Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Since I put these newsletters together based on stuff from the previous week, this issue is pretty short. But never fear — we’ll be back up to full speed next week!
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
Publishers Weekly posted their industry salary survey for 2023.
Thoughts on how to diversify the publishing industry.
New & Upcoming Titles
Here’s the cover reveal for Laura Hankin’s One Star Romance, which was inspired by the time she had to walk down the aisle at a friend’s wedding with a guy who had given her book a 1-star review on Goodreads.
Best books of the year from Kirkus (nonfiction), New York Public Library, New York Times, NPR.
December YA picks from Epic Reads.
RA/Genre Resources
Black romance authors and editors share their passion for love stories.
An interview with Nora Roberts about her impact on romance publishing.
The mainstreaming of historical fiction.
Tess Gerritsen’s neighbors are retired spies, so she wrote about it.
On the Riot
Authors with their own publishing imprints (and what books to read from them).
The best queer books of the year.
Queer YA from 2023 you may have missed
The best books you’ve never heard of, fall 2023 edition.
The best new weekly releases to TBR.
The best and worst tropes in murder mysteries.
9 whimsigoth books to charm your bookshelf.
All Things Comics
On the Riot
The best graphic novels by speculative fiction authors.
The best manga inspired by mythology.
Audiophilia
On the Riot
Project Gutenberg produced 5,000 AI audiobooks, but how do they sound?
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Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
The best books by Kate DiCamillo.
Adults
10 books to read if you loved Lessons in Chemistry.
6 books that may change how you think about mental illness.
On the Riot
8 astronomically great books about space and astrophysics.
Swords and smooches: 8 high fantasy romance novels.
20 of the best books on AI to stay current with industry trends.
9 horror books with romance at the heart.
8 of the best reverse harem books.
20 must-read dark fairy tales.
10 romance books like Part of Your World.
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 that includes information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
The holiday shopping has begun, and Dini is having a blast with all of the new boxes to inspect!
All right, friends. Have a good, fast week, and I’ll see you on Friday!
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.