Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I have officially kicked off spooky season by dragging my husband to see Barbarian, and I don’t think he’s going to let me pick the movie again any time soon. I think the best word I can use to describe this movie is “unhinged,” and my husband is like “Why do you keep doing this to yourself??”
So, spooky season celebrations aside…let’s talk books.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Is the publishing industry broken?
Debunking that astonishing claim heard during the PRH/SS merger trial: “No, most books don’t only sell a dozen copies.”
Angry Robot, a publisher known for its science fiction titles, is launching a new crime fiction imprint.
New & Upcoming Titles
NPR got ahold of a copy of Dinesh D’Souza’s abruptly recalled book, based on the so-called documentary 2,000 Mules. Here’s what they found.
Emma Donoghue has a new historical fiction novel currently slated for August 2023.
A roundup of the best recent crime writing.
The best comedy books of 2022, so far.
10 of the best cookbooks of 2022, so far.
New and upcoming SFF books written by women.
39 of the most anticipated YA books for the rest of the year.
Fall picks from AARP, Autostraddle, Kirkus, LitHub, New York Times, (fiction/poetry, memoirs/biographies, nonfiction), Seattle Times (general, debut authors), Washington Post (thrillers).
Weekly book picks from BookPage (romance, mysteries, inspirational fiction), Bustle, Crime Reads, The Millions, USA Today.
September picks from CBC, Good Morning America, Shondaland, Vulture, Washington Post.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
If I Survive You – Jonathan Escoffery (LA Times, The Rumpus, Shondaland)
Fairy Tale – Stephen King (Entertainment Weekly, USA Today)
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell (New York Times, Oprah Daily)
People Person – Candice Carty-Williams (Washington Post)
Lessons – Ian McEwan (The Guardian)
On the Riot
30 of the buzziest fall books of 2022.
New nonfiction books from indie presses.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
September picks for SFF, romance, YA, nonfiction, children’s books
How TikTok gave Colleen Hoover a resurgence. (I swear, the amount of money I’ve had to spend on additional backlist copies of her books is making my adult fiction budget cry.)
10 authors readalikes for Taylor Jenkins Reid.
The words “I wanted” do not belong in book reviews.
If you loved that novel, try this nonfiction book.
Why we keep retelling the Hades and Persephone myth.
Why are “apron tuggers” the newest romance trend?
All Things Comics
Titan Comics expands into manga.
On the Riot
Most anticipated middle grade comics for Fall 2022.
8 of the best new comics coming out in September.
Comixology vs. Marvel Unlimited – which one is better?
Audiophilia
A look at the audiobook version of Nick Cave’s upcoming memoir Faith, Hope and Carnage.
AudioFile’s best audiobooks for August 2022.
On the Riot
8 of Libro.fm’s most wished for audiobooks.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
8 of the best YA books for K-Drama fans.
14 YA picks for fans of Lord of the Rings.
YA time loop books you’ll want to read again and again (and again).
16 YA books with unique formats that will hook you.
Adults
6 modern books destined to become classics.
Romance novels set in major cities.
14 books to better understand our Latin history.
5 SFF books about strange houses.
5 stories featuring mutant protagonists.
Reading lists about Queen Elizabeth from Barnes & Noble, New York Times, NYPL.
9 books about monstrous transformations.
10 queer books for Dungeons & Dragons fans.
5 queer books set in Argentina.
25 books featuring the “marriage of convenience” trope.
On the Riot
8 fun and friendly nursery rhyme books.
9 feel-good middle grade books.
8 essential middle grade books about immigrants.
Middle grade and YA novels by your favorite authors of adult fiction.
19 of the best award-winning mystery novels, plus 1 true crime book.
10 spicy TikTok books. (Is anyone else hearing Bill Hader as Stefan saying “SPICY” when they read that?)
Women gone feral: werewolves and other angry creatures.
8 fantasy books set in the UK.
Books to help you find the wonder in home schooling.
8 of the best mysteries and thrillers about vengeful mothers.
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 has a guide to discovering upcoming diverse books, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Here’s my parents’ cat, Penny. Her foot is bandaged because she keeps tormenting another cat in the house, and the other cat isn’t afraid to use her claws. Penny throws herself a pity party when she walks around on her bandaged foot, but if she hears something interesting on the other side of the house, she takes off running with ZERO problems. As I keep telling her, it’s a good thing she’s so gosh-darned cute. (And yes, my parents are working on a behavioral plan to get her to stop tormenting the other cat.)
All right, friends. I’m off, but I’ll check back in on Friday. Stay groovy.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.