Author: Katie McLain

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins and Fierce Reads.

Katina King is the reigning teen jujitsu champion of Northern California, but she’s having trouble fighting off the secrets in her past. Robin Thornton was adopted from an orphanage in India and is reluctant to take on his future. If he can’t find his roots, how can he possibly plan ahead? Robin and Kat meet in the most unlikely of places—a summer service trip to Kolkata to work with survivors of human trafficking. As bonds build between the travelmates, Robin and Kat discover that you can’t rewind life; sometimes you just have to push play.

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I’m going to be tweaking the format of the newsletter slightly over the next few weeks as I incorporate some of the great feedback you guys gave in the survey! The biggest change is that instead of having a “Books & Authors in the News” section and a separate “Upcoming Books” section, I’m combining the two into a “Collection Development Corner” that will highlight newly announced titles, genre guides & resources, and recently published books that your patrons are probably hearing about on NPR, the New York Times, etc. I hope you find it helpful!

And now, on with the newsletter…

Libraries & Librarians

• This week’s lengthy, but important read: Librarian Fobazi M. Ettarh talked about librarian values and “vocational awe” at the ACRL conference in Cleveland. Take a look at her work – I read her original article about a year ago and was inspired to write about the psychological toll of library work for Book Riot. (I fully acknowledge that this barely scratched the surface of her research, which talks about the inherent classist and racist inequalities in library service and is much more nuanced than my article.) But this is a topic very much worth discussing.
• Also, you can catch up with the ACRL conference using the #ACRL2019 hashtag.

News Updates

• An update on the Washington Department of Corrections’ ban on sending used books to prisoners, and the fact that their reports of an increase in illegal contraband don’t add up. In the meantime, a similar situation is coming up in Georgia.
• (TW: racially-motivated violence) There was an incident at Barnard College where a black student was physically stopped and restrained from entering the campus library. This is so rage-inducing, and yet sadly, so very common for black students.
• Over half of the books on the ALA’s Top 11 books banned or challenged in 2018 were challenged due to LGBTQ+ content.
• Spokane eliminates school librarians. BOOOOOO.
• 200 classic children’s stories have been withdrawn from a school library in Barcelona over concerns about sexism and gender portrayal.
• Two articles on the benefits of public libraries, from the New York Review of Books and NBC.

Cool Library Ideas

• People pay $100 to get a tattoo and support the Lawrence (KS) Public Library. I would totally do this.
• Los Angeles Public Library debut a limited-edition library card featuring art from a local artist. This is so cool!!
• Rare footage of the Black Panthers and California activism have been digitized by the Oakland Library.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books highlights the awesome events going on at libraries, from comic cons to romance cons.
• Why doctors & librarians make great partners.

Worth Reading

• Lots of talk about digital libraries, specifically Obama’s presidential library and Carla Hayden’s “audacious” plan to make the Library of Congress available online.
• Tackling copyright concerns when taking storytime online.
• LitHub created a new column called “Shhh…Secrets of the Librarians” that interviews different librarians from across the country.

Book Adaptations in the News

• New adaptations coming for Rot and Ruin (Jonathan Maberry; Alcon Entertainment), Lake Success (Gary Shteyngart; HBO), The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper; Paramount TV), The Confessions of Frannie Langton (Sara Collins; Drama Republic), and Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston; Amazon).
• First film, and now TV: Love, Simon (based on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli) is coming to the small screen thanks to Disney+.
• Shrill and Big Little Lies have both been renewed for a second season. Check out the Shrill announcement here and the trailer for Big Little Lies.
• Netflix is on a book buying spree, looking for more content.

Collection Development Corner

News & Upcoming Titles

• Honestly, half the reason I’m sharing the announcement of No Fuzzball!, a picture book by Isabella Kung about a spoiled cat, is for the cover. 
• We’re getting a Diary of a Wimpy Kid spin-off series called Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.
• Alex Gino announces Rick, a companion novel to George, which will be released in 2020!
• Reverie, by Ryan la Sala, is marketed as “Inception meets The Magicians” and follows “a gay teenager with amnesia who is haunted by a drag queen sorceress.” Holy cow, I need to read this now.
• Tom Doherty Associations forms a new horror imprint.
• Jasmine Guillory is writing a romance novel based on Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle’s mother, called Royal Holiday, out in October. You can get an exclusive first look here.
• Isabel Allende’s new novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, is out in 2020.
• Nikki Haley is planning a memoir.

Current Noteworthy Books

• 24 starred reviews for April 2019 from School Library Journal.
• Best-reviewed books of the week from Bookmarks.
• CrimeReads: True crime picks for April, and the best historical mysteries of 2019 (so far). 
• Goodreads: Top nonfiction of the year so far.
• 15 nonfiction books feminists should read this spring.
• 50 must-read crime novels published April-June 2019. (I put this list together!)

The Books Your Patrons Are Hearing About

• Normal People by Sally Rooney (Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, NPR, Slate,Time, USA Today, Vulture)
• Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (Entertainment Weekly, NPR, USA Today)
• Naamah by Sarah Blake (NPR, Paste, Washington Post)
• The Mister by E.L. James (Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, USA Today)
• Outside Looking In by T.C. Boyle (New York Times, USA Today)
• Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing by Robert A. Caro  (New York Times, NPR)
• White by Bret Easton Ellis (New Yorker, NPR). (I won’t lie – I have little patience for Bret Easton Ellis, but the frustration coming from the New Yorker interviewer is hilarious.)
• Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl (New York Times, Vanity Fair)

Numbers & Trends

• Children whose parents read to them hear up to 1.4 million more words before kindergarten.
• A look at social media usage amongst US adults.

Award News

• 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners and the LA Times Book Prizes have been announced.
• Check out the Man Booker International Prize shortlist and the Best Translated Book Awards longlists here.
• Tayari Jones wins the Aspen Words Literary Prize for An American Marriage.
• New York Public Library announces the Young Lions Fiction Award finalists.

Pop Cultured

• Updates on the Disney+ streaming service, plus everything else you need to know. (I’m resigned to the fact that I’ll definitely be plopping down money for this in November.)
• We’ve got trailers for The Addams Family, Scary Stories, and the Veronica Mars reboot.
• 10 Game of Thrones podcasts you should listen to this season.
• Roxane Gay and Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom are starting an advice podcast, and I never knew I needed something so badly in my entire life.
• Tor gives us a rundown on The Mandalorian.

All Things Comics

• Black superheroes and comic creators descend on Tampa and the Robert W. Saunders Public Library for AfroCon.
• New updates for Saga.
• 10 essential graphic novels and memoirs about queer women.
• 10 manga to read after catching up with One Piece.
• An exclusive first look at The Banks by Roxane Gay!
• 8 superhero-inspired titles for Spider-Man-loving middle graders.
• One viewer’s thoughts on The Joker trailer.
• Talking with comic book artist Camilla D’Errico.

Audiophilia

• Audible is recording plays! You can read about their plans here.
• 5 YA poetry audiobooks read by the author.
• Audiobooks with theatrical narrators.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

• Makerspace books for kids.
• 21 nonfiction books for kindergarten.
• 25 children’s books about grandparents.
• 19 unsettling YA books.
• 12 young adult books that address religion.
• YA #ownvoices authors that highlight the “Asian/Pacific American experience.”

