FL) Library cancels its sold-out pride prom, saying that it can’t provide adequate safety. However, the event was eventually picked up by a local church.
In related news, a 42-year-old white man was arrested for disrupting a Draq Queen Story Hour event at the Lexington Park Library (MD) by running into the room and screaming at participants. Vice also reports on the increasingly threatening methods used by the far right to disrupt or cancel Drag Queen Story Hours.
Kansas City Public Library does away with late fees, as does the Sonoma County Library (CA) and multiple libraries in New Jersey.

Cool Library Updates

The Portage Public Library (WI) has some insights for libraries who want to add to their video game collections.
Spokane libraries turn to escape rooms for popular programs.
Bloomington (IN) Public Library’s homebound service goes beyond books.

Book Adaptations in the News

Warner Brothers is in the VERY early stages of developing a Harry Potter prequel series for TV!!
Constance Wu is slated to star in a film adaptation of Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong.
James Marsden & Amber Heard are reportedly linked to the remake of The Stand.
Jojo Moyes’ next novel, The Giver of Stars, already has an adaptation planned.
David E. Kelley, who wrote the Big Little Lies series and created Ally McBeal, is writing & executive producing The Lincoln Lawyer for CBS.
A Sandman series is coming to Netflix.
TV adaptations for Made for Love, Station Eleven, State of Wonder, and The Flight Attendant.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Simon & Schuster becomes the latest Big 5 publisher to change the terms of their digital eBook & audiobook lending model for libraries.
CEO of Highlights magazine publicly speaks out against the immigration crisis.

New & Upcoming Titles

Book Riot’s list of the best books of 2019, so far.
50 must-read debut novels for the last half of 2019.
A list of all the books mentioned at the ALA Read ‘n Rave session.
Prepub alerts for January & February 2020.
An exclusive look at Alma Katsu’s new book, The Deep!!! I’m so excited for this one!!
CNN’s Brian Stelter has an upcoming book deal that will examine the relationship between Trump and Fox News.
July picks from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Cosmopolitan, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, LA Times, LitHub, New York Times, Time, and Town & Country.
And apparently there’s a bunch of upcoming SFF titles for July as well: Barnes & Noble, Bookmarks, io9, Tor.com (genre-bending books and YA SFF), and The Verge.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Reese Witherspoon picks Whisper Network by Chandler Baker for her July book club pick.
The Most Fun We Ever Had – Claire Lombardo (New York Times, Washington Post).
Evie Drake Starts Over – Linda Holmes (USA Today, Washington Post)
Three Women – Lisa Taddeo (NPR, New York Times)
Searching for Sylvie Lee – Jean Kwok (Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post)
The Gone Dead – Chanelle Benz (Entertainment Weekly, NPR)

Books & Authors in the News

Colson Whitehead was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
Glamour looks at the ways in which romance novelists are targeted for online abuse and harassment.

Numbers & Trends

Audiobook revenue increased 28.7% in 2018!
When They See Us was watched by over 23 million Netflix accounts worldwide.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

10 sibling books to help children welcome a new baby.
4 books about famous jazz legends.
9 futuristic YA novels.
A list of #ownvoices books written by transgender and genderqueer authors.

Adults

The 100 best books to read at every age.
50 best memoirs of the last 50 years.
Every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate’s memoir.
Best book series for adults in every genre.
10 Spanish-language authors that define the canon.
50 must-read poetry books.
16 books about hackers that will make you want to code.
50 must-read short books in translation.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Madison, WI’s famous indie bookstore, A Room of One’s Own, launches a #BookstoresAgainstBorders fundraiser. And this holiday weekend, Book Riot will match your contributions up to $2500!
Where are the black Booktubers?
Can we make Harry Potter studies a real thing? This university adds a Harry Potter class to its curriculum.

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, and I’ll see you next week!

–Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.