Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I had a harrowing experience this weekend that a lot of people who wear women’s clothes can probably relate to. I was at the store, trying on a shirt in the dressing room when I realized that…I was stuck. The fabric had no give, it was tight across my shoulders to begin with, and I couldn’t reach around enough to pull the shirt off, or wiggle my arms out of the sleeves. I’m not kidding when I say I struggled to get that shirt off for over five minutes, wondering if I’d have to call a salesperson to help, call my husband to drive over and rescue me, or just stay where I was until I died. Thankfully, I managed to slowly and painfully extricate myself from the shirt, but it was a mildly traumatizing experience I don’t wish to replicate any time soon.
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Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Amazon and the Big Five publishers have filed a motion to dismiss another eBook price-fixing lawsuit.
Fieldstone and Knopf have dropped the Audubon name from their bird field guides, citing the controversy over John James Audubon’s history as “an enslaver, white supremacist, and eugenics practitioner.”
AI is about to turn the publishing world upside down.
New & Upcoming Titles
David Sedaris is publishing his first children’s book in February 2024.
Michael Caine (yes, THAT Michael Caine) is publishing his debut thriller in November.
Director Noah Baumbach is publishing a memoir.
Elizabeth Gilbert has a new novel coming out next year.
10 new nonfiction books to broaden your summer reading.
Here are the big June 2023 book club picks.
57 new mystery and thriller books you won’t be able to put down.
5 new books by LGBTQ+ authors.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal.
June picks from Amazon, Crime Reads (psychological thrillers), Ebony, LitHub (poetry, SFF), Tor.com (sci-fi)
Summer 2023 picks from Autostraddle, Chicago Tribune, Kirkus, LitHub, New York Times (fiction, nonfiction)
Best books of 2023 so far from Barnes & Noble, BookPage, Elle (memoirs), Vulture (overall picks, comedy)
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Pageboy – Elliot Page (Entertainment Weekly, LA Times, New York Times, People, Time, USA Today, Washington Post)
All the Sinners Bleed – S.A. Cosby (LA Times, Washington Post)
The Dissident – Paul Goldberg (New York Times, Washington Post)
Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media – Darrell Hartman (New York Times, Wall Street Journal)
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women – Lisa See (LA Times, New York Times)
Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World – John Vaillant (New York Times, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
Why are we so obsessed with missing persons stories?
On the Riot
8 of the best children’s books coming out this summer.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
June picks for mysteries/thrillers, romance, SFF, horror, nonfiction, YA, children’s books.
How this reader came back changed to speculative fiction books.
Who recommended better books — a professional book nerd or ChatGPT?
All Things Comics
Ibram X. Kendi is adapting Stamped From the Beginning as a graphic novel.
On the Riot
June new releases for comics/graphic novels and manga.
Audiophilia
The June 2023 Earphones Award winners have been announced.
Celebrate trans pride with these four audiobooks.
On the Riot
8 of Libro.fm’s most preordered books of Summer 2023.
Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Must-read children’s books to celebrate Juneteenth.
Friendship-filled picture books to read for National Best Friends Day.
Adults
A super-sized list of Juneteenth reads for the whole family.
Pride reading lists from Boston Public Library, Parade, SF Chronicle, Tor.com.
A dystopian mystery reading list.
A reading list about motherhood and adoption.
7 books that feature rock music.
A reading list of linked stories.
7 books about people feeling out of place.
7 novels about falling in love across borders.
10 thrillers featuring horses.
30 must-read books for Canada’s National Indigenous History Month.
15 Stephen King novels to read after seeing The Boogeyman.
6 books that feel like puzzles.
Celeb memoirs that are worth the hype.
On the Riot
10 funny books for preschoolers.
8 great dystopian books for middle schoolers.
8 nonfiction books about swimming.
Travel the world in 122 cookbooks.
20 must-read LGBTQ+ crime novels.
8 fabulous romance novels featuring doctors and other healthcare workers.
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 that includes information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
The other day, we caught Gilbert sniffing around the tub and licking up the leftover water from my husband’s shower. Two things of note: 1) Gilbert NEVER jumps in the shower, and 2) I had already refilled his water bowl earlier in the day! He had plenty of fresh water to partake in, but no, he wanted the shower leftovers. Safe to assume Gilbert won’t be getting an invite to join MENSA any time soon…
Okay, that’s all for now, folks. I’ll pop in again on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.