Adults

• Great reads that celebrate the bonds between women.
• 7 astrophysics books for ordinary people, and 4 books about black holes.
• 10 essential feminist books.
• Queer poetry collections to read during national poetry month.
• 25 books you can finish in a single weekend.
• 50 must-read literary biographies.
• 24 sci-fi & fantasy picks to shake up your book club.
• 7 haunted Civil War books.
• Must-read essay collections by women.
• 20 best debuts of the first half of 2019.
• 16 of the best thriller books to keep you turning the pages.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Beverly Cleary turns 103 years old! Here are 10 quotes from Ramona the Pest to celebrate!
• 16 YA authors who got their start in libraries.
• National Geographic: Photos of beautiful libraries from around the world.
• A giant mural of a bookcase transforms the side of an apartment in Utrecht, Netherlands.
• A newly-discovered 500 year old library catalog reveals summaries of books that have been lost for centuries.
• How to find a book by description…or in other words, how to help the patrons that can’t remember the title or the author but remember that the book had something to do with a dog.
• The Spark Notes Twitter account makes classic literature hilarious and relatable.
• Recently discovered: poems by Daphne du Maurier, 90 years after they were written.
• In light of the tragic fire, Vox & Electric Literature write about Victor Hugo and Notre Dame.

 

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Ill Will by Dan Chaon.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Libby – The app for library ebooks and audiobooks.

Reach new patrons with Instant Digital Card – connect eager readers to your digital collection in just 30 seconds. Learn more today!

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Libraries & Librarians

• Washington state Department of Corrections officials quietly posted a new policy banning prisoners from receiving used books in the mail, but the new policy sparked a big outcry. In response, Washington’s top prison official vows to make sure inmates can still get used books.
• Parent group sues the Colorado Library Consortium for offering students access to EBSCO databases, which the group says gives children access to pornography. Library officials say that this claim is extremely untrue.
• In related news, a new law requires Idaho public libraries to filter Internet access so that patrons can’t access porn.
• North Dakota librarians urge legislators to oppose federal budget cuts.
• The Millennium Library in Winnipeg has started using metal detectors and bag inspections as a security measure, but there’s been a lot of pushback from the public and the library has been asked to investigate other security options.
• TW: sexual harassment. Sexual Harassment in Libraries, Post #MeToo: What Has and Hasn’t Changed.
• In light of the cancelled Drag Queen Story Time program at an Alpharetta branch library, the Atlanta mayor invites drag queen Miss Terra Cotta Sugarbaker to read to kids at City Hall.
• This British Columbia library is working to decolonize the way libraries organize information by taking an indigenous approach to categorizing books.
• The Upper Arlington Public Library’s (OH) “Listen Columbus” project brings together a digital collection of music from local artists.
• Many of Denmark’s libraries are called “open libraries,” and are open 24 hours a day.
• Library Journal reviews The Public. Although I haven’t seen the movie yet, the review reflects some of the initial concerns I had when I first heard about the movie.
• What library eBooks mean for your privacy.
• 9 facts about librarians you probably didn’t know.
• The problem with professional development books in library science.
• A lion cub used to live at the Milwaukee Public Library in the early 20th century. NO JOKE.
• Want a laugh today? Check out this library that accidentally promised snakes at the wrong program, and make plans to visit the grave of a man who died eating library paste.

Book Adaptations in the News

• There are a TON of book-to-TV adaptations coming: Never Look Away (Linwood Barclay – Noe Productions); I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb – HBO); Wanderers (Chuck Wendig – QC Entertainment); Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 (Mitchell Zuckoff – Lionsgate); Lie to Me (J.T. Ellison – Dynamic Television); and Comfort Me With Apples (Ruth Reichl – Netflix).
• Stephen King himself is adapting his novel Lisey’s Story for Apple TV, starring Julianne Moore.
• On a related note, Vulture picks 13 Stephen King books that should be adapted next, which honestly just feels like it could be retitled “The remaining 13 Stephen King books that haven’t been adapted yet.”
• Maya Angelou’s life and works are being developed for Broadway.
• Updates for Defending Jacob, the sequel to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Hulu’s adaptation of Looking for Alaska, and Hillbilly Elegy, which will star Amy Adams.
• The CW casts the original Nancy Drew, Pamela Sue Martin, in the upcoming Nancy Drew pilot.
• Almost every SFF/Horror/Comic adaptation in the works.
• Horror noire novels that need to be adapted for film. I’m holding out for a Jordan Peele-directed adaptation of Tananarive Due’s novel, The Good House.

Books & Authors in the News

• 50 shades of white: the long fight against racism in romance novels. This is a MUST READ article for every librarian and reader.
• This one goes to 11: ALA releases the Top 11 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2018.
• ALA names Colson Whitehead as the keynote speaker for the Freedom to Read Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.
• Catherynne Valente is writing a sequel to Space Opera, called Space Oddity.
• Caitlin Doughty’s next book is called Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, which is the BEST TITLE EVER and I need it immediately.
• Patrick Rothfuss says that the third book in the Kingkiller Chronicles series, The Doors of Stone, is “moving forward.”
• Mackenzi Lee announces a novella, The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky – out November 26, 2019.
• Brandy Colbert has a new YA novel coming out next year called The Voting Booth, set on Election Day.
• Be on the lookout for Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – it’s an #ownvoices Day of the Dead YA LGBTQ+ paranormal romance, featuring Yadriel, a Latinx gay trans boy. I can’t wait to see it!
• According to the Daily Beast, Trump is already plotting his post-White House tell-all memoir, apparently in an attempt to settle a few scores. I really wish I could insert a few choice emojis here.
• Philip Pullman leads a call for UK government action on eBook piracy.
• Polish priest apologizes for burning copies of Harry Potter.
• Tom Selleck is writing a memoir.
• Lee Child is developing a Black Mirror-meets-Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri true crime anthology drama series. Boy, there’s a lot going on in that sentence.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Vulture: 7 new books you should read this April.
• Town & Country: Best books of the spring.
• Vanity Fair: The season’s must-read books (and the best bags to stash them in).
• Bustle: 19 new fantasy novels and 21 new romance novels for your spring reading list.
• CrimeReads: Best thrillers & psychological thrillers of April.
• Barnes & Noble: 5 best memoirs this spring.

Award News

• Watch the Pulitzer Prize announcements livestreamed on April 15th.
• Shortlists for the International Dublin Literary Award, Rathbones Folio Prize, Albertine Prize, and the Stella Prize.
• Tor.com celebrates 40 years of the Prometheus Award.

Pop Cultured

• Killing Eve gets a third season.

All Things Comics

• Entertainment Weekly: 5 comics to read this April.
• Teaser trailer for The Joker.
• If you’re looking for new comics, take a look at Vault.

Audiophilia

• Audible settles several class action lawsuits.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Computer programming books for kids.
• 50 must-read poetry books for kids.
• 50 must-read completed YA series.
• 10 political YA books to keep you engaged.
• Best YA books by black women.
• 6 Greek mythology-inspired YA novels to read if you enjoyed Circe.
• 50 books about unicorns.
• 11 of the best books on organization.
• 13 books about chronic illness to read, instead of asking someone else to explain it for you.
• 18 cookbooks that cookbook authors actually use.
• 28 romance novellas you should check out immediately.
• TW: 10 books about abusive relationships.
• 25 epic fantasies for fans of Game of Thrones.
• 5 witchy books for fans of Baba Yaga.
• The books that scared these thriller, horror, and true crime authors.
• A Kurt Cobain reading guide.
• Poets who write about race, gender, and violence.
• LitHub: Surrealist literature starter kit.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• The Netherlands make trains free on National Book Day for travelers who show a book instead of a ticket.
• 30 teen book bloggers, Bookstagrammers, and BookTubers you should be following.
• A Spirit Airlines flight attendant returned a lost library book that a middle school student accidentally left on the plane. Student, book, and school library were all successfully reunited.
• A look at the unique relationship between authors and translators.
• Kick-start your reading habit with bite-sized books.
• Clever bookish marketing from the London Book Fair. Any ideas you can adapt for your own library?
• How to host a book swap party.
• How to talk to your favorite authors at a book signing without making a fool of yourself.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Babymoon by Hayley Barrett and Juana Martinez-Neal.

Baby has arrived! The world is eager to meet the newcomer, but there will be time enough for that later. Right now, the family is on its babymoon: cocooning, connecting, learning, and muddling through each new concern. While the term “babymoon” is often used to refer to a parents’ getaway before the birth of a child, it was originally coined by midwives to describe days like these: at home with a newborn, with the world held at bay and the wonder of a new family constellation unfolding. A lyrical ode to these tender first days will resonate with families everywhere.

