Author: Katie McLain

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. My first official week as Interim Director will have begun by the time you read this newsletter. I’m already feeling exhausted, as my anxiety compels me to pre-plan as much stuff as possible, but of course, you can’t plan for everything. For example, who could have predicted our phones would be out of service for almost a week because the phone company couldn’t get its act together in time to start working on the problem until SUNDAY, the one day of the week when we don’t have staff on site. (Thankfully my coworker is handling this one, but good grief, people…)

Send positive thoughts, y’all. (And don’t forget Book Riot is hiring an Editorial Operations Assistant!)

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Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The Big 5 publishers and Amazon have asked the court to dismiss a potential price-fixing conspiracy lawsuit.

More legal news: The DoJ’s bid to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster is headed to trial.

Inside The New Yorker’s very public conflict with their recently fired archives editor, Erin Overbey.

Nicola and David Yoon are ready to change the world with their new Joy Revolution imprint.

Why do publishers have beef with the Internet Archive?

How do algorithms help (and hinder) book sales?

New & Upcoming Titles

Barack Obama shared his 2022 summer reading list!

Margaret Atwood will publish a new collection of “highly personal” stories next year.

Nightfire will be publishing an upcoming horror novel from the one and only Dr. Chuck Tingle.

Chloe Gong announces two new novellas set in the world of These Violent Delights.

Sneak peek of the upcoming Star Wars novel, The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis.

Here’s the cover for Geena Davis’ upcoming memoir, Dying of Politeness.

And a cover reveal for Garth Brooks’ upcoming book, Anthology Part II: The Next Five Years.

And take a peek at this upcoming historical fiction novel based on the true story of Beauty and the Beast!

200+ new books for 2022, plus 100+ mystery and thriller books and 100+ romance novels to keep you reading all summer.

30 Canadian authors on the rise in 2022.

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

July picks from Entertainment Weekly.

August picks from AV Club, Epic Reads, Kirkus, and New York Times.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Mercury Pictures Presents – Anthony Marra (New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post)

The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid (Time)

Hokuloa Road – Elizabeth Hand (Washington Post)

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – Silvia Moreno-Garcia (USA Today)

Delphi – Clare Pollard (San Francisco Chronicle)

RA/Genre Resources

New and diverse voices in crime fiction.

Sci-fi recommendations for people who don’t usually like sci-fi.

How to read the Lord of the Rings in order.

On the Riot

8 surprising new memoirs to add to your TBR ASAP.

20 must-read queer books for the second half of 2022.

New weekly releases to TBR.

All Things Comics

Barry Windsor-Smith’s Monsters wins the 2022 Eisner Award for Best New Graphic Novel. You can see the full list of winners here.

This is pretty cool…a recent donation to the University of Adelaide Library’s Special Collections included a graphic memoir of a German cartoonist’s account of life in a WWI Australian internment camp, which may be the world’s first autobiographical graphic novel.

Stevie Nicks stars in a new comic.

Ben Affleck is returning as Batman for the upcoming Aquaman sequel.

Good news: Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang apparently love the Paper Girls adaptation on Amazon!

On the Riot

17 novels that would make great graphic novels.

Super vacation: a comic book travel guide.

10+ cat manga purrfect for all you feline fanatics.

Audiophilia

The New Yorker profiled Julia Whelan, who they dubbed “the Adele of audiobooks.”

On the Riot

15 comedy audiobooks.

Why you should start your audiobooks all over again.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Adults

8 lesbian historical romance novels to fall in love with.

26 enemies-to-lovers recommendations.

17 books to empower women.

Top 10 stories of modern India.

25 best horror books of all time.

35 of the best thrillers to read now.

5 stone-cold SFF bummers to make you feel better about your own life.

9 books about chosen families.

9 books every sports lover should read.

Bookseller noir is a thing?

5 Beauty and the Beast-inspired romance novels.

On the Riot

Hopeful picture books to help kids push through hard times.

12 fantastic early chapter books for beginning readers.

10 books about lying for kids.

YA books starring 14-year-old protagonists.

What to read after you’ve seen Nope. (Did you see it?? It was bonkers!!)

12 amazing Asia-inspired fantasy novels.

8 fun and festive Christmas murder mystery novels.

10 sultry summer vacation romances.

8 books that fictionalize real historical figures.

20 must-read horror novels that deserve adaptations.

12 stunning German language books available in translation.

10 adult books with animal narrators.

8 mysteries and thrillers about dysfunctional families.

9 of the best witchy mystery novels.

The best dark academia books, according to Goodreads.

20 must-read queer nonfiction books from around the 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.

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Well, I had a super cute photo of Gilbert to share this week, but I also just remembered that today (the day I’m writing this newsletter) is Dini’s second Gotcha Day! (Sorry, Gilbert…) We’ve had this knucklehead for two adorably chaotic years, and I predict many more years of him supervising our household activities and waking us up at 4 AM for snuggles.

That’s all I’ve got for now, friends. I’ll check in again with you on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. At work, I’m cramming my brain full of director-level procedures. At home, I’m freaking out because I leave on vacation in a week and a half. Thank the library gods I have fantastic coworkers who are willing to step in in a major way while I’m gone for two weeks, but the timing is definitely not how I would have planned it.

Don’t forget to apply to be an Editorial Operations Associate at Book Riot by August 8th!

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Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

I don’t want this to get lost in the midst of the other censorship news, so it’s going here: The Oklahoma City Library released guidelines on patrons seeking abortion information – specifically, staff are advised not to discuss abortion with patrons or assist with any abortion-related searches.

The Vinton Public Library has reopened after the mass resignation of most of its staff.

Bellingham Public Library (WA) reported a data breach that affected a small number of patron accounts.

Nashville Public Library director Kent Oliver announces his retirement.

The man behind the first Black library in America receives a grave headstone more than 80 years after his death.

Cool Library Updates

Highwood (IL) Public Library offers mental health resources for immigrants impacted by the recent shooting in Highland Park on the 4th of July.

How suburban Illinois libraries are serving Latino patrons.

This Ohio resident has set up a small lending library to serve the members of the nearby Amish community, which is located over 8 miles away from the nearest public library.

Worth Reading

Library work has a trauma problem. Can it be fixed?

Calling a thing a thing: how race, gender, and class hierarchies conflate literacy and privilege.

Using the power of stories to convey the importance of libraries.

Book Adaptations in the News

Three of E. Lockhart’s books have been picked up for TV: We Were Liars, Family of Liars, and Again Again.

Paramount+ is adapting Becca Fitzpatrick’s YA series, Hush Hush.

Netflix is adapting the manga thriller series, Burn the House Down.

Casting update for Tiny Beautiful Things.

Enola Holmes has a confirmed second season.

Wheel of Time has been renewed for Season 3.

All of the Harlan Coben book adaptations currently on Netflix, and the ones on the way.

House of the Dragon is set to premiere on August 21st.

The first full trailer for the remake of Interview With the Vampire has been released.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Banned & Challenged Books

This is important: the book ban movement has a chilling new tactic: harassing teachers on social media.

Also important: Moms For Liberty are planning their next move: taking over school boards. Not surprisingly, DeSantis is assisting their efforts.

What would help you fight book bans?

How is publishing combatting censorship?

Denton ISD (TX) students petition the district to keep diverse book titles.

Related to ongoing CRT challenges: a Texas school board member from Grapevine-Colleyville ISD said that the high school’s first Black principal was fired for his racial activism and claims that he was teaching CRT.

10 of the most absurd titles on Texas State Rep. Matt Krause’s banned books list.

Lafayette (LA) librarian Cara Chance has been threatened with firing for opposing censorship.

Parents packed the most recent Livingston Parish Library (LA) Board meeting with concerns over potential book bans.

Despite “taking a pause” on classroom libraries, Brevard Public Schools (FL) assures that some books will be available. (This is…not much of an assurance.)

The Miami-Dade School Board voted to disallow two sex-ed textbooks, which discussed abortion and contraception. (THIS IS PART OF SEXUAL EDUCATION. YOU CAN’T HAVE SEXUAL EDUCATION AND NOT TALK ABOUT ABORTION OR CONTRACEPTION.)

What the Florida CRT controversy means for the future of textbooks.

Pride rally at Forest Public Library (VA) supports the freedom to choose what to read.

Why is Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt targeting issues at Tulsa Public Schools?

This is a misleading headline, but one school board member in Delmar, NY spoke out in support of a donation of LGBTQ books by saying “The more banned books, the better!”

Martha Hickson, a school librarian in Annandale, New Jersey, has received the 2022 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced With Adversity for her fight to keep LGBTQ books in the high school library.

What killed equity in the Pine-Richland School District (PA)?

The Fairvew, PA superintendent removed Gender Queer from the Fairview High School library.

Politics, not professionals, will determine book selection in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. And yes, Central Bucks, your library proposal IS a book ban.

File this one under really dangerous ideas: Bedford (VA) school libraries will offer alerts to parents on what their children check out. Not surprisingly, the library staff are concerned.

A weird state law lets Virginians sue books. Politicians are using it to dictate what people can read.

Loyalty Books in Washington DC had a recent Drag Queen Story Time that was interrupted by protestors.

Boone County (KY) Board of Education heard public comments regarding LGBTQ-related books available in schools, although this topic wasn’t listed on the official agenda.

Wisconsin residents rally around the book When the Emperor Was Divine, which the Muskego High School Board voted to remove from the high school curriculum. In response, the AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin held a “teach-in” about the book and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II before an upcoming board meeting.

Bomb threats, canceled events, empty schools: how a bullying probe paralyzed a Wisconsin town’s democracy. The bullying probe was a Title IX investigation for the alleged bullying of a transgender student.

Iowa town gets its wish: no more LGBTQ books, because no more library.

Salem (OR) high schools elect to keep Gender Queer in school libraries.

A Los Angeles neighborhood council debated sending a letter to the LAPL, asking them to restrict children’s access to the graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do, citing nudity and graphic language.

The Solana Beach School District (CA) received a donation of LGBTQ books for kids, but then parents objected.

New York Book Review editor Pamela Paul wrote an extremely misguided op-ed on book censorship from the left, but LitHub‘s editor-in-chief Jonny Diamond wrote about the false equivalencies drawn in the original article.

What rights do students have to access books?

Book bans? My school doesn’t even have a library.

The changing nature of library censorship.

Nearly a dozen of the guests who have appeared on Fox News as concerned parents against CRT are actually GOP activists and consultants.

Backlash, hostility, and safety fears: what it’s like to be a chief equity officer in an anti-CRT era.

All the little things you lose in the culture war.

Drag queens are “not gonna back down” after attacks on Drag Queen story time events.

How comics are grappling with censorship and book bans.

Books & Authors in the News

Gone Girl-themed…cruise? Sure, why not?

Numbers & Trends

Bookstagram is fueling an unnerving trend, with reviewers tagging authors in negative criticisms of their books. ​

The most popular in-demand books for US libraries: April – June, 2022.

Award News

The Booker Prize longlist has been announced.

The 2022 World Fantasy Awards finalists have been announced.

Mick Herron has won the Theakston Old Peculier crime novel of the year award for Slough House.

Waterstones announces the launch of its Debut Fiction Prize.

Pop Cultured

Disney is developing a new musical comedy, Penelope, which is billed as a unique twist on the story of “The Princess and the Pea.”

H.E.R. will be starring as Belle in ABC’s hybrid live-action/animation special adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

A luxury resort in the Maldives is looking for a “barefoot bookseller.”

On the Riot

What it’s like being an autistic school librarian.

YA summer romance adaptations to stream right now.

8 literary adaptations you can stream right now.

The best places to discuss books online in 2022.

Why this reader is obsessed with the BabyLit series.

8 clever ways to tackle your TBR.

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That’s all folks. I’m going to rest my brain this weekend (ha, jk, I have #SaturdayLibrarian duties this week), but I’ll catch you all again on Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I spent part of this weekend purchasing a stack of books that I didn’t need, and also needed very badly. Plus I got a couple extra books as a belated birthday gift, and now I’ve got a couple decent-sized stacks piled up on my bookshelves in front of the books already on the shelves. My husband says it’s chaotic, while I say it’s pleasingly haphazard.

So let’s talk about more books now.

(And don’t forget that Book Riot is looking for an Editorial Operations Associate! Application deadline is August 8th and women, individuals with disabilities, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.)

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

New Yorker archive editor Erin Overbey published a scathing Twitter thread about the publication, specifically that she was put on internal review only after she raised concerns about gender parity, and that two of the issues that were raised about her work were actually due to factual errors that Overbey claimed were inserted into her writing by The New Yorker’s editor-in-chief David Remnick.

Stephen King, Andrew Solomon, and more are set to testify in the Penguin Random House antitrust trial.​​

Workers at America’s Test Kitchen have voted to unionize.

Amazon’s self-publishers are looking at legal options to fight piracy.

At least three publishers have been excluded from Hong Kong’s annual book fair, which some say is because they have published “politically sensitive material.”

New & Upcoming Titles

Brace your holds lists: Michelle Obama has a new book coming out this fall: The Light We Carry.

Publishers Weekly has listed their Spring 2023 Children’s sneak previews.

Bolu Babalola is writing a sequel to Honey and Spice.

Poet Rupi Kaur talks about her upcoming writing book.

Cover reveal for Emma Straub’s debut children’s book.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Friday Black, posted a cover reveal for his upcoming debut novel.

Cover reveal for Sylvain Neuvel’s upcoming novel, For the First Time, Again.

11 new releases that make for excellent summer book club picks.

8 poetry collections in translation for 2022.

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

12 noteworthy books for July and August.

49 queer and feminist books coming out this summer.

July picks from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

The best crime fiction books of the year (so far).

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories – Jamil Jan Kochai (New York Times, Shondaland)

Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional – Isaac Fitzgerald (New York Times)

The Kingdoms of Savannah – George Dawes Green (New York Times)

We Lie Here – Rachel Howzell Hall (LA Times)

Came the Lightning: 20 Poems for George – Olivia Harrison (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Crying in the Bathroom – Erika L. Sánchez (Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

How several new novels use satire to grapple with racism and identity politics.

How literature is taking gaming more seriously.

Why are so many long-running crime series thriving?

On the Riot

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

What’s the difference between mysteries, suspense novels, and thrillers?

A science fiction subgenre primer for new fans.

A primer on domestic horror.

How gothic romance led to contemporary romantic suspense novels.

Why mysteries and thrillers make such great beach reads.

Why it matters that horror protagonists make such bad decisions.

8 mystery/thriller TikTokers and BookTube channels to follow right now.

All Things Comics

Legendary comic book writer Alan Grant has died at 73.

Marvel released a powerful new trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at Comic Con.

Netflix’s Sex Education gets a manga adaptation, with the first chapter out now.

The best comics for fans of Thor: Love and Thunder.

5 LGBTQ graphic memoirs.

On the Riot

Less credit, longer hours: illustrators’ roles in graphic novels.

2022 LGBTQ comics and graphic novels that should be on your radar.

10 great YA fantasy graphic novels.

High school romance manga for all your back-to-school reading needs.

Audiophilia

6 great audiobooks to listen to this month.

On the Riot

15 recent award-winning audiobooks.

10 new full-cast audiobooks to listen to for an incredible reading experience.

