Category: Check Your Shelf

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Check Your Shelf

Why is the Chicago Public Library Still Open?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Somehow, in the midst of all *waves vaguely* THIS, we still have our annual Winter Reading Program happening. Maybe this is what people need to keep them occupied right now. Although there’s something innately maddening about trying to figure out the best way to distribute regular prizes via curbside pickup.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Why are Chicago Public Libraries still open amid soaring COVID rates?

Amazon is under pressure to lift its ban on library sales for in-house eBooks.

Cool Library Updates

King’s University College in Ontario receives a one million dollar donation from one of its former librarians, making it one of the largest individual gifts in the college’s history!

Worth Reading

Can a patron who gets sick sue the library?

College libraries once again have to adjust to shutdowns during this second pandemic wave.

This reader misses libraries, especially the browsing part.

Peep this 2020 holiday gift guide for librarians and book lovers!

Book Adaptations in the News

Adam Conover, host of Adam Ruins Everything, has teamed up with the Obama’s production company to transform Michael Lewis’ book The Fifth Risk into a Netflix sketch comedy series about the government.

First trailer for the adaptation of Cherry by Nico Walker.

Here’s your first (adorable) look at Clifford the Big Red Dog, which will be made into a movie in 2021!

Books & Authors in the News

The Romancing the Runoff fundraiser has raised almost $400,000 for the runoff Senate elections in Georgia!

Legendary science fiction author Ben Bova has passed away at 88.

Numbers & Trends

Over 118 million people attended library programs in 2017!

Award News

Mystery Writers of America announced its 2021 Grand Master and Raven Award recipients.

The 2021 Hugo Awards will include a special category for Best Video Game.

The winners and finalists of the Brooklyn Public Library literary awards have been announced.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell is named as the Waterstones book of the year.

The shortlist for the Costa Book Awards has been released.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster both chose the word “pandemic” for their word of the year.

In 2010, Edie Vonnegut, daughter of Kurt Vonnegut, found 226 love letters from Vonnegut to his wife, Jane. The love letters are now being published in a book called Love, Kurt: The Vonnegut Love Letters, 1941-1945.

What do you get when you cross Where’s Waldo, cats, and Hong Kong markets? You get this adorable photo book!

On the Riot

50+ alternative careers for librarians.

“Is that all you do?” Self-promotion as a school librarian.

5 indie bookstores that started book subscriptions or personalized care packages to survive the pandemic.

6 places to buy books online that aren’t Amazon.

We’ve only got a few more weekends before we’re done with 2020, and I know that it’s not like the world’s going to reset on January 1st, but I’m starting a little countdown…let’s tick one more weekend off our lists.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

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Check Your Shelf

Book Recs for All Kinds of Appetites

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Despite this extremely non-traditional Thanksgiving weekend, I still managed to eat enough to strain the waistband on my comfy pants…there’s been a lot of napping in the McLain-Horner household over the last few days.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

And then there were four…Penguin Random House’s parent company is officially purchasing Simon & Schuster.

Penguin Random House employees in Canada have protested the publisher’s decision to publish a new book by Jordan Peterson.

A Somerville (MA) mother started an indie publishing house to showcase more stories of “the South Asian experience.”

A new online bookstore for LGBTQ+ readers opens in the UK.

Scholastic Book Fairs revamp their options for the pandemic.

New & Upcoming Titles

Pope Francis’ new book supports demands for racial justice and speaks out against COVID-19 deniers and conspiracy theorists.

Yusef Salaam, one of the five teens who became known as the “Central Park 5” in 1989, will publish a memoir next year.

Lorde went to Antarctica and is publishing a photo book to prove it.

46 books from 2020 that indie booksellers were grateful for this year.

Books of the week from Booklist Reader, Bustle, LitHub, The Millions, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.

November picks from Amazon (history), Crime Reads, and LitHub (bio/memoir).

December picks from Epic Reads and New York Times.

Best books of 2020 from BBC, Book Page, (general & SFF), Kirkus (picture books), LitHub (short story collections), New York Times, Shelf Awareness (children’s/YA), Smithsonian Magazine (food), Time (children’s/YA, nonfiction), and Wired (cookbooks).

15 mysteries and thrillers to look for in 2021.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Thirty Names of Night – Zeyn Joukhadar (USA Today, Washington Post)

The Freezer Door – Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (New York Times, Washington Post)

Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future – Pope Francis (NPR)

A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery From the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War – William G. Thomas (New York Times)

On the Riot

15 of the best post-apocalyptic books in 2020.

How to find LGBTQ+ new releases.

10+ new self-help books, and how to find more.

Angst all the way down: where to get started with John Green books.

All Things Comics

Simon & Schuster is launching two new graphic novel lines for young readers.

Kid Quick, DC’s first non-binary character, will appear in next month’s anthology, DC’s Merry Multiverse.

On the Riot

11 comics to relax with.

10 middle grade graphic novels to gift this year.

Audiophilia

Writer’s groups have been protesting Audible’s exchange policy, which allows users to return their audiobooks within 1 year of the purchase, and allows Audible to avoid paying authors and narrators their royalties. Audible has since altered its return policy.

The Grammy nominees for Best Spoken Word Album have been announced.

Audiobooks to soothe you during Lockdown 2.0.

5 literary thrillers on audio.

On the Riot

The neuroscience of audiobooks.

How to find audiobooks for sleep.

7 audiobooks for Indigenous Heritage Month.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

12 nonfiction books kids will actually read.

14 YA books that prove that all teens are messy in the best way.

10 YA books with saints & angel mythologies.

Epic Reads has a (dare I say it?) EPIC YA Holiday Gift Guide!

Adults

20 life-changing books to gift to someone you love.

7 books you should read AFTER dinner this holiday season (this is from the Ladies of Horror Fiction, so that should tell you a few things about the content of this list).

6 SFF novels that defy genre distinction.

5 SFF reads with Chinese representation.

5 SFF books with an astonishing number of twists and turns.

5 books about women fighting their way out.

Companion reading for a truly fraught holiday season.

10 romantic books for readers new to the genre.

On the Riot

7 children’s books by Asian writers.

10 ancient mythology and folktale books for kids.

5 of the best morally ambiguous monster hunting YA novels.

YA books set in bookstores.

Food & travel book recommendations for all your pandemic armchair travels.

20 must-read short books for short attention spans.

15 of the best books for teachers

12 books for coping with a COVID winter.

5 new books to read if you love Toni Morrison.

14 books about pop culture to distract you from 2020.

Books you should read if you’re a middle child.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen 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.

See you on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.

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Check Your Shelf

Reading For Pleasure When the World Is On Fire

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Has anyone else been having a ridiculously hard time keeping track of what day it is? Earlier this week, I asked my husband multiple times to confirm that it was still Tuesday (it was). And today, my boss gave me a mini heart attack when he asked me to take care of something at the library, and when I told him I wasn’t there (I’m not normally scheduled for Wednesdays), he said, “But aren’t you supposed to cover for me today?” Thankfully, he quickly realized that he had asked a different staff member to cover his shift, but in that amount of time, I thought I felt my heart stop.

So what day is it again?

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

A new rule bans Allegheny (PA) County Jail inmates from receiving books, and limits them to 214 pre-selected eBooks on faulty tablets that cost inmates money.

The Manhattan poetry library Poets House has suspended operations due to economic difficulties during the pandemic, but employees say that the move is a retaliatory measure against staff members’ recent attempts to unionize.

New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell and several top public library officials have been accused of misleading the public with their proposed plan to reallocate millions in property taxes.

Cool Library Updates

The Redwood City (CA) Library will be hosting a virtual version of its award-winning Human Library program on December 5th.

Dallas Libraries add 2100 mobile WiFi hotspots to their collections.

New York Public Library released several Best Books of the Year lists for kids, teens, and adults.

Next month, you’ll be able to stream a new documentary for free about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Worth Reading

How libraries handle the legacy of racist murals.

How local libraries shaped the life of Octavia E. Butler.

10 people share why they’re thankful for libraries.

How German librarians played a thirteen-year game of cat-and-mouse with an elusive book thief.

Book Adaptations in the News

Netflix is working on an adaptation of Forty Acres by Dwayne Alexander Smith, and if you’ve read this book before, you know that it was MADE to be a movie!

Umbrella Academy has been renewed for a third season with Netflix.

Rebecca Carroll is adapting her upcoming memoir, Surviving the White Gaze, for television.

We may be seeing a reboot of Waiting to Exhale from ABC.

First official trailer for Tiny Pretty Things!

Trailer for the long awaited sci-fi adventure Chaos Walking.

New trailer for The Underground Railroad.

Books & Authors in the News

Bustle looks at how romance authors and their “Romancing the Runoff” fundraiser is helping Stacey Abrams turn Georgia blue.

Warner Brothers TV strikes an overall deal with YA author and activist Kimberly Latrice Jones.

Barack Obama has made his memoir available for free to all Chicago High School students and staff!

The book White Fragility has been removed from a Florida high school after several parents complained.

Bret Easton Ellis bypasses book publishers for his latest story, and instead turns to podcasts.

Numbers & Trends

Obama’s memoir breaks first day sales records for Penguin Random House, selling more than 887,000 copies in the first day.

Not surprisingly, James Patterson was the decades’ best-selling author.

Award News

Joy Harjo will serve a rare third term as US poet laureate.

The winners of the National Book Awards have been announced!

Douglas Stuart wins the 2020 Booker Prize for Shuggie Bain.

Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump wins the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

The shortlist for the 2020 Reading Women Award in nonfiction has been released.

Pop Cultured

Wonder Woman: 1984 will be released in theaters on Christmas Day, but it will also be available to stream on HBO Max simultaneously.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Charles Darwin’s notebooks have reportedly been stolen from Cambridge University, although they were originally believed to be mis-shelved as far back as 2000.

Oxford has broken with its tradition of naming a single word of the year, and instead named multiple words of the year for 2020.

On the Riot

5 favorite fictional librarians from children’s media.

Librarians know…even hardcore book people engage in bad book habits.

Encouraging pleasure reading while the world is on fire.

A call for more people to try reading out loud.

How to strengthen your reading habits.

10 of the best book lights for late-night reading. Or, you know, if you’re looking for ideas for winter reading program prizes…

How to make a DIY book page wreath.

See everyone on Tuesday. Have a safe weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

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Check Your Shelf

Publishers Behaving Badly

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I know technically it’s Thanksgiving this week, but not surprisingly, this hasn’t been a particularly festive holiday season. At the very least, I hope everyone in the US enjoys their day off.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

HarperCollins and Penguin Random House are reportedly the leading candidates to purchase Simon & Schuster.

Star Wars author Alan Dean Foster appeals to Disney in a fight over royalties, saying that Disney has not paid him any royalties since they acquired Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.

Authors demand better treatment from Albert Whitman & Co.

How are publishers supposed to market books during the pandemic?

New & Upcoming Titles

A look at whether or not publishers will buy Trump’s inevitable presidential memoir, and whether or not indie bookstores would sell it.

Alan Rickman’s 27 handwritten diary volumes will be published as a single book in 2022. *commence ugly crying*

Dial Books For Young Readers are publishing a picture book about the Biden family dogs, Champ and Major, which will be released on January 19th, the day before Inauguration Day.

6 top YA authors, including Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, and Tiffany D. Jackson, are collaborating on a single novel in 2021.

Mary L. Trump is already shopping around a follow-up to Too Much and Never Enough.

Ernest Cline is talking about a possible prequel to Ready Player One.

A previously unpublished collection of J.R.R. Tolkien essays on Middle Earth will be released next summer.

First look at Laura Lippman’s new psychological thriller, Dream Girl.

Quentin Tarantino is writing the novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Get your geeky food & drink on with this Star Trek cocktail guide and this Wonder Woman cookbook.

11 new releases to get you through Thanksgiving.

Books of the week from Bustle, Buzzfeed, Booklist, Crime Reads, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.

November book picks from Amazon (nonfiction), Crime Reads, Tor.com (horror & genre bending novels), and USA Today.

Best books of 2020 from Amazon, Kirkus (fiction), New York Times, O: Oprah Magazine, Time, Tor.com, and Washington Post (Top 10, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, mysteries, SFF/horror, romance).

Most anticipated books of 2021 from Buzzfeed (YA) and Marie Claire.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Promised Land – Barack Obama (Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, LA Times, New York Times, NPR, Time, USA Today)

Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History – Paul Farmer (New York Times, NPR)

This is Not My Memoir – André Gregory & Todd London (New York Times, NPR)

Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway – Michael Riedel (LA Times, New York Times)

On the Riot

Best new books of the week.

7 excellent books released in 2020 by African women of color.

All Things Comics

Mariko Tamaki is curating a graphic novel imprint for LGBTQIA writers.

Patton Oswalt is writing a Black Hammer comic.

Marvel has (thankfully) nixed the idea of a CGI Chadwick Boseman for the next Black Panther movie.

On the Riot

Comics catch-up: what this reader is planning on reading.

4 comics to distract you from Twitter doomscrolling.

8 controversial comics that will keep you turning the pages.

Audiophilia

Best audiobooks of the year.

Rebecca Roanhorse talks about Indigenous fantasy with Audible.

Audiobook mysteries set during WWII.

On the Riot

Libro.fm announces the Top 10 audiobooks of 2020 at bookstores.

9 of the best audiobooks narrated by Priya Ayyar.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

17 books that show kids what it means to be thankful.

31 YA novels to pack for the end of the world.

9 creative Romeo & Juliet retellings.

Adults

5 recent books about the royal family.

15 must-read books if you loved these TV shows.

9 books about mistaken identity.

5 SFF books for the goth in your life.

On the Riot

6 of the best picture books about flying.

20 of the best personalized children’s books to gift in 2020.

5 South Asian children’s books that showcase South Asian identity.

14 books about hope for all ages.

6 creepy books about clowns.

Cookbooks for the wannabe Great British Baking Show contestant.

8 great cookbooks that will make you want to eat your veggies.

10 of the best survival books for when things fall apart.

3 books for mothers returning to work.

Fiction about the end of life.

6 snowy thrillers to chill your bones.

11 older and instant classics about Indigenous people.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen 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.

Stay safe this Thanksgiving.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole.

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Check Your Shelf

Librarians + Shelter Kitties = A Genius Fundraising Calendar!

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I thought I was getting used to my entire life being conducted over Zoom now, but this week has been testing my Zoom patience. However, the cold weather means that it’s been a great opportunity to show off my eclectic collection of coffee mugs.

Let’s library.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

An LGBTQ+ display in the Sullivan County (PA) School District is at the heart of a conflict between the district and several parents and board members.

(TW: violence) A Florida librarian was intentionally struck by a group of teens in a van, and is now in critical condition. To say this is horrifying is the understatement of the year.

A New York highway has been renamed after a library security guard who was murdered on the job earlier this year.

Cool Library Updates

Libraries use board games to encourage critical thinking in kids and teens.

Why more Ontario libraries are going fines free. Plus, the Chicago Public Library has said that eliminating late fines was a good move.

Eeee! The staff at the Morgantown (WV) Public Library partnered with local animal shelters to create a fundraising cat calendar! Each month features a different librarian holding an adoptable cat!

Worth Reading

How a British Columbia library’s Drag Queen Story Hour turned into a nationwide fight for intellectual freedom.

Tips for tackling censorship.

Creating a trauma-informed library workforce.

Book Adaptations in the News

Oprah and Brad Pitt have teamed up for the adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel, The Water Dancer.

The CW is planning a modern Jane Austen anthology series.

Tananarive Due’s upcoming novel The Reformatory has already sold TV rights! Same goes for Grady Hendrix’s upcoming novel, The Final Girl Support Group.

Ann Cleeves’ novel The Long Call will be getting a four-part adaptation.

Casting update for the upcoming Silence of the Lambs series, Clarice.

There’s going to be another adaptation of Eloise, which is also my #1 favorite book from childhood!

There will be a second season of the Alex Rider series. However, HBO has canceled The Outsider after one season.

First trailer for Between the World and Me.

Books & Authors in the News

Five books have been removed from the required reading list at Burbank (CA) Unified School District after parent complaints of racist language and at least one instance of racist behavior from a student. Here’s a look at what makes this such a unique circumstance.

(TW: sexual misconduct) Jeffrey Toobin has been fired from The New Yorker.

Numbers & Trends

Trump books are not going to go away after he leaves office.

Award News

Here’s a look at the controversial eligibility requirements for the Women’s Prize.

Shortlist for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.

The 2020 Christy Award winners have been announced.

Amazon released the finalists for the 2020 Children’s Choice Book Awards.

Barnes & Noble released its Book of the Year finalists.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

This website gives you the first page of a book without revealing the title or author, allowing you to judge the book based on the writing. Pretty cool!

This literary murder mystery puzzle has been solved for just the third time in almost 100 years.

On the Riot

The Public movie and librarian representation.

What this reader learned about maintaining a book club and keeping it positive.

Reading through difficult times: books and their readers in 1918-1920.

So you’re still in a pandemic reading slump? (Don’t worry…I am too.)

Keeping up a bookish lifestyle without actually reading.

What giving up fiction did to this reader.

Take a breath, hydrate, and make sure to eat something. (This is just as much a reminder for myself as it is for other people.) I’ll see you next week.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

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Check Your Shelf

Winter Reading Lists For All Tastes

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. We’ve hit the time of year where I become a permanently lethargic couch slug. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m working from home 80% of the time, have very little to hold my interest at the moment, and it gets dark outside almost as soon as it gets light, but still…I could have done with a little energy boost this weekend.

I did, however, get a couple of adorable photos of my baby boys and their booplesnoots. (Don’t argue with me, spellcheck. That’s absolutely a word.)

Collection Development Corner

New & Upcoming Titles

Jonathan Franzen announces the first book in a new trilogy, which will be published in October 2021.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman will be writing a book about Donald Trump, to be published in early 2022.

A look at some of the forthcoming books related to the Trump administration.

Senator Tammy Duckworth’s memoir, Every Day is a Gift, will be published at the end of March.

Andrew McCarthy will have a memoir about his Brat Pack years coming out May 2021.

14 of the year’s best mysteries and thrillers.

10 new books from celebrities for your holiday reading list.

21 new books to buy from your local indie bookseller.

Books of the week from Booklist, BuzzFeed, Crime Reads, Locus (SFF), New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today.

November picks from Amazon (bio/memoirs, mysteries), Bitch Media (feminist reads), BookPage (mysteries, SFF), Crime Reads, (psychological thrillers), and Tor.com (science fiction and fantasy).

28 YA books published this year to read before the year ends. Plus, 54 (!) YA SFF books that yes, actually, did come out this year.

Time’s 100 must-read books of 2020.

42 most-anticipated books of 2021. (I’ve added a bunch of these to my TBR.)

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories – Danielle Evans (LA Times, USA Today)

The Arrest – Jonathan Lethem (New York Times, Washington Post)

The Kingdom – Jo Nesbo (New York Times, Washington Post)

A Promised Land – Barack Obama (New York Times, NPR)

No One Ever Asked Me About the Girls: Women, Music and Fame – Lisa Robinson (USA Today, Washington Post)

We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence – Becky Cooper (NPR)

RA/Genre Resources

A brief history of presidential memoirs.

On the Riot

Indie releases to keep an eye on in November.

2020 new releases in translation you may have missed.

All Things Comics

Emerald City Comic Con and Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo have been rescheduled to December 2021.

New comics to check out in November.

5 graphic novels you don’t want to miss.

On the Riot

Classic comics for a winter’s night.

Winter-themed manga to curl up with.

10 manga like The Gamer to read after catching up with the series.

Audiophilia

Blue Ivy Carter (daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z) narrates the audio version of Hair Love.

November audiobooks to keep your eye on.

5 humorous audiobooks to keep you giggling.

5 sports romance audiobooks.

On the Riot

Have you heard about Chirp? Does it change the audiobook game, and more importantly, is it right for you?

6 of the best audiobooks for Nonfiction November.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

26 beautiful children’s books about the most impactful LGBTQ+ icons.

15 children’s and YA books that celebrate Native American Heritage Month.

Adults

15 romantic novels that feature characters with disabilities.

Here’s a new subgenre…tropical cozy crime novels.

8 books about feminist folklore.

5 SFF books about star-crossed lovers.

On the Riot

12 snowy picture books.

10 of the best books for 10th graders.

YA books about veterans.

12 YA thrillers for any time of the year.

9 great books about teens with supernatural abilities.

10 books about foster care for adults and kids.

10 lesbian erotica titles for your bookshelf.

10 romance novels with infectious enthusiasm.

8 books about serial killers that will chill you to the bone.

5 winter mysteries cozier than a cup of tea.

9 magical winter fantasy books.

Winter hibernation cookbooks to make you drool.

10 chilling books to read this winter.

10 holiday romance novels to read this year.

9 excellent books set in very cold places.

9 must-read nonfiction books about wine and spirits.

5 books about online harassment.

5 powerful books about domestic abuse.

6 international horror novels you need to read ASAP.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen 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.

Wash your hands, and get a flu shot. I’ll see you all on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently gushing about The Return by Rachel Harrison. (OMG SO CREEPY!!)

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Check Your Shelf

Pandemic Library Take-Home Kits

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Now that we’re moving past the election, the realization that we still have a lot of COVID to deal with in our communities. Please continue to wash your hands, wear a mask, socially distance, and remember to get a flu shot! (I’m getting mine today!)

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Despite COVID concerns, library ballot measures did well in this election cycle!

Chicago Public Library says that eliminating fines was a smart move, which is good news for the London (ON) Public Library, which just voted to eliminate fines for their own patrons.

Penguin Random House is extending its temporary licensing agreements on eBooks and digital audiobooks for libraries through March 31st, 2021.

YALSA releases its updated 2019 list of Outstanding Books for the College Bound & Lifelong Learners.

The Vatican enlists bots to protect its library from hackers.

Cool Library Updates

Summer Scares is back to celebrate horror in libraries!

Check this out! Pandemic library take-home kits.

UK author Jeremy Cameron transformed his garage into a lending library that’s always open to everyone in the village of Norfolk.

Worth Reading

A look at how schools and libraries can do better about teaching Indigenous history and stories.

Let the teens lead.

In case it wasn’t already clear, here’s why banning books is problematic.

Inside the New York Public Library’s last secret apartments.

Book Adaptations in the News

Joe Hill’s novella The Black Phone will be adapted for film.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh is being turned into a TV series.

Hugh Laurie and Emilia Clarke are part of the voice cast for the upcoming animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s The Amazing Maurice.

Jeff Vandermeer’s upcoming Hummingbird Salamander will be adapted as a Netflix series.

The BBC is producing a miniseries adaptation of Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

Hulu cancels Castle Rock after two seasons.

A lawsuit has been filed against Paramount Pictures to transfer the rights to Breakfast at Tiffany’s back to Truman Capote’s estate.

Producers of The Enola Holmes Mysteries on Netflix push back against the lawsuit filed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate.

Netflix announced that season 3 of You is in production.

Netflix India released a trailer for Mismatched, which is based on the YA novel When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

10 Hallmark Christmas movies you probably didn’t know were based on books.

Stephen King talks about how to properly adapt his books.

Books & Authors in the News

Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole, and the writers behind Kit Rocha have launched the fundraiser Romancing the Runoff, which is soliciting donations for the runoff Senate election in Georgia in January. They’ve already raised EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!

Remembering the beloved Alex Trebek, who died on Sunday.

Numbers & Trends

For you infographic fans, here’s a look at the world’s reading habits in 2020.

Award News

Camilla Pang, age 28, won the Royal Society science book prize for her debut Explaining Humans, making her the youngest writer ever to win the prize, as well as the first winning author of color.

More award firsts: Walter Mosley will be the first African American writer to receive the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.

Raven Leilani’s debut novel Luster wins the $50,000 Kirkus Prize.

Pop Cultured

Following lingering allegations of domestic abuse, Johnny Depp is leaving the Fantastic Beasts franchise, at the request of Warner Brothers.

O: Oprah Magazine recommends 20 book podcasts to listen to.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The Root launches its first bookish podcast with It’s Lit!

Thanks to Powell’s Books, you too can smell like a bookstore.

On the Riot

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, here’s a look at the history of dust jackets.

The best ereaders you can buy in 2020.

Are you really a library employee if you don’t have a huge collection of bookish socks? Well, here’s your ultimate guide if you need to up your sock game.

10 non-ALA book awards for children and YA books.

Why this reader still uses, and likes, Goodreads.

What happens when a community loses its newspaper?

Stay healthy, everyone. I’ll see you next week.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

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Check Your Shelf

Recommended Books For All Your Murderino Patrons

Welcome to Check Your Shelf, and LET’S ALL TAKE A DEEP, RELAXING BREATH! I know that this election stuff isn’t over yet and that there’s plenty of hard work ahead of us, but holy cow, it felt good to turn on the news Saturday morning! (And then pour a glass of prosecco at 12:30 in the afternoon, and joy scroll on Twitter, and cry tears of relief, and…)

Yes, libraries are non-partisan, but darn it, I’m injecting a little bit of my residual joy into this newsletter!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Not only were French bookstores ordered to close despite a request to be labeled as essential businesses during France’s second major lockdown (which, okay, I kinda understand), but supermarkets were ordered to stop selling books in order to ward off future complaints of unfair competition.

New & Upcoming Titles

Ruby Bridges has written a children’s book about her experiences, called This Is Your Time.

A first look at Megan Abbot’s new book, The Turnout, which centers around the competitive world of ballet.

New cozy mysteries to curl up with this fall.

50 intriguing opening lines from books published in 2020.

Weekly book picks from Booklist, Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.

November picks from Amazon, AV Club, Barnes & Noble, Bitch Media, (YA feminist picks), Bustle, Crime Reads, Entertainment Weekly, Good Morning America, io9 (SFF), Lambda Literary, The Millions (general & poetry), Town & Country, and Washington Post.

Stephen King and Janet Evanovich pick their favorite books of 2020.

2020 picks from Barnes & Noble and Bustle (short story collections).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

To Be a Man: Stories – Nicole Krauss (Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)

White Ivy – Susie Yang (LA Times, New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post)

We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and Half a Century of Silence – Becky Cooper (USA Today)

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All – Martha S. Jones (Washington Post)

One Life – Megan Rapinoe (New York Times)

The Best of Me – David Sedaris (New York Times)

On the Riot

10 November YA releases to get on your reading list.

All Things Comics

YA author E. Lockhart is bringing a new teenage superhero to Gotham.

On the Riot

20 scary comics for the haunting season.

Audiophilia

AudioFile announces the November Earphone Award winners.

Four favorite female mystery narrators.

Libro.fm highlights Indigenous-owned bookstores in the USA and Canada.

On the Riot

Some audiobook history with a look at the first audiobook ever recorded.

The National Book Award’s 5 Under 35 honorees on audio.

25 hilarious audiobooks for your holiday road trip.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

10 middle grade stories featuring admirable tween boys.

7 great crossover series for middle school & YA readers.

18 YA books about social justice.

41 YA books to help you escape election madness for a minute.

Adults

4 book recommendations from Bill Gates.

8 sci-fi books for people who don’t think they like sci-fi.

New memoir suggestions for book clubs.

15 books from small presses you won’t be able to put down.

10 books like The Queen’s Gambit that prove chess is far from boring.

6 books with dark anti-heroines.

5 books featuring alien oceans.

On the Riot

29 of the best children’s books about disabilities.

10 of the best epistolary YA novels.

12 books like Enola Holmes. (Includes a mix of audience levels!)

8 mysteries and thrillers by Black authors.

The best Korean fiction in translation.

11 essential queer pregnancy books.

4 books about gender shapeshifters.

20 must-read sports romances.

4 opera books to shake up your playlist, and your reading list!

Check it out, murderinos: all of the books that were recommended on the My Favorite Murder podcast this year!

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen 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.

COVID’s still out there, but (fingers crossed) the worst of the election stress is over. Give yourself a big hug this week!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Library Vandalism and Public Restroom Storytime

Welcome to Check Your Shelf.

Why no, I’m not writing this newsletter with CNN election updates open in another tab…why do you ask?

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Recent vandalization at major libraries has focused on voter intimidation.

Penguin Random House extends its open license for online readings through March 31st.

Cool Library Updates

A look at how libraries are lifelines for formerly incarcerated people.

Worth Reading

Librarian, read thyself.

How does your inclusion statement measure up?

The socially distanced library: staying connected in a pandemic.

What an accurate presidential library for Donald Trump would look like.

Book Adaptations in the News

Mindy Kaling is producing and starring in the film adaptation of Jennifer Weiner’s Good In Bed.

The Things They Carried is being adapted for film.

The CW is producing a series based on Tom Swift, which will feature a Black, gay lead.

Netflix renews The Baby-Sitters Club for a second season.

Casting update for Robert Harris’ Munich.

Season 3 of American Gods will air on Starz on January 10th.

Trailer for The White Tiger.

Books & Authors in the News

Former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor reveals that he was the anonymous author of A Warning.

Author Rachel Caine has passed away from cancer.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association issued a complaint to the governor about an elementary school in Burnsville using the book Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice for a fourth grade assignment.

Cheryl Strayed is bringing back her Dear Sugar column!

Reese Witherspoon picks Group: How One Therapist and a Group of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Tate as her next book club pick.

Simon Cowell and his son Eric have launched a competition for children’s book authors. They’re looking for a writer to help them launch their upcoming book series.

Numbers & Trends

Publishers are planning to slow their roll after the election when it comes to political titles.

Award News

The World Fantasy Awards have been announced.

The shortlist for the Staunch Book Prize has been announced, which celebrates mystery & thriller novels that don’t feature violence against women.

The Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist has been released.

Citizenship is an outdated requirement for literary prize eligibility.

Pop Cultured

Oscar Isaac is in talks to star in Marvel’s Moon Knight series at Disney Plus.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Is your library doing any remote NaNoWriMo programming, or encouraging patrons to sign up? Take a look at their website for ideas!

Toni Morrison’s library is up for sale.

Did you know that your brain processes genre fiction and literary fiction differently?

On the Riot

5 haunted libraries in 5 different countries.

10 horror podcasts if you aren’t quite ready to give up Halloween.

Story time is coming to public restrooms.

An open letter to all the books this reader has lied about reading.

I think this might take the cake for the longest week in 2020 (so far). I have no idea how this newsletter will find you when you read it on Friday, but let’s be nice to ourselves this weekend. I’ll catch you next week

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Halloween Reading Lists to Take the Scares Into November

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. It’s Election Day, and all I have to say is do whatever you need to do to get through today.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The Strand Bookstore received 25,000 orders in one weekend after appealing to the public for help.

French bookstores ask to be treated as essential services during this new lockdown.

Hachette launches a new BIPOC imprint called Legacy Lit, which will focus primarily on nonfiction, along with a few select fiction titles.

The National Book Critics Circle has asked its members to sign a Criticism Equity Pledge, which promises to provide more coverage of books by BIPOC authors.

Sarah MacLean tweeted a list of romance-friendly indie bookstores, for all your holiday shopping needs!

New & Upcoming Titles

Publishers Weekly’s Top Children’s Books of 2020.

First looks at For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing, Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman, and Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney.

Chrissy Teigen is working on her third Cravings cookbook.

16 new books to buy from your local indie bookstore.

20 small press books from 2020 you might have missed.

42 best LGBTQ books of 2020.

24 YA mystery books in 2020 that will keep you guessing until the end.

Book picks for the week from Booklist Reader, BuzzFeed, Crime Reads, New York Times, and USA Today.

October picks from Crime Reads (debut novels) and Shondaland.

November picks from Barnes & Noble, Kirkus, New York Times, and Popsugar (general, mystery/thriller, and romance).

Best books of 2020 from BBC and Elle.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath – Heather Clark (LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post)

The Cold Millions – Jess Walter (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)

Group: How One Therapist and a Group of Strangers Saved My Life – Christie Tate (New York Times, NPR)

Memorial – Bryan Washington (New York Times, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

How the new diversity is transforming science fiction’s future.

Rachel Howzell Hall, Attica Locke, and other authors talk about “writing about cops in a moment of reckoning.”

Can a Black novelist write autofiction?

On the Riot

3 great YA books about witches to read in 2021.

16 of the best horror novels of the year.

Reading pathway for Maureen Johnson.

All Things Comics

On the Riot

6 places where you can read manhwa.

4 creepy creatures in comics.

Audiophilia

Libro.fm is running a special where if you pre-order Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land in print, they’ll send you a free audiobook!

Spine-chilling audiobooks that inspired horror movies.

5 chilling romance audiobooks. (Yes, those two words can co-exist in the same sentence!)

On the Riot

8 audiobooks to escape into.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

11 legitimately funny books to read aloud with your kids.

11 diverting teen reads for stressful times.

8 trans-inclusive fantasy books for fans of Harry Potter. (Most of these are YA titles, but there are one or two crossover adult titles in here as well.)

Adults

10 books that offer a peek inside the White House.

7 books about the making and unmaking of women politicians.

50 of the greatest apocalypse novels.

10 Halloween reads that do more than shock and scare.

13 witchy books to read with your coven this fall.

Books to read if you love The Craft.

20 disturbing nonfiction books you won’t be able to put down…even if you want to.

5 SFF books driven by terrible choices and appalling judgment.

On the Riot

14 children’s books about race and racial diversity.

17 fun monster children’s books.

52 incredible picture book biographies of Black people creating and leading.

8 great picture books for Halloween.

10 historical mystery series to whisk you away.

Conquer your demons with 5 mathematical sci-fi books.

10 recent books by Asian American poets.

8 of the best new self-care books to prioritize yourself.

15 of the best philosophy books for beginners.

8 excellent books about democracy in its many forms.

18 books to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

9 books to help you understand your anxiety.

20 must-read horror novels you’ve never heard of.

9 gothic novels for every mood.

6 scary nonfiction books.

8 great books featuring cursed objects.

10 books featuring cemeteries.

6 awesome queer Halloween books.

9 creepy books about sinister institutions.

Horror cookbooks are a thing! (And not surprisingly, my husband and I already own the Feeding Hannibal book.)

Some book suggestions for a low-key Halloween.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen 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.

Let’s check in again on Friday. Stay sane.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.