Author: Katie McLain

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This weekend, I actually managed to spend time with not one, but TWO groups of friends! I can’t remember the last time I engaged in this much socialization, and I’m still slightly confused that I spent so much time doing something that wasn’t work or sleeping. I should probably try this “socialization” thing more frequently!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Judge Florence Pan releases her written opinion on the decision to block Penguin Random House’s merger with Simon & Schuster.

HarperCollins union workers go on indefinite strike over pay disputes.

The American Booksellers Association charts the negative impact that Amazon’s expansion has had on retailers.

New & Upcoming Titles

Karin Smirnoff’s entry in the Millennium series, The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, will be out in August 2023.

Jake Gyllenhaal announces his debut children’s book, The Secret Society of Aunts and Uncles.

Not surprisingly, Riley Sager has another book coming out next summer!

And so is Megan Abbott!

Here’s the cover reveal for Sian Gilbert’s debut novel, She Started It, which is getting comparisons to Liane Moriarty and Lucy Foley.

16 historical romances new to shelves this fall.

51 new books to read for Native American Heritage Month.

The best books of 2022 so far.

Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, and USA Today.

November picks from Goodreads, Lambda Literary, Tor.com (fantasy).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Flight — Lynn Steger (LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post)

Dr. No — Percival Everett (LA Times, Washington Post)

The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters — Joanna Gaines (People, USA Today)

Novelist as a Vocation — Haruki Murakami (Guardian, New York Times)

Now is Not the Time to Panic — Kevin Wilson (New York Times, USA Today)

RA/Genre Resources

Some of the trends that Harlequin editors are noticing in romance novels.

Why New Mexico is a great place for sci-fi.

On the Riot

New LGBTQ holiday romances for 2022.

Best biographies of 2022.

New weekly releases to TBR.

Amazon is adding Goodreads ratings to book listings.

What is roman noir?

Why we need more Thanksgiving romances.

All Things Comics

Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of the animated Batman series, has died at 66.

Kevin O’Neill, British comics artist and co-creator of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, has died at 69.

On the Riot

Romantic YA comics and graphic novels.

10 grimdark comics for gloomy nights.

Audiophilia

Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions is launching its first horror audio series on Spotify. SIGN ME UP.

Barnes & Noble picks their best audiobooks for 2022.

7 audiobooks to help you find perspective and create peace.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Children’s books about Thanksgiving without the myth.

5 demisexual YA SFF novels.

16 YA books if you’re a fan of Colleen Hoover.

Adults

14 books to read for your Fifty Shades of Grey fix.

The best robots in science fiction.

9 books that tackle the myth of the American hero.

12 inclusive histories for Veterans’ Day.

10 books that celebrate feral girls.

5 scary novels that use setting to embody horror.

15 memoirs about chronic illness and disability that might change the way you see the world.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

On the Riot

Timely books about young people making a difference.

The best middle grade fantasy series to discover.

YA books about social media and online fame.

22 must-read Indigenous authors.

8 captivating World War II books about books and libraries.

The 25 best books about climate change to add to your TBR.

9 books like God of War: Ragnarok.

8 plant-based horror novels.

12 books to make you ugly cry.

8 mystery novels with non-detective main characters.

8 fictional books about philanthropy, nonprofits, and wealth.

8 books about perfumery.

8 of the best books about ceramics to pique your interest.

9 gloriously feral goblincore books for winter reading.

Queer space adventures that are out of this 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 as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

All right friends — I’m out. I’ll see you all on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently listening to Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York — Elon Green

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. How are we all feeling after midterm elections? Maybe it was because I’ve had so much other stuff going on at work, but I felt like I hardly had time to feel stressed out about the elections, and thankfully the results have so far helped with that. On a separate note, I learned that I was not selected for the permanent director position that I interviewed for, but I’m honestly okay with the decision. I received glowing reviews for my performance as interim, I get to return to my previous role as department manager, and I’m excited to work with the candidate who was hired for the position. And now that the waiting and the ambiguity is gone, I feel like a weight has been lifted.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Here’s an initial report on the midterm library ballot measures.

Cool Library Updates

LibraryPass and Image Comics team up to add digital comics to libraries and schools.

Worth Reading

Love your library? Vote with your feet.

The value of a DEI audit.

Book Adaptations in the News

The Sandman gets renewed for a second season with Netflix.

Sam Miller has been hired to direct A Gentleman in Moscow.

Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education is being adapted for film by Universal Pictures.

Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal is getting a TV adaptation from Sky and Peacock.

Clown in a Cornfield is getting an adaptation!

Helen Fielding teases a possible fourth Bridget Jones movie.

Here is the official trailer for Lady Chatterly’s Lover.

And here’s the official trailer for Kindred.

Banned & Challenged Books

The biased online book ratings systems that are undermining professional review sources.

Paywalled: An update on the Llano County Library (TX) lawsuit.

The classroom culture war comes to Round Rock (TX), where far-right religious candidates are “swamping school boards with book bans and sex panic.”

Arlington Public Library (TX) advisory board “compromises” on Pride Month displays.

Longview ISD (TX) superintendent discusses how library books in the district are regulated. From the article: “If it deals expressly with alternative lifestyles or sexual preference, then that’s not something that we want our students reading on our watch. Their parents can provide them with any kind of material that they want, but if it’s coming through us, we want to make sure it’s appropriate.”

North Lamar ISD (TX) ruled against a book grievance complaint made against In Cold Blood and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

In some Texas school districts, parent complaints were more bark than bite.

Anti-LGBTQ groups are helping enforce a book ban law in Florida.

A Seminole County (FL) school board member raises concerns over several books in school libraries, including Lucky, Push, and Let’s Talk About It. However, this article also mentions that the school is using BookLooks, a Moms for Liberty-created review site as an authoritative resource, which is extremely concerning.

Flagler County (FL) school district has been quietly removing multiple books since the summer in a bow to Moms for Liberty.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been removed from Escambia County (FL) schools for sexual content.

Slidell (LA) residents push for the library to remove books they claim are explicit and promote pedophilia. One of the unnamed books is in the adult section, but several people are pushing for it to be removed entirely. But I bet if you asked these people, none of them would say that they’re advocating for book banning.

The Owasso School Board (OK) upheld a ban against a parent who has disrupted previous board meetings. However, the courts have ruled that the school cannot ban him from the property, although he can be removed if he disrupts any future school functions.