Start with mysteries, thrillers, and true crime if you’re new to audiobooks.

8 fantastical audiobooks for your TBR.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

12 YA books about siblings that will make you want to hug yours.

Adults

13 books by Latina authors to read this summer.

The best heart-pounding romantic suspense novels to read in the summer.

8 spicy romance novels to turn up the heat.

7 books about climate change.

20 dystopian books to read now.

The 10 best fantasy novels of the 21st century.

Private school thrillers that adults will love.

12 books to help you be a better ally to disabled people.

5 romance novels for Disability Pride Month.

A sexy summer reading list.

3 Black female authors to read for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid.

13 fungal horror novels to rot your brain.

The 50 greatest fictional deaths of all time.

The 72 most popular fantasy novels of the past three years.

5 books to help you boss it as you get older.

On the Riot

10 farm books for preschool and beyond.

Fun, feel-good, and empowering middle grade and YA SFF.

YA mystery and thriller novels about vacations gone very wrong.

10 starter books to introduce readers to disability literature.

8 new cookbooks to level up your culinary skills.

A map to the best treasure hunting mysteries.

8 books that spoil the mystery up-front.

8 novels that explore the pros and cons of the writing life.

8 mysteries and thrillers that use fear to explore racism.

Books to read when you’re looking for some 80’s or 90’s nostalgia.

The best mystery books featuring dogs.

The best romance books you’ve never heard of.

10 books to read if you loved The Nightingale.

10 cozy mysteries for a gentle thrill.

8 chilling novels for true crime fans.

20 must-read books about ambitious women.

8 of the best procedural series to add to your TBR.

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.

Last week, I realized I had left my work bullet journal at home, so I texted Blaine and asked him to send me a photo of my weekly to-do list. He said, “Let me check with my manager first” and sent me a bunch of photos of Dini guarding my notebook. These were two of the best, even though Mr. Manager got a little distracted by the end…

Well, let’s get through another week, shall we? This is also the last week before my director leaves for his new job and I’m suddenly left with the keys to the kingdom…what could go wrong? I’ll check in again on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. An enormous change in my professional life is on the horizon, as our current director is leaving for a new job, and I have just been offered the position of Interim Director at my current library! This is a development that I never would have imagined a month and a half ago, but it’s honestly the best possible situation for me to make this leap. I know I’m going to have a LOT to learn, but I’ve also got a great team of coworkers to help me out.

So let’s talk about other libraries!

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Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

The San Francisco Public Library is being accused of censorship and Islamophobia over a mural project, which features a mural titled “Arab Liberation” and features signs with slogans such as “Zionism is racism.”

An opinion piece on the controversy with the ImagineIF Libraries in Montana: library trustees and commissioners aren’t upholding their fiduciary duty.

Puerto Rican librarians call for greater investment in library sciences and infrastructure to serve public needs.

Libby is stuck between libraries and publishers in the eBook war.

Cool Library Updates

The Pokémon Company is seeking a Pokémon historian to create a Pokémon archive and museum.

Kansas City Public Library has made nearly 1000 laptops available for checkout.

The New Brunswick Public Library System is looking to hire a social worker to help connect patrons with vital community resources.

10-year-old Ana Marron’s mural now has a home in the Children’s Reading Nook at the Camarena Memorial Library in California.

Ukrainian libraries are sending free books to refugees.

Worth Reading

Key takeaways from the 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study.

An ode to librarians as they come under siege. Look…I appreciate the appreciation, but I think the time has come where we don’t need any more fluff pieces. What we need are more people to contact their local libraries directly and show up to board meetings to champion the work that library employees are doing right now, and to fight back against the people who are preventing us from doing our damn jobs.

A brief look at the shortage of school librarians in the Chicago Public School system.

How Western Library became the first free public library in the nation for Black Americans.

A look at how Australian libraries are thriving in the digital age.

The 10 largest libraries in the US.

Book Adaptations in the News

Where the Crawdads Sing will tell us if blockbuster novels have a theatrical future.

This was being speculated about for awhile now, but it’s official: M. Night Shyamalan is adapting Paul Tremblay’s novel, The Cabin at the End of the World!

Disney is developing an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

Freida Pinto is adapting Huma Abedin’s memoir Both/And as a TV series, and will be portraying Abedin in the series as well.

Peter Dinklage has been cast in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

The second teaser trailer for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been released.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Banned & Challenged Books

How to address misinformation and book challenges. There are a couple of good examples in here of how to address these issues directly, either as an educational institution or as an outside support group.

The Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers gathers to protest the actions of the Concerned Citizens Defending Freedom group, which is working to remove additional books from Texas schools.

A new school board policy being considered by the Southlake Carroll ISD (TX) would not allow any removed books to be reconsidered for at least ten years.

This article is paywalled, but the Broward County (FL) school district donated a large number of LGBTQ books to local organizations, which some speculate is due to the terms of Florida’s recent “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

The Sarasota County (FL) school board has been sued over “obscene” library materials. Kelly Jensen has been sounding the alarm about this for awhile, but prepare to see a LOT more expensive lawsuits and appeals being filed at public schools and libraries in the coming months. ​​

Another paywalled article, but Brevard Public School teachers have been told to hold off on putting out classroom libraries as the district examines the terms of Florida’s recent legislation.

5 LGBTQ+ books are being challenged at the Sanibel Public Library (FL) because they were on display in the children’s department.

A Florida atheist petitions to ban the Bible in Miami-Dade and Broward schools.

The V-Word survived an attempted ban at the Lafayette Parish Library but two copies of the book were removed anyway.

New York prisons have banned Heather Ann Thompson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Blood in the Water, saying it might lead to “disobedience.”

After a kid’s biography of RuPaul was questioned in Colchester, CT, a first selectman had called for an inventory of every material in the children’s section, but the library board voted down the order, saying it would take up too much staff time, and that there was already a formal procedure in place for people to use if they were concerned about a particular book.

The Forest Library in Bedford County, Virginia, addresses concerns over an allegedly relocated LGBTQ display.

Moms for Liberty claim they have identified several books in Fauquier County (VA) schools that will “traumatize children and teens,” as well as “facilitate long-term sex-related behavioral problems.”

Moore County (NC) Schools is walking back a new book removal policy that allegedly went into effect without being voted on by the full school board.

An team from the New Hanover County (NC) Sheriff’s Office was asked to investigate claims that the middle schools and high schools were providing obscene and pornographic materials to students, but the DA found that the material was protected under state law and the First Amendment.

Madison County (MS) parents are concerned about the book There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar, with one parent saying that “these books” “are leading people astray.”

Fayetteville (AR) Library seeks community participation in an art project celebrating banned and challenged books.

Another lawsuit — this time in Williamson County, Tennessee, with parents filing a lawsuit saying that the school is teaching CRT in opposition to a recent state law.

Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt has called for a special audit of Tulsa Public Schools for a potential mishandling of public funds, as well as the possibility that the schools may have violated the state law prohibiting CRT in schools.

A court has upheld Arizona prisons’ ban on explicit materials for inmates.

The Ashland Public Library saw a crowd of 200-300 people at their most recent board meeting, many of whom were speaking out against several books that they say create an “unsafe environment” for children…Except most of the books are about puberty and age-appropriate sex education, and one of the books is not physically owned by the library.

The ACLU of Ohio alleges that the whole controversy with the book It’s Okay to Be a Unicorn in the Buckeye Valley School District was a violation of the author’s and the students’ First Amendment rights.

This is such a depressing story: the Vinton Public Library in Iowa has closed due to a mass departure of staff and administrators. This article doesn’t mention it, but part of the reason why staff are resigning in droves has been ongoing complaints from the public about LGBTQ staff members, which is just absolutely horrifying.

