Sponsored by All These Monsters by Amy Tintera, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
From New York Times best-selling author Amy Tintera comes this high-stakes sci-fi adventure about a teen girl who will do anything to escape her troubled home—even if that means joining a dangerous monster-fighting squad. Clara is ready to fight back. Fight back against her abusive father and most of all, fight back against scrabs, earth-dwelling monsters that are ravaging the world. When an opportunity arises for Clara to join a monster-fighting squad, she jumps at the chance. But as Clara gains confidence in her battle skills, she starts to realize scrabs might not be the biggest evil. The true monsters are the ones you least expect.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Some sad news for this week: my husband and I had to say goodbye to Star, one of our beautiful kitties Monday morning. She was a purring machine with little vampire toofs, and loved to sit behind us on the couch and drape her paws over our shoulders like a scarf. If you have pets at home, give them extra cuddles this weekend in honor of our baby girl.
And now, on to some much-needed distraction in the form of library news.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- The Summersville Library (WV) closes after a maskless patron refused to wear a mask and coughed on books and public computers.
- The executive director of New Brunswick Public Library Services resigns after controversy emerges over his qualifications.
- Georgia Tech Library creates a Black Lives Matter Reading Room.
- Obama’s presidential library hits a major roadblock from the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office.
- School Library Journal announces SLJTeenLive! – a free virtual event on August 5th.
Cool Library Updates
- This book lover has set out to diversify Little Free Libraries with books written by BIPOC.
- How to support the Liberation Library, which provides books to incarcerated children.
- Cast members from the new Baby-Sitters Club series recorded a pro-library PSA video!
- Bertha Seavers, the first black librarian in Cairo, IL, turns 100 years old!
Worth Reading
- When not to call the cops, plus rethinking police presence inside libraries.
- Responding to a threat, and the importance of immediate action.
- How can libraries be a path towards inclusivity and forgiveness?
- The increasingly essential role of the law librarian.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Jennifer Weiner’s Mrs. Everything is going to be adapted as a TV series.
- Three of the four novellas in Stephen King’s most recent collection, If It Bleeds, have been optioned for film.
- An animated series based on Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar-winning short film and children’s book, Hair Love, is coming to HBO.
- The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian is headed to TV.
- The New York Times, Lionsgate, Oprah, and others are adapting The 1619 Project into film, TV programming, and more.
Numbers & Trends
- The Most Sold Books of 2020 so far, according to Amazon Charts.
- Comic sales hit a record $1.21 billion in North America in 2019.
Award News
- Not surprisingly, the 2020 National Book Awards ceremony will be held virtually.
- Colson Whitehead wins the 2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction as well as the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction for The Nickel Boys.
- The LA Times Book Prize Awards have been announced.
- The Shirley Jackson Awards are out too.
- Derek Owusu wins the Desmond Elliott Prize for best debut novel for That Reminds Me.
Pop Cultured
- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has been cancelled at Netflix.
- 10 books, movies, and musicals to enjoy after Hamilton.
- The Crown is getting a sixth season on Netflix.
On the Riot
- A new role for little free libraries.
- 7 summer tasks for school librarians.
- Why the Baby-Sitters Club Netflix series is even better than the books.
- How to find free baby books.
Take a breath and take care of yourselves and your pets, folks. I’ll see you next week.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.