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.
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.