Half of the 18 Southern gubernatorial candidates support classroom censorship policies.

A Tennessee woman goes viral for defending the LGBTQ+ community, following the resignation of the Maury County library director.

Williamson County (TN) school board will only hear potential complaints over board-approved educational materials if they are made by a current WCS parent/guardian, employee, or student.

Two Hendersonville (TN) high schools have removed Lawn Boy after they decided the book violated the school board’s obscene materials policy.

Lexington-Richland 5 (SC) school district has removed the book Black is a Rainbow Color, although the specifics of the complaint have not yet been released.

Right-wing legislators admit editing audio used in a Fox News report attacking South Carolina schools.

Parkersburg (WV) City Council withdraws its resolution to censure the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library over the placement of Gender Queer in a Banned Books Week display, but the situation is still drawing debate.

The 1776 Project PAC has backed several Bentonville (AR) School Board candidates, saying that these candidates are fighting “progressive activists” seeking to indoctrinate children.

RSU1 (ME) votes to retain Beyond Magenta in the school libraries.

Another Maine school district has requests to remove books from the library; this time the books are Gender Queer and White Fragility.

Enfield (CT) Board of Education member says that she’s not trying to ban books — she’s just trying to set guidelines that will protect students. But they’re never trying to ban books, are they?

A teacher with the Hollidaysburg Area School District (PA) is facing public scrutiny after she reportedly brought a copy of Gender Queer to her classroom.

Two dozen books have been challenged at Big Walnut High School in Delaware.

Book banning resonates as an issue in Maryland school board races.

Michigan GOP candidate Tudor Dixon wants schools and libraries to remove books that feature divorced characters. Now, while she (thankfully) was not elected, we definitely need to be viewing this as a preview for how these bans are going to shift…no books that contain anything other than white, cisgender, heterosexual Christian characters.

The Jamestown (MI) library has been defunded a second time over LGBTQ books, and will likely close.

Bay City Public Schools (MI) deny a parent’s request to ban a list of books from school libraries.

The ACLU sent a letter to public school districts in Michigan: support LGBTQ+ students and the First Amendment, not censorship and book banning.

Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric roils Wisconsin, providing political fuel for the right.

What the Missouri Senate Bill 1224 looks like in the Rockwood and Parkway school districts.

An article that looks at the book bans happening across Nebraska as if these are fair and reasonable requests.

Pierre Library (SD) Board votes unanimously to keep Push in the library; however, they did ask the director to move the book from the teen section to the adult section.

Facing another book challenge, the ImagineIF (MT) library board votes to retain the title.

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder sponsored an event advertised as a “discussion of the sexualization of children in Wyoming’s schools,” and included misinformation, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and this alarming statement: “You have now been recruited. You are a part of the army.”

After a controversy over “sexualized” books, the Gillette (WY) Public Library votes to cut ties with the American Library Association. They also added the words “while reflecting community standards” to their mission statement, which feels like an extremely slippery slope.

Mount Shasta (CA) parents are outraged over The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, saying that it includes “inappropriate racial slurs, sexual content, profanity, and vulgar jokes about sex with an animal,” and “teaches students about masturbation and sexual experiences.”

Orange County (CA) Education Board considers banning communist indoctrination, “despite trustees not providing clear cases of indoctrination happening in local schools.”

The school library used to be a sanctuary. Now it’s a battleground.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

Books & Authors in the News

JD Vance has won his Ohio Senate race.

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week.

Award News

The 2022 World Fantasy Awards have been announced.

Suzette Mayr has won the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize for The Sleeping Car Porter.

The Southern Book Prize finalists have been announced.

On the Riot

3 tools for teaching digital citizenship to kids.

An unexpected compendium of Lord of the Rings adaptations.

The best places to donate kids’ books.

It’s the weekend. Let’s all get some rest, shall we? I’ll see you on Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf, where we have entered the dark days of winter. I’m going to grouse about the lack of sunlight in the afternoons until next March, but at least we only have about a month and a half left of the days officially getting shorter…once December 21st rolls around, I try to keep my spirits up by reminding myself that I’m getting a couple extra minutes of sunlight each day. (Honestly, it kind of works.)

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

A federal court has blocked the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Kwame Mbalia is heading up a new imprint for Disney.

New & Upcoming Titles

Here are the Top 50 Children’s and YA books of 2022, as chosen by Publisher’s Weekly.

For your reference collections: Emily Post’s descendants are publishing an updated etiquette book.

Iceland’s prime minister releases her first crime novel, co-written with Ragnar Jónasson!

Anna-Marie McLemore is publishing their first adult novel.

10 upcoming YA books by Latinx authors you can preorder.

22 books to immerse yourself in this fall.

Weekly book picks from Bustle, Crime Reads, The Millions, New York Times, USA Today.

November picks from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Crime Reads, Good Morning America, LitHub (general, SFF), Shondaland, Town & Country.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story — Bono (LA Times, New York Times, USA Today, Vulture, Washington Post)

The Philosophy of Modern Song — Bob Dylan (USA Today, Washington Post)

Foster — Claire Keegan (LA Times, New York Times, NPR)

The World We Make — N.K. Jemisin (USA Today, Washington Post)

White Horse — Erika T. Wurth (New York Times)

RA/Genre Resources

The rise of Black YA horror, and the thrill of queer YA horror.

On the Riot

New YA books perfect for winter holiday reading.

20 new must-read short story collections.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

November picks for mystery/thriller/true crime, horror, romance, nonfiction, YA, children.

Summer Scares is back for 2023!

How to celebrate Nonfiction November.

Why are so many M/M romances written by cis women?

What’s hopepunk, and where should you get started?

Should most self-help books be pamphlets?

Remembering the “forgotbusters:” the blockbuster books that time forgot.

A YA lover’s journey into adult literature.

“Good rep,” “bad rep,” and other phrases this reader could do without.

All Things Comics

William Jackson Harper has been added to the cast of Ant Man 3, although his role is being kept secret for now.

Aubrey Plaza joins the cast of the WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos.

Chris Farley’s early life will be chronicled in a new graphic novel co-written by his brother, Kevin.

On the Riot

11 new comics to devour in November.

Horror comics to carry you through the end of the year.

The best graphic novels you’ve never heard of.

Audiophilia

Is listening to audiobooks really considered reading? (Yes, you knuckleheads.)

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Adults

6 books to keep that Halloween spirit going.

The best books to read for Indigenous Peoples Month.

