Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to all things book talk worth knowing to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).
Libraries & Librarians
- In a world where small town newspapers are disappearing, the library steps in.
- Arapahoe libraries in Colorado join the ranks of libraries going fine free.
- How a library handles a rare — but deadly! — book of wallpaper samples.
- Weird things people say to librarians (& what one person does not say back). #Relatable.
Book Adaptations in the News
- 26 books hitting the big screen in 2018.
- Fire & Fury will be hitting the small screen (& you’ll be hearing more about this book shortly).
- Zendaya’s A White Lie is being made into a film by the Reese Witherspoon machine.
- Speaking of Witherspoon properties, Meryl Streep signed on to play in season 2 of HBO’s Big Little Lies.
- Game of Thrones will be back on the air in April 2019. Maybe. Maybe not. In either case, Winter is Coming Sometime in ’19.
- Margaret Atwood’s “MaddAddam” series will be hitting the small screen.
- Adaptations keep on rolling on for Stephen King, this time for Dr. Sleep.
- The novelization of film The Shape of Water comes out later this month, and it’ll likely fly off shelves.
- We’re going to get a bunch more Dr. Seuss cartoons.
Books in the News
- Young Adult author Jason Reynolds was on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward was named the first book selection in the New York Times/PBS Newshour book club.
By The Numbers
- A record number of libraries surpassed 1 million ebook and audiobook checkouts in 2017. Some systems were circulating as high as 4 million items in their digital collections. Whoa!
- Fire & Fury is checking out of libraries as fast as Harry Potter.
Award News
- The Mystery Writers of America named their slate of Edgar Award finalists.
- The National Jewish Book Award Winners and Finalists have been announced.
- The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards list is here.
Pop Cultured
- Romance novel recommendations for the characters of the hit show The Good Place. This would make a fun display and even one which could be interactive (“What would you recommend?”).
- Pop culture cookbooks. Throw these together in a delicious display.
- Books to read after watching (or reading) Call Me By Your Name.
All Things Comics
- Chef Anthony Bourdain has a comic book series, and the first issue is available now.
- 2018 manga to have on your radar.
- 100 excellent comics about brave people who are not superheroes.
Audiophilia
- 50 fantastic Christian audiobooks.
- 10 short mystery audiobooks that are each under 10 hours long.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
- 46 books by women of color to read in 2018.
- Books about gentle boys.
- Spring-releasing food and cookbooks to know.
- 10 young adult books set in college.
Bookish Curiosities
- Do you sometimes forget what the book you read was about? There’s science behind this.
- Will you be adding vinyl audiobook short stories to your library collections? Because it’s a soon-to-be option.
- What is confessional poetry? Why is it popular? Here’s a handy guide to this style of writing.
Level Up
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? Whether or not you read and nominate titles, we’ll end every newsletter with a few upcoming titles worth reading and sharing (and nominating for LibraryReads, if you so choose!). Links here will direct to Edelweiss digital review copies.
- They Come in All Colors by Malcolm Hansen (May 29, 2018): A story about a biracial teen boy and his experiences with racial tensions that alternates between New York City and the deep south.
- The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar (May 1, 2018): The pitch for this one is “the novel that is to Syria as The Kite Runner is to Afghanistan.”
- So Close To Being The Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know by Retta (May 29, 2018): It’s Retta — Parks and Recreation star for those who don’t know — and her book of essays sounds like a collection circulating winner for fans of the show and beyond.
How cute is this “Love Your Librarian” tote? $15 on Etsy. Priceless for toting your library goods.
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Thanks for hanging out! We’ll see you back here in two weeks with another edition of Check Your Shelf.
–Kelly Jensen, currently reading Mothers of Massive Resistance by Elizabeth Gillespie McRae