Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This week is very exciting because Thursday is OPENING DAY for baseball, and after a three month lockout, I wasn’t even sure if baseball would be happening this month. I’m still not over the Cubs trading their Big 3 last year, but I am looking forward to baseball. Baseball also means the end of sports that I’m not interested in watching, specifically football and college basketball.
So…books, anyone?
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Former chief White House photographer Shealah Craighead planned to publish a book of photos she took during Trump’s presidency, but Trump allegedly interfered in order to cash in on the profits.
Publishing community updates on Ukraine.
New & Upcoming Titles
Princeton historian Julian Zelizer is publishing an in-depth look at Trump’s presidency, along with contributions from 18 American academics and historians. The book will be released later in April.
Roxane Gay announces the first three books from her publishing imprint.
Leigh Bardugo’s upcoming novel, Hell Bent (the sequel to Ninth House), is coming in January 2023!
Greta Thunberg is publishing a “go-to source” book on the climate crisis.
Marie Kondo announces her forthcoming release, Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home, which will be out in November.
Nana Kwame Adjej-Brenyah, author of the acclaimed story collection Friday Black, announces his debut novel.
Kacen Callender announces their first adult romance novel, Stars In Your Eyes.
CJ Connor announces a new queer cozy mystery series, featuring “board games, silly puns, family in all its forms, and queer joy (y’know, as joyful as a murder mystery can be)!”
I think this book was literally written just for me…Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is being marketed as a Black Southern Gothic novel in the vein of The Others meets A Head Full of Ghosts. It comes out in February 2023, which is far too long to wait.
Kevin and Danielle Jonas talk about their new children’s book, There’s a Rock Concert in My Bedroom.
Julia Fox’s upcoming book is not a memoir.
Here’s a first look at Jasmine Guillory’s upcoming novel, Drunk on Love.
And here’s the cover reveal for Pride and Protest, Nikki Payne’s multicultural retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.
The best new crime nonfiction from February and March.
The best-reviewed rom-coms for March.
Indie speculative fiction for March.
April picks from Barnes & Noble, Epic Reads, Kirkus, LA Times, New York Times, The Root, Time, USA Today (rom-coms), and Washington Post.
10 enticing debut novels for Spring 2022.
Spring picks from Autostraddle and New York Times (fiction, nonfiction)
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation – Maud Newton (New York Times, NPR, The Rumpus, Shondaland, Washington Post)
The Candy House – Jennifer Egan (Datebook, The Millions, New York Times, Washington Post)
Out There – Kate Folk (Datebook, LA Times, New York Times)
A House Between the Earth and the Moon – Rebecca Scherm (New York Times, Wired)
Young Mungo – Douglas Stuart (LA Times, NPR)
RA/Genre Resources
On the Riot
Indie presses publishing works in translation in the US.
The best weekly new releases to TBR.
15 LGBTQ books released in April you need to read.
This reader asks if they’ll ever read SFF again.
What the heck is sunshine noir?
Is there even such a thing as a “reliable narrator?”
Indigenous authors are held to higher standards.
Reading authentically: the current state of diversity in picture books.
All Things Comics
The comic book series Black will be adapted for the big screen.
On the Riot
11 of the best Isekai manga.
14 of the best action manga.
Audiophilia
A new report shows a link between adult audiobook habits and mental wellbeing.
Audiofile’s best audiobooks for March.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
On the Riot
9 of the best audiobook subscription services.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
10 YA books that will have music lovers singing.
16 YA BookTok recommendations.
26 standalone YA novels you can read in one sitting.
Adults
18 LGBTQ+ books to give you a whole new perspective.
Historical romances to entice Bridgerton fans.
7 medieval horror novels for when you need a break from Elden Ring.
What to read when you feel uprooted.
10 novels about art and artists.
Books on the history of America’s National Parks.
7 contemporary horror novels that push boundaries.
7 gothic novels with creepy estates.
Top 5 books to help people grow their business.
5 books that feel like a trippy haunted house.
10 must-read alternate history thrillers.
On the Riot
30 of the best books for toddlers.
Scratch-n-sniff books for kids.
Book recs 9-year-olds are begging for.
The best YA books with a second chance romance.
10 YA books like We Were Liars.
20 of the best adult memoirs for teens.
9 nonfiction books about disability by people of marginalized genders.
8 books about eugenics in the US.
8 of the best Southern mysteries.
The best historical fantasy books.
Novels about chilling near-future worlds.
24 of the best award-winning poetry books.
8 books for fans of historical K-dramas.
16 best friend romance novels you can’t miss.
8 books like the mountain climbing documentary 14 Peaks.
10 queer rom-coms to make you swoon.
12 books about BIPOC pop stars and musicians.
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 has a guide to discovering upcoming diverse books, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Here’s a bit of a throwback – if you look closely, you can see Gilbert splooted in my lap while I’m crocheting a baby blanket. If the blanket had been farther along, Gilbert would 100% have been napping on it. Which is why if you ever get a blanket from me, it will have a non-zero amount of Gilbert fur.
All right, friends. I’ll catch you on Friday. (And PLAY BALL!)
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.