Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I know social media stuff differs, but if your timeline is anything like mine, it’s probably been flooded with memorials to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. My husband and I dealt with our shock in the only way we knew how — buying books. But we did listen to the Foo Fighters the whole way to the bookstore, and we did try to find one of their albums on vinyl to add to our collection (alas, no success). What I’m trying to say is that buying books can heal a lot of what ails us.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Examining paper shortages and publishing worker unrest.
New & Upcoming Titles
Tiffany Haddish’s next book, I Curse You With Joy, is being released in November.
Patti Smith has a new book, A Book of Days, also slated for a November release.
V. Castro is writing the backstory of Private Vasquez from Aliens in a new prequel novel.
John le Carré’s letters will be published in a single volume in November.
Here’s the cover reveal for Katherine Dunn’s previously unpublished novel, Toad.
And here’s the cover reveal for Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, Lucy by the Sea.
14 new books to revive your reading life.
New horror of the American west.
75 new historical romances — from dukes to cowboys.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.
The best psychological thrillers and debut crime novels for March.
Barnes & Noble has their April picks for adults, teens, and children.
Spring 2022 picks from Parade and Vulture.
The best memoirs of 2022 (so far).
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
French Braid – Anne Tyler (New York Times, People, Washington Post)
Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century – Stephen Galloway (New York Times, USA Today)
Vagabonds! – Eloghosa Osunde (LA Times, Shondaland)
Don’t Know Tough – Eli Cranor (Crime Reads, USA Today)
RA/Genre Resources
On the Riot
The best weekly releases to TBR.
Spring 2022 new releases in translation.
Book Riot contributors pick their top must-read authors. (Happy to see that Tana French made the list!)
How to choose your next book to read in the most chaotic way possible.
Why this reader has started reading investigative journalism.
All Things Comics
Roxane Gay is bringing her feminist heist graphic novel series, The Banks, to the screen.
Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda are developing a new horror/fantasy graphic novel series called The Night Eaters.
A rare copy of the first Marvel comic has sold at auction for $2.4 million.
On the Riot
The weird world of celebrity comics.
10 of the best historical romance manga and webcomics.
Indie comics to put on your radar for 2022.
8 weird, twisty, and dark comics.
Audiophilia
Talking up synthetic narration for audiobooks.
Confessions of a reluctant audiobook listener.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
On the Riot
10 of Libro.fm’s most preordered audiobooks of Spring 2022.
26 of the best audiobooks for road trips.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
5 adrenaline-pumping YA SFF survival books.
15 books for teens if your comfort show is Schitt’s Creek.
14 YA books filled with feminist fury.
15 dark fantasy YA books that will enthrall you.
9 YA books with the best love triangles.
Adults
Books about Putin and the forces that shaped him.
Essential reading for understanding US-Russia intelligence warfare.
12 books that shaped readers as feminists.
Romances featuring single parents.
10 books about chance encounters with strangers.
19 fiction books written by celebrities, ranked.
8 examples of epistolary horror.
7 books about multiple timelines and blurred realities.
5 books where giant insects ruin everyone’s day.
6 novels set in abandoned places.
The best books for true crime aficionados.
8 Jamaican women writers you should be reading.
20 books for readers who want more fantasy romances in their lives.
Queer historical fiction set in Paris.
66 mysteries and thrillers to give you goosebumps.
14 books about con artists to feed your obsession with scam stories.
6 thrillers that will leave even the most hard-core readers a little squeamish.
On the Riot
13 of the best pop-up books for kids.
12 of the best fairy tale books for kids.
Middle grade books about escaping Nazis.
Middle grade books to cook along with.
Middle grade books about friendships between boys.
12 books for gay teens who have just come out.
YA books about grief and loss.
YA romance with a trans main character and love interest.
10 YA books centered around sister relationships.
25 of the best murder mystery books.
12 books that read like podcasts.
The 25 most influential horror novels of all time.
10 terrific nonfiction books about music.
10 books like They Both Die at the End.
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 Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
They say they’re not friends, but I beg to differ…
I’ll leave you with a song from my favorite Foo Fighters album to get you through the rest of the week. Rock on, friends. I’ll see you on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Road of Bones by Christopher Golden.