Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m back in the Chicago cold, where we’re putting the “meh” in the Midwest. I also have a cold, which thankfully didn’t crop up until yesterday and appears to be pretty mild. But my sinuses are very unhappy.
As a reminder, if you missed the announcement in the last newsletter, Book Riot is launching a new, in-depth newsletter, The Deep Dive, which features fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading! Subscription is $5/month for two newsletters each month, or you can get a free subscription to The Splash Pad, which rounds up some of the experts’ recommended reading and bookish lifestyle goods on a monthly basis. Subscribe at bookriot.substack.com.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
Library visits and loans are recovering post-pandemic but funding is still dropping.
Noting the “changed complexion of staff,” the Elmwood Park Public Library board (IL) takes over and de-professionalizes the organization.
Cool Library Updates
Libraries lend cleanup kits to help beautify communities.
Worth Reading
Strategies for combating workplace inequity.
Book Adaptations in the News
Devil in the White City is no longer moving forward at Hulu after losing both the director and Keanu Reeves.
Bad Robot wins the film rights for Mona Awad’s Bunny.
Trailer for Peter Pan & Wendy.
Banned & Challenged Books
Volusia County Schools (FL) want to invest in Moms for Liberty’s book-rating website, BookLooks.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee makes his state the first to ban public drag shows, despite a photo from his 1977 high school yearbook in which he is dressed in drag.
A global view of book banning.
Books & Authors in the News
Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May mystery series, has died at 69.
Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is burning bridges left and right after a recent racist tirade; his publisher and his Dilbert distributor have officially cut ties with him, and many newspapers have announced that they will no longer run Dilbert strips.
The James Bond novels are being rewritten to remove racist language, although here’s the problem with these rewrites.
Reese Witherspoon chose The Nightingale as her next book club pick, and this Rioter explains why her reasoning is misguided.
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
Do you need help finding your next great read? Subscribe to Tailored Book Recommendations for really great reads year-round.
Award News
The 2022 Bram Stoker Award finalists have been announced.
The longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction has been announced.
The finalists for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction have been announced.
On the Riot
Running a successful D&D convention at your library.
6 of the best ways to get paid to read books.
Why does Netflix keep canceling YA adaptations?
How this Rioter reads with all of their senses.
Why this Rioter is pledging to write more critical reviews.
This is Dini shortly after I woke up this morning…I think he’s happy to have us home again. And let’s be real — this is always the best part about coming home from vacation!
All right friends, I’ll see you next week! Have a good one!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.