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Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Let’s get right to it, because this newsletter is virtually exploding with adaptation news.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
A board meeting for the Lincoln Parish Public Library turned into a heated debate as parents expressed concern about the library including books with LGBTQ+ themes in the children’s section.
Worth Reading
The impact of COVID-19 on academic libraries.
Dreaming about the ideal library.
Book Adaptations in the News
Scott Frank, co-creator of The Queen’s Gambit, is working on three new projects involving book adaptations.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will be adapted for Disney+.
Rebecca F. Kuang’s fantasy series beginning with The Poppy War is going to be adapted for TV.
Kid Cudi is producing and starring in the adaptation of Brandon Taylor’s novel, Real Life.
Julia Roberts is starring in a limited series based on the forthcoming book The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.
HBO is looking at a True Blood reboot.
Apple is reportedly looking at an adaptation of Blake Crouch’s thriller, Dark Matter.
Megan Abbott’s Dare Me is coming to Netflix on December 29th.
Amazon is developing an unscripted docuseries and a scripted series based on Jessica Simpson’s memoir Open Book.
Range Media and CrichtonSun are partnering to develop several adaptations based on Michael Crichton’s work.
Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land is getting a TV adaptation.
A four-part BBC series based on Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life is in the works.
Netflix UK is going to adapt Stuart Turton’s The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which is actually titled The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in Britain.
UK producer Arrow Media has optioned both Chasing Cosby: The Downfall of America’s Dad by Nicole Weisensee Egan and The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski by Samantha Geimer. Both will reportedly be turned into documentary series.
Hulu renewed The Handmaid’s Tale for a fifth season.
Trailers for Clarice, A Discovery of Witches Season 2, Nomadland, and Bridgerton.
Books & Authors in the News
A conservative youth group will offer Burbank students free copies of the five books that were recently challenged as required reading materials in the school district.
Literary giant John le Carré has passed away at age 89.
Douglas Stuart has partnered with the Streetreads initiative to donate 300 copies of Shuggie Bain to people experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh.
Numbers & Trends
The most popular & purchased books of 2020 by Amazon customers.
What – and how – people were reading during the pandemic, according to the CEO of OverDrive.
The most popular romantic novels from the last six decades.
Award News
The winners of the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Award have been announced.
Pop Cultured
Yeah, Disney just announced a LOT of new upcoming projects.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
A multi-million dollar book heist from 2017 has been solved.
On the Riot
YA book adaptations due out next year.
Saddle Up & Read improves kids’ literacy, one farm trip at a time.
11 ideas to tackle as 2021 reading goals.
Why this reader is joining Instagram book clubs.
How reading helps this writer with writer’s block.
That’s all for me, folks. Stay fed, hydrated, and moisturized!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.