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Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Our reopening has so far been very manageable, yet somewhat anticlimactic, and I find myself in the very odd position of wanting more people to come into the library because that’s my job, and wanting people to continue staying away because PANDEMIC!
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- John Lewis, the incredible Congressman, civil rights leader, graphic novelist, and library advocate, died at age 80. Read about how his life changed with a library card here.
- The results of Phase 2 of the REALM Project have been released in regards to how long COVID stays detectable on library materials.
- Penguin Random House extends their open license for online readings through the end of 2020.
- The Philadelphia Free Library director is under growing pressure to quit amidst racial discrimination complaints.
- A look at how suburban Chicago libraries are reopening with new COVID restrictions.
- The Windsor Public Library in Ontario adopts an anti-racism action plan.
- Library supporters urge action on a bill that would provide relief funding to public libraries.
Cool Library Updates
- How librarians are turning Google Forms into virtual escape rooms.
- This library created a story walk in their local park.
- This teenager built a 58 pound scale model of the Bangor (ME) Public Library out of Legos.
Worth Reading
- America’s libraries are essential now.
- Dismantling white supremacy in public libraries.
- Find your focus: what kind of librarian should you be? Plus, 8 people share the reasons why they became librarians.
- Using #Bookstagram to enhance your library.
- 6 kid-friendly websites with free arts & crafts activities.
Book Adaptations in the News
- Netflix just gave the green light to a $200 million adaptation of Mark Greaney’s novel The Gray Man, starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, making it Netflix’s most “financially ambitious” film to date.
- Netflix wins the adaption rights to Rumaan Alam’s upcoming book Leave the World Behind.
- Sandhya Menon announces on Instagram that there’s an Indian adaptation inspired by her best-selling YA novel, When Dimple Met Rishi, which will debut globally on Netflix sometime this fall. (The adaptation is called Mismatch.)
- The CW is adapting the Stephen King short story, “The Revelations of ‘Becka Paulson.”
Books & Authors in the News
- Sales for Mary Trump’s new book shatters records by selling 950,000 copies by the end of its first day on sale.
- Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann’s book about the Mueller investigation has been cleared for publication by the Trump administration.
- Michael Cohen is planning a book and claims in a new lawsuit that he was sent back to jail because of it.
- Magic School Bus author Joanna Cole has died at age 75.
- Disney partners with Melissa de la Cruz to create a new studio that will work with authors to create original content across multiple Disney platforms.
- Despite book sales rising in June, J.K. Rowling’s book sales have been lagging. This is likely due to her ongoing history of transphobic statements and the resulting backlash.
- Susan Orlean is all of us right now with her drunken tweets from over the weekend.
Numbers & Trends
- The best-selling books of 2020 so far.
- And in related news, a report on how authors can buy their way onto best-seller lists.
- How to sell books in 2020: put them by the toilet paper.
Award News
- The National Book Critics Circle announces its new board.
- 2020 Thriller Awards have been announced.
- The nominees for the Ladies of Horror Fiction Awards have been announced.
Pop Cultured
- Michelle Obama is starting a podcast on Spotify.
- Idris Elba says “We’re close to making a film version of Luther.”
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- Idris Elba, Oscar Isaac, Cillian Murphy, and other extremely good-looking celebrities with gorgeous voices will read you bedtime stories in partnership with HBO Max.
On the Riot
- Quaranzines are popular, and libraries are noticing.
- A history of stage-to-book adaptations.
- Bookish and literary face masks for your pandemic (working?) life.
Take a breath and take care of yourselves, folks. I’ll see you next week.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.