Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m writing this newsletter before the eclipse, so hopefully, we all get through without incident. By some small miracle, my library still had glasses to give away on Monday morning, so I’m giving lots of props to my coworkers who were able to plan ahead and stockpile glasses over the last year.
Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help with handpicked recommendations. Tell the Bibliologists at Tailored Book Recommendations about what you love and what you don’t. You can get your recommendations via email or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18! Subscribe today.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is in discussions with at least one publisher about a book deal at the same time that he is leading the Biden impeachment probe.
This French startup says that you can train AI on non-copyrighted data.
“Google Books indexes AI trash.”
HarperCollins made a tiny tweak to its book design and has saved thousands of trees as a result.
New & Upcoming Titles
Publishers Weekly has their big summer preview up!
Bill Clinton is publishing a memoir on November 19th.
MCD is publishing a surprise fourth book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is releasing a two-part memoir.
Joan Baez is publishing her first poetry collection.
Ann Brashares (author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series) is co-writing a time travel mystery novel with her brother, Ben Brashares.
6 recent mysteries involving translators and interpreters.
7 modern cozies to look forward to reading in 2024.
The best books of 2024 (so far).
The Millions has their spring 2024 preview.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.
April picks from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, LitHub (SFF) New York Times, Reactor (SFF crossover), Time, Washington Post.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
City in Ruins – Don Winslow (LA Times, New York Times, USA Today)
The Cemetery of Untold Stories – Julia Alvarez (New York Times, People)
Clear – Carys Davis (New York Times, Washington Post)
Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud – Becky Holmes (Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
A deep dive into romance tropes.
We need Black horror now more than ever.
These mystery novels are changing how we see autistic women.
How Karen Kingsbury is extending the reach of Christian fiction.
On the Riot
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
April picks for mystery/thrillers, romance, SFF, horror, nonfiction, children.
The best book club books out in April.
The ultimate guide to spring 2024 YA releases.
Riot Roundup: the best books Rioters read from January – March 2024.
All Things Comics
The Three-Body Problem is being adapted as a graphic novel.
On the Riot
New comics/graphic novels and manga for April.
Riot Roundup: the best comics Rioters read between January – March 2024.
Audiophilia
The April 2024 Earphones Award winners have been announced.
Spotify’s subscription price is reportedly increasing again.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Kids books to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month.
Adults
10 historical fiction novels that will transport you back in time.
10 queer books for people with mommy issues.
6 of the best campus crime novels.
5 of the best psychological thrillers written by women.
20 books you might have missed (but shouldn’t).
On the Riot
8 YA reads perfect for your next picnic.
7 child actor memoirs to read after watching Quiet On Set.
9 twisty thrillers about friendships gone south.
The best romance short stories.
7 books about pulling pranks to save for next April Fool’s Day.
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!
Here’s Jonesy & Dini eating breakfast together for the first time! And not only that, but this is the first time we’ve gotten Jonesy to eat wet food! So many accomplishments in one photo!
Okay, friends. Enjoy the rest of the week without having to answer questions about whether or not you have eclipse glasses. I’ll see you on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.