Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publishers of Mirage by Somaiya Daud.
Cinder meets Shatter Me in this “immersive and captivating” (Booklist) fantasy about a poor girl who must become the body double of a princess of a ruthless empire.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Blaine and I are now the proud owners of my parents’ old L-shaped couch, which actually isn’t that old, and is probably the most comfortable thing I’ve ever sat on. I’ve barely moved from the couch since Monday evening. I am slowly becoming one with the couch. The couch is all.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- DC librarians are alarmed over the lack of communication and safety measures put in place as area libraries start to reopen to the public.
- This Nevada sheriff threatened to not respond to emergency calls from a local library that drafted a diversity statement in support of Black Lives Matter. FLAMES. FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE.
- The three staff members of the Wardsboro (VT) Public Library (including the director) have resigned in the face of trustee demands to re-open the library.
- All 20 locations of the St. Louis County Library system are returning to a curbside-only model to prevent further spread of COVID.
Worth Reading
- The Boston Public Library needs help transcribing 40,000 anti-slavery documents from the 1800’s.
Book Adaptations in the News
- HBO is turning the stage play of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates into a special documentary/stage production.
- Elisabeth Moss is starring in the upcoming Apple adaptation of Lauren Beukes’s thriller The Shining Girls, about a time-traveling serial killer in Chicago! I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH, and I think Elisabeth Moss is perfect for the role!!
- Curtis Sittenfeld’s Rodham has been optioned by Hulu.
- The comic series Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan is getting an Amazon adaptation.
- PBS’ Masterpiece is co-producing and broadcasting the adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling novel, Magpie Murders.
- Disney is planning a stage musical adaptation of Hidden Figures.
- Milly Bobby Brown is starring in the adaptation of the upcoming Tess Sharpe thriller, The Girls I’ve Been.
- HBO Max is adapting The Wild by Owen Laukkanen.
- Rights have been sold for Greer Macallister’s Woman 99.
- Acorn TV orders a second season of Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, based on the series by Kerry Greenwood.
- Every single one of N.K. Jemisin’s novels has sold film/TV rights!
Books & Authors in the News
- Last week, I linked to an article about how Michael Cohen said that he’d be sent back to prison in retaliation for the tell-all book he was planning about Trump. A federal judge apparently agreed with this statement, and ordered Cohen released from prison and put in home confinement.
- Author Mark Dawson lost his position on the Sunday Times best-seller charts after admitting that he bought 400 copies of his book to boost sales.
- Patrick Rothfuss fans are getting very upset that they have had to wait so long for the next book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, but apparently so is Rothfuss’ editor.
- Four-year-old Nadim Shamma-Sourgen has landed a book deal for his poetry collection!
- (TW: sexual harassment) Orbit has released a statement about the recent accusations of sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by Sam Sykes.
- (TW: transphobia) Current Affairs does a deep dive into J.K. Rowling’s books and her history of transphobia, saying “The creator of Harry Potter could imagine the most marvelous fictional universe in children’s literature—yet she can’t imagine the inner lives of transgender people or the radical expansion of political possibilities.”
Award News
- The 2020 Booker Prize longlist has been announced.
- The Eisner Award winners have been announced!
- The longlist for the 2020 First Novel Prize from The Center For Fiction has been announced, and it’s quite a list!
- 2020 World Fantasy Award finalists have been announced.
- 2019 Ladies of Horror Fiction award winners.
- Adrian McKinty wins the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for The Chain.
- Strand Critics Awards nominees are announced.
Pop Cultured
- Regis Philbin has died at age 88.
- The Witcher is getting a live-action prequel series.
- Spider-Man: Far From Home’s release date has been delayed due to COVID.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- The Madison Reading Project donates a record-setting 35,000 books to local families.
- It’s time to radically rethink online book events.
On the Riot
- Lessons from the high school library.
- How many books is too many? Ask the world’s 10 biggest libraries!
- Why this reader is afraid to watch adaptations of their favorite books.
- Book club questions for Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
- Virtual book events you won’t want to miss this summer.
- 6 apps to help you up your #Bookstagram game.
- Reflections of a professional BookTuber.
- 11 great reading comprehension apps for kids.
- How authors make money on eBooks.
Take a breath and take care of yourselves, folks. I’ll see you next week, if I can bring myself to move from the couch!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.