Month: June 2019

A Best-Selling Tampon Book, E. Jean Carrol’s Accusations Against the President, and More

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date June 27, 2019

Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment.

Underpowered and overwhelmed, Kenton tries to hold the Sand Masters together as forces political and personal conspire against them. Now, in one final push, Kenton must tap the most dangerous depths of his own abilities to combat the enemies within his own guild, and discover the truth behind the ambush that killed his father and almost destroyed the Sand Masters for good.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Librarians protest against CIA presence at ALA Annual.
Marion Public Library (IA) faces criticism over upcoming Pride events. SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE. LIBRARIES OFFER PRIDE EVENTS. GET OVER IT.
On a related note: The library at the University of Arkansas posted a quote from Lady Gaga outside the library: “Being gay is like glitter. It never goes away.” The University President ordered the sign to be removed.
Arizona prisons lift the previous ban on Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler.
Hoopla is expanding to offer multiple models, which will include expanded content and holds lists.
Urban Libraries Council releases a strong statement against Hachette’s proposed new digital lending models.
NYPL will no longer be offering Kanopy to its patrons due to rising costs.

Cool Library Updates

School Library Journal created a curated list of family friendly podcasts to inspire community empathy.
Summer meals at the library.
How to start a nerd camp.
Family-oriented maker camp at the library.
A pop-up library on the beach?? I’ve been asking if we could have library outside for YEARS! I’m so down with this!

Worth Reading

Surveying public library services and programs for refugees and immigrants.
Confronting white nationalism: how libraries can anticipate and counter racist incidents.
A library thrives in one of Pakistan’s gun markets.
On radical librarianship.
Self care is not selfish.

Book Adaptations in the News

Paramount makes a 7-figure film deal for the upcoming book The Chain by Adrian McKinty.
Thousands petition Netflix to cancel Good Omens. Amazon Prime responds by promising Netflix to cancel Stranger Things in exchange. The world laughs.
Shonda Rhimes is adapting the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn, and Julie Andrews is the first actor cast.
Kylie Bunbury and Demi Moore are starring in a Brave New World series.
Rosamund Pike joins the Wheel of Time adaptation.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Roman & Littlefield acquire Prometheus Books.

New & Upcoming Titles

Publisher’s Weekly shares a bunch of fall announcements. (You’ll need to log in to read the article.)
Amazon’s best books of the year (so far).
Most anticipated YA for July.
Best debut crime, political thrillers, and international crime novels for June.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide – Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark (Entertainment Weekly, USA Today)
The Most Fun We Ever Had – Claire Lombardo (NPR, USA Today)
Bunny – Mona Award (New York Times, Washington Post)
Big Sky – Kate Atkinson (New York Times, Washington Post)
FKA USA – Reed King (NPR, USA Today)

Books & Authors in the News

(TW sexual assault): E. Jean Carrol accuses Donald Trump of raping her at Bergdorf’s in the mid 90’s in her new book, What Do We Need Men For: A Modest Proposal.
Janet Mock signs a huge Netflix deal, making her the first publicly transgender woman to call creative shots at a major content company.
Pioneering romance author Judith Krantz dies at age 91.
Vulture looks at Sherrilyn Kenyon’s claim that her ex-husband was poisoning her.

Numbers & Trends

An updated look at diversity in children’s books in 2018.
7 stats about diversity in book publishing that reveal the magnitude of the problem

Award News

Joy Harjo becomes the 23rd poet laureate and the first Native American poet to serve in the position!
ALA votes to rename the Melvil Dewey Medal, citing Dewey’s history of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism.

Pop Cultured

Most of you probably know this already, but Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is now available for iOS and Android in the US.
Final trailer before Stranger Things Season 3 is available to watch on Netflix, and I am SO DANG EXCITED!!

All Things Comics

IDW is publishing the Mueller Report as a graphic novel.
More news about the end of Vertigo and the overall DC restructure.
Noelle Stevenson is publishing a graphic memoir!!
Manga sisterhoods.
Ngazi Ukazu announces a follow-up to Check, Please.
10 exuberantly queer graphic novels.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Board books that instill positive behavior.
7 books about kids loving their natural hair.
50 must-read middle grade books about friendship.
17 YA historical fiction novels.

Adults

10 horrifying horror novels.
6 nonfiction books about Chernobyl.
8 memoirs about mental illness written by authors of color.
50 must-read short books under 250 pages.
6 books inspired by your favorite podcasts.
8 modern career books for entrepreneurs & creative types.
10 SFF books about AIs taking over.
15 new historical fiction books for your vacation.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Okay, this is fantastic. In Germany, tampons and other sanitary products are taxed 19% as “luxury goods” (which anyone who has had a period knows is utter BS), while books are taxed at 7%. So…the founders of a sanitary product company published a book that contains…tampons. It sold out in a single day.
Historians have discovered a new bible owned by Abraham Lincoln.
11 things this Rioter wishes they had known before starting a book blog.

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, and I’ll see you next week!

–Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading a bunch of classic Nancy Drew novels.

Unusual Suspects

Why is This Ted Bundy Book So Hard to Find?

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 27, 2019

Hi mystery fans!

Swords and Spaceships June 28

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date June 27, 2019

We did it, robots and dinosaurs! We made it to Friday! It’s me, your newsletter host Alex, and if you’re reading this, it means I didn’t gnaw off one of my own limbs during either of the debate nights, and I feel like that’s something we can all celebrate with some science fiction news and other silliness.

This newsletter is sponsored by Tor Books.

The Sol Majestic is a big-hearted, delightful intergalactic adventure for fans of Becky Chambers and The Good Place.

When Kenna, a destitute teen guru, wins a free dinner at The Sol Majestic, the galaxy’s most renowned restaurant, he thinks his luck has finally changed. His dream is jeopardized, however, when he learns his highly-publicized “free meal” risks putting the restaurant into financial ruin. Kenna and a gang of newfound friends—including a teleporting celebrity chef, a trust-fund adrenaline junkie, and a brilliant mistress of disguise—must concoct an extravagant scheme to save everything they cherish, and risk sacrificing their ideals in the process.

News and Views

Writers Madeline Miller, Max Gladstone, John Rogers, and Kevin Hearne have been matching donations to RAICES. If they’ve hit their match limits by the time you read this, there’s a good chance other awesome SFF writers will have stepped in, too.

Today, let us remember Prince’s Batdance video from 1989.

Daveed Diggs will be narrating River Solomon’s novella of The Deep.

LGBTQ+ cosplayers talk about the queer video game characters they identify with. So many gorgeous pictures!

For more beautiful pictures, here’s 26 of the most gorgeous fantasy book covers from 2019.

If you wondered where the new Harry Potter mobile game falls in the timeline of the Potterverse, here’s how you can figure it out.

There’s going to be even more new Endgame footage, this time for the home release. They’re streaming it from another dimension, I don’t even know. But the legos are pretty cool!

Here’s an interview with Kaytalin Platt, author of
The Living God.

There are now three officially licensed Marvel plays.

Taika Waititi is going to take a “crack” at an animated Flash Gordon movie.

There are going to be more Short Treks for Star Trek: Discovery!

If you want to go down a rabbit hole from which you will never emerge, there’s a website that lets you create fake hybrid pokémon.

I’m a huge Sailor Moon fan from way back, so I have to share this: Sailor Moon and the Queer Art of Questioning Gender and Sexuality.

Myers-Briggs personality types for Lord of the Rings characters.

The full Game of Thrones TV box set is going to be 33 FREAKING DISCS.

The Last of Its Kind – I wish this was fiction, but it’s a beautiful and heartbreaking piece on scientists taking care of endlings during the present sixth great extinction.

Here’s a cool picture of a volcano erupting, taken from the ISS.

One last bit of cool IRL-but-has-definitely-been-in-scifi-or-should news: Scientists are putting sensors on antarctic seals and that’s helping them track water temperatures.

Free Association Friday

Look, I’ll admit right now, I don’t have anything real off the wall for this day in history because between my brother’s wedding this weekend (YAY BRO BRO!) and the first Democratic presidential debates with a bajillion candidates, half of whom look indiscernible, my brain is just non-functional. So instead, I’m just going to list ten science fiction/fantasy books I wish I could make all of the candidates read. Climate change, capitalism, societal decline, unions, healthcare… and a couple more utopian visions to round things out. In no particular order:

Infomocracy by Malka Older

Iraq + 100 edited by Hassan Blasim

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

Docile by K.M. Szpara

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

For the Win by Cory Doctorow

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me on the (Hugo-nominated!!!) Skiffy and Fanty Podcast or over at my personal site.

Book Radar

News of a STATION ELEVEN Adaptation and Emily St. John Mandel’s New Novel and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date June 26, 2019

Happy Thursday! Here is some great stuff to smoosh in your brainpan. Because book stuff is the best smoosh stuff! I hope whatever you’re doing, you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others. I’ll see you again on Monday. – xoxo, Liberty

Havana in the Heart (and Ears), Kids’ Audiobook Series, and More

Post author By Vanessa Diaz
Post date June 26, 2019

Hola Audiophiles!

Blink and you may just miss the end of the month – June is passing us by, friends! It’s been fun sharing Audiobook Month with all of you. Not that we need an excuse to geek out over audiobooks…

As wrap things up, let’s do a little check in: what audiobooks have you been loving? Usually I’m the one doing all the talking: your turn to share the audio love.

Ready? Let’s audio.

Ladies Doing Science and So Much More

Post author By Jessica Pryde
Post date June 26, 2019

It’s Thursday, and it’s been a heck of a week, probably for all of us, but hey: books! Romances are awesome when everything else sucks. So let’s talk about some great ones.

Sponsored by Her Other Secret by HelenKay Dimon

Whitaker Island is more than a getaway. For Tessa Jenkins, the remote strip of land in Washington state is a sanctuary. Fleeing from a shattering scandal, she has a new name, a chance at a new beginning, and a breathtaking new view: Hansen Rye. It’s hard not to crush on Whitaker’s hottest handyman. At six-foot-three and all kinds of fine, he’s also intensely private—and the attraction between them soon simmers dangerously out of control.

Over on Book Riot

Which duke should be yours? My inner Hot Mess is very satisfied with my results.

We all know that I love a good Pride and Prejudice retelling (and that there are a million out there). But Emma? Yes. Yes, please and thank you.

Looking for tips to find good local authors? This is a great place to start!

Okay, this is very romance adjacent but literary scarves, y’all.

Deals

Want a two-in-one collection with an amazing cover? Check out Road to Forever & A Love of My Own by Sherelle Green and Sheryl Lister. These are both authors I’ve tried before but haven’t read these two specific books. If you’re interested in these, definitely check out other of Kimani’s two-in-ones, because it seems like that’s the majority of the printing they’re doing right now.

And just because it’s been a while since I’ve mentioned her, reminder that you can read some top notch Rebekah Weatherspoon for as little as 2.99! Check out Fit (which is hella steamy) or So Sweet (which is similarly steamy) to see what kind of story you might like, and then you’re welcome.

New Releases!

Do you know what’s great about some of the recent historicals? Ladies (and other folks) sciencing the shit out of stuff. I’ve gotten my hands on a couple new things where that is at their center, and of course this is a day that ends in Y so of course there are lots of other new books I’m looking forward to reading!

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics
Olivia Waite

This is one of those books that has been talked about a lot over the last week or so, and I can’t help but join in the excitement. Not only did Avon drop this cover all nonchalantly like it wasn’t the first mass market historical (though it did go digital first) with two women on a gorgeous cover, but Olivia Waite is no slouch when it comes to amazing words strung together. So when you’ve got people drooling over the cover and ready to read the book, which I did in a day? Well, you’re going to hear about it, is what happens. In this beautiful, delicious novel (with limited angst, thank goodness), Lucy has gone to Catherine, Lady Moth, with a proposal to work on the translation for an esteemed French astronomy text. Lucy, still reeling from her… girlfriend? …getting married, arrives in London with only one thing on her mind, but can’t help her attraction to her new benefactress. And the feeling, it seems, is mutual. This book really approaches the power dynamic in an interesting and compelling way. There’s also a lot about the nature of science and art, and that alone makes this book magical.

Falling for A Rake
Eve Pendle

I’m not far into this one, but it starts out with a young woman who is on a fern hunt. That’s right, she got a group of people together and decided that fern hunting was a thing. So she and the Rake With The Heart Of Gold(™) who is also part of this expedition fall down a mine shaft and spend the night together, only leaving one option: fake relationship! She doesn’t particularly know he has a HOG, and they both try to suppress their chemistry by being abrasive and aloof. Obviously, it doesn’t work.

Others I can’t wait to get my hands on:

Sweet Heat by Zuri Day
To Resist a Scandalous Rogue by Liana de la Roas
Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
The Seduction Expert by Saya Lopez Ortega
Say No to the Duke by Eloisa James (I haven’t been rushing to pick these up, but that cover…)
Save The Date by Monica Murphy
I Think I Might (Want You) by Christina C. Jones
Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau (HOW DID THIS SNEAK UP ON ME)

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!

Today In Books

Librarians Protest CIA Recruiting At ALA Conference: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 26, 2019

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Regency romance author Janna MacGregor.

Librarians Protest CIA Recruiting At ALA Conference

The CIA is among hundreds of exhibits at the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual conference. This year, a group of librarians protested stating, “Everything they stand for is a violation of the values of librarianship, so we protested.” You can read their full statement, more on the protest, and ALA’s decision not to ban the CIA here.

Highlights Takes A Stand For Kids

Highlights magazine played “What Wrong?” outside of their pages and made a public statement against the separation of immigrant children from their families and the current living conditions during detainment. You can read their letter here.

Prom Adaptation Has Awesome Casting

Not only is the hot Broadway play Prom getting a YA book adaptation in September but it’s also getting a Netflix film adaptation by Ryan Murphy. And the cast is fire: Keegan-Michael Key, Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Ariana Grande, Awkwafina, and Andrew Rannells. Excited for the book (that cover!) and the film!

Canada Giveaways

062619-GodLaugh-CAGiveaway

Post author By Devin Service
Post date June 26, 2019

We have 5 copies of If You Want To Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais to give away to 5 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

From the author of the beloved Hum If You Don’t Know the Words comes a rich, unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below!

Unusual Suspects

One Of My Favorite Crime Reads This Year!

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date June 25, 2019

Hello mystery fans! This week I have for you one of my favorite reads this year, a true crime amateur sleuth, and a unique P.I series.

Sponsored by A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson, published by Celadon Books.

M. T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller about eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell, who stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family is a twisted narrative of love and murder.

Excellent Crime Novel (TW addiction/ past child abuse/ human trafficking/ rape/ brief past attempted suicide mention with detail)

Girl Gone Missing cover image Girl Gone Missing (Cash Blackbear mysteries #2) by Marcie Rendon: Easily one of my favorite reads this year, I loved Cash so much! This is a character-driven crime novel with suspense that follows 19-year-old Chippewa woman Renee Blackbear, known as Cash, living in Fargo in the 1970s. She lives on the periphery of everything: she’s taking college classes but doesn’t understand the hippie students and their need to constantly talk, drives a beet truck alone late at night for work, lives on her own, and her only close relationship is with a sheriff who is like a father figure. She’s always observing, thinking, and questioning the things that are happening in her world and the larger world, especially when the brother she doesn’t know shows up to stay in her place and white girls are disappearing while calling to her in dreams. While it isn’t a mystery as you’re used to–person(s) actively solving–there is a mystery throughout that is important and has a full solve. I so very much need there to be another book about Cash, and while I definitely talk way too much for her I want to go play pool with her! (You can totally read this crime novel as a standalone, and seriously read this one!)

True Crime Podcast Listening Sleuth (TW suicide, suicidal thoughts/ eating disorder/ rape/ addiction/ animal cruelty)

Conviction cover image Conviction by Denise Mina: The way this one started, I thought it was going to be a domestic thriller but it wasn’t, instead Mina kept taking me on a ride full of turns I wasn’t expecting. This starts with a wife and mother, Anna, whose husband leaves her for her best friend. And it gets worse: so that the kids settle into the change, and Anna gets her life together, he takes the kids with the best friend on a trip leaving Anna to her own devices. The thing is Anna has a past no one knows about, and her way of coping with things is to escape into books and podcasts. She tries to escape her current situation by listening to a true crime podcast–which we get to read as she’s listening to it–but she gets way more than an escape. Someone she knew is the subject. He’s actually accused of the crime by the podcast host even though someone else has been tried. This leads Anna (and her best friend’s famous, soon-to-be ex-husband) on a wild adventure of trying to solve the mystery themselves–and soon trying to stay alive. If you like mysteries, true crime podcasts, and the past-is-coming-to-get-you novels pick this one up. And a fellow Rioter was listening to the audioook and mentioned it was great–Scottish narrator!

Unique P.I. Novel! (TW suicide/ rape/ pedophile)

Case Histories cover image Case Histories (Jackson Brodie #1) by Kate Atkinson: The fifth novel in this series released this week–if you’re already a fan go get Big Sky–but for everyone who hasn’t read this series yet, I’m going to start you at the beginning and then you can marathon five books. Atkinson, which I only started reading for the first time this year, has very quickly become a favorite author of mine. All her novels are very different, while Transcription (Review) was a historical spy novel Case Histories is a very unique take on the P.I. genre that at times feels like a character study of not only Jackson Brody but also his clients as we’re given front row seats to their thoughts. The novel is about three cases from different decades: A woman in her kitchen next to her murdered-with-an-axe husband; a child who vanished from her backyard; a man who murdered a man’s daughter at his office. Englishman Jackson Brodie is a former police detective who is now a P.I., divorced with an eight-year-old daughter, working in Edinburgh and getting sucked into all kinds of things because of his empathy. I loved the balance of Brodie’s personality against some wild/ridiculous clients, the way the threads of the mysteries slowly came together, the caustic humor, and cynicism.

Recent Releases

Potions Tells And Deadly Spells cover image Potions, Tells, & Deadly Spells (Romaine Wilder #3) by Abby L. Vandiver (Great cozy mystery series.)

The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda Patterson, Achy Obejas (Translation) (Zero interest in cycling and still really enjoyed this whodunnit set in the Tour de France.)

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean (Missing sisters mystery.)

Side Chick Nation cover image Side Chick Nation (Justice Hustlers #4) by Aya de León (I love this crime series of women fighting wealth inequality, racism, and sexism in NY.)

Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong (Psychological thriller I liked: Woman thinks she witnesses a crime but no one believes her.) (TW suicide)

Murder in the Crooked House by Sōji Shimada, Louise Heal Kawai (Translator) (Reading: Enjoying this for-Clue-fans Japanese mystery from the ’80s.)

Big Sky cover image Big Sky (Jackson Brodie #5) by Kate Atkinson (See above Case Histories review.)

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson, Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translation) (Swedish legal thriller.)

Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #14) by Louise Penny (Paperback) (Great Canadian procedural series.)

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

True Story

TV Criticism, Human-Free Lives, and the Power of Fashion

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date June 25, 2019

Hello and happy Wednesday, nonfiction lovers! I cannot believe we’re in the last week of June… that means we’re nearly halfway through 2019 already! Bananas.

This week’s new books are a good mix — a little TV criticism, and little sociology, and a little fashion history. Let’s dive in!