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the Check Your Shelf survey! You had some great feedback, and you’ve given me some interesting ideas for the newsletter…I’ll be getting my ducks in a row over the next few weeks, but I’m definitely planning on incorporating some of your ideas! You guys rock! And thank you so much for reading!

And don’t forget, we’ve got a new podcast, hosted by author and BR contributor Karina Glaser and children’s librarian Matthew Winner! It’s called Kidlit These Days and you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcatcher.

Buckle up, y’all. This is a long newsletter this week!

Libraries & Librarians

• Greenville library employees ask for explanations for staff departures after Drag Queen Story Hour. I’m sorry, but this whole thing feels suspicious, and if there is indeed something underhanded about these staffing changes, I’m glad the employees are asking for answers.
• Houston Public Library officials now say they would like to bring back Drag Queen Story Time after ending the program due to safety concerns.
• Fulton County (GA) officials pull the plug on Drag Queen Story Time at a nearby library, although apparently against the library’s wishes.
• San Francisco mayor appoints Michael Lambert to head the San Francisco Public Library, making him the first Asian American to lead the library!
• And in other historic updates, Karyn A. Temple is named register of copyrights, the first person of color to hold the position.
• Looking for innovative programs and initiatives? Baltimore Libraries launch Entrepreneur Academy and the Phoenix Public Library starts a seed library.
• A really interesting essay about how libraries should handle the issue of vaccine misinformation.
• A look at Emilio Estevez’s film The Public and the role of the library in serving the public.
• Barbara Hoffert at Library Journal gives a crash course on facilitating book groups at your library, and includes the contact information for the library marketing departments at publishing houses.
• Microsoft Store no longer has a Books category, which means if you had previously rented or purchased items from their store, you will only have access to them until the beginning of July 2019.
• Archivists are cataloging every tweet, article and spreadsheet the #MeToo movement has ever produced.
• Classism, sexual misconduct, and racism: the life of Melvil Dewey.
• April Fool’s day jokes, library style.
• 17 horror stories from real librarians about the things we ACTUALLY have to deal with at the desk. (My own personal story is the patron who called and left several rambling voicemail messages asking for me – by name – to come down to the police station and bail him out of jail.)
• A look at Beverly Cleary’s time as a children’s librarian and how her experiences influenced her future writing.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Here’s the teaser trailer for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and it’s…creepy. Also creepy is the trailer for NOS4A2.
• Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are teaming up in Joel Coen’s adaptation of Macbeth. Um, holy cow, this sounds amazing.
• Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird will launch a national touring production in August 2020.
• The Outsiders is getting a musical adaptation. Will there be a final song called “Stay Golden, Pony Boy?”
• Paramount options The Library Book by Susan Orlean for TV. Prepare for even more hold requests to come in for this book.
• NPR looks at the Native Son adaptation on HBO, which airs April 6th.

Books & Authors in the News

• A book tribute to Anthony Bourdain will be published in May.
• Oprah is using the newly-announced Apple TV Plus service to build “the biggest book club on the planet.” Honestly, I thought she had already accomplished that, but Oprah never stops working!
• Reese Witherspoon picks The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo as her April Book Club pick.
• Lupita Nyong’o is publishing a children’s book this fall, Sulwe, which was inspired partially by her childhood in Kenya.
• A new Shopaholic novel is coming out this year!
• Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr Al Rabeeah & Winnie Yeung is the next Big Library Read.
• What happens when poetry goes viral? Publisher’s Weekly talks to Rupi Kaur, Danez Smith, and Eduardo C. Corral.
• Graywolf Press is publishing a new book by Claudia Rankine.
• Melville House will make the Mueller Report its first mass market publication.
• A Clue-inspired YA novel is coming out this year.
• Keep an eye on this diet cookbook from the UK: Pinch of Nom by Kate Allinson & Kay Featherstone sold 200,000+ copies in 3 days – the fastest selling nonfiction book since the publishing industry started keeping records.
• Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess, aka author of Furiously Happy, aka hilarious human being) is planning to open a San Antonio bookstore and wants reader input.
• Harry Potter is among a group of books burned by Catholic priests in Poland.
• Baltimore mayor, Catherine Pugh, has made several lucrative deals surrounding her self-published book, Healthy Holly, and now other government officials are calling on her to resign, citing reports of “self-dealing” and conflicts of interest.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Best Books of April from Amazon, BBC Culture, Bustle, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Review of Books, Cosmo, Crime Reads, Entertainment Weekly, io9, Lambda Literary, LA Times, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, Time, Tor.com (genre-bending books and SFF YA novels), The Verge, and The Washington Post.
• Barnes & Noble lists its top picks for April Fiction, Mysteries, Thrillers, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Biographies/Memoirs, and History/Current Affairs.
• Spring YA previews from Book Riot and Buzzfeed.
• April 2019 releases from indie presses.
• The Millions gives some must-read poetry for April.

By the Numbers

• An infographic looking at the reading habits of millennials. 
• The Guardian & Electric Lit feature the Emilia Report, which looks at the media bias towards male authors in terms of news coverage.
• James Patterson is donating $1.25 million dollars to school libraries – get more info here.

Award News

• 2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award finalists have been announced, and these are all some really solid picks!
• Finalists announced for the Ondaatje Prize, James Beard Award, Walter Scott Prize, and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
• Check out the winners of the NAACP Image Awards, including An American Marriage by Tayari Jones!
• Why this reader dislikes Pulitzer Prize-winning novels.

What’s Going On With the RITAs?

The saga continues…

• Part 3 of the ongoing RITA data analysis.
• Susanna Kearsley & Ann Aguirre have asked that their names be taken off of the nominee lists. Cherry Adair also withdraws her name from the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award.
• A message from HelenKay Dimon, president of the RWA, on behalf of the board.
• Author Seressia Glass fills in on the RWA Board of Directors after Avery Flynn vacated her seat.
• What the RWA can do in terms of addressing its lack of diversity, inclusion, and equity.
• On the loaded concept of “relatability” in regards to the RITAs.
• What readers can do on their end to support the efforts to change the RITAs, from the perspective of a librarian member of the RWA.

Pop Cultured

• HBO announces a feature-length Game of Thrones documentary.
• Another look at Avengers: Endgame.

All Things Comics

• Barnes & Noble picks the best graphic novel & manga titles for April.
• Raina Telgemeier has a new graphic novel, Guts, coming out this fall.
• Rioters share their favorite comics they read from January – March of this year.
• This reader needs more older found friendships in their comic books.
• Batman books for younger readers.
• The most iconic Betty & Veronica comics.
• YA graphic novels coming out April – June 2019.
• 5 superhero manga to check out.

Audiophilia

• Spanish audiobook production & sales surge in Spain & Latin America.
• Paste: 19 most anticipated audiobooks of Spring 2019.
• Del Rey is publishing its first Star Wars audio original.
• Audible will offer the Mueller Report on audio for free to members.
• LitHub picks 5 great audiobooks for spring.
• 20 celebrity memoirs read by their authors.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Get some more women authors in your life with these lists of near-future books by women, Muslim women authors, and inspiring female-penned memoirs.
• 8 horror novels based on real historical events.
• Poets to read for National Poetry Month.
• Memoirs that read like novels.
• Reading pathway for KJ Charles.
• 25 top romance books on Goodreads.
• 10 2019 debuts by writers of color.
• Books to help tackle the universal fear of death.
• Top 10 evil narrators from The Guardian.
• 5 complicated & strange family tales.
• 6 diverse Jane Austen retellings.
• 7 great new literary biographies for your TBR.
• 50 YA fantasy novels.
• Middle grade books about siblings.
• 10 books for parents to help their anxious children.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• The updated AP Style Guide discourages journalists from using softened language like “racially charged” or “racially motivated,” and instead recommends using the terms “racist” and “racism.” In other words, call racist things racist.
• #OwnVoices: Roxane Gay and the metric for reality. This is a great article.
• Do teens get pushed out of YA books when it’s called a genre?
• Literary hoaxes over the last 100 years.
• The rotten side of self-publishing.
• Lego introduces fairy tale-inspired sets that are built as pop-up books.
• You know the killer rabbit from Monty Python & the Holy Grail? Turns out there are a lot of killer rabbits depicted in illuminated medieval manuscripts.
• How to clean old books.
• Edible book festivals for food and pun lovers.
• Suggestions for helping uninterested readers find a book.
• In defense of non-readers and reading what you want
• The story of one man who has spent 45 years tracking down Mark Twain’s personal book collection.
• Harry Potter super-fan gets into the Guinness Book of World Records for her collection of J.K. Rowling-related collectibles. Also, 40 Harry Potter tattoos to inspire your next ink session.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading The Five by Hallie Rubenhold.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by The Global Economy as You’ve Never Seen It—99 Ingenious Infographics That Put It All Together by Thomas Ramge and Jan Schwochow.

The Global Economy as You’ve Never Seen It presents an ingeniously conceived tour of the global economy and all its key components, illuminated in 99 large-scale, full-color infographics that anyone can understand. From start-ups to monopolies, from trade agreements to theory, author Thomas Ramge and infographic specialist Jan Schwochow bring every facet of the economic web to life. Economics connects us all, from what we buy, to how we buy it, who made it, and where. See the economy differently—and the world.

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If you’re a Check Your Shelf reader, we want to hear from YOU! Take this short survey and be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Entries will be accepted until 3/31, and is open to US and Canadian residents. But hurry! There are only a couple days left!

 

And for those of you who love to read (or love to give) picture books and chapter books, we’ve got a new podcast, hosted by author and BR contributor Karina Glaser and children’s librarian Matthew Winner! It’s called Kidlit These Days and you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcatcher.

Libraries & Librarians

• Houston librarians explain why they’re stepping away from Drag Queen Story Time.
• Anne Arundel Library “diversity” programs have been approved and are no longer in limbo, but the board of trustees postponed a vote on the policy that put the programs in limbo in the first place.
• San Francisco voted to not only eliminate library fines, but forgive existing fines as well – more than $1.5 million.
• New potential library legislation: House bills would let librarians intervene in drug overdoses without liability and new bills introduced in Michigan would make librarians essential school staff.
• (TW: harassment, racism, homophobia, xenophobia) Staff members at the Free Library of Philadelphia were surveyed in December 2018 – 83% of survey respondents said that they had witnessed or experienced racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and biased hiring practices in their workplace, yet administration did not address the issues. EIGHTY THREE PERCENT, PEOPLE. Holy cripes.
• (TW: gun violence, domestic violence) Texas school librarian Belinda Hernandez allegedly shot and killed by her husband, a Houston police sergeant. I have words about the connection between domestic violence and gun violence, but I’ll save those for another time. This is heartbreaking.
• Concerned library patrons prepare to meet with the Fort Wayne (IN) board members about “alarming” weeding practices.
• WiFi devices from the library could help fill Internet deserts in South Carolina.
• Indonesian citizens create their own rickshaw libraries to help get books into children’s hands.
• Tea-inspired cocktails are coming to the Boston Public Library. I WANT TO GO TO THERE. (Actually, I have been there before, but I WANT TO GO BACK.)
• Wellington County adds library book & DVD vending machines at local sports complexes.
• 25 of the most beautiful libraries in America.
• 13 nonfiction books about real live librarians.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Casting updates for Season 2 of Castle Rock and Season 3 of Mr. Mercedes.
• The Talented Mr. Ripley is getting a TV series adaptation. Plus the ongoing speculation about Ripley’s sexuality continues.
• Our House by Louise Candlish and Washington Black by Esi Edugyan get picked up for TV adaptations, while Conan Doyle for the Defense  gets a film deal.
• Netflix picks up Mary Kubica’s upcoming novel, The Other Mrs.
• Nnedi Okorafor is adapting Wild Seed by Octavia Butler for Amazon, the first book in Butler’s Patternist series.
• The Princess Bride might become a Broadway musical.
• A movie based on the musical version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is in the works.
• A list of movies you didn’t know were books first.

Books & Authors in the News

• New Jersey lawmakers propose a resolution that would ask schools not to teach Huckleberry Finn.
• Tor.com announces a new trilogy from Sylvain Neuvel.
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood gives readers 75 of Mr. Roger’s most uplifting songs.
• Brené Brown has a Netflix special coming.
• André Aciman announces a sequel to Call Me By Your Name.
• Anderson Cooper signs a two-book deal, with the first book scheduled for 2022.
• The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators will seek to have Jay Asher’s defamation suit filed against them thrown out.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• The buzziest books coming out in 2019 (so far).
• Spring book picks from Esquire, Tor.com, and Vulture.
• Washington Post: Books to read in April.
• Tor.com: all the science fiction books coming out in April.
• Best new spring cookbooks.
• 20 new books by or about queer women to read this spring.
• 15 newly translated novels for 2019.
• 5 diverse anthologies.

By the Numbers

• Becoming could *ahem* become the best-selling memoir of all time.

Award News

• The 2019 RITA and Golden Heart finalists were released, and once again, there are barely any finalists who are authors of color. For more info, here’s a deep dive into the overwhelming whiteness of RITA winners & finalists over the last 20 years.
• Philip Pullman wins the J.M. Barrie Lifetime Achievement award.
• Whiting Awards were announced, which celebrate 10 emerging writers.
• Physician & author Siddhartha Mukherjee awarded the 2019 Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing About Science.
• Shortlists announced for the British Book of the Year Awards and the CILIP Carnegie Medal.

Pop Cultured

• Netflix seeks dismissal of “Bandersnatch” trademark suit.
• Information about Apple’s announcement of its own streaming service.
• Wakandacon, a three-day celebration of Afro-futuristic art, community, cosplay, and more will be coming to Chicago in July.

All Things Comics

• Lauren Myracle takes on Catwoman with her first YA graphic novel.
• A preview of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch comics.
• Graphic novels made this reader try new things.
• How this reader stopped worrying and learned to read comics in public.

Audiophilia

• Advice for new audiobook listeners.
• Get more rereading into your life with audiobooks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 15 biographies that tell the true stories of infamous women killers. I AM HERE FOR THIS.
• 13 new romantic comedies to read if you enjoy Jane Austen.
• Reading pathways for Kate Atkinson & Nora Roberts.
• 8 diverse children’s books that really deliver.
• Read Harder: A collection of poetry published since 2014. To help with that, here’s a list of 50 of the best modern poetry books.
• 5 books to read while coping with the loss of a child.
• What to read while you’re waiting for the Mueller Report.
• 9 of the best women warriors of fantasy.
• 7 thrilling espionage novels.
• 32 book & movie/TV pairings.
• Life-changing books that tell you how to tidy up.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Oxford English Dictionary adds regional insults to its entries.
• What was the best-selling book from the year you were born?
• Why it’s important to read in front of kids.
• 51 must-see bookstores across the country.
• Why one reader wishes they weren’t a speed reader.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment. 

Nancy Drew is seventeen and good at everything, but life hits a snag when a mysterious message drags her back to the hometown she left behind. There she’ll have to find out which of her friends are still her friends, which are enemies, and who exactly is trying to kill her…and (hopefully) stop them before they succeed.

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If you’re a Check Your Shelf reader, we want to hear from YOU! Take this short survey and be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Entries will be accepted until 3/31, and is open to US and Canadian residents.

