Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Another Super Bowl (or Superb Owl?) has come and gone, which means that football season is finally over and baseball season is around the corner! And in other calendar-related news, this newsletter comes out on Valentine’s Day! I say that as if I actually have plans, but I have to work a full day and Blaine and I usually just use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to watch a horror movie. However, if candy shows up in the staff office, I definitely won’t say no…
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
HarperCollins and the HC union have struck a tentative agreement after nearly three months of striking.
Debut author Laura Warrell writes about publishing while Black.
Just what the heck is happening in publishing?
New & Upcoming Titles
Stephenie Meyer has announced two new Twilight books, although details are still in the works.
Kiley Reid’s second novel will be coming out in January 2024.
Barbra Streisand is publishing a memoir in November.
EK Johnston is writing a new Star Wars book.
Julie Andrews and her daughter are teaming up to write a new picture book: The Enchanted Symphony.
Matthew McConaughey is also writing a children’s book.
Cover reveal for Adam Sass’ upcoming queer YA horror novel that’s billed as “Scream meets Clueless.”
New and upcoming books by Black authors.
16 debut YA authors to keep your eyes on this year.
On the Riot
What do 10 years of the NYT’s YA best-seller lists say about YA?
YA authors writing adult fiction in 2023, and vice versa.
The most-anticipated travel books for 2023.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
February picks for fantasy, romance, mysteries/thrillers, horror, nonfiction, LGBTQ+, children, YA
Reading pathways for E.L. Konigsburg.
How accurate is Goodreads’ “Readers Also Enjoyed” feature?
How to read more short story collections in 2023.
All Things Comics
Did you find yourself wishing you could read Scott Lang’s book Look Out for the Little Guy, as seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania? Well, now you can!
Amazon orders an animated adaptation for Scott Snyder’s super creepy 2014 graphic novel, Wytches.
Amazon is also producing a Spider-Man Noir live-action series.
On the Riot
8 new comics to read in February.
14 new manga releases for January – February 2023.
Comics and graphic novels for people who hate Valentine’s Day.
Audiophilia
Viola Davis becomes the latest EGOT winner with her Grammy win for her narration on Finding Me.
On the Riot
Take a peek at this amazing Audible deal (3 free months!) which ends on February 20th.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
9 children’s books about firefighters.
Middle grade novels that bring art to life.
Can’t-miss YA books to read for Black History Month.
14 YA titles perfect to read ahead of Valentine’s Day.
11 YA books about djinn and genies.
Adults
5 LGBTQ climate fiction novels.
10 Afro-Latina writers to read right now.
14 queer romcoms to read for Valentine’s Day.
10 obsession thrillers to keep a close eye on.
On the Riot
9 steamy enemies-to-lovers romances.
An imperfect list of books like Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
25 of the best contemporary romance books.
8 gorgeous generational fiction novels by Asian authors.
10 tense survival romance novels.
8 steamy fantasy romance novels.
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 is Dini supervising Blaine on a VIP (Very Important Project). Our toilet handle broke, and Dini had to make sure everything was up to code.
Well, that’s it for me. I’ll see you again on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.