Sponsored by Rakuten OverDrive
Did you know 160 million people in the United States don’t have a library card? That means half the country can’t discover the valuable programs and online services that libraries offer.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I am another year older, although it feels like I’ve aged an entire decade in the last six months. Something tells me I’m not alone here.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- Booksellers in new COVID hotspots such as Texas, Arizona, and Florida, are exercising extra caution.
- A group of children’s authors have started the hashtag #KidlitForMasks to raise awareness about the importance of wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID.
- “A conflicted cultural force:” What it’s like to be Black in publishing.
- Lucasfilm is starting a new publishing program dedicated to The Mandalorian.
New & Upcoming Titles
- Lenny Kravitz and Sir Patrick Stewart both have memoirs in the works.
- Jennifer Egan is working on a companion novel to A Visit From the Goon Squad.
- Amazon has romance and nonfiction picks for the summer.
- July book picks from Amazon, AV/Club, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Crime Reads, Den of Geek (SFF and YA), Entertainment Weekly, io9, LA Times, The Millions (poetry), Time, Town & Country, and Yahoo.
- 13 of the most-anticipated books by Indigenous authors for the second half of 2020.
- Most anticipated debuts in the second half of 2020.
- Best books of the year so far from Amazon (Biographies/memoirs, mysteries/thrillers, and SFF), BBC, and Entertainment Weekly.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia (LA Times, NPR, Washington Post)
- Sex and Vanity – Kevin Kwan (Washington Post)
- Home Before Dark – Riley Sager (USA Today)
- Friends and Strangers – J. Courtney Sullivan (Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
- Reading anti-racist nonfiction is a start, but don’t underestimate the power of Black fiction.
- P.D. James: A crime reader’s guide to the classics.
On the Riot
- Summer 2020 YA books.
- 20 must-read YA rom-coms for 2020.
- Reading pathway for Patricia Highsmith.
All Things Comics
- An update on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
On the Riot
- The best comics Rioters read from April to June of this year.
- 8 animal-centric manga series.
Audiophilia
- Audible signed a multi-project development and first-look deal with James Patterson.
- 23 audiobooks that are even better than the print version.
- 5 audiobooks for the bereft sports fan.
On the Riot
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 11 great books about the 4th of July for kids.
- 10 inclusive & anti-racist books for kids and teens.
Adults
- Anti-racist reading list from The Panorama Project and The Washington Post.
- 7 dark thrillers about friendships gone wrong.
- Books for readers who need a laugh.
- 8 anti-capitalist scifi and fantasy novels.
- 8 speculative fiction books by Black authors about Black futures.
- 11 essential books by Black Canadian authors.
On the Riot
- 9 of the best productivity books for when you’re mentally exhausted.
- 7 gay werewolf books.
- Funny memoirs by funny people.
- 8 poetry and verse novels to get you into poetry.
- 5 science fiction books full of humor.
- 5 nonfiction reads to learn more about viruses.
- 8 LGBTQ+ mythology books for your representation needs.
- Essential nonfiction books about the Middle East.
- Books that play with the art of time.
- 7 great books that generate empathy.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in Library Reads, 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.
Stay safe and stay well, everyone.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading The Searcher by Tana French. (Don’t hate!)