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Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I can’t imagine a worse way to start a weekend than to learn that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away. I still feel gutted. And angry. And terrified. And more determined than ever to vote and help other people vote. I hope that whatever your feelings are right now, they spur you to some eleventh hour action.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
- The wildfires along the West Coast are taking their toll on booksellers and publishers.
- John Sargent is leaving Macmillan, allegedly due to “disagreements regarding the direction of Macmillan.” (Library folks will recognize John Sargent as the person who said that libraries were “cannibalizing” eBook sales.)
- Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins have created new diversity-related positions.
New & Upcoming Titles
- The first volume of Barack Obama’s presidential memoir will be published in November. GET THOSE HOLDS LISTS READY!
- Check out the cover for Ibram X. Kendi’s next book: Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.
- Lil Nas X wrote a children’s book, and it sounds adorable!
- The Beatles announce their first official book since the publication of Anthology, called Get Back. BRB, adding this to my 2021 Christmas list.
- Ken Liu announces that the last book in the Dandelion Dynasty trilogy will actually be two books: The Veiled Throne and Speaking Bones.
- Chrissy Teigen is working on a new cookbook.
- Stanley Tucci announces an upcoming food memoir.
- Books of the week from Bustle, Buzzfeed, Crime Reads, New York Times, and USA Today.
- Books for the fall from Bookmarks (poetry), BookPage, Buzzfeed, CBC (YA fiction), and PopSugar.
- Psychological thriller picks for September.
- 19 new titles for your TBR.
- Best romance novels of 2020.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
- Homeland Elegies – Ayad Akhtar (New York Times, USA Today)
- Piranesi – Susanna Clarke (LA Times, Washington Post)
- If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future – Jill Lepore (New York Times, NPR)
- Here We Are – Graham Swift (NPR, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
- Queer pressure, #ownvoices, and what we demand of queer authors.
On the Riot
- YA books coming out this year that every school library should have.
- 7 Summer 2020 new releases by women in translation.
- Middle fantasy: a sub-genre for all fantasy lovers.
- Unable to turn away: exploring inescapable experiences of horror.
- Reading pathway for Louise Erdrich.
All Things Comics
- Ms. Marvel signs a bunch of exciting directors for its first episodes!
- Marvel casts the lead for the upcoming She-Hulk TV show.
On the Riot
- 8 perfect YA comics for new comics readers.
- 7 must-read dark comics.
- Start a new hobby with these manga drawing books.
- Your Batman reading order: How to catch up on the Dark Knight.
- Remembering Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther.
Audiophilia
- Cory Doctorow on why we need to talk about Audible.
- Libro.fm compiled a list of Latinx-owned bookstores to support.
- Best audiobooks of September.
- Audiobooks in translation, from Nordic noir to South Korean crime fiction.
On the Riot
- 6 of the best coming-of-age novels on audio.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
- 15 Spanish/English bilingual picture books.
- 6 must-read books about race for children and teens.
- 17 YA books with bisexual characters.
- 15 mystery/thriller YA books perfect for fans of true crime podcasts.
Adults
- Books to celebrate the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- 10 books to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
- 8 books that explore family and crime.
- 21 sports romance books for anyone who has a thing for athletes.
- 10 books about doomed love.
- A late summer SFF reading list.
- 8 books about women who disappear.
- Badass heroines in epic fantasy.
- 20 swoony college romances to melt your heart.
- 5 sci-fi books featuring floating habitats.
On the Riot
- 8 great books for parents of children with ADHD.
- 9 classics of queer YA literature.
- Banned books to read during Banned Books Week.
- 9 under-the-radar fairytale and folktale retellings.
- 9 horror short story collections.
- SFF novels by Indigenous authors.
- 6 books for the goth gardener.
- 6 book recs for Broadway fans.
- 5 Black women writers who trace slavery across genres.
- 7 books set in New York state.
- 7 obscure Indian novels you should add to your TBR.
- 10 books from behind the runway.
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. Make a voting plan. Tell them Ruth sent you.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.