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 The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee.

By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society’s ills, but she’s not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby.

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I’m going to preemptively apologize because this newsletter is full of stories about people doing and saying bad things. Hopefully we’ll have a more uplifting newsletter next week.

Libraries & Librarians

• (TW) An armed white man attempted to disrupt Drag Queen Story Hour at a Houston Library, and was detained by police for violating a no-trespassing order from the library.
• (TW) In December 2018, an inmate held a prison librarian hostage in Arizona, and video footage of the incident has been released. Please be warned that the video is intense.
• Drag Queen Story Hours at the Lansdale (PA) Public Library and the Lafayette (LA) Public Library spark protest. In other news, the federal lawsuit against Drag Queen Story Hour has been dismissed.
• Resources for addressing hate speech for librarians.
• Markham Intermediate School in Staten Island removed the manga series Assassination Classroom after a parent complained that the series contained references to school violence.
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was removed without review in a New Jersey high school library.
• Another day, another conflict surrounding library eBooks.
• Budget cuts have long-term effects on libraries. (In other news, water is wet.)
• How Midwestern libraries coped with the polar vortex.
• An extremely rare bird from Asia has made a temporary home outside the UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, drawing birdwatchers from across the nation to Los Angeles.
• The most extreme libraries in the world.

ALA Midwinter Controversy

• (TW for racism) Librarian April Hathcock was verbally accosted by a fellow ALA councilor during a Council Forum meeting. She writes about the experience on her blog, including the lack of a response from other council members, and the request from a member of ALA’s legal council the next day to not publicly post anything about the incident.
• ALA’s Executive Board issued a statement about the incident.
• Several professional organizations, including REFORMA (the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking), the Black Caucus of ALA, and the Association of College and Research Libraries have issued statements in support of April.
• Inside Higher Ed wrote a post about ALA’s history of racism.
• Becky Spratford at RA for All posted a call to action for equity, diversity, and inclusion after reading about April’s experience.

Book Adaptations in the News

• CBS has ordered a drama pilot for Frankenstein, where Frankenstein is actually a homicide detective brought back to life. (Seriously.)
• Hulu releases a trailer for the six-episode comedy series based on Lindy West’s memoir Shrill.
• CBS picked up a TV adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.
• Javier Bardem joins the cast of Dune.
• Netflix released a teaser trailer for The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo, and ordered an adaptation of Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter.
• No surprises here – there’s an adaptation in the works for On the Come Up. 
• 4 shudder-inducing teaser trailers for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
• Check out the trailer for The Sun is Also a Star.

Books & Authors in the News

• The New Yorker published an EXTREMELY unsettling piece about Daniel Mallory, aka A.J. Finn (author of The Woman in the Window), who seems to be a real-life Tom Ripley.
• In light of this piece, the Washington Post asks if we can know this information and still enjoy The Woman in the Window.
• (TW: xenophobia) Barbara Ehrenreich posts (then deletes and non-apologizes for) a xenophobic tweet about Marie Kondo.
• (TW: sexual harassment) Vulture writes about the ongoing Jay Asher defamation suit.
• Okay, happier book news! Reese Witherspoon picks The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory as her next book club pick.
• JD Salinger’s unseen material will be published over the course of the next 10 years ago, according to his family.
• In new book news, Stephen King, Malcolm Gladwell, Sady Doyle, and Jami Attenberg all have new books coming out.

By the Numbers

• An anonymous group donated £25,000 to indie publisher Jacaranda to assist their initiative of publishing 20 black British writers in 2020.

Award News

• Asylum seeker wins Australia’s richest literary prize, which he wrote entirely on Whatsapp.
• Sandra Cisneros to receive PEN/Nabokov Award for International Literature!
• The 2019 Amelia Bloomer List announced, which lists the top 10 feminist books for young readers from 2018.
• 2019 longlist for the Dylan Thomas Prize announced.

Pop Cultured

• Check out these trailers for season 3 of The Handmaid’s Tale, Jordan Peele’s adaptation of The Twilight Zone, and Us.

All Things Comics

• Y: The Last Man is getting the TV treatment from FX.
• Barnes & Noble pick the best graphic novels and manga for February 2019.
• Entertainment Weekly also picks 5 comics to read in February.
• Reading suggestions for the Read Harder manga challenge.

Audiophilia

• The Audie Award finalists were recently released.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Publisher’s Weekly picks upcoming debut novels and children’s and YA novels for Spring 2019.
• For anyone who’s really looking ahead: sneak previews of Fall 2019 children’s books.
• 50 must-read debut novels released between January & June of this year.
• Shondaland: Best YA novels of 2019.
• Paste: Most anticipated essay collections.
• February book picks from Amazon, Chicago Review of Books, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, Lambda Literary, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, and PopSugar.
• SFF picks for February from Barnes & Noble and io9.
• Tor.com picks genre-bending books and YA SFF novels for February.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Rebecca Kaufman selects 10 of the best musical novels.
• R.O. Kwon picks 5 must-read titles written by women.
• 8 workplace thrillers.
• Locus releases its 2018 Recommended Reading List.
• Celebrate the Lunar New Year with 14 books by Asian American writers.
• Books like Bird Box that will “creep you the eff out.”
• 20 books about arranged marriage.
• 50 baking books.
• Underrated YA books.
• 9 dark YA fantasy novels.
• 50 must-read YA nonfiction titles.
• Diverse YA historical fiction for 2019.
• 24 children’s stories that still give us the creeps.
• 17 kid’s books for Black History Month.
• 20 children’s books about divorce.
• 25 books about adoption for kids. 

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• How 10 women of color actually feel about working in book publishing.
• A Maine lawmaker makes changes to a proposed bill that could require educators to get permission from students and parents in order to assign a particular book
• No surprises – the history of women in science fiction is largely inaccurate.
• What happens when autism becomes a literary device.
• Another look at the Afrofuturism subgenre.
• Four words: Harry Potter Beer Festival.

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 Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot.

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 Flatiron Books. 

At the Wolf’s Table is the internationally bestselling novel based on the untold true story of the women conscripted to be Hitler’s food tasters, from Rosella Postorino. Germany, 1943: Twenty-six-year-old Rosa’s parents are gone, and her husband’s fighting in WWII. Impoverished and alone, she decides to leave war-torn Berlin for the countryside. But one morning, the SS come and say she’s been conscripted to be one of Hitler’s tasters: each day, she and nine other women go to his headquarters to eat his meals before he does. And as secrets and resentments grow, this unlikely sisterhood reaches a dramatic climax.

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To any readers who live in the Midwest, I hope you survived the horrible polar vortex. I have spent the last several days hunkered down with a blanket, a stack of books, and my cats, and I’m looking forward to positive digit temperatures in the near future.

Libraries & Librarians

• Self-proclaimed Latter Day Saint antiquities dealer pleaded guilty to stealing historic books from Brigham Young University library.
• How the LA Public Library stepped up during the teacher’s strike.
• Ocean City (NJ) Public Library gives away free winter coats to children.
• Furloughed workers during the government shutdown frequently turned to books, ebooks, and libraries.
• A retired Italian school teacher converted his 3-wheeled van into a mobile library to deliver books to remote villages.

ALA Midwinter Recap

• All #alamw19 posts from American Libraries.
• A summary of Robin DiAngelo’s ALA talk about white fragility.
• ALA announces award winners for the Youth Media Awards, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Stonewall Book Awards, Over the Rainbow List, RUSA Reading List, RUSA Listen List, and the Notable Books List.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Netflix scoops up Ron Howard’s adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy.
• Casting news for HBO’s adaptation of The Outsider by Stephen King,
• We’re getting a multicultural retelling of Anna Karenina (Anna K by Jenny Lee), and the TV rights have already been acquired.
• A trailer for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
• Chiwetel Ejiofor is adapting & directing The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.

Books & Authors in the News

• If you haven’t heard already, we’re getting a new book from E.L. James this spring, and it has nothing to do with Fifty Shades.
• Bill Clinton is writing a memoir about his post-presidential life.
• There’s a never-before-seen Robert Jordan novel coming out.
• Book Rioter Eric Smith has a new novel coming out in 2020!
• Kat Howard is writing a sequel to An Unkindness of Magicians.
• Gregg Hurwitz signs a deal for the next 3 books in the Orphan X series.
• Jim Acosta is writing a book about the Trump White House.
• Representative Ilhan Omar is publishing a memoir about her journey from Somalian refugee to Congresswoman.
• 9-year-old Halle Amor Moore publishes a book of feminist poetry!

By the Numbers

• A look at the takeaways & trends in the publishing world from 2018.
• The most expensive book sales of 2018.

Award News

• The Man Group is no longer sponsoring the Booker Prize.
• How to vote for the 2019 Hugo Awards, and why you should!
• 2019 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative released the Translated YA Book Prize Shortlist.
• 2019 Pen America Literary Awards Finalists.
• Finalists for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award.

All Things Comics

• Marvel’s giving us a first-look at the upcoming Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge theme parks in Disney World & Disneyland with a 5-issue comics series.
• She-Ra’s been renewed for Season 2.
• A tribute to Stan Lee.
• Where to start with DC Rebirth.
• A beginner’s guide to manga.

Audiophilia

• Washington Post: audiobooks to stave off the winter blues.
• How to use Spanish audiobooks to practice Spanish.
• Audiobooks written and narrated by women.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• Library Journal editors pick the titles they’re most excited for this spring.
• Paste: 10 of the best upcoming YA novels in January.
• Good Housekeeping: Most anticipated books of 2019.
• Washington Post: 10 books to read in February.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Penguin Random House gives 50 LGBTQ Titles for Pride Month.
• 5 historical novels with famous authors as characters.
• Read Harder suggestions for #ownvoices books set in Oceania, and a book with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads.
• YA books about second-generation immigrants.
• 50 must-read books for beginning readers.
• Where to start with the Star Wars books.
• Foreign thrillers, winter thrillers, and delightful murder mystery series for your most dedicated mystery-reading patrons.
• 17 of the best parenting books, according to parents.
• 15 short classics you can read in a weekend.
• Picture books about anxiety for children who worry.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Antiques Roadshow appraised two first-edition signed copies of Harry Potter at nearly $4000.
• And check out these awesome 20th anniversary edition covers of Prisoner of Azkaban.
• Wattpad is launching a publishing division, but instead of editors selecting stories to publish, they’ll be using technology to scan & analyze stories to determine commercial value. This is…interesting.
• Like the idea of book vending machines? How about a poetry…pharmacy?
• Bookish podcasts to help you pick your next read.
• Penguin Random House partners with lululemon to create a pop-up library.
• Is “up-lit” the next publishing trend? (And can we please come up with better terms for these trends?)
• How young women are changing the art of poetry.

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 Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire.

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 Swoon Reads.

What’s the next To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before? You tell us! From free reads, to real books, to a screen near you – Swoon Reads offers readers an unprecedented chance to make your voice heard. Sign up today to start reading the latest and greatest in heroic epics, alien adventures, and all-the-feels romance.

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Libraries and Librarians

• (Trigger warning) Florida library director Leroy Hommerding was murdered over the weekend while opening up the library for a book sale. We’ve now had two news items about librarians being murdered in less than 2 months, and I am not okay about this.
• eBook pricing is causing a significant drain on library budgets.
• A shrunken materials budgets for Philadelphia libraries = longer wait times for patrons.
• Chicago unveils two new libraries in housing developments next week.
• July 2019 will be listed as Booklist’s Graphic Novels in Libraries month.
• ALA Midwinter galley roundup. (This feature will require you to create a free account with Library Journal in order to access, if you don’t already have one.)
• If these Bookflix displays don’t spark your imagination, nothing will.
• Finland’s flagship library is so popular, they’ve almost run out of books.
• The top 10 books of 2018 according to this Book Rioter’s public library.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Get ready for an adaptation of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, starring Julia Roberts!
• Bill Skarsgard (It, Castle Rock) and Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects) join the cast of The Devil All the Time. 
• Anne Hathaway is starring in the remake of The Witches. Whether or not her performance is as traumatic and nightmare-inducing as Anjelica Huston’s in the original film remains to be.
• A&E partners with Swoon Reads to develop YA for TV/film.
• Sharon Stone and Cynthia Nixon are starring in Ratched, a prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
• WGN America is airing a crime drama miniseries called Gone, based on Chelsea Cain’s book One Kick.
• NBC orders a pilot for Lincoln, based on The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver.
• The release date for Where’d You Go, Bernadette has been pushed back.
• Tasha Suri’s Empire of Sand has been optioned for TV.
• Disney is planning a live-action reboot of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• The 10 most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations this year, from Publishers Weekly.
• Unfaithful yet awesome book-to-movie adaptations.

Books & Authors in the News

• Beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver passes away at 83.
• Author Sherrilyn Kenyon was in the news after posting on her blog that her husband was slowly poisoning her. 
• We have a release date for Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi.
• A first look at Cari Mora, the upcoming novel from Silence of the Lambs author Thomas Harris.
• Karen Pence’s anti-LGBT school to receive 100 copies of the LGBTQ book, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, which is based on the Pence family’s own rabbit.

By the Numbers

• Laura B. McGrath takes a deep dive into into the racial demographics of the publishing industry by looking at “comp titles” (comparative titles) to see what new books get selected and prioritized over others. This is REALLY interesting.
• Academy of American Poets receives $2.2 million to support poetry organizations & projects.
• Michelle Obama’s Becoming has had the longest run as Amazon’s #1 bestseller since 50 Shades of Grey.
• The number of independent bookstores in the US increased by 35% over the last year, and more awesome book-related stats.
• Poetry sales in the UK spiked by 12% over the last year, with teenage girls and young women identified as the biggest poetry readers & buyers.

Award News

• YALSA releases its 2019 reading lists for audiobooks, fiction, graphic novels, and quick picks for reluctant readers.
• National Book Critics Circle finalists announced.
• Oscar nominees are listed here, and the response has been mixed.
• Lit Hub sorts award-winning books by state.

Pop Cultured

• Netflix is the first Internet company to join the Motion Picture Association of America.

All Things Comics

• 17 vampire manga series to keep an eye out for.
• What’s anatomy got to do with it?: Drawing women in comics.

Audiophilia

• Library Journal picks the best audiobooks & DVDs of 2018.
• One reader’s experience with transitioning between audio & print for the same book.
• Hallmark is publishing audiobooks now.

Upcoming Books in 2019

• A list of 33 highly anticipated crime novels coming out through March of this year, by yours truly.
• 30 must-read diverse children’s books coming in 2019.
• NPR: 2019 Poetry Preview.
• New York Times highlights internationally published books for 2019.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• A list of Latinx SFF authors.
• Min Jin Lee suggests 5 books written by women.
• 15 favorite kidnapping thrillers.
• 5 upcoming small press books to keep on your radar.
• 50 of the best nonfiction books for kids.
• January 22nd was World of Fantasy Day at Book Riot, so if you’re looking for fantasy content, check out these lists of African fantasy, epic fantasy from outside the UK, international fantasy comics, Slavic-language SFF translations, werewolf books from around the world, #ownvoices YA fantasy, Harry Potter readalikes, and Middle Eastern & Indian-influenced YA fantasy novels.
• 5 Roxane Gay-approved books to add to your TBR.
• 8 books about parallel universes.
• Reading pathway for Leigh Bardugo.
• Read Harder: A book by an author of color set in, or about, space.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• 2019 Tournament of Books brackets are here!
• If you’re looking for a resource for queer crime writers, author Kristen Lepionka just created one!
• Atria Books announces the launch of Signal Press, which will focus on books about feminism, politics, & social justice.
• Sourcebooks launches three new children’s imprints.
• Drag Queen Story Time protests continue at independent bookstores.
• From Vulture: “The villainous bitch has become the most boring trend in literature.” Agree or disagree?
• This test will estimate how many books you can read in a year.
• Why is Winnie the Pooh called a Pooh, and other important life questions.
• Can we make book recaps a thing? Please?

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 Force of Nature by Jane Harper.

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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Before diving in — Kelly Jensen is revisiting her piece on sexual harassment in libraries from Fall of 2017 and would love to hear from you on changes (or lack thereof!) in your libraries related to the growth of the #metoo conversation. Survey is here and it is completely anonymous. 

Libraries & Librarians

• Some Andover (KS) patrons are pushing to have LGBT books in the children’s section removed and/or re-shelved. Not. Cool.
• “Speed-repping” uses a speed dating setup to connect people with their government representatives.
• San Francisco Public Library may decide to go fines-free to live up to their promise of “free and equal access.”
• New trespassing & visitor policies implemented at the Pikes Peak Library District branches.
• EarlyWord talks about how to use GalleyChat as an ordering tool.
• The hunt for Nazi loot still sitting on library shelves.
• 40 books that changed librarians’ lives.
• The coolest library cards from around the world.
• A very scientific* look at which library books disappear the most.   *Not at all scientific

Book Adaptations in the News

• Look for more Harlequin film adaptations in the future.
• Netflix has greenlit a series that will adapt both Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which are part of two different trilogies, which means LOTS of geeking out from your Leigh Bardugo fans!
• Sarah Michelle Gellar will star in the adaptation of Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney.
• Hannah Marks is directing the adaptation of John Green’s latest book, Turtles All the Way Down.
• The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty is coming to ABC, starring Heather Graham.
• After a prolonged legal battle, Mel Gibson’s adaptation of The Professor and the Madman will get a theatrical release.

Books in the News

• Publisher’s Weekly gives their top titles for Spring 2019.
• Daniel Jose Older’s next book will be released in 2019.
• Carmen Maria Machado has a memoir coming out!
• A new Bill Bryson title is coming out in October, called The Body: A Guide for Occupants.
• A new essay collection from Leslie Jamison – Make it Scream, Make it Burn. (Now there’s an attention-grabbing title.)
• There’s a collector’s edition of Fahrenheit 451 that you can only read with fire.
• New Arizona Superintendent uses the book Too Many Moose by Lisa Bakos for her swearing-in ceremony.

By the Numbers

• Indie booksellers had strong numbers to close out the holiday season.
• The number of Chinese readers increased by almost 30 million in 2018. Insert wide-eyed emoji here.
• British publishing (and really, all of publishing) still has a diversity problem.

Award News

• The Walter Dean Myers winners & nominees, from We Need Diverse Book.
• Hannah Sullivan wins the TS Eliot Prize for poetry.
• Philip K. Dick Award nominees announced.
• Winners & finalists for the 2018 National Jewish Book Awards.

Pop Cultured

• 2 Dope Queens is getting a second season on HBO.
• Netflix is facing a lawsuit from the Choose Your Own Adventure publisher over “Bandersnatch.”
• We have a premiere date for Season 2 of Killing Eve.

All Things Comics

• Take a peek at the first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home.
• Laurel and Hardy are getting the comic book treatment!

Audiophilia

• You can now read book reviews from Publisher’s Weekly AND listen to a sample of the audiobook at the same time! PW is rolling out this feature starting with Penguin Random House audiobooks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 7 true crime books released this month.
• 4 poetry collections that changed the world.
• And on a related note, 50 must-read poetry collections in 2019.
• YA mysteries & thrillers to keep you on the edge of your seat.
• 5 books to read if you liked Bird Box.
• 16 of the best Islamic books for kids.
• 21 YA books about breakups & heartbreak.
• 8 year-long stunt memoirs to get your New Year underway.
• 20 books about gender identity.
• 10 books about climate change.
• Read Harder suggestions for humor books & books about journalism or written by a journalist.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Mundelein (IL) High School transforms their hallways with iconic book covers! This is super cool, AND this is somewhat from my area, so there’s a little bit of local pride going on here!
• A woman transforms a rotten tree into an adorable Little Free Library.
• A beginner’s guide to Afrofuturism, and on a similar note, where to start with Nnedi Okorafor’s books. (Although she herself uses the term “Africanfuturist.”)
• There’s a Harry Potter-themed coffee shop in Pennsylvania, and that sound you hear is me booking a flight out there ASAP.
• This artist is creating breathtaking sculptures from stacks of old, donated, and discarded books.
• 15 of the best book recommendation websites.
• Bookstore cats! Honestly, for me, one of the best things about visiting different indie bookstores is the possibility of finding a kitty inside.
• Did all of the Baby Sitter’s Club readers really hate Mallory this much?

 

 

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 (re)reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.

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 Wishtree by Katherine Applegate.

A special edition of Katherine Applegate’s New York Times-bestselling novel about an oak tree and a crow who help their neighbors embrace their differences.

“Speaks movingly to a noisy, fractious world.” —The Washington Post

“A beautifully written, morally bracing story that will leave its imprint on a reader of any age.” —The New York Times Book Review

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Libraries & Librarians

• A look at “other duties as assigned” in the library world.
• Salt Lake County libraries give away free gun locks to promote gun safety.
• Houston judge shuts down drag queen story time lawsuit. But there are still other protests going on nationwide.
• A library in North Carolina has installed cameras in the common areas of their public bathrooms as a “security measure” to prevent vandalism. Holy cow, how many ways are there to say “NOPE”?!
• This couple is trying to visit all 85 branches of the Los Angeles County Library system, and they’re over halfway there!
• Check out this new podcast series for library lovers!

Book Adaptations in the News

• Deadly Sexy, an adaptation of Beverly Jenkins’ book, is available to watch on Amazon.
• Please don’t take the Bird Box challenge.
• Ingrid Michaelson is turning The Notebook into a musical.

Books in the News

• Karamo Brown, one of the stars of the new Queer Eye series, is releasing a memoir this year! Can you believe?! 
• Michael W. Twitty, author of The Cooking Gene, announces a new book for December.
• We’re getting a sequel to the award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke in September! (Read it, folks! It’s SUPER good.)
• Reese Witherspoon picks The Library Book by Susan Orlean as her January book club title.
• Cixin Liu is publishing a standalone science fiction novel, Supernova Era, in October.
• Senator Kamala Harris published a children’s book called Superheroes Are Everywhere.

By the Numbers

• Check out this really cool infographic about world reading habits in 2018!
• eBook and eAudiobook numbers are up from 2017, according to OverDrive. eBook usage increased by 19%, eAudiobook usage increased by 29%, and eAudiobooks outpaced eBook usage for the 5th year in a row!
• Author’s Guild survey shows that writers’ incomes have fallen drastically in the last 5 years.

Award News

• Costa Book Awards have been announced! Sally Rooney becomes the youngest recipient of the Costa Best Novel Award, and Stuart Turton wins the debut novel prize for The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America are honoring William Gibson as the 35th Damon Knight Grand Memorial Grand Master for his life’s work.
• Check out the #readRchatAwards winners – some great romance titles to be familiar with.
• Longlist for International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Pop Cultured

• Killing Eve sets a Season 2 premiere date.
• A list of all the Star Wars projects in 2019. 

All Things Comics

• A DIY comics reading challenge for 2019.
• Getting kids into nonfiction with graphic nonfiction.
• YA graphic novels coming out January – March 2019.
• Ruby Rose as Batwoman? Yes please!
• Entertainment Weekly: Comics to read in 2019.

Audiophilia

• Bustle: 15 super short audiobooks you can listen to in a day.

Best Books of 2018

• Top 25 books of 2018, as voted on by indie booksellers.
• Liberty Hardy, Book Riot’s resident velocireader, gives us 150 of her favorite books from 2018!

Coming Up in 2019

• Huffington Post: 61 books to look forward to in 2019.
• Nylon: 50 books you’ll want to read in 2019.
• Book Riot: Most anticipated 2019 reads.
• And Book Riot again: 50 YA books for 2019.
• Barnes & Noble Teen: 25 #ownvoices YA titles in 2019.
• AV Club: 15 books for 2019.
• Vulture: 37 books we can’t wait to read.
• The Millions: the Great First-Half Book Preview.
• Crime Reads: Most Anticipated Crime Novels, Part 1.
• Tor.com: Upcoming SFF titles for teens this winter.
• Elle India: 10 books to read by South Asian authors.
• And we’ve got more January 2019 lists from Amazon, Barnes & Noble (SFF), Bustle, Cosmopolitan, PopSugar, Refinery 29, CrimeReads, and The Millions.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 6 books on climate change written by women.
• 10 Asian American poetry collections.
• The best books you’ve never heard of.
• Books to read in a single (sleepless) night.
• Several Rioters give us the last books they read in 2018. 
• 14 children’s books about books.
• Read Harder suggestions for epistolary novels and alternate histories.
• 6 books recommended by Michelle Obama.
• 50 books about tech & startup culture.
• How about a few SFF book & beer pairings?
• Latinx authors that should be on your reading list this year.
• 5 books to read before you get married (and no, Gone Girl is not one of them).

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Three words: Black. Feminist. Bookmobile.
• Garrison Keillor is selling his book store, Common Good Books.
• Marie Kondo’s decluttering advice has sparked a lot of strong feelings in book lovers.
• A 97-year-old Holocaust survivor turns her poetry into heavy metal songs, and this may be the greatest sentence that will ever be written in 2019.
• Classic literature as fortune cookies. (A Christmas Carol: You will become better acquainted with a coworker.)
• 12 of the best cities for book lovers. 

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 Deception on All Accounts by Sara Sue Hoklotubbe.

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 one-tap reading app from your library and OverDrive.

Meet Libby. The award-winning reading app that makes sure you always have something to read. It’s like having your entire library right in your pocket. Download the app today and get instant access to thousands of ebooks and audiobooks for free thanks to your public library and OverDrive.

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I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, however you chose to celebrate! And now it’s time to hold on to your butts, because this newsletter is PACKED.

Libraries & Librarians

• Last newsletter, I reported that the Museum & Library Services Act was stalled in the House. The day after I posted the newsletter, the act was passed by an overwhelming majority! 
• Meet Skye Patrick, Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year.
• Chicago Public Librarians are bringing storytime to the laundromats.
• A profile of Albie Johnson, state librarian of Massachusetts.
• A Sacramento Public Library patron arrested for allegedly stealing over SIX THOUSAND items from the Fair Oaks library branch. SIX. THOUSAND. ITEMS.
• A St. Louis librarian is set to appear on Jeopardy in January!
• Check out this historic Brazilian library that feels like it was pulled right out of Harry Potter.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Bird Box had the most first week views of any Netflix film…over 45 million accounts tuned in! If your patrons aren’t already asking for the book, prepare for an onslaught of requests!
• A Blade So Black by LL McKinney is coming to TV.
• First look at Zachary Quinto as Charlie Manx in NOS4A2 and all I have to say is YEESH. Merry Christmas indeed.
• MGM partners with Reese Witherspoon for the adaptation of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
• Here’s the first trailer for Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Books in the News

• NASA scientist Katherine Johnson, who just recently celebrated her 100th (!!!) birthday, is releasing an autobiography for young next year.
• Coloring Without Borders is a bilingual coloring book that encourages kids to use their imagination to finish the artwork, plus proceeds go to help families separated at the US/Mexico border.
• Diana Gabaldon announces that the 9th Outlander title will be released in 2019, and there is a 10th book in the pipeline as well.
• Chelsea Clinton is publishing a children’s book about endangered animals in April 2019.
• Zadie Smith is publishing her first short story collection in the fall.

By the Numbers

• Books have had a great year…so great, in fact, that some publishers were unprepared for the holiday book-buying rush.

Pop Cultured

• The trailer for Men in Black: International just dropped.
• A look at the Downton Abbey movie.
• Jordan Peele gave us a gift in the form of the official trailer for his next horror movie, Us, which he released Christmas morning. It’s CREEPY.

All Things Comics

• Entertainment Weekly and Wired give us their picks for the best graphic novels of 2018.
• Autostraddle: Best LGBTQ Graphic Novels of 2018.

Audiophilia

• Paste and Vulture list the best Audiobooks of 2018.

Best Books of 2018

• Elle
• Atlantic
• New Yorker: More Books We Loved
• All the books mentioned in the #libfaves18 conversation on Twitter.
• NYT: Books That Didn’t Make Our Best-Of Lists, But Deserve Attention Anyway.
• Buzzfeed: Queer YA Books We Loved in 2018.
• Huffington Post: Best Children’s Books of 2018, as nominated by librarians.
• Seattle Times: Best Mysteries & Thrillers.
• New York Times give us creative categories for best crime fiction of 2018.
• Crime Reads: Best International Crime Fiction.
• The Verge: Best SFF.
• Paste: Best Fantasy.
• Becky Spratford at RA For All lists her picks for top 2018 horror titles.
• Book Riot: Best Poetry.
• AllAfrica: Africa’s Best Books of 2018.

Coming Up in 2019

• Tor gives us two lists of their most anticipated SFF novels.
• More SFF picks from The Verge.
• The most anticipated LGBTQ+ reads of 2019.
• Bustle: 29 Nonfiction Books for 2019 to put on your radar.
• Vanity Fair gives us their top 2019 book picks, & the winter’s best nonfiction reads.
• The 10 most anticipated 2019 releases, according to independent bookstores.
• More 2019 book lists from Entertainment Weekly, Shondaland, Vogue, and the Huffington Post.
• Electric Lit: 48 books by women & nonbinary authors of color to read in 2019.
• Anticipated January reads from Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and LitHub.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Tor.com has a wide-ranging list of 100 SF/F books you should consider reading in 2019.
• Overdrive lists its most popular eBooks & eAudiobooks for 2018.
• 20 dark fantasy YA novels.
• 15 sophomore novels being published in 2019.
• 15 books you should read if you loved Wonder.
• 50 favorite historical fiction novels, as picked by Book Riot readers.
• 20 healthy eating books to inspire your resolutions.
• Obama’s favorite books, movies, and songs from the year..take a guess as to his favorite book of the year!

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• 7 year old Nicholas Buamah’s vocabulary-building book has been accepted into the Library of Congress!
• Here’s a list of the books, films, and works of art entering the public domain in 2019.
• Unnecessary life skills we learned from reading.
• Why did Quirrell’s turban smell like garlic, and other unsolved Harry Potter mysteries.
• Which forgettable Harry Potter side character are you? (Surprise…I’m Madame Pince, the cranky librarian.)
• A plea to American publishers to stop “translating” British and Australian books into American English.
• How paperback redesigns give publishers a second chance at winning readers.

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 Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Book Riot’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 Giveaway.

We’re giving away ten of our favorite works of nonfiction of the year! Click here to enter.

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Libraries and Librarians

• The Museum & Library Services Act stalls in the House.
• Carnegie Library (Pittsburgh) & Google team up for a laptop lending program.
• (TW) Amber Fawn Clark, a branch manager for the Sacramento Public Library, was murdered by a man who had been given a no-trespass order by the library for a previous incident. Reports from Missouri indicate that this person had a history of aggressive behavior towards library staff. On an editorial note, this is why we need to take library safety so much more seriously.
• Talking about self-care in LIS. 

Book Adaptations in the News

• Marie Kondo is taking The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up to Netflix, and there’s a trailer.
• Amy Poehler’s production company just optioned The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai as a TV series.
• We may have a documentary about Claudia Kishi’s character from The Baby-Sitters Club coming our way!
• Paste Magazine gives us the most anticipated book-movie adaptations of 2019.
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will be released on August 9th of next year.

Books in the News

• Cher announces a memoir for 2020, with a biopic to follow.
• Olivia Newton-John has an autobiography coming out in 2019.
• Alyssa Milano announces a children’s book with Scholastic in 2019.
• Alice Walker is facing criticism for recommending an antisemitic book in the New York Times.
• Publisher’s Weekly posts their Spring Adult Preview. 
• Tracy Morgan is publishing a soul-food cookbook, and I want it.

By the Numbers

• AJ Finn is Kobo’s best-selling author of 2018.

Pop Cultured

• Penny Marshall, star of Laverne & Shirley and acclaimed director of Big and A League of Their Own, has passed away.
• True Detective Season 3 premieres January 13, 2019 on HBO. There’s a trailer, too!
• Apple has bought the rights to Peanuts and plans to make new shows featuring the characters.

All Things Comics

• Roxane Gay announces an upcoming crime graphic novel, The Banks, about three generations of black women who are also master thieves in Chicago. YES PLEASE I WANT IT NOW.
• Kelly Sue DeConnick & Matt Fraction signed a deal with Legendary Television.
• Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks have a YA graphic novel coming out August 27, 2019 called Pumpkinheads!
• (TW: sexual assault): Comics author Eric Esquivel has been accused of sexual assault.

Audiophilia

• The Guardian presents a list of the best audiobooks to listen to this Christmas.

Best Books of 2018

• San Francisco Chronicle
• Paste: Best Nonfiction
• Barnes & Noble: Best Horror
• CrimeReads: Best Psychological Thrillers
• EW: Best Romance
• Buzzfeed: Best YA
• Time: Best Fantasy
• Book Riot: Best Under-the-Radar Titles
• Book Riot: Best Mystery, Thriller, & True Crime (I have a couple picks on here!)

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• The best backlist titles that Rioters read this year.
• Holiday mysteries for people who enjoy a little mistletoe with their murder.
• 10 food science books to change the way you eat.
• 10 controversial books to shake up your book group discussions.
• 26 powerful memoirs written by women.
• Get those orders ready…here are 51 new romance novels to look for in 2019!
• 20 of the best American family novels (from the post-Obama era).
• 12 children’s books for feminist girls and boys.
• 10 books by Latino authors you don’t want to miss this year.
• 22 Nutcracker-retellings for readers of all ages.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Book Riot announces its bigger, badder book-tracking spreadsheet!
• Beginner’s primers for high fantasy and urban fantasy.
• Check out this pop-up bookshop in London that only sells diverse children’s books!
• Merriam-Webster announces its 2018 word of the year: “justice”
• A fantastic Harry Potter-themed engagement party for a couple who met at a Harry Potter trivia night two years ago.
• How “showrooming” (using physical stores to research future online purchases) is hurting the bookselling community.
• A beginner’s guide to Kindle Unlimited vs. Audible.

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 Lethal White by Robert Galbraith.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by So Done by Paula Chase.

Inseparable since they were toddlers, Metai Johnson can’t understand how her best friend, Jamila can go away for an entire summer and not return a single text. When Jamila returns, Metai is ready to pick up where they left off. Jamila, on the other hand, is determined to change everything about her situation, which may include letting go of Tai. A 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection, So Done dives into the complexity of middle school friendships and the dangers of keeping secrets.

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Libraries & Librarians

• Nearly 130 British public libraries closed in the last year.
• Seattle & Colorado Springs are taking a proactive approach to helping homeless library visitors.
• The religious activist who burned LGBTQ+ books from the Orange City library has been charged with criminal mischief.
• PBS has a short video about appreciating the “powerful good” of the public library.
• Milwaukee Public Library sees an increase in library resource usage after it uses well-known logos to promote its services.
• A good introduction to types of assistive technology for children that librarians should be familiar with.
• If you’re on Twitter, you should be following the #libfaves18 conversation, where librarians list a favorite book from 2018 each day for 10 days. The recommended titles & authors will be tabulated at the end!
• Seattle has the most Instagrammable library in the world.
• 16 libraries that look like Hogwarts. (I want to go to there.)
• If your library bucket list wasn’t long enough, how about 9 of the world’s most futuristic libraries?
• 8 things this writer learned from working behind the circulation desk.

Book Adaptations in the News

• A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole has been optioned!
• Brie Larson is set to star in the Netflix adaptation of Ian Reid’s psychological novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
• Netflix picks up Season 2 of You, based on the psychological thriller by Caroline Kepnes. The show was originally on Lifetime.
• Hulu is teaming up with John Grisham to create a brand new universe with interconnected series based on The Rainmaker and Rogue Lawyer.
• HBO renews My Brilliant Friend for a second season.
• Herman Melville novella, Benito Cereno, is being adapted as a space opera thriller. Well alrighty then!

Books in the News

• Bustle sits down with Jasmine Guillory to talk about her 2019 romance novel, The Wedding Party.
• John le Carré has a new book coming out in 2019.

By the Numbers

• Becoming is officially the best-selling book of 2018. Pretty darn impressive considering the book’s only been out for about a month or so!
• Lithub pulls together the biggest nonfiction bestsellers of the last 100 years. THIS would make a cool display, especially if you happen to have any classic older titles in your collection!
• UK government is being urged to “axe the reading tax,” a 20% tax imposed on eBooks.
• Michael Wolff joins Forbe’s list of the highest-paid authors of 2018, thanks to Fire and Fury.

Award News

• Tommy Orange takes home the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize for There There.
• Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood wins the Thurber Prize for American Humor.
• 2019 finalists announced for the YALSA Morris Award, which honors debut YA titles.
• YALSA also announces the finalists for its Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award.

Pop Cultured

• The first official teaser for Game of Thrones Season 8 has dropped.
• Stranger Things Season 3 teaser!
• Netflix says The Haunting of Hill House was one of its most binge-watched shows of the year. I was one of the binge-watchers, and I will say that this show made me scream (I mean SCREAM) out loud more than once. It’s fantastic.

All Things Comics

• Brian K. Vaughan signs overall deal with Legendary Entertainment, which will adapt several of Vaughan’s comics & produce exclusive, original projects developed by Vaughan. What might be on the horizon?? Saga? Paper Girls?
• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has rounded up a whole host of “Best Comics of 2018” lists for easy perusal.
• We have a trailer and a name for the 4th Avengers movie.
• 17 of your favorite all-ages comics.

Best Books of 2018

• Book Riot  (Get your muppet arms ready!!)
• Southern Living: Best Books of 2018, According to Indie Bookstores.
• Washington Post: Notable Nonfiction in 2018.
• Entertainment Weekly: Best Books, Best Debuts, Best YA.
• History Today: Best History Books of 2018.
• Remezcla: Best books by Latino & Latin American Authors.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 20 superhero books for kids.
• 75 best book covers of 2018. Combine this with Book Riot’s own list of best book covers, and you have yourself an AMAZINGLY gorgeous display.
• 2019 releases by Muslim authors.
• 15 of the best dragon book series.
• It’s the 2018 Oscars, but for books.
• Books for Latinos by Latinas.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• It’s Book Riot’s 2019 Read Harder Challenge!! Get your reading lists ready!!
• The complicated matter of sexual assault in thrillers. A worthwhile read for anyone who does reader’s advisory, since this can often be a dealbreaker for would-be readers.
• Kellye Garrett, Walter Mosely, and other Black mystery writers sit down and talk about their experiences in the publishing industry.
• A look at Blinkist, a service that promises to condense the “key takeaways” of popular nonfiction into short summaries. Is it worth it?
• How the NYT creates its annual “Best of” book lists.
• 14 literary podcasts that aren’t hosted by three white guys.
• Kindle faces off against the iPad in the ultimate fight for the best eReader.

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.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Penguin Teen.

In this riveting, unflinching tale of sacrifice and hope, critically-acclaimed author Natalie C. Anderson delivers another tour-de-force that will leave readers at the edge of their seats.
When Abdi’s family is kidnapped, he’s forced to do the unthinkable: become a child soldier with the ruthless jihadi group Al Shabaab. Forced to become a child soldier, a sixteen-year-old Somali refugee must confront his painful past in this haunting, thrilling tale of loss and redemption for fans of A Long Way Gone and What is the What.

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Libraries & Librarians

• Senate committee unanimously approves the Museum & Library Services Act.
• IMLS launches new grant opportunities for small libraries.
• Trans-rights advocates criticize the Vancouver Public Library for hosting a gender identity presentation from an author who has openly questioned trans identities.
• Harold Washington (Chicago) patron calls for a change to the way the library displays items on hold in order to better protect patron privacy.
• 8 tips for saving money on programming. Great suggestions particularly for small libraries!
• How libraries can help readers become writers.
• 2018 gift guide for librarians & book lovers.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Starz picks up Dublin Murders, based on Tana French’s Dublin Murder squad series!!
• Upcoming thriller As Long As We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney will be adapted into a film, and if even half the hype is true, this is going to be one of THE thrillers of 2019.
• Netflix announces that it will be creating animated series based on several of Roald Dahl’s most beloved works.
• Eric Bana is starring as Aaron Falk in the adaptation of Jane Harper’s amazing mystery novel, The Dry.
• The CW is adapting Victoria Schwab’s middle grade novel, City of Ghosts, as a new drama series. The main character will also be aged up by about 10 years.
• HBO orders an adaptation of Stephen King’s recent novel The Outsider.

Books in the News

• In other Victoria/V.E. Schwab news, she has a standalone novel in the works called The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
• Here’s your face-palm moment for the week: Martin Dorsey’s book, No. More. Plastic.: What You Can Do to Make a Difference, has been…shrink-wrapped in plastic by a US distributor. (For the record, the author was NOT responsible for this decision.)
• EW interviews Sandie Jones (author of The Other Woman) about her upcoming book, The First Mistake.
• Call Me By Your Name has a sequel coming out!
• Kate Atkinson has a new Jackson Brodie novel coming out in 2019.

Award News

• Mystery Writers of America withdraw the Linda Fairstein Grand Master award after significant pushback from its members.
• A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet has been accused of plagiarism by multiple poets.
• If you need a laugh (or you want to cringe), check out the Not Safe For Work nominees for the annual Bad Sex Award in fiction. I repeat, this is NSFW!
• The 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced.

All Things Comics

• It’s the first full-length trailer for Captain Marvel!
• 15 of the best fantasy manga.
• Book Riot’s best comics of 2018!

Audiophilia

• Poetry audiobooks.
• Nonfiction audiobooks to help with your New Years resolutions.
• Audiobooks for all kinds of personal, political, and in-flight turbulence.
• Audiobook reading resolutions for kids and parents.
• Check out this essay about a reader who listened to their first audiobook and it completely changed how they read.

Best Books of 2018

• Library Journal
• Oprah/O!
• Bustle: Best Fiction
• Lit Hub
• Shelf Awareness

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• Book Riot’s best queer books of 2018.
• 8 books for wine lovers.
• Sarah MacLean picks her top 5 romance novels of 2018.
• 12 Christmas romance novels for the season.
• The best Jewish children’s books of 2018.
• 8 nights of Jewish books to read and gift for Hanukkah.
• 50 must-read biographies.
• When all of your best-selling YA fantasy is checked out, here are some underrated diverse YA fantasy titles to suggest.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Kuwaiti artist Momhammed Sharaf creates a graveyard for books to protest the government’s literature ban.
• Publisher’s Weekly Holiday Gift Guide.
• Here’s a great breakdown of the differences between memoirs and autobiographies, complete with reading suggestions for both!
• You’ve heard of “high fantasy,” but what about “low fantasy?” Here’s your guide to the subgenre.
• Independent publisher Polis Books announces a new imprint (Agora Books), which will be a diversity-focused crime imprint. Yes please!!
• Carina Press from Harlequin is launching a new line called Carina Adores, which will focus on LGBTQ+ contemporary romance titles.
• An elementary school in Buffalo, NY has created a vending machine for books that students can use by earning tokens. How cool is this?!

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 Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian.

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).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Bas Bleu Books and Gifts.

Wear your love of libraries proudly when you accessorize your favorite outfit with this whimsical necklace from Bas Bleu. Modeled after those vintage date-stamped checkout cards we all remember so fondly, our Library Checkout Card Necklace boasts a miniature “date due” card in a delicate pewter frame suspended from a sterling silver chain. Need earrings to match? Done! Library lovers, treat yourself to the full set…or wrap them up as a gift for the dedicated librarian you know!

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Libraries & Librarians

• Buzzfeed reported on libraries that are facing backlash for their LGBTQ-themed programming. Some of these programs are drawing protests and even death threats for the librarians.
• Paige Thomas, a Boise Public Librarian, is hiding kind, sympathetic, and encouraging notes inside books waiting to be checked out as part of her #guerrillakindnesBPL project. Many of these notes come from patrons, who leave messages inside a box at the circulation desk.
• A new school book borrowing policy in New Jersey limits the number of times students can check out books in favor of increased library computer usage.
• To celebrate its 100th birthday, Finland is opening a gorgeous new library in Helsinki for its citizens!
• 32 Twitter users on why they became a librarian.

Book Adaptations in the News

• Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston is being adapted as a limited TV series.

Books in the News

• Margaret Atwood announces a 2019 sequel for The Handmaid’s Tale! Get your holds lists ready!
• The controversial upcoming graphic novel, A Suicide Bomber Sits in the Library, has been pulled from publication by Abrams. Writers, teachers, and readers have spoken out strongly against the book’s Islamophobic storyline.
• Emily Danforth, author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, announces a new book slated for early 2021 publication. 
• George RR Martin talks about his Game of Thrones prequel, Fire and Blood.
• Diane Setterfield talks about reading, writing, and her upcoming novel, Once Upon a River.
• Sarah Jessica Parker has named her next book club pick: Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh.

By the Numbers

• Indie bookstores are seeing a resurgence after their numbers dropped 40% between the mid-90’s and 2009.

Award News

• The Staunch Prize, awarded to mysteries & thrillers that do not depict violence against women, announces its inaugural winner: On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong.
• Mystery writers, including award-winning author Attica Locke, are speaking out against the Edgar Award’s decision to have author Linda Fairstein serve as Grand Master at the 2019 Edgar Awards, since Fairstein played a significant role as a prosecutor in the incarceration of the Central Park Five.

Pop Cultured

• If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll be excited to learn that Tom Baker (Doctor #4) is writing a novel based on a previously planned Doctor Who film.

All Things Comics

• 8 graphic novels that make for thoughtful & unique gifts.
• And on a related note, a 2018 gift guide for comic book lovers.
• 8 underrated romance manga.

Audiophilia

• AudoFile Magazine: 50 Best Audiobooks of 2018
• The 10 best Stephen King audiobooks, ranked. (And a bonus suggestion from me that didn’t make the list: From a Buick 8 is absolutely brilliant on audio!)

Best Books of 2018

• NPR’s 2018 Book Concierge!
• Chicago Public Library

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

• 50 best historical fiction books for kids.
• YA books for middle grade readers.
• If you liked The Poet X…
• Books for the pop culture fan in your life.
• YA graphic memoirs. 
• Buzzfeed: 35 recent books that librarians have loved. (Shameless self-promotion here – I have a blurb featured for book #5 on the list!)

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

• Check out the book that was voted as the Oddest Book Title of the Year. (And check out the other contenders…)
• Dictionary.com picks “misinformation” as 2018’s word of the year.
• Here’s what college freshmen are reading.

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 Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke.