Sponsored by Erewhon/Workman Publishing
The Stone Road is a haunting, lyrical fantasy set in a harsh world of grit and monsters. In Casement Rise, a dusty town at the end of days, Jean is a young girl with a daunting future. The day Jean was born a mysterious force named Furnace awoke a few miles out of town that mysteriously calls people to it, including Jean’s father, never to be heard from again. Jean’s grandmother has always kept Casement Rise safe from monsters, but in protecting Jean, she may have left it too late to teach her how to face the demons on her own, and now it’s time to grow up.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf, where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter. Let’s do this.
Collection Development Corner
Publishing News
E.L. James is launching a new imprint with Sourcebooks, and she’s taking her entire catalog with her.
Union booksellers protest at The Strand in New York City.
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, the original Dutch translator for Amanda Gorman’s poetry, has stepped down after criticism that a white author was selected for the task.
These sisters formed a publishing house to launch a novel about a Black Muslim teenager.
New & Upcoming Titles
Kal Penn is writing a memoir.
Billie Jean King’s autobiography All In: An Autobiography will be released in August.
Henry Thomas (E.T., The Haunting of Hill House) has a debut fantasy novel coming out.
Joe Exotic of Tiger King infamy is working on a tell-all memoir that’s slated for November.
5 new books that engage with the climate change crisis.
5 romance novels from February to add to your TBR.
Weekly book picks from Buzzfeed, Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, People, Publishers Weekly, The Root, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.
March picks from Amazon, A/V Club, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Crime Reads, Entertainment Weekly, io9, Lambda Literary, The Millions (general, poetry), O: Oprah Magazine, PopSugar (general, mystery/thriller, romance, YA), Shondaland, Time, Tor.com (YA SFF), and Washington Post.
42 LGBTQ books coming soon.
11 YA books featuring South Asian characters to read in 2021.
A running list of the best books of 2021.
What Your Patrons Are Hearing About
Infinite Country – Patricia Engel (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)
Klara and the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro (NPR, USA Today, Washington Post)
The Committed – Viet Thanh Nguyen (NPR, USA Today)
The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto – Charles M. Blow (New York Times)
What’s Mine and Yours – Naima Coster (New York Times)
RA/Genre Resources
The delicate relationship between grief and fanfiction.
On the Riot
2021 LGBTQ books by Black authors.
6 of the darkest SFF reads coming in 2021.
10 riveting thriller novels to read in 2021.
10 great March 2021 YA releases.
5 great 2021 UK middle grade novels to check out.
Reading pathway for Roxane Gay.
All Things Comics
Comic-Con International announced that WonderCon and San Diego Comic Con will be virtual events this year, but that they’re also hoping to hold a special in-person pop culture event in November.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a new Superman film for DC and Warner Brothers.
Alyssa Cole is collaborating on a Sleeping Beauty-inspired YA graphic novel.
Stephen Graham Jones has a graphic novel coming out as well.
On the Riot
7 of the best comedy manga.
Sports manga and anime to make you smile.
Audiophilia
All of the audiobooks you can listen to for free, without a subscription.
The March 2021 Earphones Award winners.
Check out this new Indigenous lit audio book club/podcast!
What to listen to in 2021, based on what you loved in 2020.
7 kids’ audiobooks celebrating African American heritage.
21 audiobooks and podcasts by Black Canadians.
On the Riot
6 great audiobooks by trans authors.
Where to find audio dramas and audiobooks with sound effects.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Children/Teens
13 books with resilient role models for tweens.
YA books by Asian and Pacific Islander authors you should read ASAP.
19 YA books fueled by revenge in the best way.
Books to read if you love Shadow and Bone.
35 YA books with a strong female lead to celebrate Women’s History Month (all year long).
Adults
A literary guide to combat anti-Asian racism in America.
Jacqueline Woodson’s Black History Month reading recommendations.
Nonfiction books that celebrate Women’s History Month.
4 books to read for Women’s History Month.
8 great books about Black boyhood.
7 poetry books by BIPOC women to add to your TBR.
8 books by and about Afghan women.
A reading list of obsessive female relationships.
10 most confusing books of all time.
5 books that will make you think twice about walking in the woods.
On the Riot
7 science board books in English and/or Spanish.
7 books for kids that fight COVID-19-inspired racism.
13 picture books to read instead of Dr. Seuss for Read Across America.
6 great YA authors writing romance novels.
10 books about Black women activists during the Civil Rights Movement.
6 books that give voices to forgotten women in our stories.
8 essential diasporic novels.
7 witchy reads for fans of WandaVision.
10 innovative sci-fi novels about robots and AI.
18 books about Mars to celebrate the Perseverance landing.
10 books if you loved Gideon the Ninth.
20 must-read queer books in translation from around the world.
8 romantic fantasy books to make your heart swoon.
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 created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.
Be nice to yourselves, and I’ll see you on Friday.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading They Never Learn by Layne Fargo.