Controversy continues over two LGBTQ graphic novels at the Dixon (IL) Public Library. (Paywalled article.)

The ACLU is officially investigating the 20+ books that were removed from the Nampa (ID) School District.

A group has started collecting signatures to recall four members of the Boundary County (ID) Library Board in order to “protect children from explicit materials and grooming,” and in protest of the Library’s decision to join ALA, because “the ALA president-elect…is a self-proclaimed Marxist.”

Attendees at a Canadian Drag Queen Story Hour in London, Ontario were attacked by a man carrying a flagpole. No one was physically injured and the man was promptly arrested.

Librarians caught up in vicious anti-LGBTQ cultural book bans are quitting.

Parents: stop harassing librarians who are just doing their jobs.

The new censorship fight at our public libraries.

Books & Authors in the News

Twelve Books announced that it will publish the January 6th Committee’s report once it’s released, in partnership with the New York Times.

Numbers & Trends

Is the book sales boom finally over?

Award News

The 2022 Arthur C. Clarke shortlist has been posted.

The 2022 Orwell Prize winners have been announced.

The Desmond Elliott Prize is on hiatus for 2023 as it attempts to secure funding, and the Sunday Time Short Story Award is in danger of being discontinued.

Pop Cultured

Hulu renewed Only Murders in the Building for a third season.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

TikTok launches its own official book club.

On the Riot

Liberty talks about how organizing her library has helped her brain. It’s a great article, plus it has a fantastic cat photo.

What was the Stratemeyer Syndicate?

The rise of environmental book clubs.

Does reading fiction really increase empathy?

How many words did Shakespeare invent?

7 tips on how to be a better Disability Ally on the bookish internet.

A review of the Fable book club app.

Spelling bees around the world.

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All right, friends. I’m off till Tuesday. Be good to yourselves.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. We had our first real COVID scare this weekend, although thankfully it appears to have just been a scare. My husband woke up on Friday with a cough, a nasty sore throat, other respiratory issues, and body aches, although thankfully he and I both tested negative all weekend. Which with this new variant isn’t necessarily a foolproof indicator, but he started making a significant recovery after only two days, so I think he picked up a cold somewhere. But it was enough to knock him out of a couple big events we had planned this weekend, and even though he likely did not have COVID, I just have to say that COVID really sucks.

On a more positive note, don’t forget that Book Riot is hiring an Editorial Operations Associate! This person will be heavily involved with the back-end stuff that makes Book Riot run like a well-oiled machine, so if that sounds like you, you can apply here! Women, individuals with disabilities, and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

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Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The HarperCollins union sets a July 20th strike date.

The “great publishing resignation” exposes the failings of the industry.

Finding a place for disability in publishing.

A rare book dealer has been charged for conspiring to sell Don Henley’s songwriting notes, including the words to “Hotel California.”

Alleged book thief Filippo Bernardini may avoid trial in the US.

New & Upcoming Titles

Model Jeremy Meeks, otherwise known as “Prison Bae” has signed a book deal for his memoir. (I can’t believe I just wrote a sentence that included the phrase “Prison Bae.”)

July book club picks from Read With Jenna, Reese Witherspoon, Barnes & Noble, and Good Morning America.

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

Most anticipated July picks from Bustle, CBC.

The most anticipated books for the second half of 2022.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence – Ken Auletta (Deadline, LA Times, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Washington Post)

Normal Family: On Truth, Love, and How I Met My 35 Siblings – Chrysta Bilton (LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post)

The Great Man Theory – Teddy Wayne (The Millions, New York Times, Washington Post)

Upgrade – Blake Crouch (Entertainment Weekly, Time)

Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump’s Washington and the Price of Submission – Mark Leibovich (New York Times, NPR)

Tanqueray – Brandon Stanton & Stephanie Johnson (New York Times, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

How SFF books can be used to critique power structures.

On the Riot

Essential indie presses for queer book lovers.

2022 YA books set in New England.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

Rioters pick their favorite books of 2022 so far.

Your guide to Summer 2022 YA books: July – September.

Great board books publishing in the second half of 2022.

A non-disabled reader’s guide to disability literature.

Make room for the new cozy mysteries — we want more!

First person plural POV books.

Please, keep your sequels.

All Things Comics

Comic book sales had their best year in 2021, and 2022 is on pace to be even better.

Daniel Kaluuya will not be reprising his role as W’Kabi in the next Black Panther movie.

20 queer graphic novels.

On the Riot

Riot Roundup: the best comics Rioters read in the first half of 2022.

11 books that started as webcomics.

10 comics and books like The Sandman series.

Marvel Unlimited and DC Extended Universe: are they worth it?

Audiophilia

Listens on the history and future of reproductive justice.

Libro.fm has an app for the Apple Watch now.

The July 2022 Earphone Award Winners have been listed.

On the Riot

Audiobook recordings of three key Supreme Court abortion rulings have been released.

7 nonfiction audiobooks for Disability Pride Month.

The best places to find audiobook narrator jobs for beginners.

How romance audiobooks saved this reader’s bedtime routine.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

26 YA royal romance books to swoon over.

20 sizzling YA thrillers.

Adults

8 #BookTok sensations to love.

9 of Julia Quinn’s romance recommendations.

5 brilliantly plotted mysteries recommended by Louise Penny.

80 books every man should read. (Side note: I was understandably skeptical when I saw this headline, but it’s actually a really solid list.

12 self-published LGBTQ books to bring to the beach this summer.

8 books about the gig economy.

The history of reproductive rights in the U.S., as told through 20 books.

Top 10 thrillers to put you off traveling.

10 locked room mysteries.

5 must-read autobiographies by Black comedians.

7 novels about wealthy people behaving badly.

7 great novels about young female friendships.

5 novels about the perils and pitfalls of fictional fame.

7 historical fiction novels set in the Pacific Northwest.

10 novels and memoirs with recipes that you can cook along to.

100 years of popular books on Goodreads.

5 novels rooted in West African folklore and magic.

On the Riot

Bug books for preschoolers.

10 fantastic kids’ baseball books.

13 of the best rivals-to-lovers YA romance books.

Riot Roundup: the best books we read January – June 2022.

18 of the best romance book club books.

9 breathtaking books like Princess Mononoke.

8 suburban horror novels that prove monsters live right next door.

8 mystery and thriller novels featuring libraries and bookstores.

The best history books for the biggest historical eras.

SF books like Murderbot that feature robots and AI.

Books for the extremely online reader.

Edgar Allan Poe retellings and read-alikes.

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.

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Peace out everyone. May all your pets be well behaved enough to avoid wearing a giant collar that looks like bread.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. The last week or so at work has been an exercise in “Fix this important problem that you only have the vaguest understanding of.” In other words, I have to troubleshoot an update to our online payment portal with not one but TWO different online help representatives, and the tech jargon is like a completely foreign language to me. I very much miss the days when I worked somewhere that had its own IT department staffed with trained professionals, but for right now, this problem has somehow ended up in my lap. I may yeet my computer through a window by week’s end.

Oy. Let’s talk about library stuff that I understand better.

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Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

For West Virginia’s libraries, a proposed constitutional amendment could mean yet another budget cut.

Pasadena Public Library officials say that without an extension of a special real estate tax that’s been in effect since 1993, the library system will have to cut its budget by about 20%.

Denver Public Library is looking for a $30 million tax increase to fund maintenance and better accessibility.

Residents of the San Francisco Castro District are petitioning the library to turn off Wi-Fi at night in order to discourage people experiencing homelessness from congregating around the building.

Cool Library Updates

San Joaquin County (CA) libraries have eliminated late fines for books and print materials.

Worth Reading

A groundbreaking study explores trauma and stress in frontline library workers.

ALA 2022: libraries are not neutral. Also, if you missed it (which I did), here is Nancy Pearl’s statement about her Holocaust-denial comments at ALA.

Public libraries are still about books.

Library Journal has published the results of their 2022 Materials Survey.

The problem with library discovery systems.

Book Adaptations in the News

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio are returning as Daredevil and The Kingpin for the upcoming Marvel series, Echo.

Casting update for Black Cake.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Banned & Challenged Books

How to protect your privacy and social media activity. Take a close look at this…I’m probably going to start locking things down on my end.

How to contact your legislators about book bans (and why it matters).

The correlation between sundown towns and book bans: Forsyth County, Georgia.

For Pride Month, Penguin Random House installed billboards in book-banning states featuring quotes from LGBTQ books.

Signature-gathering will begin soon for the initiative to defund the Ketchikan (AK) Library over its Drag Queen Story Time event.

The Abilene, TX library board heard concerns from parents who wanted LGBTQ materials placed in a restricted area away from children. Meanwhile, a librarian presented a brief overview of a drafted policy that would inform parents and legal guardians of their responsibilities regarding their children’s use of the library.

Despite protests, the Red Bank Public Library (NJ) has hosted two successful Drag Queen Story Time programs.

The Forest Hills School District in Ohio is being sued by students and parents for banning anti-racism curriculum in schools, saying that the decision encroaches on the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Act.

What Kansas City librarians have learned since 1995’s book-banning effort in Olathe.

The Three Rivers Library in Michigan is updating its controversial materials policy to include more specific language about the steps involved for a reconsideration of materials request.

Dickinson County (MI) Library elects to keep the graphic novel Patience & Esther in their collection, but the conversation has expanded as to whether or not LGBTQ materials are appropriate for children.

What Drag Queen Story Time is, and what it isn’t.

What should a queer children’s book do?

With rising book bans, librarians have come under attack.

Reuters reports an “overwhelming” demand for banned books.

When parents feel shut out of decision-making by school boards, petitions and lawsuits follow.

The Proud Boys are waging war on Pride Month, and Drag Queen Story Times are a primary target.

Summer reading as an act of resistance.

Books & Authors in the News

Ada Limón has been named the 24th US Poet Laureate. Plus, a guide to Ada Limón’s poetry.

The Atlantic reports on Delia Owens’s connection to the televised murder of an alleged poacher in 1996 Zambia.

Kwame Alexander is hosting a new reality show called America’s Next Great Author, where aspiring writers will pitch their book idea to a panel of judges, and then work to finish their books in a month while doing “live-wire challenges.”

Crime author Susie Steiner has died at 51 from a brain tumor.

George R.R. Martin says that the next Song of Ice and Fire novel will be quite different from the TV series. To which I say, “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

​​Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi from Saudi Arabia is the youngest female author to publish a book series at 12 years and 295 days old.

Numbers & Trends

A sad publishing trend: why are there so many children’s books being published about anxiety?

The best-selling books of 2022 so far.

Award News

The 2022 Emmy nominations have been announced, and I stand with all of the viewers who were outraged that Midnight Mass was almost completely snubbed.

Pop Cultured

Everything we know so far about the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

14 ways to get out of a reading slump.

On the Riot

A book lover’s guide to Disability Pride Month.

Literary movements you’ve never heard of.

How many fictional languages are there?

How do books become valuable?

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Well, Dini decided to go all-out today…Blaine sent me so many cute photos while I was at work, I could barely decide which one to feature in the newsletter! And Dini was even kind enough to pause in his play time so that Blaine could get a non-blurry picture.

All right, that’s all I’ve got in me for this week. Peace out, stay away from the Covids, and stay hydrated. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. In the midst of everything that has happened over the last few weeks, one bright spot is that my husband and I started using a meal kit subscription for our dinners, and I now suddenly have a desire to cook! Maybe it’s just the relief at not having to actively plan meals or grocery shop, or maybe it’s the fact that the recipes are way tastier than I expected, but I found myself over the weekend actually asking if I could cook dinner! And not in a “Well, if you don’t feel like cooking, I guess I’ll need to do it” way but in a “Hey, I’m looking forward to 6:00 because I want to start chopping veggies” way. Fingers crossed that this success continues, because I’m kinda loving it.

Oh, and before I forget, Book Riot has an opening for an Editorial Operations Associate! This person will have the opportunity to dive into the nitty gritty, behind-the-scenes work at Book Riot and help support the editors and writers! We’re committed to building an inclusive workforce and strongly encourage applications from women, individuals with disabilities, and people of color. Application deadline is August 8th.

And now onto the books. (Worth mentioning that this newsletter is going to be a bit shorter than usual, since we’re coming off of a holiday week/end.)

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Publishers and the Internet Archive have filed dueling summary judgment motions in what is set to be a landmark lawsuit over the scanning and lending of books.

The HarperCollins union has voted to strike, citing wages that have not kept up with cost-of-living expenses and wanting to create meaningful change towards an equitable workplace.

Brandon Taylor has joined Unnamed Press as its acquiring editor.

Paul Tremblay announced that the Kindle version of The Pallbearers Club has been pulled due to formatting errors, but should be available to readers by July 19th.

How TikTok became a best-seller machine.

What it’s been like as a writer of color trying to sell a book that isn’t all about trauma.

New & Upcoming Titles

Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes are co-writing a new Bridgerton prequel novel centered around Queen Charlotte.

Publishers Weekly picks 10 writers to watch this fall.

12 new historical romance novels out this summer.

36 of the most popular historical fiction titles of 2022, so far.

101 romance novels to spice up your summer.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Thank You For Your Servitude: Donald Trump’s Washington and the Price of Submission – Mark Leibovich (NPR, Washington Post)

The Displacements – Bruce Holsinger (USA Today)

Acts of Violet – Margarita Montimore (USA Today)

Florida Woman – Deb Rogers (Washington Post)

The Pallbearers Club – Paul Tremblay (Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

A question of character: on James Patterson and diversity in crime fiction.

On the Riot

15 buzzy books to pack in your beach bag.

The best new short story collections.

8 new nonfiction books to read this summer.

18 horror novels that will chill you to the bone this summer.

11 new books about WWII.

20 must-read under the radar queer books from the first half of 2022.

New weekly releases to TBR.

July picks for SFF, romance, mysteries/thrillers, children’s books, and queer books.

Why are so many fantasy series about war?

All Things Comics

Kazuki Takahashi, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, was found dead at sea. He was 60 years old.

San Diego Comic-Con is returning for its first in-person event in three years.

The Duffer Brothers are making a new live-action adaptation of the manga series Death Note for Netflix.

Have you ever wanted to own George Clooney’s Batman suit? You know, the one with the inexplicable nipples? Well, here’s your chance! The suit is going up for auction starting at $40,000!

On the Riot

YA comics and graphic novels out July-September 2022.

Audiophilia

On the Riot

How to listen to audiobooks.

7 fictional audiobooks to listen to for Disability Pride Month.

10 of the best fantasy series to listen to on audio.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

The best books to prep your little one for school.

10 of the best scary stories for young readers.

12 of the best horror novels for teens.

YA book suggestions based off your favorite female superheroes.

25 YA books with bisexual characters.

Adults

7 locked room mysteries to keep you in suspense.

5 books about fragile worlds.

Top 5 dragon fantasy adventure book series.

On the Riot

10 touch-and-feel books for babies like Pat the Bunny.

3 YA novels about bucket lists.

What to read if you loved The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Modern short stories to read for high school English class.

8 feminist cozy mysteries to read right away.

Read these books if you like the show Arcane.

15 legendary books about King Arthur.

20 must-read books about musicians.

Books that bring the 80’s nostalgia.

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.

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Dini just wanted to show everyone his glorious tummy. And if you look closely in the second photo, you can see two of his little toofs sticking out. I’m a sucker for cats who show off their toofies. And Dini’s a sucker for head scritches and belly rubs! Everyone wins!

All right, let’s see how this week goes. Might be a good time to send a message to your representatives and check in on them. I’ll see you all on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

(TW: gun violence, mass shooting) On Monday morning, a shooter opened fire onto the 4th of July parade spectators in Highland Park, Illinois. I was walking in a different 4th of July parade for my library, but we were in such close proximity to Highland Park that our parade ended early and everyone was told to evacuate the downtown area. I knew there had been a shooting close by, but I didn’t know anything else as I hurried a quarter mile back to my car, texting my husband about what was happening and why I was coming home early. We’ve read so many news reports of mass shootings, but nothing prepares you for when it happens in your own backyard. I don’t know how to process it. I came home and cried, but since then I’ve been in a daze trying to avoid the news. I had already taken a couple days off from work for my birthday, but how the hell do you celebrate your birthday when it takes place the day after a mass shooting 20 minutes away from your home? I had friends at that parade, one of whom was literally across the street from the first shots. But as one of my coworkers said, this could just as easily have been the town we work in. I have never felt less safe in my life, and as I write this, I’m about to go back to work tomorrow and face patrons who are undoubtedly going to want to talk about what happened. I feel like I’m in a state of half shock, half denial at a time when it feels like every element of my well-being has been upended. I don’t have any kind of a conclusion to this intro, other than I don’t have any idea how I’m supposed to concentrate at work tomorrow.

If any of you readers live or work in the area, I’m sending all the virtual hugs I can, and I’m taking any virtual hugs people may want to send.

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Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

More updates from the Anchorage Public Library’s wrongful termination lawsuit.

Worth Reading

Supporting your team’s mental health after a violent news event. (This is a good article.)

How to “cheat” at professional development.

Canva tips and tricks.

Book Adaptations in the News

The Duffer Brothers are working with Netflix on several new projects, including an adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s novel, The Talisman.

The CW has canceled the Nancy Drew spinoff series, Tom Swift, after one season.

Neil Gaiman defends the “color-blind casting” for the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman.

The Time Traveler’s Wife has been canceled after only one season.

Peacock cancels the adaptation of Jade City, which had been in development for years.

A Beauty & the Beast hybrid live-action/animated special is set to air on ABC.

The best Jane Austen adaptations to watch before the release of Persuasion.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Banned & Challenged Books

How to directly impact democracy: a look at the process of being an election judge.

A roundup of library censorship stories from Pride Month.

Stand up to bullies and put your (collection) money where your mouth is.

The Austin Public Library has partnered with local bookseller BookPeople to offer a summer-long event series called Banned Camp.

A group of right wing citizens in Prosper, Texas contacted police and demanded that the Prosper ISD remove 82 books. The article though takes a longer look at the contentious board elections happening across the country, as well as the way these debates affect the schools and the communities.

This is an oddly positive article about the Granbury ISD (TX) hiring a district-level librarian supervisor, which yeah, is good, but buried in the article is a description of the new selection policy, where the supervisor can recommend new materials to be purchased, but then the recommendations have to go through the school board, which will have at least 30 days to review the titles, PLUS the books have to meet a set of criteria, and then the books are posted online for public review. Not to mention that there’s also an online “opt out” form that parents can fill out if they don’t want their kids reading specific books. I’m exhausted just summarizing this.

The Greenvile ISD (TX) is considering updating the district’s policy regarding student access to books.

The Proud Boys set out to disrupt a Pride Month library event in McKinney, Texas, but were outnumbered by a huge “human shield” of LGBTQ supporters.

The Freedom to Read fight continues as Florida library media specialists face a summer of fears and unknowns.

“No one felt safe:” Florida schools and students feel the effects of the Don’t Say Gay bill.

The Leon County (FL) School Board approves their LGBTQ Inclusive School Guide after hours of fierce debate.

A Walker County (GA) parent is protesting several books in the school libraries, including The Hate U Give, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Slaughterhouse-Five.

The Lafayette community and library leaders debate the ban of book displays that highlight diversity.

Three women appeal Dirigo High School’s (ME) decision to keep Gender Queer in school libraries.

A group of mothers upset over a Pride display at the Booth & Dimock Memorial Library in Coventry, CT told library staffers that the books should be burned.

The Haters by Jesse Andrews is now being challenged in the Elizabethtown Area School District (PA), where Andrews’s other book Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was also recently challenged.

The Greenvile (NC) school board considers changes in the way book selections and objections are handled.

Meanwhile in Greenville, South Carolina, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group seeks change after the library took down its Pride displays.

The 24 book challenge in the Catawba (NC) School District will extend into the next school year. Also, the headline uses an increasingly common phrase from book banners: “I’m not trying to ban books, but…”

Washington County (VA) residents debate removing Lawn Boy from the Glade Spring Public Library.

“America First” proponents attack Loudoun County (VA) schools with a new lawsuit over the district’s inclusion and equity policies.

Virginia Beach’s obscenity hearing against Gender Queer and A Court of Mist and Fury is set for the end of August.

The Frederick School Board (VA) retains a challenged reading textbook for elementary schoolers. The problem appears to be that the textbook contains stories about non-white people, which at least one board member said borders on CRT.

Conservative culture warriors take aim at Kansas City’s Mid-Continent Public Library — in this case, the issues stemmed from conservative board members refusing to approve the proposed annual budget.

Gender Queer’s inclusion on the 2023 Illinois Lincoln Award List is going to lead to a lot of hoopla in Illinois schools and libraries in the coming months. Right now, the Barrington Area School District is facing complaints from parents.

The Jennings County Public Library (IN) removed its Pride display.

The Chippewa Falls School Board (WI) decides not to ban Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe from the high school curriculum, but does require parental permission before students can be assigned the book.

A parent accused Oconomowoc (WI) schools of teaching age-inappropriate material, so the district threatened a defamation lawsuit.

The Portsmouth (OH) Public Library hears complaints and votes of support for its Pride Month display.

An LGBTQ display at Jackson Madison County Library (TN) leads to controversy.

Well, the Montana State Library Commission voted down the proposed logo because it was too similar to a Pride flag.

Community members rally against a proposed school library book review policy from the Utah State Board of Education.

Thankfully, the Orem (UT) Public Library’s Pride displays drew far less negative attention this year than last year.

Albany County (WY) Public Library held a well-attended Drag Queen Story Time, despite concern from certain residents that these events “short-circuit a young person’s opportunity to have a non-sexualized youth.” (Yes that is an actual quote from the article.)

A group of Proud Boys gathered outside the Sparks (NV) Public Library, including one man who approached the library while carrying a gun, causing everyone to run inside for safety.

Arizona teachers will not face new limits on teaching subjects related to race or ethnicity next year.

So an addition to last week’s post about Payson (AZ) Councilor Jim Ferris, who wanted the library to remove the book Sex is a Funny Word even though he admitted to never actually reading the book: he also tried to get the council to deny a $250,000 grant to the library because they wouldn’t remove the book.

The campaign to remove LGBTQ+ books from public libraries reaches Sonoma County (CA).

The Medford (OR) superintendent and deputy superintendent ordered the removal of the graphic novel adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale after a smaller committee could not come to a consensus about how to handle the book.

Crook County (OR) schools adopt a new reading curriculum based around social-emotional learning, which of course, is concerning to certain parents in the district.

The Kennewick (WA) School Board wants to take a stand against CRT — but will their policy actually do anything?

The Kent (WA) School Board elects not to remove Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) from school libraries.

Five Hong Kong unionists have pleaded not guilty to publishing “seditious” material in a children’s book about sheep.