7 memoirs about unearthing ancestral magic.

8 books to read about the decline of democracy.

7 books about Agatha Christie and her characters.

A list of mysteries that feature animal rescue.

4 books to try and understand why children kill.

10 books about women’s plight in Iran.

15 “smutty” holiday romances to keep you warm. (Their words, not mine!)

8 seriously steamy Regency romance novels.

20 werewolf romance books to sink your teeth into.

10 queer haunted house books.

Adult M/F romances starring trans women.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

On the Riot

More children’s books by Native American authors.

9 books about Black joy.

10 marvelous books about mushrooms.

30 great books about astronauts.

Cookbooks from Great British Bake Off alums.

8 fantastic debut novels by Indigenous authors.

Books about quitting your job.

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.

Okay friends, that’s all I’ve got for today. Let’s trudge through this week and get to Friday, kay?

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. There’s such an overwhelming number of negative, angry, hateful news items in regards to libraries that I need to hear something more positive. If your library is doing something great and exciting, hit me up on Twitter. It’s easy to forget about the positive things in times like this, and quite frankly, my last several months at work have been tarnished by all sorts of conflicts.

So, let’s dive in.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Not exactly library news, but it’s important and I couldn’t think of a better section to put this in: Elon Musk officially owns Twitter. Stephen King has also indicated that he won’t pay to keep his official Twitter-verified status, compelling Musk to bargain with him via tweet replies. What a world.

Cool Library Updates

Bike libraries are boosting cycling access across the country.

Worth Reading

Libraries can unite a lonely, divided nation.

How to use the holidays to build library brand awareness and affinity.

19 of the best social media management tools.

Book Adaptations in the News

From Scratch, based on Tembi Locke’s memoir, was Netflix’s most-viewed title for the last week of October!

Amazon orders a new Alex Cross series, based on the James Patterson books.

Casting update for Interior Chinatown.

Here’s a first look at The Pale Blue Eye, featuring Christian Bale, Harry Melling, and Gillian Anderson.

First trailer for Fleishman is in Trouble.

9 highly anticipated book adaptations coming to big and small screens.

Banned & Challenged Books

Book banners are weaponizing legitimate resources.

From the New Yorker: The right-wing mothers fueling school board wars.

When book challenges happen at YOUR school or library.

A new panel explores the surge in book bans and policies targeting the LGBTQ community.

How should educators respond to parents who criticize what’s being taught?

These PACs are funding “parents rights advocates” running for local school board positions.

The Christian Nationalist group Mama Bears Rising have taken their book-banning frenzy to Tomball, Texas.

Battles over race and gender inflame the Texas school board vote.

Keri Blakinger’s memoir, Corrections in Ink, which is about her time spent in prison and her subsequent rehabilitation, has ironically been banned from Florida prisons.

Orlando LGBTQ Center cancels its own Drag Queen Story Hour after receiving threats from neo Nazis.

Seminole County (FL) school board Chairwoman Amy Pennock has filed to pull eight books for review.

Thomas County Public Library System (GA) is reviewing four challenged books. What’s particularly concerning is the complaints issued by members of the community towards the director: “I personally don’t have time to come to the library to read every new book you shelve and fill out your form. As I am a taxpayer, paying your salary, I say that the responsibility is yours to keep unacceptable materials off the shelves.”

Slidell (LA) residents are pushing for the St. Tammany Parish Library System to remove “explicit” books.

A conservative PAC has announced a $600,000 TV ad campaign that connects the controversy surrounding Gender Queer directly to the policies of Maine governor Janet Mills.

A Maine parent is appealing the Woolwich Central School board’s decision to retain the book Beyond Magenta.

Old Rochester Regional (MA) superintendent’s statement on controversial books: “Leave those decisions to the school librarians.”

(Paywalled) Elizabethtown Area School Board (PA) votes to keep Me and Earl and the Dying Girl on library shelves.

Ephrata Area School District (PA) has established a new policy and content-tagging system that allows parents to opt their children out of access to specific topics.

In Westmoreland, PA, a school board member is complaining that the book All Are Welcome was read to a group of second graders, saying “the book is about inclusivity, including immigrants, but it neglects to differentiate between legal immigration and foreign invaders.” The school is not investigating the claims.

Hempfield Area School District’s (PA) book challenge policy could mirror one already used to identify and filter out inappropriate websites.

Parents call for the removal of sexually explicit books from Frederick County Public Schools (MD), vowing to fight for this in upcoming board meetings until the books are removed.

Advocates launch the Freedom to Read SC coalition to fight book bans across South Carolina.

Greenville City Council (SC) voted to reject a recent proposal to remove books “promoting sexuality” from all children’s sections of the public library.

Nearly 100 books have been pulled from Beaufort County (SC) school libraries for review of allegedly “adult content.”

Black is a Rainbow Color has been removed from school libraries and classrooms in Lexington County, South Carolina, pending a review.

Batesburg-Leesville Middle and High schools (SC) have temporarily pulled Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You from libraries, and the National Coalition Against Censorship has sent a letter urging the schools to return the book.

The debate over children’s books continues at Spartanburg County Public Libraries (SC), although several books have already been relocated from the children’s section to the adult section.

A resident of Sumner County (TN) is pushing for the removal of Lawn Boy, saying that its presence in school libraries violates state law.

Maury County (TN) library director resigns from public pressure in response to a Pride display from earlier in the year.

16 books are being challenged at the Salem-South Lyon District Library (MI), most of which deal with LGBTQ themes in some capacity.

Three Portage (MI) school board candidates are running to stop critical race theory and the “sexualization of children.”

The Spring Lake School Board (MI) voted to significantly restrict student access to Gender Queer after a parent appealed the initial decision to keep the book, and the meeting ended up being abruptly adjourned after the public comments got out of control.

In Kiel, Wisconsin, the attack on “critical race theory” ignores the bullying of a Black student.

Following a common pattern, a group of parents asked the Lincolnwood Library (IL) to cancel its Drag Queen Story Time, except the library had never scheduled one.

The national battle over LGBTQ and sex ed books reaches Bartholomew County (IN).

Homer-Center school district (IN) announced that All American Boys would remain a part of the 10th grade English curriculum.

An Indiana school board candidate says “Haters gonna hate” in response to people upset over his comments that not all Nazis were bad.

Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library (IA) votes to retain Let’s Talk About It after a resident asked the library to place restrictions on the book.

A Willard (MO) parent has called for a full audit of the school library for sexually explicit materials.

The Nixa (MO) school board stands firm on policy changes as parents and students debate ongoing book bans.

USD 231 (KS) school board votes to keep The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian on 10th grade reading lists.

All Souls Unitarian Church (OK) holds a sermon opposing book bans and encouraging the freedom to read. (This is an uplifting read.)

The Valley City Public Library board (ND) refuses public comment over their decision to retain several challenged books.

Wyoming nominee for state superintendent of public instruction Megan Degenfelder says that there are a number of unsuitable books currently in school libraries, but that the decision should remain with school boards.

The battle over library books reaches Natrona’s school board election.

Eugene, Oregon pub staff and drag queen performers received death threats from AROUND THE WORLD in response to a planned Drag Queen Story Time. Gun-carrying protestors also made an appearance.

In British Columbia, most of the anti-sexual orientation & gender identity school board candidates lost their races.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

Books & Authors in the News

Julia Powell, food writer and author of Julie and Julia, has died at 49.

Anna Pasternak, descendant of Doctor Zhivago author Boris Pasternak, has lost her copyright infringement claim against author Lara Prescott, who Pasternak claims copied elements from her own memoir.

PEN America and the National Coalition Against Censorship have both issued statements rejecting the recent call to cancel Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming memoir.

A lost John Steinbeck essay about American democracy has been found and published.

Toni Morrison will be featured on U.S. postage stamps in 2023.

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week.

The most popular in-demand books in U.S. libraries from July – September.

Award News

The 2022 Kirkus Prize winners have been announced.

The 2021 Shirley Jackson Award winners have been announced.

Harry Josephine Giles wins the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Deep Wheel Orcadia.

The Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist has been announced.

On the Riot

How to increase your information literacy.

Okay, friends, that’s all I’ve got for today. I’ll catch you on the flip side.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Halloween may be over, but I honestly consider November to be the tail end of spooky season as I gradually transition towards the winter holidays. And with that, I hope you’ll forgive me a little self-indulgence as I relay some of my horror favorites that you can recommend to your favorite spooky patrons!

Favorite horror novels: The Troop, A Head Full of Ghosts, The Good House, The Hunger, The Dead Path, Final Girls

Scariest horror movie: Hereditary

Favorite horror movie: Poltergeist

Favorite lesser-known horror movie: Ready or Not

Favorite recent horror movies: Invisible Man, Malignant, Nope, Black Phone, Barbarian

The spooky continues below, with lots of horror reading lists!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

George Orwell’s classic works are going to be published on Substack.

An open letter from publishing professionals condemns the recent Amy Coney Barrett book deal.

Reading between the lines: race, equity, and book publishing.

New & Upcoming Titles

Book Riot’s own Tirzah Price announces additional stories in her Lizzie and Darcy YA mystery series!

Here’s a look at Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, which will come out in early January.

Once again, in “I’ll believe it when I see it” news, George R.R. Martin says he’s three-quarters of the way through Winds of Winter.

Take a look at Joelle Wellington’s upcoming YA novel, Their Vicious Games, which is billed as Gossip Girl meets The Hunger Games.

Here’s the cover reveal for Colson Whitehead’s Crook Manifesto, which is the second book in the Harlem Shuffle trilogy.

Peloton instructor Emma Lovewell is publishing a memoir.

13 recent unsettling gothic horror tales.

21 recent horror books to read before Halloween.

14 new and upcoming books about witches.

7 new spooky and spirited Halloween reads.

The best new paranormal romances for Halloween.

Barnes & Noble selects 11 books that booksellers were most excited to recommend to readers in 2022.

Fall Canadian picks.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times, USA Today.

November picks from Epic Reads, New York Times, The Root.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Passenger / Stella Maris — Cormac McCarthy (Esquire, NPR, USA Today)

The Philosophy of Modern Song — Bob Dylan (Atlantic, LA Times)

Ted Kennedy: A Life — John A. Farrell (LA Times, New York Times)

Inciting Joy — Ross Gay (The Rumpus, Washington Post)

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams — Stacy Schiff (New York Times, Time)

Token Black Girl: A Memoir — Danielle Prescod (Washington Post)

The White Mosque: A Memoir — Sofia Samatar (LA Times)

RA/Genre Resources

It came from Stephen King!: How horror lit crawled out of the swamp and into a golden age.

Plus-sized representation in fantasy fiction.

The essential Philip K. Dick.

On the Riot

UK publishers predict a rise in book prices.

The Top 10 YA books of the year, according to teens.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

Reading pathways for Alex Segura.

Why horror books just aren’t that scary.

Nonsense fantasy recommendations.

12 romance sub-genres we’ll love forever.

The guilt of rereading and a hopeful solution.

All Things Comics

On the Riot

12 stellar Star Wars comics.

The best Wolverine comics.

Your reading life needs more manga.

Audiophilia

Spotify wants to get into audiobooks, but says that Apple has rejected Spotify’s new app three times from the Apple Store.

The best Stephen King audiobooks, read by Stephen King actors.

7 great audiobooks for October.

On the Riot

Books this reader has reread on audio (and why you should reread them too).

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

16 must-read authors for younger readers.

14 classic YA retellings reimagined with BIPOC characters.

10 YA books to get you in the holiday spirit.

Adults

5 spooky books to put you in the Halloween mood.

5 chilling horror novellas to read this fall.

7 books about being stuck in purgatory.

Scary stories to chill your blood during spooky season.

9 works of dark humor perfect for Halloween.

4 suspenseful novels for true crime fans.

Works of horror movie criticism perfect for scary movie fans.

10 best-selling horror novels to read for Halloween, if you haven’t gotten to them already.

8 astounding horror novels written by women.

7 Halloween reads ranked by fear factor.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

On the Riot

10 picture books you’ve probably never heard of by creators of color.

10 new children’s books by Native American and Indigenous authors.

8 enchanting YA fairy tales.

YA books about teens and seniors.

20 must-read Halloween nonfiction books.

25 must-read horror collections and anthologies.

8 page-turning mysteries and thrillers about sisters.

8 books like Atomic Habits to supersize your habit-making powers.

We’re here too: 9 queer memoirs from red areas.

The top 25 TikTok book recommendations from 2022.

Books like Taylor Swift’s Midnights.

14 great Japanese historical fiction books.

8 cozy romance books to curl up with.

Books about fictional Hollywood.

8 books about the literati.

8 books that are surprisingly and delightfully queer.

The best horror novels from around the world.

9 of the best books about grief.

Look at the birdy: 8 books about birding.

The 9 best Rebecca retellings.

20 must-read asexual books for Ace Week.

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.

This issue’s photo is courtesy of my parents. Apparently Penny (sitting on the computer on the right) was watching cat TV on YouTube, but didn’t want to share with Wrigley, so my mom pulled out my dad’s old iPad for Wrigley to have his own screen. I have never known cats to actively ask for screentime, but my parents started putting bird videos on the computer for the cats a few years ago, and now they’re addicted.

That’s all I’ve got for today. See you again on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This newsletter, specifically the Banned Books section, is going to be a little shorter than usual so that I can do some prep before my second round of director’s interviews tomorrow. Eeep! Sadly though, the banned books news continues rolling on, and we’ll just have to pick up where we left off next week.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Libraries in Peterborough (UK) are offering fine amnesty to try and recover 22,000 missing books.

Book Adaptations in the News

Samantha Allen’s queer Bigfoot novel, (yes, you read that correctly) Patricia Wants to Cuddle, has been picked up for a TV adaptation.

Jeneva Rose’s marriage thriller, The Perfect Marriage, is getting a film adaptation.

Carol Mendelsohn, former CSI showrunner, is attempting a series adaptation of Thomas Perry’s The Bomb Maker for the second time.

Octavia Butler’s Kindred is coming to Hulu in December.

Never Let Me Go is also coming to Hulu.

Elena Ferrante’s The Lying Life of Adults will release on Netflix in January.

Here’s a first look at Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto, which is based on the book A Man Called Ove.

Banned & Challenged Books

Republicans propose a federal “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Because it’s never been about the actual books.

Do people who fill out a Request for Reconsideration form have a right to privacy?

What’s happening at the Arlington Public Library in Texas?

Florida’s Education Department has quietly selected several anti-gay and anti-mask conspiracy theorists to serve on a book-banning council to retrain public school librarians.

Louisiana school librarian Amanda Jones is asking for a new trial after her defamation lawsuit was dismissed.

Nora Roberts has pitched in $25,000 to the Craighead County Jonesboro Public Library (AR) to assist in their fight for public funding.

Utah parents have filed hundreds of requests to remove books from school libraries since the state passed a law in May banning “pornographic or indecent” books in schools.

Books & Authors in the News

Salman Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand following his brutal attack in August. This is devastating.

Oprah selects Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver as her next book club pick.

Here’s what changed in Dinesh D’Souza’s book 2000 Mules after it was recalled.

Olivia Wilde may have answered the salad dressing mystery with a reference to Nora Ephron’s 1983 novel, Heartburn.

Here’s an attendee’s account of the recent 8-day Gone Girl-themed cruise down the Danube.

Numbers & Trends

Here are the best-selling books of the week.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

Award News

Khadija Abdalla Bajaber has won the inaugural Ursula K. LeGuin Prize for Fiction for The House of Rust.

Thomas Keneally shares the $50,000 prize from the ARA Historical Novel award with his fellow nominees.

Pop Cultured

Actor Leslie Jordan has died at 67.

A new Star Wars movie is reportedly in the works.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Butcher Cabin Books, a horror bookstore in Lousiville, Kentucky, opens its doors just in time for Halloween.

On the Riot

The neglected tale of the Tougaloo Nine and their 1961 read-in.

There’s lots of cool stuff at the Library of Congress.

Renaming “reluctant readers.”

How to create an extraordinary reading experience.

Look at this sweet sleeping Gilbert! I wish I could sleep as peacefully as this snuggly boy, but alas, I’ve been cursed with a human brain and periodic insomnia.

All right, folks. Time to prep. I’ll talk to you next week!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I spent this last weekend determinedly not thinking about work, and by Sunday evening, I was forced to think about work again. I guess it was a nice little break while it lasted?

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

HarperCollins union votes for its second strike.

New & Upcoming Titles

Publishers Weekly releases its Best of 2022 list!

Rick Riordan is returning to the Percy Jackson series!

Volodymyr Zelensky will publish a collection of his war speeches.

The middle grade novel The Crooked Door was first revised, and then withdrawn from publication, following evidence of misconduct from one of the book’s co-authors, Louis Sylvester.

Geri Halliwell-Horner (aka Ginger Spice), has signed a two-book deal with Scholastic for her children’s adventure story Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen.

Megan Collins has a cover reveal for her upcoming book Thicker Than Water.

Oprah Daily has the cover reveal for The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.

The best new fall books about classic Hollywood.

New romance novels perfect for Halloween season.

Best international crime fiction for fall 2022.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.

October true crime picks from Crime Reads.

November picks from Barnes & Noble (adults, teens, children).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Demon Copperhead — Barbara Kingsolver (Datebook, LA Times, New York Times, Star Tribune, USA Today)

The Passenger / Stella Maris — Cormac McCarthy (Datebook, New York Times, Oprah Daily, Washington Post)

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man — Paul Newman (AARP, LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post)

The Last Chairlift — John Irvin (The Guardian, LA Times, New York Times)

Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me — Ralph Macchio (Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, USA Today)

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing — Matthew Perry (Deadline, Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter)

Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion — Gabrielle Stanley Blair (NPR, USA Today)

README.txt: A Memoir — Chelsea Manning (New York Times, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

Technically this is in regard to TV and not books, but I think it’s worth putting here as a consideration for true crime as a whole: The ethics of true crime TV.

How to read the Game of Thrones books in order.

On the Riot

The best witchy romances for autumn 2022.

Fall 2022 new releases in translation.

3 new YA horror novels.

New and recent gothic horror.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

More than Hillbilly Elegy: the vast wealth of Appalachian literature.

The 10 best slipstream books for readers new to the genre.

28 of the best western books to add to your TBR.

Exploring the Best American series.

Why this reader chooses not to read the book descriptions.

All Things Comics

Harrison Ford joins the MCU with Captain America: New World Order.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is tracking for a $175 million opening weekend.

The Geiger comic series is getting a TV adaptation.

9 new graphic novels to put on your list.

23 chilling horror graphic novels.

On the Riot

The best Spider-Man comics.

Paranormal YA comics and graphic novels.

10 of the best witch manga.

Creepy, scary Halloween comics and graphic novels to read this season.

Audiophilia

Simon & Schuster Audio will release The Trump Tapes by Bob Woodward: an eight-hour audio archive of Woodward’s 20 interviews with Donald Trump.

All ears: how to evaluate audiobooks.

19 true crime audiobooks and podcasts to listen to.

Black romance audio picks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

14 spooky picture books for Halloween.

31 must-read YA fairy tale mashups.

13 YA books to read in honor of Taylor Swift’s Midnights album.

Adults

10 award-winning short story collections worth reading.

13 magical realism and horror books by Latina writers.

Halloween cozy mysteries for scaredy cats.

5 haunting tales about love and death.

15 scary-ass books by Black authors that are perfect for Halloween.

34 Halloween books to get you in a spooky mood.

8 must-read romance novels.

7 books featuring characters with rare abilities.

66 spellbinding books about witches.

5 books in which giant insects ruin everyone’s day.

5 queer adult horror novels.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

On the Riot

Standalone YA fantasy novels.

Halloween books for adults.

8 Jewish contemporary fiction novels.

8 autumnal (but not scary!) Halloween reads.

50 scariest books of all time.

8 horror books based on urban legends by Asian authors.

11 books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

10 books in translation from modern Greek.

Books that hit different the second time around.

Recent adult books with reality TV elements.

8 of the best nonfiction books about the senses.

10 humorous horror novels.

10 books with magical towns.

Recommended reading about Aztec mythology.

9 cozy fiction books set in libraries.

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.

Dini has been in helper mode recently, and here he is helping my husband tune and play his guitar. Look how carefully he’s inspecting those strings!

All right, folks. Let’s check in again on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. By the time you read this newsletter, it will be Friday, and hopefully that will be something to celebrate. Take a deep breath, because there’s a lot of not-so-happy news items in this issue.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

This news is in regards to schools, but given the recent bomb threats called in to public libraries, I wanted to put this up front: A swatting spree is happening to schools across the country and some say this is likely part of a coordinated effort.

So, this news item didn’t happen to libraries specifically, but it does involve Ingram, so worth noting: A “rogue” Ingram employee was replacing book orders for the pro-choice book Ejaculate Responsibly with books from Focus on the Family.

Cool Library Updates

A community rallies around the new Superior Township Library in Michigan by forming a book train to help move books from the old location to the new one.

Dolly Parton was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her work with her Imagination Library.

Book Adaptations in the News

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris is getting a limited series at Showtime.

Hulu orders a series adaptation of Interior Chinatown, with Jimmy O. Yang starring and Taika Waititi directing.

Kenneth Branagh is making a third Poirot mystery, which will be based on the novel Hallowe’en Party.

Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis is being adapted for film.

There’s a film sequel to The Joy Luck Club in the works.

A Wrinkle in Time is set for a stage musical adaptation.

Hulu’s Hardy Boys is ending after Season 3.

Casting update for Blackwater Lane, which is based on BA Paris’ The Breakdown.

Everything we know about the new Three Pines series.

New trailer for William Gibson’s The Peripheral.

A character guide for House of the Dragon.

Banned & Challenged Books

What exactly is a book sanctuary?

Conservative PACs are injecting millions into local school races.

The growing religious alliance to ban LGBTQ books.

This is an important read: Notes from an Awake IL/Moms for Liberty school board training meeting.

The right-wing money and influence behind Moms for Liberty.

Here’s a biased article: Decatur Public Library (TX) keeps explicit books despite parents’ requests for removal. Yeah…just because someone wants a book removed doesn’t mean that libraries are suddenly obligated to remove it. That’s not how any of this works! Or at least it’s not supposed to be how any of this works.

The Arlington Library Board (TX) may bar LGBTQ displays from youth sections as the Pride Month debate continues.

Escambia County (FL) School District restricts access to over 100 books prior to completing a formal review, although the superintendent says that the Bible is educational and allowed in schools.

RSU 40 (ME) Board of Directors will vote on whether or not to retain Gender Queer in the high school library.

LGBTQ advocates and a teacher are taking legal action against the Connetquot Central School District (NY) after a teacher was directed to remove Pride flags from her classroom.

Fairfield Public Library (CT) trustees unanimously voted to retain Let’s Talk About It.

A banned books display sparks debate in Westport, Connecticut.

Old Rochester Regional High School (MA) is reviewing a group of challenged books, and although the school has not officially confirmed the titles, students say the books are all centered around gender, sexuality, or race.

The book battle continues in the Pennsylvania state legislature.

Pennsylvania state representative Chris Rabb announces legislation to rein in book bans.

A Maryland school board candidate is calling for the removal of dozens of books from the Frederick County Public School libraries.

About 20 masked Proud Boys showed up to protest a Drag Queen Story Hour at Brookside Gardens in Maryland.

Loudoun County (VA) school board is drafting a new policy establishing guidelines for “sensitive and controversial” topics in the curriculum, without defining what either of those terms mean.

A group of parents say that the Madison County School Board (VA) violated policy by removing more than two dozen books from the library before there could be a public comment hearing.

The deadline to file an appeal against the overturned obscenity lawsuit in Virginia Beach has passed, so Gender Queer will continue to be seen in bookstores.

Cabarrus County (NC) schools debate who gets to initiate book removals.

The Catawba County School board race has a lot of candidates eager to make it easier to remove books from the school.

Moms for Liberty are exerting influence on Lexington County (SC) school board races.

Conway School Board (AR) voted to remove two challenged transgender books despite a committee’s recommendation to keep them.

The Arkansas group Craighead Citizens Taxed Enough has filed paperwork to defund the Jonesboro Public Library over its LGBTQ Pride display.

A North Alabama drag show was canceled in the wake of violent threats.

Sumner County (TN) debates banning A Place Inside of Me from schools. The book is about a Black boy who lost a friend after a police shooting.

Pleasant Valley School District (TN) returns a group of books that Moms for Liberty had challenged to the shelves.

Centralia Public Library (MO) board votes against restricting access to books.

Potential Missouri governmental candidate, Jay Ashcroft, floats a library book ban policy.

“Access equals equity:” Anti-censorship advocates fear the impact of Missouri’s new book ban legislation.

Elmbrook (WI) schools are reviewing their policy on censored books, which appears to be part of a coordinated statewide effort to remove books from schools and libraries.

A Kenosha (WI) County Board supervisor is complaining that Kenosha’s 2023 Big Read selection is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. (I grew up very close to Kenosha, and this is…disappointing.)

