Sponsored by Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing
To the young Cheryl Diamond, life felt like one big adventure. One day her family was in Australia, the next South Africa, the pattern repeating as they crossed continents, changed identities, and erased their pasts. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies. Surviving would require her to escape, and to do so Diamond would have to unlearn all the rules she grew up with. Wild, heart-wrenching, and unexpectedly funny, Nowhere Girl is an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about running for freedom against the odds.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This week, Illinois has opened up vaccine eligibility to include government workers, which happily includes library employees, and I have an appointment for my first vaccine dose on Friday! I also have a masked appointment for my first haircut in 8 months, so I’m hoping this will truly be a transformative week.
Supporting the AAPI Community
Statements from the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, the ALA Executive Board, and the Asian American Writer’s Workshop.
The impact that the pandemic has had on discrimination against Asian Americans.
Steph Cha writes for the LA Times about police violence against Asian communities.
“It requires an enormous act of will to force others not even to care but merely to see your reality.”
Library Journal shared their COVID-19 anti-xenophobia and anti-racist information resources, along with their COVID anti-Asian racism resources for K-12 students.
Reading lists to understand anti-Asian racism in America from Feminist Press and Vox.
AAPI-owned bookstores to support.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Not surprisingly, university presses are overwhelmingly white.
New & Upcoming Titles
Take a peek at Phoebe Robinson’s next essay collection, coming this fall.
Margaret Atwood is editing a collaborative novel about the pandemic, featuring authors such as John Grisham, Celeste Ng, Dave Eggers, and Emma Donoghue.
Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie, is writing a YA novel called Empress and Aniya.
Jesmyn Ward is also writing a YA novel.
Idris Elba signs a multi-book deal with HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Comedian and actress Iliza Shlesinger is working on an essay collection, which is due out next year.
Linda Rondstadt is working on a memoir, which will likely come out in the fall of next year.
The next Star Wars anthology will explore holiday cheer in a galaxy far, far away.
12 new books to make you smarter.
Weekly book picks from Buzzfeed, Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.
27 spring books we couldn’t put down.
The best SFF books coming out this spring.
The best books of 2021 so far.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic – Glenn Frankel (NPR, USA Today)
Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America – Alec MacGillis (NPR, Washington Post)
Creatures of Passage – Morowa Yejidé (New York Times, Washington Post)
Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All – Laura Bates (NPR)
How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession With Rights Is Tearing America Apart – Jamal Greene (Washington Post)
The Jigsaw Man – Nadine Matheson (NPR)
Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions – Michael Moss (New York Times)
The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner (NPR)
RA/Genre Resources
Readalikes for Harlan Coben’s Win, which is at the top of the best-seller lists this week.
On the Riot
18 great 2021 YA books by AAPI authors to watch for.
8 of the best new & upcoming 2021 SFF books by Black authors.
13 great 2021 short story collections by Asian authors.
3 new YA historical fiction novels by women of color.
Reading pathways for Sherry Thomas.
Brown for no reason: finding books when Brandy Cinderella is your lodestar.
Will people still want to read pandemic books in the future?
All Things Comics
Dolly Parton is going to star in her own comic book.
Tiffany Haddish is starring in a film adaptation of the Mystery Girl comic book series.
Marvel introduces the first gay Captain America to the comics.
Dreamer, TV’s first transgender superhero, is making her debut in the DC Pride anthology.
Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki are collaborating on a yet-untitled graphic novel, due out in 2023.
On the Riot
5 graphic novels for kids that tackle tough issues.
Graphic novels to read if you liked The Ghost Bride.
Audiophilia
Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth by Rachel Maddow won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.
Benedict Cumberbatch will narrate the audio version of Edward St. Aubyn’s Double Blind.
Libro.fm is also going to be giving away audiobooks to anyone who spends $15 or more at a local bookstore for Indie Bookstore Day next month.
6 audiobooks to listen to in March.
On the Riot
7 of the best middle grade audiobooks.
10 of the best Audible originals to put in your ears.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
21 children’s books about dogs.
Must-read children’s books written by celebrities.
22 YA books about Asian Americans, past and present.
Adults
25 of the best true crime books of all time to unleash your inner Sherlock.
100 speculative fiction books to add to your TBR.
11 Asian-American love stories.
14 fabulous contemporary women nature writers.
15 of the best books about TV comedies.
10 thrillers based on real-life events.
20 new and classic books about feminism to get you thinking and talking.
Stephen King recommends 10 pulp crime authors.
15 books inspired by Shakespeare.
The best historical fiction books to read right now.
12 genre-bending books to read after watching Behind Her Eyes.
6 deliciously duplicitous female characters in thrillers.
7 books that show the full breadth of the adoption experience.
12 of the best Indian novels that everyone needs to read.
A reading list about unrequited love and unmet obsession.
On the Riot
5 excellent children’s books about flowers.
5 children’s books about writers.
6 of the best children’s books about hero pets.
18 books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors.
20 of the best world history books.
4 books about sleep worth staying awake to read.
15 mystery book club recommendations.
8 great small town thrillers.
20 must-read free online stories.
13 great swashbuckling fantasy reads.
5 of the best Sylvia Plath biographies.
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.
See you on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Overkill by Vanda Symon.