Sponsored by Chicago Review Press
The Crimson Five make their international debut as they embark on the Swirl and Spark Creativity Tour. To solidify their spots at Piedmont Inventor’s Prep School once and for all, Kia and her team of young inventors are challenged to create a final life-changing invention with Teams France and Switzerland. Everything changes when the Crimson Five discover a hidden invention and that someone else is pulling the strings in the competition. To save Piedmont, and the futures of all kids with big dreams, the Crimson Five must find a way to unlock the invention and lead a newly connected team.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I spent this last weekend getting all my holiday shopping done, but I’ll probably still end up waiting until the last minute to get my wrapping done. Maybe a good time to find a new audiobook? At any rate, it feels really bizarre to have a raging pandemic happening outside, and still be figuring out the logistics of holiday wrapping.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
ReedPop is retiring BookExpo and BookCon, although there will likely be attempts to re-invent the conference. Booksellers have said that they aren’t surprised that BEA has been retired.
What a new BookExpo could learn from the Helsinki Book Fair.
Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster has drawn a lot of objections.
A look at some of the (many!) new imprints announced this year.
What are publishers really doing to diversify?
New & Upcoming Titles
Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds have announced an adaptation of Stamped for kids! Check out the cover here.
Akwaeke Emezi will be releasing their first poetry collection next year
Mary Trump will have another book coming out in July 2021.
Paula Hawkins announced her next suspense novel, which will be released in August of next year.
Sister Souljah has a follow-up to The Coldest Winter Ever, called Life After Death, which will be released in March.
Lauren Groff is writing a new book in 2021.
Melania Trump is possibly shopping around a memoir.
John Cena is releasing an illustrated book of uplifting quotes adapted from his Twitter feed.
11 new books by Native American writers.
13 new books to get cozy with this holiday season.
16 recent holiday romances to fall in love with.
Books that deserved more buzz this year. Plus, this season’s hidden gems.
Weekly book picks from Booklist Reader, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Crime Reads, New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.
December picks from Amazon, Bitch Media (YA feminist picks), Lambda Literary (LGBTQ), The Millions, New York Times, Pop Sugar (romance, thrillers, buzzy books), Shondaland, Town & Country, and Washington Post.
32 LGBTQ+ books to look forward to in 2021.
Best Books of 2020
NPR’s Book Concierge is BAAAAACK!
Best picks from Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, New York Times, New Yorker, Parade, Shondaland, and Smithsonian Magazine.
Best debuts of 2020 (Barnes & Noble).
Best romances (BookPage).
Best mysteries & thrillers (BookPage, Seattle Times).
Best memoirs (BookPage).
Best science books (Smithsonian Magazine).
Best children’s books from BookPage (picture books & middle grade), Kirkus, New York Times.
Best art & photo books (BuzzFeed, New York Times).
Best book covers (LitHub).
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Long Time Coming: Reckoning With Race in America – Michael Eric Dyson (NPR, Washington Post)
Perestroika in Paris – Jane Smiley (NPR, Washington Post)
RA/Genre Resources
NYPL put together a list of readalikes for recent award-winning titles.
On the Riot
It’s Book Riot’s Best Books of 2020! (MUPPET ARMS!!)
And our best children’s books of 2020! (MORE MUPPET ARMS!!)
20 must-read picture books from 2020.
10 short story collections by Asian authors from 2020.
A response to claims of racism in Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education.
Foretelling the future of vampire books.
Reading pathways for Ally Condie.
Mood is the most underrated literary device, and the most valuable.
How to get a refresher without rereading the previous book in a series.
All Things Comics
Did you know that Kristin Cashore’s YA novel Graceling is being turned into a graphic novel?
Switch up your reading routine with these 15 graphic novels.
On the Riot
Audiophilia
Okay, this is just RUDE: Alex Trebek has been omitted from his own memoir’s Grammy nomination, despite narrating a significant portion of the audiobook. And Ken Jennings is pissed.
Epic Reads asks what it’s like working in audiobooks.
AudioFile announced their Best Audiobooks of 2020.
Libro.fm announced that their Thanks for Giving campaign led to over $170,000 being spent at independent bookstores during the last week of November!
On the Riot
6 of the best audiobooks set in the American South.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
10 Kwanzaa books for kids and families.
Children’s books that celebrate diverse holidays and traditions.
YA novels with complicated friendships.
7 YA books that perfectly depict the fake dating trope.
Adults
25 festive holiday romance novels.
10 chilling thrillers to read this winter.
6 novels to read if you love Hallmark movies.
Books about addiction written by women.
Excellent 500+ page novels to lose yourself in.
Get holly and jolly (and slightly murderous) with these Christmas cozy mysteries.
5 unconventional fictional families that will (maybe) make you miss your own.
On the Riot
7 books with stuffed animals to cheer up your little ones.
8 middle grade and YA fantasy novels written by Indian authors.
5 royal YA fantasy books for fans of The Crown.
5 queer YA books to read if you’re disappointed with Boys’ Love.
Learn about 8 other classic teen sleuths who weren’t Nancy Drew.
28 sex-positive books for readers of all ages.
5 books about complicated families by BIPOC authors.
8 anti-racist books to help you dig deeper.
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.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.