A Springfield (IL) school librarian is facing backlash online for promoting Gender Queer.

The Carroll Community School District Board of Education discusses their reconsideration policies.

The Dearborn (MI) school board meeting on Monday devolved into absolute chaos, with hundreds of protestors calling for LGBTQ books to be removed and the fire marshal having to shut down the meeting due to the number of people in the building.

A Michigan police officer is running for a school board position on the basis that more books should be removed from the schools.

Parents object to Spring Lakes (MI) schools deciding to keep Gender Queer in libraries.

Hundreds turn out for public comment at the Bartholomew County Public Library board meeting (IN), where the debate continues about moving “inappropriate” materials out of the teen section.

A group of state legislators are calling for an investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education for “left wing agenda items” on the Launch Nebraska website.

Here’s another biased-as-hell article: Dickinson Public Library (ND) to offer controversial teen sex book.

Bozeman Public Schools (MT) are revising their review policy for challenged materials.

So after all the hoopla over the Montana State Library’s redesigned library looking too much like a Pride flag, this is the updated version. Someone, please tell me how the second logo is significantly different.

Casper City (WY) Council candidate called a teacher a pedophile after the teacher spoke out against banning Gender Queer.

The former Boundary County Library (ID) director talks more about what led up to her resignation.

An Idaho student won a school board seat, and he has a message for students everywhere.

Washington County School District (UT) officials faced questions from the Washington County Republican Women’s group about returning “porn” to libraries.

Conservatives are waging a war for control over California school boards.

Granite Bay High School (CA) approves a list of “controversial” materials for use in classrooms.

Another example of people not being able to back up their ridiculous claims. (CA)

Chilliwack (BC) students shoot a video to counter the homophobia and bigotry of the upcoming school board election.

Defunding a library is a symptom of blind populism.

Today’s book bans echo a panic against comic books in the 1950s.

Should you care if your teen wants to read a banned book? (Spoiler: No.)

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

Books & Authors in the News

Celeste Ng has been named the first official Indie Bookstore Ambassador by IndieBound!

A Trump political committee bought $158,000 worth of books shortly after Jared Kushner released his memoir.

Numbers & Trends

A letter from John Steinbeck written to his son has sold for over $32,000 at auction.

Award News

Shehan Karunatilaka has won the 2022 Booker Prize for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

The 2022 MacArthur fellows have been announced — here are the literary selections.

Pop Cultured

If you have any true crime aficionados who use the library, they’ll appreciate this tidbit: Anna Delvey has been released from jail, but barred from social media.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Crown Publishing and We Need Diverse Books have launched the Michelle Obama Award for Memoir, which will provide scholarships for public high school students.

Amazon has been quietly making changes to their Kindle policies.

On the Riot

How dynamic shelving can change your library.

This Rioter didn’t become a reader until they were 16, and that’s totally fine.

All right. It’s the weekend. Deep breaths, and I’ll see you next Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Once again, spooky season is moving by too fast for my liking. I always feel like I should be loading up on new horror movies and tearing through a stack of the scariest novels, but of course, other things (namely life) get in the way. However, we have a giant bag of candy in the staff office that we’re tearing through at record pace…

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Hallmark Publishing is closing its doors.

Can Black literature escape the representation trap?

What counts as a bestseller?

New & Upcoming Titles

Jennette McCurdy signs a seven-figure deal for a debut novel.

Curtis Sittenfeld has a new book coming this spring!

Zoraida Cordova has a cover reveal for Kiss the Girl.

10 new horror books to get you into the Halloween season.

20 new horror novels you’ll love.

45 dishy new memoirs.

Barnes & Noble has their picks for the Best Books of 2022, and there are a ton of smaller lists to jump into as well. Your TBRs will hate you.

Actually, no, your TBRs will hate you more when you take a peek at NPR’s Books We Loved for 2022! Over three THOUSAND titles to dive into, with mix-and-match filters!

BBC also has a list of their best books of the year.

Weekly book picks from Bustle, Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, and USA Today.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Liberation Day: Stories — George Saunders (LA Times, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle)

The Hero of This Book — Elizabeth McCracken (Slate, Washington Post)

Dinosaurs — Lydia Millet (LA Times, New York Times)

Signal Fires — Dani Shapiro (LA Times, Washington Post)

Illuminations — Alan Moore (New York Times)

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman — Alan Rickman (The Guardian)

RA/Genre Resources

A look at several Latin American women authors writing horror and fantasy.

Where to start with Nora Roberts.

On the Riot

The best weekly new releases to TBR.

Crime sub-genres to add to your TBR.

The best of both worlds: space western novels.

The portrait in the attic: how horror mirrors society.

All Things Comics

The 2022 Harvey Awards announce the best comics of the year.

Watchmen creator Alan Moore is “definitely done with comics.”

Here’s a first look at the TV adaptation of Essex County by Jeff Lemire.

On the Riot

3 new YA graphic novels perfect for Halloween.

Pairing popular books with manga recommendations.

The best action manhwa.

The best Beatles cameos in comics.

How to read comics and graphic novels with kids.

Audiophilia

On the Riot

10 audiobooks perfect for spooky season.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

16 witchy YA reads to get you ready for Halloween.

Adults

Top 10 road novels.

10 best Star Wars novels, ranked.

5 scary novels that use setting to embody horror.

5 queer Indigenous novels.

18 books that prove we’re living in a golden age of horror.

The best fiction about the theater.

Fun Halloween reads for scaredy cats.

8 books that wrestle with the complexities of religion.

5 uniquely Chicanx/Latinx representations in crime fiction.

8 spicy historical romance novels.

19 enchanting books about witches.

8 ghostly historical fiction reads that cover centuries of spooky.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

On the Riot

The best children’s books of all time.

8 great UK middle grade books students will love.

13 gloriously queer witch YA fantasy novels.

The best intergenerational YA novels.

8 Celtic mythology books for all ages.

20 must-read queer millennial novels.

8 contemporary romance novels by Asian authors.

The best Black poets to read (and listen to!) right now.

12 great mysteries about mother-child relationships.

Cookbooks that will teach you to be more intuitive in the kitchen.

8 beautiful Black, queer, coming of age stories.

10 haunting found-footage horror novels. (SIGN ME UP!)

8 essential Filipino cookbooks to read after devouring Arsenic and Adobo.

10 astrology books for all types of readers.

10 books that are positively dripping with fall vibes.

