Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m getting this newsletter in a little later than I usually do because Blaine and I were playing a cutthroat game of Scrabble that lasted for over two hours. (I won, or as Blaine put it, “barely escaped with my life.”)
Collection Development Corner
New & Upcoming Titles
Anthony Hopkins is writing a biography, release date TBD.
Elton John is publishing a book about his experiences during his farewell tour, out September 24th.
Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner are writing a new standalone global thriller.
Alex Segura is publishing a follow-up novel to Secret Identity, out later this year.
Louise Penny announces the 19th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series, out on October 29th.
Here’s a first look at Casey McQuiston’s third adult romance novel, The Pairing.
Most anticipated books of 2024 from BBC, Elle.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.
January picks from LitHub (children’s books), New York Times (romance), People.
February picks from Barnes & Noble (adults, teens, children).
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar (LA Times, New York Times, NPR)
Dead in Long Beach, California – Venita Blackburn (New York Times, Shondaland, Washington Post)
The Bullet Swallower – Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Esquire, LA Times, Shondaland)
The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon – Adam Shatz (LA Times, New York Times)
RA/Genre Resources
The Wall Street Journal offers book, movie, and TV recommendations made by AI.
Why so many authors are writing multi-generational stories.
So fetch, so fierce: in praise of all the literary mean girls.
On the Riot
25 excellent books to read in 2024.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
What genres and subgenres should be called, based on their covers.
Embracing seasonal reading with picture books.
All Things Comics
Publisher’s Weekly has a spring 2024 comics & graphic novels preview for adults and teens.
The New York Times looks at the recent surge in the popularity of French graphic nonfiction.
On the Riot
The 10 categorically best comics of 2023.
2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!
Audiophilia
On the Riot
The complete user’s guide to Spotify audiobooks.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Great Greek mythology books for kids.
15 YA books that navigate teen pregnancy.
Adults
9 literary mysteries with a big winter mood.
Weirding the West: Strange tales that complicate the picture of Texas.
5 horror novels featuring spooky mountains.
6 books to read if you’re upset about Greta Gerwig’s Oscar snub.
20 books you can read in a weekend.
On the Riot
8 gothic science fiction novels that will chill and thrill you.
Books that will help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions.
The most influential fantasy books of the 1980s.
10 modern horror classics keeping the genre alive.
Making sense of 2023 through books.
20 must-read sapphic fantasy 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 Edelweiss has a new catalog dedicated to diverse titles, which is managed by Early Word Galley Chatter Vicki Nesting. Check it out!
I went back through the photos of Gilbert I’ve used in previous newsletters and found this gem — our happy, chatty boy yelling for more snuggles.
All right, friends. I’ll be back on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.