Sponsored by Baen Books.
Time is running out to untangle the past to save the future. Agent Raibert Kaminski and the crew of the Transtemporal Vehicle Kleio discover careless time travel has caused a temporal implosion claiming two whole universes. Upon their return home universe SysGov, an audacious plan is put into effect by Raibert’s old colleagues. They have proposed an expedition into the past to prevent the Plague of Justinian, one of the worst pandemics in human history. Meanwhile, SysGov’s neighbor, the xenophobic Admin is amassing a fleet of advanced, heavily armed time machines with SysGov firmly in the crosshairs.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’ve been staring at screens so much this week, my eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of my head! I’m sure a lot of you can relate, but YOWZA my peepers need a break. (I also may or may not need more sleep.)
All right. Let’s library.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- The Ohio Library Board reverses its decision to end its ALA membership for “leaning to the left.”
- United for Libraries will designate Lloyd Manor in New York as a literary landmark in honor of Jupiter Hammon, the first published Black poet.
Cool Library Updates
- The LA Times says that using the Los Angeles Public Library when its buildings are closed is “easy, fun, and surprisingly comforting.”
Worth Reading
- The library as a ballot box.
- How campus libraries are equipping first-year students for remote learning success.
- The top 100 most banned and challenged books of the last decade.
- Tween sections in libraries: yay or nay?
Book Adaptations in the News
- Netflix has been urged to rethink its Liu Cixin adaptation after his comments about the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims. Here is Netflix’s response.
- Sylvain Neuvel’s novella The Test is being adapted into a film starring John Boyega!
- Amazon is adapting the forthcoming Jo Nesbo book, The Jealousy Man, as well as Sophie Kinsella’s I’ve Got Your Number.
- A look at the darker reboot of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
- Peter Höeg’s novel, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, is being adapted.
- Ken Liu’s The Hidden Girl is being turned into a series.
- The Creepshow Halloween Special will adapt two stories by Stephen King and Joe Hill.
- And speaking of Stephen King, Zac Efron is going to star in the new adaptation of Firestarter.
- Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series is coming to Netflix.
Books & Authors in the News
- Edward Snowden agrees to give up more than $5 million from his book and associated speeches.
- Mary Trump sues Donald Trump and other family members for fraud.
- More than 200 authors and publishers have signed a letter in support of trans and non-binary people, in reaction to a recent letter written in support of J.K. Rowling.
- James Patterson donates $2.5 million to teachers to help them create classroom and at-home libraries for students.
Numbers & Trends
- By the numbers: rural and small libraries.
- The number of YA authors of color in the UK have more than doubled in the last two years!
- The most popular book set in every country.
- Why political memoirs are so popular right now.
- A look at recent YA cover design trends.
Award News
- The Booker Prize has rescheduled its award announcement date from November 17th to November 19th, in order to make room for Obama’s upcoming memoir.
- Namwali Serpell’s novel The Old Drift wins the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
- The winners of the Arab American Book Awards showcase increasing variety and diversity.
Pop Cultured
- Disney is moving a lot of release dates due to the pandemic.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
On the Riot
- Beyond Magenta: When gatekeeping becomes censorship.
- Why we need copyright libraries.
- How this reader learned to stop mourning problematic authors.
- TBR lists are aspirational, not doable – and that’s what’s so great about them.
- The power of the reread.
Okay, I’m going to bed and put on a white noise playlist. Wake me up when next week starts.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.