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Every cloud, drop in temperature, and sunbeam conveys a secret message . . . if you know what to look for. Tristan Gooley turns his signature brand of observation to the weather. Weather doesn’t just blanket an area; it changes as you walk through the woods or down a street. You’ll discover distinct microclimates on opposite sides of a tree or under a blade of grass! You’ll never see your surroundings the same way again.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Let’s jump right in – this newsletter is packed.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
ALA and United for Libraries urge the Lafayette Library Board to reinstate its canceled program on voting rights.
Library associations and workers advocate for early vaccine priority. Related, Chicago library workers want to receive the COVID vaccine, even though they’re not prioritized under Illinois’ Phase 1B vaccine rollout.
The RUSA/CODES Book and Media Awards have been announced.
The Obama Presidential Center and Library breaks ground in Jackson Park, Chicago later this year.
Cool Library Updates
NYPL has launched the Woodson Project to honor Black History Month.
The Kansas City Public Library announced four mobile device labs that will be taken to community events.
Picture book history comes to life in Kent State’s Reinberger Children’s Library Center.
This teenager has helped launch seed libraries in every state!
There’s a new podcast about library workers out, called librarypunk.
The Medina County Library is hosting a free online event with Jason Reynolds on February 24th – you can register here!
Worth Reading
Martha S. Jones, author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality For All, responds to the Lafayette Parish Library’s refusal to host a discussion of her book.
Lizard people in the library: or, what’s missing from information literacy efforts.
How to create a social media policy for your library.
Meet the Jewish librarian who spied on New York Nazis in the 1930’s.
Book Adaptations in the News
The Obama’s production company has landed six new projects at Netflix, including an adaptation of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid.
There’s currently a bidding war underway for the adaptation rights for T.J. Newman’s forthcoming thriller, Falling.
Geraldine Brooks’ novel Caleb’s Crossing is getting an adaptation.
Stephen Chbosky is adapting the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.
Gabrielle Zevin is writing the adaptation of her upcoming novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for Paramount.
A series adaptation of Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore is in the works.
We may be getting an adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’ novel Bones and All.
Jenny Han is turning The Summer I Turned Pretty into a series at Amazon.
Noah Baumbach, Adam Driver, and Greta Gerwig team up to adapt Don DeLillo’s White Noise for Netflix.
Fox is producing a CIA drama based on Alma Katsu’s upcoming book, Red Widow.
Paramount is fighting to remake Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Hoo boy, we’ve got a lot of casting updates: Where the Crawdads Sing, Stay Close (with Eddie Izzard!!), I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Power.
Here’s the first trailer for Moxie.
Books & Authors in the News
I missed this one from last week: historical fiction author Sharon Kay Penman has died at age 75.
Michelle Obama interviews Amanda Gorman, and this is just too much fabulousness for one article to handle! Also, if you want to rewatch Amanda Gorman’s performance from the Super Bowl, you can do that here.
The Senate Conservatives Fund has spent nearly $65,000 on Josh Hawley’s not-yet-published book.
Naomi Wolf’s controversial Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love is garnering more criticism with its newly revised edition.
The DoJ has dropped a lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff for her book Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady.
Mariah Carey’s sister Alison is suing her over stories included in Carey’s recent memoir.
Stephen King’s foundation is helping a group of elementary school students publish their pandemic-inspired books.
George R.R. Martin says that he wrote “hundreds and hundreds” of pages of The Winds of Winter in 2020, but says there are still hundred of pages more to write.
Numbers & Trends
Following news of her death, Cicely Tyson’s memoir hit number 1 on Amazon and ran out of available copies.
Have you noticed this recent cover design trend?
Award News
LeVar Burton has been named the inaugural PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion.
The 2021 PEN America Literary Awards finalists were announced.
Deacon King Kong by Walter Mosely and Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs win the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.
The 2021 Dublin Literary Award longlist is out.
The Ontario Library Association has announced the finalists for the 2021 Evergreen Award.
Pop Cultured
Samantha Irby is one of the writers working on the Sex and the City reboot.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
This Indiana-based organization advocating against gun violence has started its own book club.
This D.C.-based book club met over Zoom to discuss Obama’s recent memoir, and welcomed a VERY surprising guest!
The Book Gifting Project hopes to donate at least 50 books written by African American authors to school-age kids in Lafayette, LA this month.
The return of the book vending machines!
You can rent out this Philadelphia bookstore for a COVID-friendly date night.
Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club is now an app.
On the Riot
It takes a village: How school librarians support virtual learning.
Academic libraries aren’t just for writing papers.
Library stickers for library lovers.
10 ways to promote children’s literacy at home.
Back-talking the tone police: Book people are not your enemy.
Judging a book cover by its color.
The best places to find cheap books online.
Whew, you made it! Stay warm, and keep those hands moisturized this weekend. See you on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