Libraries & Librarians

• IMLS responds to the White House’s proposed FY 2020 budget.
• Seattle Library overdue fines may be eliminated as part of a proposed property tax levy.
• Changes to the Wichita Library’s policy would ensure that the library is able to keep offering diverse programs like Drag Queen Story Time.
• In related news, the Houston Public Library discontinues its Drag Queen Story Time program in response to recent scandal.
• An op-ed in response to the programming decisions made by the Board of Trustees for the Anne Arundel County Public Library: Let librarians run the library.
• The uber-conservative Florida Citizens Alliance has a list of 100 books that it’s angling to ban from schools.
• Skokie (IL) Public Library hosted an all-day event about how to protect librarians from different forms of harassment.
• (TW: active shooter scenarios) Libraries boost training to strengthen security.
• The Cebu City Public Library (Phillipines) celebrates its one-year anniversary of being open 24/7.
• Introducing senior library visitors to virtual reality.
• New York Public Library is introducing its first permanent exhibition.
• Book fairs: bane or blessing?
• A librarian’s perspective on all the books they do not want to read…but have to.
• 5 reasons to start a podcast in your high school library.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Apple officially orders a TV series for Pachinko.
• American Gods gets a third season.
• There’s a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark documentary coming in July.
• The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire is coming to television.
• Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman’s being adapted for film.
• Freddie Prinze Jr. is playing Nancy Drew’s dad in the upcoming CW pilot.

Books & Authors in the News

• We’re getting a sequel to Bird Box!
• Joni Mitchell is releasing a book of poetry, lyrics, and paintings.
• Martha Wells is writing the first full-length Murderbot novel.
• Alicia Keys is publishing a memoir in November.
• First look at the sophomore novel from Sarai Walker, author of Dietland.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson will return to National Geographic after sexual assault investigation.
• Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, author of Nate the Great, dies at age 90.
• Laila Lalami wrote an op-ed for the New York Times on immigration.
• Mystery & suspense fans, add Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden to your lists: a badass #ownvoices Native American thriller!
• Voice actor Rob Paulsen’s autobiography is coming this fall.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• O Magazine: 10 of the best YA books you’ll love in 2019.
• Crime Reads: March’s best debut crime & thriller novels
• Buzzfeed News: 37 new books to add to your spring reading list.

By the Numbers

• Scholastic releases results from the 7th edition of the Kids & Family Reading Report. You can read the full report here.
• Goodreads ranks the top 28 books published so far in 2019, based on how many times the titles have been read, added to “Want to Read” shelves, and their overall rating.
• Cooperative Children’s Book Center releases publishing statistics on children’s books about and by people of color and First/Native Nations.

Award News

• Winners for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Lukas Prize.
• Tommy Orange wins the PEN/Hemingway Award for There There.

Pop Cultured

• Google announces plans for a video game streaming service.
• It’s the first official trailer for season 3 of Stranger Things! I’m so excited!!
• We’re getting a Die Hard board game this year, and just like that, I’ve found a Christmas gift for about half of my husband’s family.

All Things Comics

• Authentic indigenous representation in comics.
• 10 graphic memoirs for people whose parents kept secrets & told lies.
• How to make the comics world better in 2019.

Audiophilia

• 6 meditation audiobooks to help you harness your inner peace.
• 3 great audiobooks to distract you from the news.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 10 children’s books to inspire kids for Women’s History Month, and new nonfiction to read for Women’s History Month.
• 20 picture books so visually engaging, you don’t even have to read them.
• Books that turned the POPSUGAR editors into lifelong readers.
• Read Harder: A children’s or middle grade book that’s won a diversity award since 2009.
• YA climate fiction, and a list of 7 books that provocatively tackle climate change from O Magazine.
• Reading pathway for Jason Reynolds.
• 10 new “enemies-to-lovers” YA novels.
• Genre-bending YA novels.
• 50 more must-read YA mysteries.
• A reading list for anyone interested in Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes.
• Books about the immigrant experience.
• Reading suggestions for fans of One Day at a Time.
• 50 must-read classical mythology retellings.
• Crime novels where past & present crimes are connected.
• The best romantic books to read with your book group, plus 5 new diverse romantic comedies.
• 5 books where women in space take center stage.
• 10 of the most absurd deaths in classic fiction.
• If you like family-centric novels, try this list of books about blended families, or books featuring complex mother/daughter relationships.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Arthur A. Levine, the editor who brought Harry Potter to the United States, is leaving Scholastic to launch his own independent publishing company.
• Words have power: using books to combat Islamophobia.
• The fate of the book review in the age of the algorithm.
• Why we should all read screenplays.
• The stinky heroines of repulsive realist fiction…now there’s a headline you don’t see every day!
• Bibles designed for the Instagram era……I honestly don’t know what to say about this.
• Why this reader isn’t reading about WWII anymore.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD & Amelia Nagoski, DMA

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Carolrhoda Lab ®, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group.

Riley was born to be a cliché. A “Manic Pixie Dream Boy” from TropeTown, he’s always ready to play his part for Authors and their Developed protagonists… until he starts going off-script. It’s against all the rules, but if Riley doesn’t reject his training and expand his role, he may meet a fate far worse than any stereotype. As romantic as 500 Days of Summer and as meta as The Rest of Us Just Live Here, The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project will leave you questioning just who should be in charge of your story. Available now!

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A couple items before we dive in:

1)  If you’re a Check Your Shelf reader, we want to hear from YOU! Take this short survey and be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Entries will be accepted until 3/31, and is open to US and Canadian residents.

2) Kelly Jensen wants to hear your funniest and weirdest stories about why a book was returned to your library damaged! The form will only be open until Friday, March 15th, so if you have a story to share, this is your last chance to send it in! Responses will be rounded up for an April Book Riot post to celebrate libraries.

Libraries & Librarians

• White House budget proposal seeks to eliminate the Institute of Museum & Library Services for the third year in a row.
• The challenge of preserving the historical record of #MeToo.
• Drag Queen Story Time canceled at the Louisville Library. Meanwhile, Anne Arundel County Public Library (MD) trustees gave themselves power over future library events after a branch library hosted a drag queen story hour last year, and are now holding 16 LGBTQ+ & women’s health programs in limbo.
• New York state libraries hope to influence the public with “going green” initiatives.
• St. Paul Public Library launches the “Read Brave” city initiative to encourage discussion around tough topics.
• Brooklyn Public Library hosts Genderful!, a series that allows children and caregivers to explore gender through art and creativity.
• Cleveland Public Library goes fine free this summer.
• Mountain View Library in Silicon Valley launches the first automated book-return robot.
• San Diego County libraries partner with The Princess Project to provide free, gently used prom dresses and ball gowns for teenage girls.
• It’s time we talk about librarians and money.
• Library of Congress wants to attract more visitors.
• Libations in the library?
• We’ve heard about libraries that have had to close because of snow or cold, but how many libraries have had to close because of a moose?

Book Adaptations in the News

• James Patterson signs a deal with Imagine Kids & Family to bring 5 of his children’s books to film & TV.
• The Hypnotist’s Love Story is coming to ABC, starring Jane Seymour.
• There’s a new TV series coming for Miss Marple.
• FX is turning Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy into a TV series.
• All the Light We Cannot See is getting a limited series on Netflix.
• Information about Season 2 of The Terror. 
• The Stephen King/Peter Straub collaborative novel The Talisman is becoming a film.
• Nidhi Chanani’s graphic novel, Pashima, is being turned into an animated musical.
• Russell Hornsby is playing Lincoln Rhyme in the NBC pilot, Lincoln.
• No Exit by Taylor Adams is coming to the big screen.
• Amy Adams launches a new production company and will be developing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for HBO.

Books & Authors in the News

• Elton John announces an autobiography for this fall.
• A list of upcoming political nonfiction titles written by journalists.
• Book Expo announces its Buzzworthy titles for adults, teens, and children.
• We’re getting dyslexia-friendly Harry Potter companion books (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, etc.).
• The illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be released on October 9th of this year!
• Leigh Bardugo is writing her first adult novel.
• Karen Abbott did a cover reveal for her new book, The Ghosts of Eden Park.
• Cecilia Ahern is writing a sequel to P.S. I Love You for 2020.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Best books to read for spring from Book Riot and Elle.
• 2019 new releases in translation.
• Crime Reads highlights the best psychological thrillers and international crime fiction for March.
• Tor.com has a list of genre-bending novels and all the YA sci-fi/fantasy novels coming out this month.
• Paste: Best YA novels for March.
• Bustle: Must-read new releases by women of color – just in time for Women’s History Month!

By the Numbers

• Translated fiction enjoys a sales boom in the UK.
• Amazon shuts all 87 of its pop-up stores in the US.
• Textbook costs have risen over 1000% since 1977. (No, that’s not a typo.)
• Results of a recent Pew Research Center survey on American reading habits.
• As eBook sales drop, audiobook sales rise.

Award News

• Here are the longlists for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Man Booker International Prize.
• Shortlists & finalists for the Simpson Prize, Lambda Literary Awards, and the Stella Prize.
• Award winners for the Bancroft Prize for History, Mathical Prize, Story Prize, Barnes & Noble Discover Awards, and the American Academy of Arts & Letters Literature Award.

Pop Cultured

• We have new trailers for Aladdin and Tolkien.

All Things Comics

• Warner Brothers unveils 80th anniversary plans for Batman.
• 5 comics you must read before watching Captain Marvel.
• Marvel is introducing a new Filipino superhero!
• Entertainment Weekly: 5 comics to read this March.
• The comic series Second Coming is being published by AHOY Comics after DC dropped it last month.
• African comics and graphic novels.
• Graphic novel adaptations of classic books.
• Graphic memoirs.
• Read Harder suggestions for a comic by a LGBTQIA creator.

Audiophilia

• Audible launches Audible Latino for Spanish-language audiobooks.
• The growth of digital audio titles will likely continue.
• Audiobooks to get you through the winter.
• Paste: 19 audiobooks not to miss in 2019.
• Audiobooks for entrepreneurs.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Top 100 books made available by libraries, according to OCLC.
• 12 divine fantasy novels where gods roam the land.
• SFF anthologies to celebrate International Women’s Day.
• Thrillers that explore mental health and losing one’s grip on reality.
• 11 feminist books to add to your reading list.
• 24 books to help you face a new beginning.
• 7 collaborative books.
• 50 books recommended by Stephen King.
• Here’s a reading pathway for Sarah MacLean.
• 20 most popular books on Goodreads right now.
• YA books about hockey.
• Romance novels featuring arranged marriage.
• Lin Manuel Miranda’s vacation reading list.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Ray Bradbury Park in Waukegan, IL is becoming a literary landmark.
• 2019 Tournament of Books.
• Calling books “clean” is a problem.
• Confessions of a sensitivity reader.
• An article about teen fiction and the “perils of cancel culture.”
• London library bars that will make you want to pack your bags immediately.
• Harry Potter meets Pokemon Go in a new AR game.
• 12 Harry Potter escape rooms that are pure magic.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Dig by A.S. King.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Hanover Square Press and The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara.

The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick – one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters—the Creature from the Black Lagoon. For someone who should have been hailed as a pioneer in the genre there was little information about Milicent available. Patrick’s contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, her career had been cut short and she soon after had disappeared from film history. The Lady from the Black Lagoon restores Patrick to her place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little seems to have changed since.

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Libraries & Librarians

• Friends of the Amesbury Public Library recently paid the library fines for 49 patrons to reinstate their borrowing privileges. And here’s why Friends of the Library are considered libraries’ secret weapon.
• On a related note, here’s why California libraries are getting rid of overdue fines.
• Official trailer for Emilio Estevez’s film The Public.
• Examining equity gaps in libraries.
• Amber Clark, the librarian who was murdered by a banned patron last year, has been named as a Library Journal Mover & Shaker.
• A school library in Western Australia has temporarily banned access to Harry Potter in an effort to encourage students to read other books and “also practice their responsible protesting skills and convince the library staff why Harry Potter should be put back onto the shelves.” Um……huh?
• The bill designed to increase library access in NYC jails faces opposition from the Correction Department.
• Iowa lawmakers modify a bill in discussion that would have eliminated the requirement to have a teacher librarian in each school district. That requirement has now been restored.
• Budget difficulties in Las Vegas schools mean fewer school librarians.
• Ditching the gender data for library card applications.
• The process of adding a book to the NYPL’s shelves, and why some books don’t make the cut.
• A rebuttal to the “annoyed patron” article in Publisher’s Weekly…this time, from an annoyed librarian.
• Tips for securing your first (or next) job in an academic library.
• Redwood City Public Library is raising bees on the roof and selling the honey! (Don’t tell Nic Cage.)
• Santa Monica Public Library is asking residents to submit local women of color to feature in a display for Women’s History Month, since women of color are underrepresented in historical archives.
• A patron from 1968 stole a copy of Life magazine from the Cuyahoga County Public Library with a photo of The Beatles on the cover, then returns it after 51 years along with an $100 check to cover the late fee.
• Zines in the library are making a resurgence.

Book Adaptations in the News

• We’re getting an adaptation of The Night Circus!
• 9 mysteries & thrillers that have upcoming adaptations.
• Mila Kunis picks up the TV rights to The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz, which was only published this week.
• The Babysitters Club is coming back as a 10-part TV show!!
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is being adapted as a play – Chicago residents can see it at the Steppenwolf Theater.
• We’re getting a Misty Copeland biopic, based on her memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina.
• British Netflix has an alternate ending to The Notebook, and people are confused.
• Trailer for Good Omens.
• One Hundred Years of Solitude is coming to Netflix.

Books & Authors in the News

• Skyhorse readies plans for a hoped-for release of the Mueller Report. And here’s another article about how publishers are preparing if the Mueller Report is made public.
• Nora Roberts has a follow-up to her blog post about #copypastecris.
• Reese Witherspoon picks Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid for her next book club title.
• We’re getting a sequel to the Obama/Biden buddy mystery, Hope Never Dies, called Hope Rides Again. CHECK OUT THE COVER.
• The 11-year-old boy who went viral with his mad crochet skills lands a book deal.
• 50 years after the release of The Andromeda Strain, we’re getting a sequel called The Andromeda Evolution, written by Daniel H. Wilson. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. Michael Crichton was the first “adult” author I read as a kid.
• YA author Kosoko Jackson withdraws his book A Place for Wolves after criticism that he used the Kosovo War to center a story around two non-Muslim Americans.
• Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and “Can you BELIEVE?!” fame has a memoir coming out this fall!
• Sir Philip Pullman’s second book in the Book of Dust series will be released in October.
• Rachael Denhollander, the first person to publicly accuse Larry Nassar of sexual assault, is releasing a memoir & a children’s book.
• A posthumous Dr. Seuss book.
• Mini books by John Green may be the start of a new trend.
• Pete Townshend of the The Who writes a rock novel.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• New notable books for March from Amazon, AV Club, Barnes & Noble (Fiction, Mysteries, Thrillers, SciFi/Fantasy, Biographies/Memoirs, History/Current Events), Bustle, Chicago Review of Books, Chicago Tribune, Cosmo, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, io9, Lambda Literary, LitHub, The Millions (Fiction/Nonfiction, and Poetry), New York Times, Time, Tor.com (SciFi), and Vulture.
• O Magazine gives us 30 LGBTQ+ books for 2019.

By the Numbers

• The 2018 State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing.

Award News

• The Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize have a new financial backer.
• Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist has been announced.
• Shortlist for the YA Book Prize. 
• UK Romantic Novel Award winners.
• The PEN/Faulkner Award finalists have been announced.
• The Nobel Foundation will award 2 literature prizes in 2019.
• Kate Taylor wins the RBC Taylor Prize for Nonfiction for Lands of Lost Borders.

Pop Cultured

• Trailers for The Twilight Zone and Game of Thrones Season 8.

All Things Comics

• Barnes & Noble: best graphic novels and manga of March 2019.
• Thrillist: Best comics & graphic novels of 2019 (so far).

Audiophilia

• The 2019 Audie Award winners have been announced!
• 25 scifi audiobooks to listen to in 2019.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 10 LGBTQ+ characters in crime fiction.
• Must-read books for Women’s History Month, as chosen by women authors.
• Nonfiction books for fiction lovers.
• Read Harder suggestions for nonviolent true crime and a novel by a trans or nonbinary author.
• 50 must-read LGBTQ fiction titles.
• 18 dark romance novels.
• 8 books for learning to get angry.
• 10 books about best friends falling in love.
• 17 picture books for Women’s History Month.
• 15 children’s books about gender identity.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• School principal reads books on Facebook so that her students can have a bedtime story.
• After a family health scare forced Jennifer Powell to close her San Diego bookstore, employees at competing bookstores pitched in to keep the store open while she was gone.
• The future of indie crime fiction belongs to female authors of color.
• An interesting look at the gender divide between mysteries and thrillers.
• Strange things found inside books.
• Ponden Hall, the house thought to have inspired Wuthering Heights, is now for sale.
• One Book Rioter read a book a day for a month and another recounts her journey to reading 100 books in a year.
• 8 apps to keep your home libraries organized.
• On keeping reading records.
• Up for auction: an old notebook believed to contain poetry written by Bonnie & Clyde.
• How this reader’s library card made them less of a picky reader.

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.

 

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Epic Reads.

At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio.

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Libraries & Librarians

• New York Times now offered for free in all California public libraries.
• Kansas lawmakers introduce legislation that attacks LGBTQ+ rights, Drag Queen Story Time, and other related issues.
• State legislators in South Carolina argue that if libraries offer non-age appropriate programming (aka Drag Queen Story Time), their funding should be penalized. Thankfully, this proposal was rejected.
• School librarians in Texas are left out of a $5,000 pay raise proposal. BOOOO!
• Florida Tea Party members requests that 14 titles be removed from Marion County school libraries. Superintendent Heidi Maier has removed 5 titles from the middle school libraries, but kept the same titles in the high school libraries.
• The Daviess County Public Library in Kentucky is under fire from some parents who were concerned with the “sexually explicit” YA titles included in a monthly title giveaway program.
• Rural libraries can host moveable makerspaces.
• Big play dates at the library.
• The myriad future of libraries.
• A visual history of the American public library.
• Tips on getting the best book recommendations from your librarian.
• We’re sending a library to the moon.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Amy Poehler is directing the adaptation of Moxie for Netflix!
• Vanity Fair’s Gwyneth Hughes is adapting The Five by Hallie Rubenhold, which looks at the lives of the five victims of Jack the Ripper.
• I don’t know if this even counts as an adaptation any more, but The Haunting of Hill House is getting an anthology treatment with its second season, which is supposedly based on The Turn of the Screw.
• An update on the Children of Blood and Bone adaptation.
• Get your tissues ready: Kristin Hannah’s tearjerker Firefly Lane is coming to Netflix. (Seriously, I sobbed my eyes out with this book.)
• The Wizard of Oz books are being developed into a TV series.
• Teaser trailers for Native Son and the His Dark Materials TV show.
• Lithub ranks the 50 greatest literary TV adaptations of all time.

Books & Authors in the News

• Fun Home was initially pulled from 2 district high schools in New Jersey, but is now back on the shelves.
• Will Smith gets a book deal for Fresh Princess.
• Wormholes in IKEA? Sounds legit. (Anyone else thinking that Nino Cipri needs to team up with Grady Hendrix?)
• Helen Hoang signed a 5 book deal with Berkley.
• Nora Roberts wrote a blog post in response to the #copypastecris controversy, and let me just say DO NOT ANGER NORA ROBERTS. She will come for you.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• O Magazine: Best nonfiction of 2019.
• Library Journal: Best debut novels of winter/spring.
• Washington Post: 10 books to read in March.

By the Numbers

• A sharp drop in YA sales in the UK has authors voicing alarm & suggesting reasons why this happened.
• Some stats about all the books published so far about the Trump presidency.

Award News

• Finalists announced for the Nebula Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, LA Times Book Prize, Children’s & Teen’s Book Awards, and the Lukas Prize.
• PEN America Literary Award winners were announced.
• Association of Library Service to Children releases its list of 2019 Notable Children’s Books.
• If they gave Oscars to books – Best Books of 2018 edition.
• A reading guide to the Oscars: let your favorite movies guide your reading choices!

Pop Cultured

• A trailer for HBO’s documentary on Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes drops. Also, consider this a nudge to read Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.

All Things Comics

• 5 comic books with recipes.
• An update on a Stranger Things prequel comic.
• IDW is publishing a 5-part comic miniseries based on Dungeons and Dragons.
• The New York Times looks at graphic novels in “the age of Trump.”
• The essential Marvel Cinematic Universe reading list for 2019.

Audiophilia

• Libro.fm is celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with free (yes FREE) audiobooks!
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt launches HMH Audio.
• You can listen to Harry Potter audiobooks in Spanish now!

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 50 books by black authors from the last 5 years.
• 12 cheery books to beat the winter blues.
• Books to read if you enjoyed Roma.
• 7 essential reads for Women’s History Month.
• 8 female essayists to read right now.
• 18 of the best fantasy books for adults.
• 50 must-read books over 500 pages.
• Read Harder suggestions for business books and historical romances by an author of color.
• The most disturbing books people have read (For me, it’s a three-way tie between American Psycho, The Troop (Nick Cutter), and The Treatment (Mo Hayder).
• Crime novels featuring intense female friendships.
• 9 space books for preschoolers.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Indianapolis museum will house $6+ million of items from Ray Bradbury.
• A look at problematic classics, or why students still read Dr. Seuss.
• Why poetry thrives in times of conflict.
• A new roller coaster at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
• A live bat showed up in a rare bookstore in England. Here’s how they rescued him. And he also got his own library card!
• The grossest things that have happened at a bookstore. (Librarians, we can definitely relate….)

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.

 

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

Nina LaCour’s Printz Award-winning novel, We Are Okay, is now in paperback! An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.

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Libraries & Librarians

• An update on the controversial library book-scanning program, CDL (“controlled digital lending”). If you’re not familiar with the program or the issues surrounding it, this is an informative read.
• Drag Queen story hour updates for San Francisco, South Carolina, Exeter (PA), and Astoria (OR).
• (Trigger warning) The New Mexico teenager who killed two librarians at the Clovis library has been sentenced to life in prison.
• Andover (KS) Library decides to keep transgender children’s books in the children’s section after a complaint from a parent. Rock on!
•  A Chicago parks advocacy group has filed a lawsuit that may prevent the construction of the Obama Presidential Library along the lakefront.
• Summer Scares, a partnership between the Horror Writer’s Association, United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal, releases the First Annual Reading List for libraries.
• Library of Congress will be preserving 50 years of Sesame Street for posterity.
• Gothenburg, Sweden plans to unveil electric mobile libraries.
• WPA’s horseback librarians.
• A five-year-old opens his own Little Free Library.
• Will Smith autographs DVD cases at an Atlanta library while filming Bad Boys for Life.
• Read like a librarian.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Satan in Good Omens.
• Jason Momoa joins the ever-expanding cast list for Dune.
• Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio are developing The Devil in the White City at Hulu.
• The Book of M by Peng Shepherd has been optioned for TV.
• Brave New World adaptation moves from Syfy to USA with a series order.
• They Both Die at the End is coming to HBO.
• Amazon is developing a 10-part series for The Power by Naomi Alderman.
• The Kissing Booth gets a Netflix sequel.
• There’s going to be a live-action American Girl…doll movie.
• Trailer for Season 1 of Green Eggs and Ham, and I can’t help but wonder how the heck they have enough material here for a full season.
• Season 4 will be the last for The Man in the High Castle.

