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).
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Libraries & Librarians
- Washington state Department of Corrections officials quietly posted a new policy banning prisoners from receiving used books in the mail, but the new policy sparked a big outcry. In response, Washington’s top prison official vows to make sure inmates can still get used books.
- Parent group sues the Colorado Library Consortium for offering students access to EBSCO databases, which the group says gives children access to pornography. Library officials say that this claim is extremely untrue.
- In related news, a new law requires Idaho public libraries to filter Internet access so that patrons can’t access porn.
- North Dakota librarians urge legislators to oppose federal budget cuts.
- The Millennium Library in Winnipeg has started using metal detectors and bag inspections as a security measure, but there’s been a lot of pushback from the public and the library has been asked to investigate other security options.
- TW: sexual harassment. Sexual Harassment in Libraries, Post #MeToo: What Has and Hasn’t Changed.
- In light of the cancelled Drag Queen Story Time program at an Alpharetta branch library, the Atlanta mayor invites drag queen Miss Terra Cotta Sugarbaker to read to kids at City Hall.
- This British Columbia library is working to decolonize the way libraries organize information by taking an indigenous approach to categorizing books.
- The Upper Arlington Public Library’s (OH) “Listen Columbus” project brings together a digital collection of music from local artists.
- Many of Denmark’s libraries are called “open libraries,” and are open 24 hours a day.
- Library Journal reviews The Public. Although I haven’t seen the movie yet, the review reflects some of the initial concerns I had when I first heard about the movie.
- What library eBooks mean for your privacy.
- 9 facts about librarians you probably didn’t know.
- The problem with professional development books in library science.
- A lion cub used to live at the Milwaukee Public Library in the early 20th century. NO JOKE.
- Want a laugh today? Check out this library that accidentally promised snakes at the wrong program, and make plans to visit the grave of a man who died eating library paste.
Book Adaptations in the News
- There are a TON of book-to-TV adaptations coming: Never Look Away (Linwood Barclay – Noe Productions); I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb – HBO); Wanderers (Chuck Wendig – QC Entertainment); Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 (Mitchell Zuckoff – Lionsgate); Lie to Me (J.T. Ellison – Dynamic Television); and Comfort Me With Apples (Ruth Reichl – Netflix).
- Stephen King himself is adapting his novel Lisey’s Story for Apple TV, starring Julianne Moore.
- On a related note, Vulture picks 13 Stephen King books that should be adapted next, which honestly just feels like it could be retitled “The remaining 13 Stephen King books that haven’t been adapted yet.”
- Maya Angelou’s life and works are being developed for Broadway.
- Updates for Defending Jacob, the sequel to To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Hulu’s adaptation of Looking for Alaska, and Hillbilly Elegy, which will star Amy Adams.
- The CW casts the original Nancy Drew, Pamela Sue Martin, in the upcoming Nancy Drew pilot.
- Almost every SFF/Horror/Comic adaptation in the works.
- Horror noire novels that need to be adapted for film. I’m holding out for a Jordan Peele-directed adaptation of Tananarive Due’s novel, The Good House.
Books & Authors in the News
- 50 shades of white: the long fight against racism in romance novels. This is a MUST READ article for every librarian and reader.
- This one goes to 11: ALA releases the Top 11 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2018.
- ALA names Colson Whitehead as the keynote speaker for the Freedom to Read Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.
- Catherynne Valente is writing a sequel to Space Opera, called Space Oddity.
- Caitlin Doughty’s next book is called Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, which is the BEST TITLE EVER and I need it immediately.
- Patrick Rothfuss says that the third book in the Kingkiller Chronicles series, The Doors of Stone, is “moving forward.”
- Mackenzi Lee announces a novella, The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky – out November 26, 2019.
- Brandy Colbert has a new YA novel coming out next year called The Voting Booth, set on Election Day.
- Be on the lookout for Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – it’s an #ownvoices Day of the Dead YA LGBTQ+ paranormal romance, featuring Yadriel, a Latinx gay trans boy. I can’t wait to see it!
- According to the Daily Beast, Trump is already plotting his post-White House tell-all memoir, apparently in an attempt to settle a few scores. I really wish I could insert a few choice emojis here.
- Philip Pullman leads a call for UK government action on eBook piracy.
- Polish priest apologizes for burning copies of Harry Potter.
- Tom Selleck is writing a memoir.
- Lee Child is developing a Black Mirror-meets-Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri true crime anthology drama series. Boy, there’s a lot going on in that sentence.
Upcoming Books in 2019
- Vulture: 7 new books you should read this April.
- Town & Country: Best books of the spring.
- Vanity Fair: The season’s must-read books (and the best bags to stash them in).
- Bustle: 19 new fantasy novels and 21 new romance novels for your spring reading list.
- CrimeReads: Best thrillers & psychological thrillers of April.
- Barnes & Noble: 5 best memoirs this spring.
Award News
- Watch the Pulitzer Prize announcements livestreamed on April 15th.
- Shortlists for the International Dublin Literary Award, Rathbones Folio Prize, Albertine Prize, and the Stella Prize.
- Tor.com celebrates 40 years of the Prometheus Award.
Pop Cultured
All Things Comics
- Entertainment Weekly: 5 comics to read this April.
- Teaser trailer for The Joker.
- If you’re looking for new comics, take a look at Vault.
Audiophilia
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
- Computer programming books for kids.
- 50 must-read poetry books for kids.
- 50 must-read completed YA series.
- 10 political YA books to keep you engaged.
- Best YA books by black women.
- 6 Greek mythology-inspired YA novels to read if you enjoyed Circe.
- 50 books about unicorns.
- 11 of the best books on organization.
- 13 books about chronic illness to read, instead of asking someone else to explain it for you.
- 18 cookbooks that cookbook authors actually use.
- 28 romance novellas you should check out immediately.
- TW: 10 books about abusive relationships.
- 25 epic fantasies for fans of Game of Thrones.
- 5 witchy books for fans of Baba Yaga.
- The books that scared these thriller, horror, and true crime authors.
- A Kurt Cobain reading guide.
- Poets who write about race, gender, and violence.
- LitHub: Surrealist literature starter kit.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- The Netherlands make trains free on National Book Day for travelers who show a book instead of a ticket.
- 30 teen book bloggers, Bookstagrammers, and BookTubers you should be following.
- A Spirit Airlines flight attendant returned a lost library book that a middle school student accidentally left on the plane. Student, book, and school library were all successfully reunited.
- A look at the unique relationship between authors and translators.
- Kick-start your reading habit with bite-sized books.
- Clever bookish marketing from the London Book Fair. Any ideas you can adapt for your own library?
- How to host a book swap party.
- How to talk to your favorite authors at a book signing without making a fool of yourself.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!
–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix.