Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Why is it that we so frequently fall ill after coming back from vacation? I was diagnosed with an ear infection the day I went back to work and then woke up the next morning with horrible laryngitis that has put me out of commission for two days. At least it wasn’t COVID (*knock on wood*).
Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read! Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.
Libraries & Librarians
Worth Reading
5 ways to detect text written by ChatGPT and other AI tools.
Book Adaptations in the News
The Alchemist will be adapted into a feature-length film.
The trailers for All the Light We Cannot See and Leave the World Behind have just dropped.
Censorship News
74% of parents think that book bans are infringing on their parental rights.
Banned Books Week by the numbers.
A history of the U.S. government burning books.
PEN America and the National Coalition Against Censorship have issued statements and resources for Banned Books Week.
USA Today posted a visual dive into the increase in book ban attempts.
The New York Times released a pair of dueling op-eds about Banned Books Week. The second one, while making some decent points about what is actually being celebrated with Banned Books Week, is also a clear indicator that the author does not understand library policies or standard weeding practices.
Malinda Lo talks about her books being banned or challenged in 16 states within the last two years.
How libraries are fighting book banning.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has set a tentative schedule to decide whether a judge’s order blocking the state’s controversial book rating law, HB 900, should stand. But an administrative stay issued last week by a separate motions panel of the Fifth Circuit remains in force—meaning that, despite being found unconstitutional, the law is now in effect, putting Texas booksellers in a precarious position.”
The Charlotte County (FL) school district ordered librarians to remove all books with LGBTQ characters or themes, even if there was no sexual content.
Judy Blume, James Patterson, and other authors are helping PEN America open a new Miami office to help combat the wave of book bans happening in Florida.
Vermont librarians reflect on the national rise in book bans and censorship.
A librarian at the Rockwell Falls Library (NY) describes the stress and months of ongoing harassment from community members.
NYC lawmakers are considering legislation after a bomb threat was made in response to a Drag Queen Story Hour in Brooklyn.
The New York Public Library has launched a nationwide teen banned book club.
The Washington Post profiled a serial book banner in Spotsylvania, Virginia, who says that she challenges one school book a week and will never stop. On the one hand, it’s good to know what the enemy is up to and to highlight that this is a specific strategy on the part of the book banners. On the other hand, I hate seeing people like this get a national spotlight.
“North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district appears to be a bit confused as to where it stands in the ongoing battle against books around the U.S.: they banned educators from participating in a weeklong series of events drawing attention to banned books and then … said there was no ban.”
The South Carolina State Library is the latest to cut ties with ALA. The South Carolina Freedom Caucus supports this decision.
Terri Lesley, the former Campbell County Public Library (WY) director who was fired in July, has filed a lawsuit against a family that accused her of distributing pornography to children.
The L.A. County Library and the San Diego Public Library systems have joined the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned initiative, which provides free access to banned or restricted books to all U.S. teens and young adults.
Books & Authors in the News
Celebrated children’s author and illustrator Ed Young has died at 91.
YA author Echo Brown has died at 39.
Syrian author Khaled Khalifa has died at 59.
Numbers & Trends
The best-selling books of the week.
Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.
Award News
The National Book Award finalists have been announced.
The shortlist for the 2023 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize has been announced.
Barnes & Noble has released their 2023 Discover Prize finalists.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
Having books in your Zoom background makes you seem more trustworthy. Well, obviously.
On the Riot
How to increase your media literacy.
6 adaptations of books that their authors didn’t like.
Frightfully fun Halloween book club ideas for your next meeting.
Gen Z celebrity book clubs are taking off.
The importance of knowing and sticking to your own bookish limits.
The worst first lines in literature.
How to finish a book you stopped reading halfway through.
How to start reading again, when it’s been awhile.
This was Dini about an hour and a half after we got home from vacation last weekend. Since then, he has been snuggle bombing us and climbing in our suitcases, so I think it’s safe to say he missed us!
All right, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Hopefully I’ll sound less like a bullfrog by then. I’ll see you on Tuesday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.