Sponsored by Lerner Books
Vivi and Eva are two travelers in a countryside filled with the undead. After a train breaks down, stranding them between safe zones, the young women partner up to stay alive. Vivi is struggling with grief—and guilt—over the loss of her sister. Eva is hiding the start of a horrifying transformation. Together they’ll face heat, zombie hordes, and their own inner demons, searching for signs of life in a land of the dead. This graphic novel addition to an enduring genre is thoughtful and emotion-driven, but also full of zombie scares and action.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Let’s keep this short: the world is a dumpster fire, so let’s jump into some book stuff and distract ourselves. Kay? Kay.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- Printers are running at full capacity with all of the books coming out this fall, and we should expect more publication dates to shift.
- Black women are topping bestseller lists. What took so long?
- A look at the cookbook deals being made for authors of color.
- “We already have a Black writer:” Black Chicago crime fiction author Tracy Clark and others talk about the fight for recognition.
- Here’s a comprehensive guide to 120 Black-owned bookstores in America.
- How small indie bookstores are faring during the pandemic.
New & Upcoming Titles
- John Green’s next book is going to be a nonfiction essay collection based on his podcast The Anthropocene Era.
- Mackenzi Lee is writing a YA novel about Gamora and Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
- Sneak peeks at Emily Henry’s and Casey McQuiston’s next rom-com novels!
- Check out this upcoming romance holiday anthology, featuring romance stories about holidays other than Christmas.
- Book picks for the week from Bustle, Crime Reads, Lit Hub, New York Times, and USA Today. (I think with fall coming up, we’re going to see a lot more weekly book rundowns vs. monthly book rundowns. Probably the only way to keep up with everything.)
- August picks from Bitch Media (feminist reads), Crime Reads (debut crime novels, international crime novels, and true crime), and Parade.
- Most anticipated September releases from Barnes & Noble, Epic Reads (YA), and New York Times.
- Fall picks from Autostraddle, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canadian nonfiction), Parade, and Vogue.
- 6 twisty female-led books to read this fall.
- 10 fall fiction titles getting the most pre-orders from Amazon.
- 9 new translated books by women.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- The Lying Life of Adults – Elena Ferrante (LA Times, New York Times, Vox)
- Vesper Flights – Helen Macdonald (New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post)
- His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope – Jon Meacham (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)
- Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth – Brian Stelter (New York Times, Washington Post)
- Winter Counts – David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Datebook, USA Today)
RA/Genre Resources
- LibraryReads posted its Readers Advisory 101 presentation, based on its 2019 UnConference.
- The Horror Writer Association Librarian’s Day will be free and virtual this year (Nov. 1st).
- How labeling books as “diverse” reinforces white supremacy.
- How are crime writers going to address the pandemic in their new books?
All Things Comics
- We may be getting a Batman series where Batman is a person of color.
On the Riot
- 14 very good comics dogs for International Dog Day. (12/10, would read again!)
- 21 of the best romance comics.
- Comics for people with anxiety.
- 10 manga like Naruto.
- 8 manga with environmental themes.
Audiophilia
- Audible launches a new unlimited subscription tier for Audible-exclusive content.
- Libro.fm’s most anticipated audiobooks for fall.
- Best audiobooks for August.
- 4 great mystery and thriller audiobooks from Black authors.
- How audiobooks are saving this listener’s sanity during COVID.
On the Riot
- 5 of the best series on audio to keep you listening for days.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- Picture books that celebrate grandparents.
- 15 YA novels that let you travel the world from your couch.
- 14 YA horror novels guaranteed to keep you up at night.
- 8 queer YA novels with coming-of-age hope.
- 5 YA book recs based on your favorite K-Pop group.
Adults
- 10 books about the importance of the postal service.
- Best biographies to read when you’re craving celebrity gossip.
- Caribbean fiction that blurs genre boundaries.
- 9 books about living in parallel realities.
- 5 crime novels exploring complex relationships between mothers and sons.
- 8 books that are so good, they’ll make you forget about COVID.
- 15 books to help guide you through grief.
- 5 SFF books with good doggos (and dog-adjacent beings) as key characters.
On the Riot
- 10 picture books for the budding environmentalist.
- Medical books for kids.
- 16 wonderful #OwnVoices YA books about disability.
- 6 British YA authors of color.
- 7 YA books about schizophrenia.
- 10 great YA books about World War II.
- 5 eco-dystopian novels that explore environmental worst case scenarios. (You know, in case the news isn’t terrifying enough for you.)
- 10 eco horror novels.
- 8 works of hopeful climate fiction.
- 10 environmentalist cookbooks and guides for a more sustainable kitchen.
- 5 biographies and memoirs of environmentalist heroes.
- 10 works of environmental literature from around the world.
- 6 excellent books featuring libraries or librarians.
- 10 books that explore the multiverse.
- 19 Black feminist books.
- 8 of the best adult dragon books around.
- 11 books about unapologetic queerness and radical justice seeking.
- 16 of the best yoga books for beginners.
Level Up (Library Reads)
Do you take part in Library Reads, 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.
Catch you on the flipside, everyone.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James.