Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I realized how strongly the pandemic has affected my work wardrobe when I realized that I have a fancy in-person networking breakfast this week, and I had NOTHING TO WEAR. Thankfully, a small part the fashion industry has read the room over the last couple years, and I was able to purchase a pair of dress pants that fit like leggings…elastic waist and everything! I know I’m getting older when I realize how much I appreciate a good pair of elastic-waisted pants.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Amazon is changing its eBook return policy after major pushback from the Authors Guild.
This is interesting…France sets a minimum delivery fee for online book sales to help bookstores compete with Amazon.
Penguin Random House partners with TikTok on a new in-app feature.
Lindsey Lohan settles with HarperCollins over a $365K book deal lawsuit.
New & Upcoming Titles
The Digital Public Library of America announces a free eBook titled January 6th On the Record: The Investigation into the Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Former FBI director James Comey is writing a series of mystery novels.
Here’s the (AWESOME) cover reveal for S.A. Cosby’s upcoming 2023 novel, All the Sinners Bleed.
The best memoirs of 2022, so far.
2022 is the year of the Bisexual Book.
Best Fall 2022 fiction preview.
103 queer and feminist books for Fall 2022.
Weekly book picks from Bustle, Crime Reads, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.
The best September debut crime fiction.
October picks from Barnes & Noble (adults, teens, kids)
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
The Book of Goose – Yiyun Li (Electric Lit, LA Times, New York Times)
Less is Lost – Andrew Greer (Esquire, New York Times)
Drunk on Love – Jasmine Guillory (New York Times, USA Today)
Lucy By the Sea – Elizabeth Strout (NPR, Washington Post)
Lessons – Ian McEwan (Washington Post)
Our Missing Hearts – Celeste Ng (New York Times)
The Bullet That Missed – Richard Osman (Washington Post)
Nights of Plague – Orhan Pamuk (The Guardian)
On the Riot
A guide to all of the YA books being published from October – December, 2022.
10 of the most-anticipated sequels and series releases this fall.
The best weekly releases to TBR.
All Things Comics
The longest single-volume book (21,450 page volume of One Piece) has gone on sale, and it’s physically impossible to read.
5 comics to read after watching Andor.
On the Riot
8 of the best comic books for toddlers.
Audiophilia
Spotify launches its audiobook feature in the US.
The best audiobooks to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
7 great audiobooks for September from New York Times and Vulture.
5 queer YA sports fiction on audio.
On the Riot
Inside the narrator’s booth: things you never knew about audiobook narrators.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Adults
The best dystopian novels of all time.
18 books by Latine authors for Hispanic Heritage Month.
9 books featuring queer disaster magicians.
5 relationship-driven mysteries.
10 cozy detective stories you need in your life.
Books that embody the punk ethos.
8 memoirs about becoming a classical musician.
10 stories that blend horror and crime.
10 heartrending reads for fans of Jodi Picoult.
The best and worst Agatha Christie mysteries.
7 books about matchmakers.
42 charming, heartwarming, and quirky books.
5 SFF books about strange houses.
Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!
On the Riot
Helpful books to teach sex and anatomy to kids of all ages.
Ghostly middle grade books perfect for fall.
Spine-chilling horror novels for middle schoolers.
8 translated works of fiction for children.
12 standout YA standalone sci-fi books.
8 books that look at masculinity through a refreshing new lens.
Lovecraft minus Lovecraft: the best cosmic horror novels that reject Lovecraft’s racism.
Retellings in the romance genre.
Travel the world with these place-based memoirs.
12 wellness retreat thrillers to make you think twice about booking a spa day.
20 of the most fascinating mythological creatures across literature.
20 must-read novels inspired by video games.
10 of the best Norse mythology books.
8 books featuring characters who have considered suicide, but find their rainbows.
8 fantasy books with magical systems based on art.
10 of the best antiheroes in literature.
10 books if you loved Hanya Yanigahara’s To Paradise.
Some of the best Dungeons & Dragons books.
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.
Blaine sent me this photo of Gilbert, taken about five minutes after Blaine got back home from avoiding my COVID cooties for a week. You may think Gilbert looks really cheesed off, but this is actually him at his happiest. Blaine said Gilbert settled in, and absolutely refused to move. I think he missed his daddy…
Welp, that’s all I’ve got. I’ll check in again on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.