Sponsored by Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth.
Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. The Dark One leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives; the Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him. On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One’s defeat, the Chosen Ones, now adults, discover the Dark One’s ultimate goal was much bigger than they could have known—bigger than the world itself. But saving the world the first time was hard enough for Sloane Andrews and her fellow Chosen Ones. And this time, fighting back might take more than Sloane has to give.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf, where it’s business as usual from my quarantine couch. I have to say, I’m getting used to working in my slippers.
Here’s Book Riot’s COVID-19 updates from the last few days.
And if you haven’t seen it already, here’s an article about a scientist who had to go to the hospital because he got magnets stuck up his nose. This is the funniest damn thing I’ve read in a LONG time!
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- Macmillan laid off a number of employees and has permanently closed its Thomas Dunne imprint.
- An update on the Powell’s mass layoffs/re-hiring story.
- Half Price Books cuts its workforce by more than 2,000 employees.
- James Patterson donates $500,000 to help save indie bookstores.
- Amazon expands its list of prioritized items, although it doesn’t indicate what that expansion will include.
- An Indiana county has banned the sale of non-essential items, including books.
New & Upcoming Titles
- Angie Thomas has a new book coming out!!! It’s called Concrete Rose, and it tells the teenage story of Maverick Carter, Starr’s father from The Hate U Give.
- Jennifer Weiner’s upcoming novel Big Summer will be released 2 weeks early on May 5th.
- Stephen King’s book If It Bleeds is also getting moved up from May 5th to late April.
- Dav Pilkey announces a new graphic novel series.
- 8 new books to read while you’re stuck inside.
- 2020 books worth reading now.
- 10 new books to look forward to.
- Best books of 2020 so far.
- Best books of April 2020 from Amazon, AV Club, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Crime Reads, Entertainment Weekly, io9, LitHub, The Millions, Popsugar, Tor.com (fantasy, sci-fi, YA SFF, and genre-benders), Vogue, Washington Post.
- 35 must-read 2020 books written by women.
- 25 new books to add to your spring reading list.
- 38 most-anticipated romance novels of 2020.
- 44 LGBTQ books that are changing the literary landscape in 2020.
- 26 YA retellings to look forward to in 2020.
What your patrons are hearing about
- Red Lotus – Chris Bohjalian (New York Times, Washington Post)
- Days of Distraction – Alexandra Chang (USA Today, Washington Post)
- Wow, No Thank You – Samantha Irby (Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post)
- Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family – Robert Kolker (New York Times, People)
- Valentine – Elizabeth Wetmore (Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
- Vox starts its own book suggestion column.
- Penguin Classics and other publishers work to diversify the canon.
- Celebrating 100 years of Agatha Christie.
On the Riot
- Barnes & Noble closes 400+ stores; employees question what happens next.
- Authors push back against the National Emergency Library.
- How to support authors with books coming out during social quarantine.
- 5 new memoirs to make you laugh and cry.
- 14 April YA releases to add to your TBR.
- Short story examples in almost every genre.
- Your complete guide to romance tropes.
- Why reading pandemic lit gives this reader hope.
All Things Comics
- For the first time in the history of the comic book industry, there are no new print comics debuting as of April 1st.
- Conversely, 2020 is proving to be a great year for graphic novels.
On the Riot
- 8 comforting comics for trying times.
Audiophilia
- You can stream the Stephen Fry-version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for free on Audible.
- 15 audiobooks to entertain you if you’re missing sports.
- 27 immersive audiobooks to take your mind off things.
- SFF audiobooks read by celebrities.
On the Riot
- 5 food memoir audiobooks for your TBR.
- How to find free eBooks and eAudiobooks for kids.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 50 great books to entertain quarantined kids.
- 20 books to help your kids tour the world from home.
- Beyond Little Women: A reading list for bookish girls.
- 21 YA books to read with your feminist book club.
- 21 YA books with honest depictions of depression.
- 12 YA novels to read in celebration of Trans Day of Visibility.
Adults
- 17 books long enough to get you through a pandemic.
- Books to read after watching Tiger King.
- 15 standalone novels you can read in one sitting.
- 9 books by Muslim women.
- 21 books by Canadian women you need to read right now.
- 100 books to read while you’re stuck at home.
- 17 optimistic fantasies.
- 22 reads to help make time go by faster.
- 10 of the best cookbooks for beginner home cooks.
- 11 books about polyamory and non-monogamy.
- 9 books for fans of Lord of the Rings.
- 7 novels about multicultural families.
On the Riot
- 16 new picture books from Caldecott Award winners.
- 15 awesome dragon books for kids.
- 15 great new LGBTQ middle grade books.
- 10 middle grade books for animal lovers.
- 7 books about magic schools for every reader.
- 6 YA series featuring dragons.
- Books to read if you’re obsessed with Animal Crossing.
- 6 books to read after you finish In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado.
- 10 books if you loved Little Fires Everywhere.
- 12 books to read after Dear Martin by Nic Stone.
- 5 books in which space isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
- 5 haunted house stories…that don’t have haunted houses.
- 10 #OwnVoices autism books for Autism Acceptance Month.
- 5 books about horror to help you cope with anxiety.
- 5 crime novels where the crime is beside the point.
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.
Sending virtual hugs to anyone who wants them. Stay safe, healthy, and relatively sane.
Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.