Welcome to Check Your Shelf. It’s a somber start to the week over here – Blaine and I attended a funeral on Sunday for a friend of his family who passed away far too young. It put a lot of things into perspective, and reminded me again of how important it is to make memories with the people you love.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Viola Davis and her husband have launched a new publishing venture.
The problem with BookTok. Plus, love, hate, or fear it, TikTok has changed America.
How Congress is regulating AI, plus Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) newly introduced bill that would require tech companies to reveal which copyrighted works were being used to train their generative AI systems.
Amazon is filled with garbage eBooks. Here’s how they get made.
Publishers are scouring the world of fan fiction to find the next hit author.
On the myth of the middle-class writer.
On independent publishers and small press practices.
New & Upcoming Titles
Nancy Pelosi is publishing a new book about her tenure as Speaker of the House, called The Art of Power.
Marisha Pessl is publishing a YA novel this fall, her first novel in 6 years.
Venus Williams announces a new health & wellness book being published this fall.
Rebecca Yarros has a standalone novel coming out this fall.
Clay McLeod Chapman has a new horror novel coming out in January 2025: Wake Up and Open Your Eyes.
Julianne Hough is publishing her first novel this summer.
Check out the description for Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home: “This book is a little bit IT & FIRESTARTER, a little bit TERMINATOR 2, a little bit Le Guin, a little bit Koontz, a little bit Grimms, a little bit Twilight Zone, & a lotta bit gonna rip yer face off.” Sign. Me. Up.
And this one! “If you like suburban horror, enjoyed Midsommar or The Other Black Girl, you’re going to love this!” We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado.
Here’s the cover for Paula Hawkins’ upcoming novel, The Blue Hour.
And here’s the cover reveal for Alafair Burke’s The Note, out in January 2025.
Another cover reveal: Eric LaRocca’s At Dark, I Become Loathsome.
2024 is a year of literary true crime.
5 new mysteries & thrillers for spring.
The best books of 2024 so far.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.
April picks from Reactor (YA SFF), Vanity Fair.
Barnes & Noble has their May picks for adults, teens, and children.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder – Salman Rushdie (Atlantic, Guardian, New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)
My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me – Caleb Carr (LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post)
When I Think of You – Myah Ariel (NPR, People)
Muse of Fire: World War I as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets – Michael Korda (New York Times, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
Why Tom Ripley continues to fascinate readers.
On the Riot
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
The best new fantasy books for your book club.
All Things Comics
Marjane Satrapi talks about her upcoming graphic nonfiction book Woman, Life, Freedom, about the women’s liberation movement in Iran.
On the Riot
YA graphic novels & comics for Spring 2024.
Audiophilia
Enthralling historical fiction audiobooks for tweens.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Adults
A reading list for The Tortured Poets Department.
What to read next for Arab American Heritage Month.
7 books about unconventional situationships.
20 books that will redefine your relationship with food and the planet.
4 books to make you fall in love with poetry.
5 of the best books to understand modern China.
19 great books about Hollywood you may have missed.
15 charming Southern small town romances.
20 true crime books to tease your curiosity.
Is your TBR built by shame? Kirkus has a list for you: 20 books you really should have read by now.
On the Riot
8 useful books on how to increase your attention span.
The strangest romance novels you’ll ever read.
Horror poetry collections that are both engaging and eerie.
7 books by autistic authors to pick up for Autism Acceptance Month.
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!
Are these two titans engaging in an epic battle for dominance? Or two knuckleheads taking out their afternoon hunger on each other while they wait for their snack?
Well, that’s it for today. I’ll be back on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.