Books & Authors in the News

• A new book on the Trump presidency: The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Trump and Terror.
• New book coming from Robin Di’Angelo, author of White Fragility.
• Julie Murphy is working on a middle grade novel called Dear Sweet Pea.
• Jenna Bush Hagar & Barbara Pierce Bush are writing a children’s book called Sisters First.
• Sandhya Menon is publishing a new YA series, where each book is a contemporary fairy tale retelling, set at a boarding school for royals.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Paste: 10 best YA books of February.
• Marie Claire: Best books of 2019.

By the Numbers

• A collection of book & reading stats & resources.
• $10,000 worth of rare books were stolen from a Pennsylvania book store.

Award News

• Nominees for the NAACP Image Awards for Literature.
• Association of Jewish Libraries announce the winners of the AJL Jewish Fiction Award.
• British Science Fiction Association Award finalists.

Pop Cultured

• Netflix cancels Jessica Jones and The Punisher.
• Trailer for Season 2 of Killing Eve.

All Things Comics

• Someone’s giving away an Illinois comic shop for free!
• 8 comics that should be adapted for Netflix.
• Mystery manga.

Audiophilia

• 14 books by, about, and narrated by black women.
• A beginner’s guide to listening to audiobooks on an iPhone.
• 7 Grammy-nominated audiobooks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 50 of the best fantasy novels for kids.
• Teachers recommend 22 diverse book choices for all grade levels.
• 10 essential scary books by women.
• 15 erotic horror novels.
• Best books by authors of color for teens.
• 16 books “that will make the coldest, deadest heart come back to life.”
• 11 books to satisfy your true crime obsession.
• Literary cameos in 90’s movies. This could be a really interesting display, especially if you look for beyond the 90’s!
• New York Times: 52 books for 52 places to be featured in their Travel Section.
• Books by the current group of 2020 presidential candidates.
• 9 books to read after you marathon the Netflix series, You.
• Thrillers involving missing, mistaken, or “changed” children.
• Read Harder suggestions for the mythology/folklore and cozy mystery challenges.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• RIP: Betty Ballentine, one of the creators of the modern paperback, died at age 99, and author W.E.B. Griffin died at 89.
• A roundup of updates on #copypastecris, a plagiarism scandal where a large number of prominent romance authors recently discovered that portions of their books had been plagiarized by Brazilian author, Cristiane Serruya. Courtney Milan posted about this on her blog as well.
• A feminist poetry fairy is loose in London.
• Artist creates gorgeous landscape art out of old books.
• These dresses made from book spines are too gorgeous for words.
• Harry Potter Scrabble? Triple word for Gryffindor!
• Locked-room mysteries are coming back in a big way.
• Your guide to cosmic horror.
• If you’re doing an author interview at your library, consider NOT asking them one of these questions.
• Andover (MA) Bookstore celebrates its 210th birthday, making it the new (?) oldest independent bookstore in the country.
• Cafe owner gives away books to kids who bring in recyclable items.

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience by Anuradha Bhagwati.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Dreamscape Media, LLC.

Dreamscape Media and Hallmark Publishing have collaborated to bring the best Hallmark titles to audiobook. With recipes inspired by the novel, Hallmark audiobooks are a great way to get to know the characters you love even better and find out what happens after the kiss! Dreamscape Media is publishing over twenty Hallmark titles in 2019 alone. Our catalog will contain romantic Christmas stories, sparkling Valentine’s Day novels, and heart-warming narratives perfect for all audiences.

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Libraries & Librarians

• A pipe burst at the Ashbury branch of the Dubuque Public Library (IA), and now hundreds of books have been put into a deep freeze to prevent the spread of mold.
• Berkeley Public Library launches Easy Access Cards, which provide library access to patrons without fixed addresses.
• A Drag Queen Story Hour was canceled in Greenville, South Carolina for violating library meeting room policies. Meanwhile, protesters march in Evansville, Indiana against a similar story hour.
• Should libraries be keepers of their cities’ public data?
• Librarians and their memorable patron interactions.
• How to learn from programming flops.
• An overdue library book returned after 73 years! Better late than never?

Book Adaptations in the News

• Michael B. Jordan is adapting Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
• Tom Hanks may be starring in News of the World. 
• Lifetime starts work on four movies based on V.C. Andrews’ novels. Here’s a trailer for the first movie. 
• Trailers for Pet Sematary and Catch-22.
• Showtime is adapting The President is Missing.
• Martin Scorsese & Leonardo DiCaprio are adapting The Devil in the White City for Hulu.
• The Stephen King novella, Mile 81, is being adapted for film.
• Ophelia, starring Daisy Ridley, will get a US release.
• Netflix picks up the rights to Joe Hill’s short story “Faun.”
• Ararat by Christopher Golden is going to be a TV show! This book was SUUUPER creepy.
• We’re getting a Wicked movie in 2021.

Books & Authors in the News

• Former NYT editor Jill Abramson has been accused of plagiarism. She responds to these accusations on NPR.
• Dan Mallory is the oldest story in publishing. This is a great essay.
• Kazuo Ishiguro is now Sir Kazuo Ishiguro.
• A look at Ta-Nehisi Coates’ new novel. 
• We’re getting a true crime book based on Stieg Larsson’s research into the assassination of a Swedish Prime Minister.
• Alice Marie Johnson, the woman who was freed from jail after Kim Kardashian appealed to the president, is writing a memoir.
• Reporter Jim DeRogatis is writing a book about the R. Kelly accusations.
• Timbaland (yeah, that Timbaland) is writing a lyrical children’s book called Nighttime Symphony.
• Katie Couric is publishing a memoir in 2021.
• Tor.com has an exclusive first look at Annalee Newitz’s next novel, The Future of Another Timeline.
• Jac Jemc is publishing a collection of short stories for October.

Award News

• Jimmy Carter wins the Grammy Award for Best Spoken-Word Album.

Pop Cultured

• Cosmos Season 2 is delayed amidst sexual misconduct allegations against Neil deGrasse Tyson.
• World War Z sequel has been delayed.
• Creepshow gets a remake as a limited series on Shudder. 
• Trailers for the live-action remakes of Aladdin and Dumbo, along with a trailer for the Tolkien biopic.

All Things Comics

• Comics to read for Galentine’s & Valentine’s Day (technically after the fact, but that’s okay).
• Here’s the trailer for Captain Marvel that premiered during the Super Bowl.
• LGBTQ graphic novels for 2019.

Audiophilia

• Audiobooks to listen to during Black History Month.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Bustle picks fiction and nonfiction titles for February.
• Time’s picks for February.
• 5 SFF titles for February.
• 2019 essay collections.
• Books for activists. 
• Thrillist picks their top titles for the year.
• Best psychological thrillers for 2019.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 10 contemporary Dickensian novels.
• Books to read before the last season of Game of Thrones. 
• 17 books by black authors you need to read in your lifetime.
• 5 essay collections by women of color.
• Read Harder lists: A book with an animal or inanimate POV character; A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse.
• 100 iconic love stories from around the world.
• Tons of lists for Historical Fiction Day, including international mysteries, historical horror novels, and diverse YA historical fiction.
• A reading pathway for Sarah Vowell.
• 7 deeply weird SFF Romance novels.
• Readalikes for fans of Russian Doll.
• Books about gangsters for the anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. (Well, that’s one way to celebrate February 14th.)
• 50 states of YA.
• Best vegan cookbooks.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Large print can make a difference for young readers.
• A look at the Instagram era of book covers.
• In New Zealand, Happy Meals come with abridged versions of Roald Dahl books instead of toys.
• Holy cats. Check out the staircases at this Chinese bookstore!

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.

 

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson.