Sponsored by Sponsored by A Single Light—the gripping sequel to The Line Between by New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee.
Six months after vanishing into an underground silo with sixty others, cult escapee Wynter Roth and ex-soldier Chase Miller emerge to find the area abandoned by the people Wynter was counting on to help locate medicine their gravely ill friend, Julie, needs in order to live.
As hope fades by the hour and Wynter learns the terrible truth of the last six months, she is called upon once again to help save a nation she no longer recognizes—a place so dark she’s no longer sure it can even survive.
“A breathless thriller of non-stop suspense.” -Bookreporter
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).
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- King County (WA) Library System will no longer purchase Macmillan eBooks for its digital collection once the Macmillan embargo takes effect, although the Seattle Public Library will not. The King County Library System is also the top digital-circulating public library in the country for the last five years.
- After dropping late fees, St. Paul libraries see circulation increases.
- The Madison County Public Library (NC) had to tweak its policy on service animals when a patron brought a bag of snakes (!!!) into the library and let them slither out onto the front desk (!!!!!!!). Look, I’m not going to cast judgment on people’s pets of choice, but please don’t bring snakes into the library.
- (TW: transphobia) The Toronto Public Library decides to move forward with their controversial event, which gives speaking time to a known trans-exclusionary radical feminist, after hearing from many trans activists and members of the writing community.
- UK libraries receive £125 million in additional funding.
- The Boston Public Library is doing a wedding ceremony giveaway for four couples!! This is so cool!!
Cool Library Updates
- The Sacramento Public Library extends its free meal program to children year round.
- The San Antonio Public Library and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio teamed up to create a digital kiosk in the surgery waiting room.
- Michelle Obama surprises kids and library staff at Martha’s Vinyeard library! (OKAY MICHELLE OBAMA, NOW COME VISIT MY LIBRARY!)
- New-age librarians in Australia embrace new technologies to accommodate growing community needs.
Worth Reading
- Can a public library ban guns?
- The role of librarians in a historical age of obsession.
- Observations from library tourism.
- 50 fictional librarians, ranked.
- 54+ terrible, wonderful library puns.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Trailer for the fourth (and final) season of The Man in the High Castle, plus a trailer for The Outsider, which debuts on HBO on January 12th.
- An anthology series based on the novels of Mary Higgins Clark is in the works.
- Gabi: A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero is being turned into a one hour drama for HBO.
- A first look at the adaptation of Normal People by Sally Rooney.
- Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series has been optioned by Lionsgate.
- Amy Poehler is adapting The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth.
- Just how exactly ARE books turned into movies?
Books & Authors in the News
- Stephen & Tabitha King plan to transform part of their Bangor, Maine property into a scholarly archive and a writer’s retreat. However, a lot of the media coverage has been misleading, so Stephen King posted some clarifying points on his Facebook page.
- The Columbia County (GA) school superintendent removed three books from the curriculum’s supplemental reading list, including Dear Martin by Nic Stone.
- Netflix abruptly halts production on a film about Karl Ove Knausgard, which would have had Mads Mikkelsen in the starring role. I don’t know much about Knausgard or the reasons behind his request to halt production, but I am sad whenever a Mads Mikkelsen project gets curtailed.
- Vulture names Tana French as our best living mystery writer, and you will not hear any arguments from me!
Numbers & Trends
- The number of self-published titles skyrocketed by 40% in 2018.
Award News
- There’s been some significant backlash about the Booker Prize being awarded to two authors, namely because Bernardine Evaristo was the first black female Booker Prize winner.
- After discussions about its controversial namesake, the Tiptree Award has been renamed the Otherwise Award.
- The British Fantasy Award winners are announced.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- Principal Steve Williams challenged his students to collectively read 150,00 minutes over the summer. They read 161,000 minutes, so to honor that achievement, the principal did storytime for the kids with a megaphone from on top of the school roof!
- Scrabble nerds and Star Wars fans can rejoice – the OED adds multiple Star Wars terms to its listings, including “Jedi” and “Padawan.”
- If indie bookstores want to be inclusive, they need to highlight romance.
- When you hate the classics, but you’re an English teacher.
- 50 bookish Halloween costume ideas for couples.
Thanks for hanging! See everyone on Tuesday!
–Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.