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.

We’ve got a guest for this issue’s cat photo. Meet Wrigley, the last remaining cat from the days when I still lived at home. He’s the epitome of a crusty old coot, but he still gets around well, and he loves to rub up against people’s legs, and snuggle up against my mom before bedtime. Occasionally if he’s feeling spicy, he’ll reach out and bop you on the head, but he’s been doing that since the first day we brought him home. It’s how he welcomes people into the house.

Well, I think the full moon is waning, so hopefully this week is less stressful than the last. I’ll check in again on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Y’all, it’s been a WEEK, and it’s only Wednesday as I write this letter. This week has tested the limits of my abilities as interim director, and I’ve been dealing with a random bout of insomnia to boot, so my mental faculties are really drained at exactly the worst time. Send positive thoughts and some sleepy time vibes.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Senator Jack Reed (RI) and Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ) introduced the Right to Read Act, which would ensure all U.S. students have access to a school library staffed by a certified school librarian.

Cool Library Updates

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has expanded to California!

Book Adaptations in the News

Devil in the White City loses its director and Keanu Reeves in the same week.

A Myron Bolitar series is in the works at Netflix.

People We Meet on Vacation gets a film adaptation.

Stephen King’s latest novel, Fairy Tale, will be adapted for film.

John Waters will direct the adaptation of his novel, Liarmouth.

Jessica Simpson’s memoir Open Book has gotten a pilot order for Freevee.

Kindred gets a December 13th release date on Hulu.

The Summer I Turned Pretty has been renewed for a second season.

Here’s a first look at The People We Hate At the Wedding.

Banned & Challenged Books

Book banners insist they don’t ban books.

Katy ISD (TX) trustees voted to remove students from a book removal committee charged with determining whether challenged books should remain in school libraries. Great, remove the perspective of the people most deeply affected by removing school library books.

Manufactured controversy over a Banned Books Display in Kerr County, Texas.

Perry High School (TX) elects to keep The Hate U Give in the school library.

Book bans take center stage in the Leander ISD (TX) school board race.

How a Christian cellphone company became a rising force in Texas politics.

100+ (!!!) questionable books have been placed in a restricted section while awaiting review in Escambia County (FL) public schools.

Book ban disputes roiled these Oklahoma communities. Here’s what happened.

RSU1 (ME) debates about whether or not to retain Beyond Magenta: Trans Teens Speak Out.

Medomak Valley High School (ME) senior circulates a petition to keep Gender Queer on the library shelf.

Abington (MA) school officials pulled This Book is Gay from the Middle/High School library while the book is reviewed.

Westport (CT) Board of Education trustees refused to publicly discuss a banned books display during a recent meeting.

Westfield (NJ) Library takes a stance against book bans by passing a new resolution.

The Pennridge School District (PA) tells teachers to remove LGBTQ pride flags, crosses, and other “advocacy materials” as part of a new policy.

The Pennsylvania ACLU files a federal complaint against the Central Bucks School District after LGBTQ students reported being “severely” harassed.

Bedford County (VA) parents are upset over new policy for challenging books in the school library, which is technically a five step process, but also allows the library media specialist or school principal to permanently remove a book at step one if they deem necessary.

Madison County (VA) school board proposes banning library books as part of a new state policy.

Wilkes County (NC) superintendent has been given temporary authority to immediately remove any challenged books or other educational materials that he deems inappropriate.

Pickens County (SC) School Board votes to ban Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Carroll (IA) Community School District trustees discuss three books that parents want removed from the high school library.

The ACLU of Illinois has written letters to the homophobic and transphobic group Awake Illinois, which sent letters to two IL residents, threatening them with defamation lawsuits after they spoke out against a Congressional candidate with ties to Awake Illinois.

Drag Story Hour events bring joy — and protests — to St. Paul libraries.

A look at the formal challenges filed at the Kent District Library (MI) to remove 13 different titles.

Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has called for “pornographic” books to be removed from schools and libraries, as well as legislation to prevent “grooming,” but not surprisingly, has been short on details about what this would actually look like.

Sumner County (TN) school board member has filed an official challenge against the picture book A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart because it references the Black Lives Matter movement.

Kirwood and Webster school districts (MO) each remove multiple library books in response to the new state law that restricts “explicit sexual material” in schools.

A measure to defund the Jonesboro (AR) Library is likely to be on the November ballot.

A Bryan County (GA) substitute teacher says she was fired after objecting to the book All Are Welcome being read during a library read-aloud program.

The surplus books that were previously slated to be destroyed in the Rapid City Area Schools District (SD) are now being sold…which doesn’t really solve anything except a storage problem, because they’re still not available for students to use.

Cherry Creek School District (CO) removed Let’s Talk About It from school libraries after receiving a parental complaint.

Academy District 20 superintendent in Colorado Springs resigns, which comes just a few months after a Colorado Springs school board president urged parents to search school libraries for “objectionable materials.”

Once again, another article that centers the parents who are trying to have books removed. This time in Utah.

Natrona County (WY) School District elects to keep Gender Queer and Trans Bodies, Trans Selves in school libraries.

Fifteen months later, the library battle rages on in Campbell County, Wyoming.

Several parents expressed outrage over the book This Book is Gay at a Walla Walla Public School District (WA) board meeting, except it doesn’t sound like the school library even owns a copy of the book…

The South Central Regional Library in Manitoba decides to keep three sex ed books on library shelves.

Rapidly accelerating book bans are a part of a coordinated assault on public education.

Want to read books from this newsletter? You can, for free! Get three free audiobooks with a trial to Audiobooks.com. Claim your 3 free audiobooks now!

Books & Authors in the News

Renowned country star and author Loretta Lynn has passed away at 90.

Peter Robinson, author of the Inspector Banks novels, has died at 72.

Numbers & Trends

The bestselling books of the week.

Let’s get rid of the blobby book cover.

The most expensive Jane Austen novel has sold for £375,000.

Award News

French writer Annie Ernaux has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature. Here’s a reading guide for Ernaux’s work.

The longlists for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medals have been announced.

15 books getting major awards buzz.

Pop Cultured

Angela Lansbury, who played Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, has died at 96.

On the Riot

Why animals belong in the library.

An argument for watching the movie first.

The scientific benefits of reading to children.

Coming to terms with reading less.

All right, I’m off to bed to see if there’s any sleep in store for me. I hope everyone has some restful nights, and a restful weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.