Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I hit peak Librarian Nerd recently…I was playing a video game where one of the side quests involved tracking down which characters had borrowed specific public documents. (It was LEGO Star Wars…hush up.) Anyway, my immediate reaction was one of horror, and I immediately texted a co-worker about how patron privacy laws were severely lacking in a galaxy far, far away. I think this is my sign I need to go outside and touch grass.
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!
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
The FTC has launched an inquiry into AI deals by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
How artists and authors are required to market themselves online, especially on TikTok.
New & Upcoming Titles
Whoopi Goldberg talks about her upcoming memoir.
Here’s a first look at Lance Bass’ upcoming children’s book.
Cover reveal for Gabino Iglesias’ upcoming book House of Bone and Rain.
Locus has released its 2023 recommended reading list.
5 new books to read for Black History Month.
The buzziest romance books of 2024.
30 SFF titles to look forward to in 2024.
Most anticipated speculative crime novels in 2024.
Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.
February picks from Barnes & Noble, Epic Reads, Kirkus, New York Times, Washington Post.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Come and Get It – Kiley Reid (Guardian, LA Times, Millions, New York Times, NPR, USA Today, Vox)
Hard By a Great Forest – Leo Vardiashvilli (LA Times, New York Times)
Good Material – Dolly Alderton (Elle, New York Times, Shondaland)
RA/Genre Resources
The long and bloody history of true crime lit.
“Lives of the wives” books won’t save us.
13 romance authors making space in the genre.
“Smut” is not a dirty word: Author Sarah J. Maas (and romantasy at large) deserves more respect.
On the Riot
The most anticipated cozy mysteries of 2024.
100 must-read new books by Black authors.
12 of the most anticipated queer books for 2024.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
February picks for mystery/thrillers, SFF, nonfiction, children’s books.
Just how much has LGBTQ+ representation grown in middle grade in the last half-decade?
All Things Comics
Disney and Dynamite have announced a line of Disney Villain comics for teens.
Audiophilia
The New York Times looks at Spotify’s emergence in the audiobook market.
The 2024 Audie Award finalists have been announced.
Audiofile’s best audiobooks of January.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Picture books to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Valentine’s Day books for little readers.
Age-appropriate romance reads for 10-12 year olds.
8 YA books set during the Holocaust and WWII.
Adults
Black History Month reading suggestions.
8 books about women’s invisible labor.
The 13 best college-set novels of all time.
The best books about artificial intelligence.
11 books about seasonal and migrant farmworkers in America.
5 of the best books about gossip.
8 addictively good dark romantic comedy books.
Isn’t every day Groundhog Day? Here’s your reading list to get you through the monotony.
On the Riot
7 middle grade horror novels to read by flashlight.
Great adult books with YA appeal.
No big quest, just fantasy coming-of-age stories.
The most underrated sci-fi books on Goodreads.
12 of the best award-winning romance novels.
Dark romantasy books to get swept away in.
100 of the most popular romances of the last three years, according to Goodreads.
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!
This photo is a little small, but I think you can still see Dini’s magnificent whiskers. He kept looking up at me and pouring on the cute every time I stopped petting him.
All right, friends. Have a good week, and I’ll pop back in on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.