Beijing is blacklisting more Taiwanese books as standards for book imports become stricter.

Are schools too inclusive? Some people think so.

Safe space clubs for LGBTQ students are being increasingly targeted by right-wing protestors.

How libraries came to be sanctuaries for LGBTQ kids.

Commentary: Republicans are banning books about historical truths that their own leaders have apologized for.

This Buzzfeed writer read the 5 most challenged LGBTQ books from 2021 and shared their thoughts.

Simon & Schuster launches a banned book promotion for bookstores.

Numbers & Trends

Why are women’s stories with dark themes growing in popularity?

A definitive ranking of the sexiest book covers.

Award News

Jesmyn Ward wins the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

The 2022 CWA Dagger Awards have been announced.

The 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Awards have been announced.

Pop Cultured

The best true-crime dramas of 2022, ranked.

A first look at True Detective, Season 4.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

This Tasmanian “book detective” reunites customers with long-lost books and beloved childhood titles.

On the Riot

This Rioter reflects on their first year as a high school librarian.

How much time and money does it take to maintain a Little Free Library?

How to create a virtual book club, or revive one that’s languishing.

Dubai opens a new book-shaped library.

Not to be confused: book title edition.

Books where the hardcover has a clever design beneath the dust jacket.

How to achieve the ideal beach reading day.

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This issue’s cat photo is dedicated to Gilbert, who had to go to the vet today. He’s been sneezing and coughing on and off for the last few months, and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything serious. Turns out the respiratory stuff is probably either a sinus infection or kitty asthma, and aside from that and a few bad teeth, the crusty old coot is remarkably healthy. Fingers crossed for continued health.

I looked back at my sign off from a couple newsletters ago, which mentioned that I had a long weekend coming up, and that “I hope the world doesn’t get drastically worse between now and then.” Apparently the universe said, “Challenge accepted.” Take care of yourselves, friends. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m writing this newsletter on Sunday, but by the time you read it on Tuesday, it will be my BIRTHDAY, which I honestly keep forgetting about. Birthdays are a lot less dramatic as an adult, but I always try to make time for myself to do whatever the hell I want, which this year probably means taking a couple days of PTO, ordering donuts, and playing Lego Star Wars. But I’m also going to try and carve out some reading time, because I absolutely hate that the last few years have managed to steal that joy away from me. So maybe it’s time to start taking it back.

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Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Macmillan is slowly bringing systems back after a widespread electronic security breach last week.

New & Upcoming Titles

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger is writing a book about leadership in times of crisis, which is scheduled for publication in 2024.

200 titles published in 2022.

9 new short story collections that leave you wanting more.

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

July picks from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Page (editor picks, mysteries), Epic Reads, Kirkus, LA Times, New York Times, and Time.

Summer reading picks from Buzzfeed, The Guardian, New York Times, and NPR.

Best books of 2022 (so far) from Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, and NPR.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Thrust – Lidia Yuknavitch (LA Times, New York Times, Shondaland)

Honey and Spice – Bolu Babalola (Elle, Time)

Lapvona – Ottessa Moshfegh (NPR, Washington Post)

Elsewhere – Alexis Schaitkin (New York Times, Washington Post)

Life Ceremonies: Stories – Sayaka Murata (New York Times)

Dele Weds Destiny – Tomi Obaro (New York Times)

Night of the Living Rez – Morgan Talty (New York Times)

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin (Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

The judges for the Sisters in Crime Pride Award talk about LGBTQIA+ issues in crime publishing.

The dangers of conspiracy fiction.

Is this the Golden Era of queer literature?

On the Riot

New weekly releases to TBR.

22 more great books to read in 2022.

The 50 best book covers of 2021.

6 kinds of mystery plots that don’t center around murder.

Why the miscommunication trope is here to stay.

How does fiction capture the frustrations of being a twentysomething woman?

All Things Comics

Comics/graphic novel sales jumped 62% in 2021.

Seven Seas voluntarily recognizes the United Workers of Seven Seas as the union representative of its workers, making it the first unionized manga and light novel publishing house in North America.

The Uzumaki anime adaptation gets another delay.

A graphic novel reading list inspired by Lore Olympus.

15 LGBTQ+ comics, graphic novels, and manga to read after watching Heartstopper.

On the Riot

8 comics about loneliness to make you feel less alone.

15 of the best coming-of-age manga.

Audiophilia

The Top 20 most-recommended fiction and nonfiction audiobooks of all time.

The best audiobooks of 2022 (so far). ​

5 audiobooks with queer Nigerian protagonists.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

On the Riot

True crime audiobooks to keep you up all night.

8 of the best audiobooks narrated by Frankie Corzo.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

21 YA books that prove there’s no one way to come out.

98 YA books that will take you on an adventure.

Adults

Books about sex that every family should read.

10 books to understand the abortion debate in the US.

A post Roe v. Wade booklist.

Titles for the queer canon.

An updated “Queer Books Across America” list.

A reading list for the grieving.

5 books that reckon with not belonging.

10 books to travel the world without leaving your home.

Disability Pride Month suggestions from Barnes & Noble and NYPL.

Beach reads to immerse yourself in someone else’s story.

5 horror books that will change how you look at everyday objects.

7 books to help resist productivity culture.

Top 5 books about Mexico.

On the Riot

Educational books for kids that will make them love learning.

YA and middle grade novels that teach big lessons.

10 of the best mysteries with a twist.

32 of the best books about cults.

8 beautiful memoirs written by nonbinary authors.

10 romances about magical librarian love.

A “That Girl” reading list for your hot girl summer.

11 amazing books about trees.

Essay collections that make you necessarily uncomfortable.

10 sapphic dark fantasy books.

8 fascinating nonfiction deep dives into the ordinary.

Retellings of Indian epics.

9 books with odd plots.

12 amazing queer short story collections.

14 books in translation from Western Africa.

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.

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It’s getting to the point now where Blaine or I will take a photo of the cats, and I go, “Oh, that’s definitely a newsletter photo!” (It’s like “Do it for the gram,” except it’s “Do it for the Shelf!”) So here’s the latest instant classic: Gilbert and Dini fast asleep, with Gilbert full-on face planting into Dini’s tummy. I’m adding this to the towering pile of evidence that these two chuckleheads do, in fact, love each other.

That’s all I’ve got for today. In honor of my birthday, write or call your elected representatives and tell them exactly what you think about things. I’ll check in again on Friday. Peace out!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. On top of everything else going on in the world, I suddenly found my Twitter feed full of reactions to Nancy Pearl’s comments at ALA. If you somehow missed what happened, she made this statement on a panel about book banning and censorship: “What did I not want to add in the collection? Personally, I did not want to add Holocaust-denying books. That was offensive to me. Did I think we needed them? Sad to say, yes.” I don’t have a ton of articles to link to, as most of the discourse is happening on Twitter, but needless to say it’s a mess, especially because Jason Reynolds, who was also on the panel, received a disproportionate amount of negative attention for Nancy Pearl’s remarks. I will link to articles as I see them, because I think this controversy is highly representative of the old guard’s desire to cling to this outdated, inaccurate, and harmful notion of libraries as neutral. As always, LIBRARIES. AREN’T. NEUTRAL.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

ALA released a statement condemning threats of violence in libraries. No commitments, no actionable steps, just another crew member on the Titanic writing a strongly-worded letter to the iceberg.

Due to COVID-related staffing shortages, the Seattle Public Library will be temporarily reducing its hours.

Cool Library Updates

The Boise Library has hired its first mental-health coordinator.

NYPL opens a “virtual branch” on Instagram and launches a reading recommendation project using augmented reality technology.

Book Adaptations in the News

Lionsgate scores film adaptation rights for Kayvion Lewis’ upcoming YA novel, Thieves Gambit.

Kate Winslet is executive producing and starring in the HBO limited series adaptation of Trust by Hernan Diaz.

Former San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lizzie Johnson is partnering with Jamie Lee Curtis’ production company to develop Johnson’s book, Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, for film.

Jason Schwartzman joins the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Paula Hawkins’ novella, Blind Spot, gets picked up for a TV adaptation.

Here’s the official trailer for Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between.

And here’s the teaser trailer for On the Come Up.

The 10 best TV crime dramas that were adapted from books.

Banned & Challenged Books

A look at the long line of hatred and intimidation of queer people in schools and libraries just within the last MONTH.

This is an older article, but one worth revisiting: how faith-based, right-wing money is waging war through book challenges.

Dixfield (ME) school district elects to keep Gender Queer on high school shelves.

Gorham (ME) educators defend controversial posters and books about sexuality.

The Smithtown Library on Long Island has reversed its decision to remove all Pride-related displays from the children’s sections. Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul is planning to investigate the libraries that removed the LGBTQ displays in the first place.

Parents are complaining about a RuPaul biography geared towards children at the Cragin Memorial Library in Colchester, CT.

A divided Pennsylvania Senate panel advances two bills limiting sexual content in public schools. (Pennsylvania people, call your representatives.)

The Council Rock (PA) School Board elects to include The Giver and In the Time of the Butterflies in next year’s curriculum, despite opposition from several board members.

A Maryland librarian is being charged with hate crimes after admitting to vandalizing two libraries in Prince George’s County last week. He spray painted the word “Groomer” across the front entrances of both libraries.

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library (VA) board is holding a special meeting to discuss concerns over content displayed on the library system’s mobile app.

The Roanoke (VA) County School Board unanimously approved a new media review policy which requires multiple librarians to read and meet to discuss which books belong in school libraries. In other words, this is a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars and staff time/expertise.

Lawyers say that the “defective” Virginia obscenity claims should be tossed. However, a pair of Virginia politicians have now sued Maia Kobabe and Oni-Loin Forge over Gender Queer, saying that the graphic memoir violates Virginia’s obscenity laws.

“I felt very unsafe.” Parents speak out after the Proud Boys show up at a Pride Story Time at the Pine Valley Library in Wilmington, NC.

And not surprisingly, officials and advocates are offering differing versions of what happened when the Proud Boys disrupted the event.

Wilkes County (NC) School admins have decided to end the school’s participation in the Battle of the Books program, likely from local criticism about the books included on the elementary and middle school reading lists.

The CatholicVote “Hide the Pride” movement takes credit for the disappearance of Columbia (SC)’s library Pride display and subsequent threatening letter to library staff.

A Walker County (GA) mother addresses the school board over “vulgar” books, except her kids are currently homeschooled and don’t actually attend that school district.

The Frisco ISD (TX) is changing two policies regarding library book objections. Particularly noteworthy is their use of the Texas Penal Code’s definition of “obscenity,” instead of looking at a contested passage within the context of the book as a whole, which means that even one paragraph may be enough to deem a book “obscene,” according to Daniel Stockton, the Executive Director of Government and Legal Affairs.

A conservative pastor is the latest appointee to the Lafayette (LA) Parish Library Board.

Pride Month displays at the Mandeville library in Louisiana draw complaints from patrons.

A Hillsborough County (FL) school board candidate defends book bans and CRT attacks, despite offering little evidence for either.

A secret Moms for Liberty audio recording captures threatening rhetoric targeting a school librarian in Arkansas.

The Madison County (TN) “culture war” is a fight worth having.

A StoryWalk book (It’s Okay to Be a Unicorn) was removed by an unknown citizen in DeWitt, Iowa.

The Oconomowoc Area School District (WI) is involved in a dispute and potential lawsuit over several books related to sex and gender, including It’s Perfectly Normal and The 57 Bus.

The threat of GOP-led book bans looms over the 2022 Wisconsin elections.

The St. Joseph County Public Library (IN) released a statement regarding the Proud Boys disrupting a Rainbow Storytime event on Monday.

Independence, Missouri removes the book Cats vs. Robots from elementary school libraries because it includes a non-binary character.

Nixa (MO) high school students write about how censorship of books fosters ignorance. The paper also elected to grant the students anonymity to protect them from retaliation.

A Forest Hills (OH) school board meeting ends with a resolution against critical race theory.

The Portsmouth (OH) Public Library board hears public comments about their so-called “controversial” Pride display, and is now seeking legal counsel about how to proceed.

The 22 books that the Nampa (ID) School Board voted to remove last month will continue to remain in storage until the board comes up with a more formal book challenging process.

Some Montana State Library commissioners are concerned because the new logo’s color scheme is “too LGBTQ,” which means that it contains the colors red, yellow, green, and blue. I am reminded of a patron at my last library who had used a permanent marker to cover the entire front of his library card because the colors were “too gay.” THEY ARE COLORS. THEY ARE THE RESULT OF DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS OF LIGHT HITTING THE CONES IN OUR EYES AND THESE SIGNALS BEING INTERPRETED BY OUR BRAINS. THERE IS NO SECRET AGENDA HERE.

Payson (AZ) Town Councilor Jim Ferris suggested that the town drop out of the library district and lose hundreds of thousands in funding, all so the library didn’t have to carry the book Sex is a Funny Word. When questioned further, Ferris admitted he hadn’t actually read the book he so strongly objected to.

How Milken Community Schools (CA) “marginalized a marginalized voice.”

Drag Queen Vanilla Meringue skips the Drag Queen Story Time at the Berkeley (CA) Public Library due to safety concerns.

A Canadian librarian responded to threats against her Drag Queen Story Hour by adding a second event. THIS is what I want to see more libraries doing!

Canadian libraries in general are being hit by a wave of hate, threats, and right-wing groups protesting all-age drag events.

Drag story hour hosts, under attack, dig in their heels. (I dislike this headline because “dig in their heels” suggests unwarranted stubbornness, but the article looks at the ways in which queer people have been under increased attack during Pride Month festivities at schools and libraries.)

Related: drag queens are not the ones sexualizing Drag Story Hour.

And yet, some lawmakers are looking to crack down on parents who bring their children to drag shows, even suggesting the termination of parental rights in some cases.

Consultants and activists share meaningful ways employers can help their workers with the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ bills and hate crimes.

Books & Authors in the News

Essential reading: literary voices respond to the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

Authors are protesting Amazon’s eBook policy that allows users to read and return titles.

Philip Pullman leads an outcry after Sheffield Hallam University withdraws its English Literature degree.

The troubling legacy of the Lolita story, 60 years on.

Numbers & Trends

Post-Roe, publishers scramble to meet the political moment.

Have we reached peak celebrity memoir?

We may finally have reached the saturation point for tell-all books from Trump aides.

Best-selling self help books and the missing women phenomenon.

TikTok and Barnes & Noble have teamed up for the #BookTokChallenge.

Award News

Congrats to the 2022 Locus Award winners!

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Taylor Swift debuts her folksy soundtrack song for Where the Crawdads Sing.

The Strand now has its own in-house coffee shop.

On the Riot

The subversive verse of Shel Silverstein.

How to start a BookTok.

How does Goodreads make money? (Hint: it’s your personal data.)

What the heck is Twitterature?

How reading changed for this Rioter after their ADHD diagnosis.

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

I have a longer-than-usual weekend coming up, because Tuesday is my birthday and I always treat myself to a couple days off. But not surprisingly I’m feeling far from festive this year…so for Independence Day, I’m going to contact my reps, make a donation, and wear my “Nevertheless She Persisted” t-shirt. I hope the world doesn’t get drastically worse between now and then.

Peace out, y’all.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.