Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Last night as I was falling asleep, my brain reminded me in a very forceful way that a major election year is upon us. Obviously, this isn’t something I had actually forgotten, and November is still six months away, so I was very confused as to why my brain picked that moment to startle me awake. Hopefully, this isn’t an omen of how the next six months are going to go.
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
Rebel Wilson’s memoir is being redacted in the UK for statements made in regards to actor Sacha Baron Cohen.
Children’s publishers are embracing the Taylor Swift factor.
One person says that no one buys books anymore, and another says “Au contraire!”
A look at how a possible TikTok ban could devastate online communities, including BookTok.
AI and the end of the human writer.
New & Upcoming Titles
Farrah Rochon is publishing a new book that tells the untold origin story of the five muses from Disney’s Hercules! I AM HERE FOR THIS!
Jake Tapper has sold the rights to his upcoming thriller, The Terrorist Detectives.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.
May picks from People.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy – Isaac Arnsdorf (New York Times)
Real Americans – Rachel Khong (LA Times)
Somehow: Thoughts on Love – Anne Lamott (New York Times)
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War – Erik Larson (Washington Post)
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality – Amanda Montell (Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
Why we’re all swooning for romance books.
8 Jude Deveraux books to knock your socks off.
On the Riot
The most popular nonfiction books of 2024 so far, according to Goodreads.
The best & buzziest LGBTQ fantasy books of 2024.
24 of the best book covers of 2024, so far.
8 must-read spring 2024 new releases in translation.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
10 TikTok book reviewers you should be following.
Recent romantasy and other romance books for your book club.
All Things Comics
R. L. Stine is publishing a YA graphic novel series with BOOM! Studios: The Graveyard Club.
Frank Miller strikes a partnership with Abrams ComicArts.
And in more ComicArts news, ComicArts is launching a new manga imprint.
Post Malone is partnering with Vault Comics to create an all-new IP universe based on an original story by Malone.
How comic books are becoming more accessible.
Audiophilia
On the Riot
10 of the best Spotify audiobooks.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
8 baseball books for kids that hit a grand slam.
Adults
Reading recommendations based on your favorite Taylor Swift era.
What to read next: Earth Day edition.
The best romance novels of all time.
8 novels about returning to the places we leave behind.
7 genre-smashing horror novels in translation.
8 books that explore generational conflict through genre.
7 books about fictional technologies with world-altering consequences.
9 books about invisible disabilities.
5 novels about hauntings.
10 great books about books.
On the Riot
8 children’s books about rocks.
8 grim and gruesome medical horror books.
Empowering LGBTQ+ self-improvement and wellness books.
Listen to The Tortured Poets Department, then read these books.
8 sci-noir books that blend genres.
10 of the slowest slow-burn romances ever written.
Books on pregnancy and parenting for first-time parents.
9 of the best queer cozy mysteries.
12 of the best romancifi books to read when you’re tired of romantasy.
9 must-read historical fantasy books.
8 mystery novels about reporters and journalists solving crimes.
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!
Blaine calls this “couch yoga.” I call it “If you’re not careful, you’re going to get stuck like that!”
All right, that’s all I have for today. Catch you on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.