Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Even though I’m working Monday and Tuesday, I am officially dubbing this “The Week of Katie,” as I am off for the rest of the week in honor of my birthday. And the first thing on my birthday to-do list is SLEEP.
Attention librarians, booksellers, and book nerds! You can apply to become a Bibliologist for Tailored Book Recommendations and get paid for your bookish knowledge! TBR is a subscription-based book recommendation service where customers receive three hand-picked recommendations per quarter that are tailored to their specific reading likes and dislikes. Of special interest: bibliologists who can recommend across a variety of genres. Click here to read more and fill out an application.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
This was the scandal that had Publishing Twitter in an uproar last week.
Why writers are forced to become brands, and why that’s bad.
Five years of reading with Jenna Bush Hager.
New & Upcoming Titles
Hillary Clinton is publishing a new memoir this fall.
Actress Uzo Aduba is also publishing a memoir.
Here’s the cover reveal for Alexis Hall’s re-released version of Pansies, which will come out in November.
And here’s the cover reveal for Cassandra Clare’s The Ragpicker King.
Buzzy new romances to add to your beach bag.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times, Parade, Wall Street Journal.
July picks from Epic Reads, Kirkus, New York Times, Time.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Practice – Rosalind Brown (New York Times, Washington Post)
A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue – Dean Jobb (New York Times, Washington Post)
The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI – Ray Kurzweil (New York Times, Washington Post)
Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV – Emily Nussbaum (New York Times, Vogue)
RA/Genre Resources
The dark appeal of the assassin genre.
How Boston physician Freida McFadden conquered the thriller genre.
Emily Henry on writing best-sellers without book tours and TikTok.
“Monster smut” is the big new thing in publishing.
Where to start reading Timothy Egan.
On the Riot
The best historical fiction of 2024 so far.
The most popular new books on Goodreads in 2024, so far.
The most popular book club books on Goodreads in June.
The best new weekly releases to TBR, plus the best BIPOC and LGBTQ weekly releases.
Meet Ann Patchett, award-winning author and bookstore champion.
All Things Comics
Raina Telgemeier announces a new graphic novel for kids co-written with Scott McCloud.
8 books like Heartstopper your teen will love.
On the Riot
9 action-packed books like Helldivers 2.
9 graphic novel heroes from around the world.
Superheroes who are literally gods.
Audiophilia
US audiobook sales hit $2 billion in 2024.
Celebrating the best audiobook narrators.
The best audiobooks for road trips of any length.
AudioFile’s best audiobooks of June.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
Eating the rainbow: 10 picture books about fruits and vegetables.
9 patriotic books for kids to celebrate Independence Day.
Adults
What your favorite authors are reading for Pride Month.
9 experimental books that break narrative norms.
7 books that unpack a complicated family inheritance.
5 of the best books about Turkey.
Great novels of subtle espionage.
5 books for people who really love books.
On the Riot
The best heroes in YA fantasy.
Science fiction books that would be impossible to adapt.
9 of the best books about menopause.
Books where the villain is the hero.
BIPOC final girls in recent horror fiction.
Historical fiction set in Ireland.
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!
The title of this portrait is “WHAT?! We ain’t doing nothing!”
All right, friends – back on Friday! Have a good 4th of July and enjoy your (hopeful) day off!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.