Sponsored by Penguin Teen
An exciting #OwnVoices middle-grade debut starring a Muslim boy with a huge imagination. Omar and his family have just moved, and he is NOT excited about starting at a new school. What if the work is too hard or the kids are mean or the teacher is a zombie alien?! But when Omar makes a new best friend, things start looking up. That is, until a Big Mean Bully named Daniel makes every day a nightmare! Omar’s funny, relatable narrative is the perfect answer to the call for both mirrors and windows to fill bookshelves with diverse stories.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- RWA president Damon Suede and executive director Carol Ritter resign amidst the ongoing racism controversy. Major publishers are also dropping out of RWA’s annual conference.
- Chuck Tingle wrote a 4300 word story called Not Pounded By Romance Wranglers Of America Because Their New Leadership Is From The Depths Of The Endless Cosmic Void to show support for the authors grappling with the terrible RWA leadership. Yes, really.
- Also, check out what he did with the domain name www.romancewritersofamerica.com
New & Upcoming Titles
- The Guardian posted a 2020 literary calendar with all kinds of dates for literary awards, adaptation releases, new titles, and more!
- Stacey Abrams is writing a book about voter suppression, coming out June 2020!
- Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye fame is writing a children’s book about a non-binary guinea pig.
- 17 must-read books for Winter 2020, along with a Winter 2020 thriller preview.
- Buzzfeed & The Millions pick their most-anticipated books for 2020.
- Goodreads compiled a list of 33 of the most highly anticipated reads for 2020 based on users’ “Want to Read” shelves.
- 2020 reading lists for mysteries/thrillers and YA novels.
- Most anticipated LGBTQ novels, crime novels, and international releases for the year.
- 17 memoirs feminists should read in 2020.
- 25 novels for YA feminists coming out this year.
- Here’s a cover reveal thread for some Fall 2020 YA titles.
- 5 SFF novels to start your New Year’s off right.
- Best books of January from AV Club, Crime Reads (debut fiction), LitHub, Paste, Salon, and Tor.com.
- Must-read January poetry.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid (The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post)
- Creatures – Crissy Van Meter (LA Times, New York Times, NPR)
- Cleanness – Garth Greenwell (New York Times, Washington Post)
- Long Bright River – Liz Moore (New York Times, Washington Post)
- Dear Edward – Ann Napolitano (Entertainment Weekly, New York Times)
- Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity – Peggy Orenstein (NPR, Time)
- Topics of Conversation – Miranda Popkey (New York Times, NPR)
RA/Genre Resources
- Library Journal launches a horror-focused review column, with reviews by Becky Spratford of RA for All and RA for All Horror.
- A look at this new wave of female-driven espionage fiction.
- Reviving the traditional mystery for a 21st century audience.
On the Riot
- 12 romance authors to add to your 2020 TBR.
- 20 must-read 2020 SFF novels.
- 50+ YA novels featuring queer girls published in 2020.
All Things Comics
- Boom! Studios announces a graphic adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five.
- The Smithsonian partners with IDW to publish graphic novels and more.
- An early look at the Dune graphic novel adaptation.
- New York Times previews the new Robert Kirkman graphic novel, out in April.
- Trailer for Locke and Key, which airs on February 7, 2020.
- Graphic novel suggestions for 2020.
- 5 comics to read this January.
- 10 honest portrayals of mental illness in graphic memoirs.
On the Riot
- YA graphic novels, memoirs, and comics coming out this winter.
- 5 comics & graphic novels to read if you enjoyed The Witcher.
- 10 powerful graphic memoirs for young readers.
- 6 cookbook comics for your consumption.
Audiophilia
- Stephen King will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2020 Audies.
- As of January 1st, the audio version of The Martian is narrated by Wil Wheaton rather than R.C. Bray, due to contract issues.
On the Riot
- 5 of the best audiobooks narrated by Robin Miles.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 9 books about kindness for tweens.
- 26 YA books to read if you’re a fan of The Witcher.
Adults
- 100 amazing books written by black women.
- 12 SFF books you might have missed in 2019.
- 5 books about finding hope at the end of the world.
- Lupita Nyong’o talks about her 10 favorite books.
- USA Today: 100 bestselling books of 2019.
- 10 Latinx poetry collections you may have missed in 2019.
- 12 new and overlooked vampire novels.
- 14 best-selling horror novels to keep you up tonight.
- 6 crime novels about processing trauma.
- 7 books about Hollywood to read during award season.
- Top 10 books about toxic masculinity.
- 15 books about the lives of middle-aged women.
On the Riot
- Children’s books about bears.
- 11 YA books about interracial couples.
- A list of WLW (Women Loving Women) romances.
- Cozy cat mysteries.
- 15 of the best LGBTQ science fiction novels.
- The all-time most recommended books on the Get Booked podcast.
- Read Harder: horror novel published by an indie press (I wrote this one!), a book with a protagonist with a disability, a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the US or the UK, a book written by or about refugees, and a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in LibraryReads, 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 created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
See you on Friday!
Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel.