Categories
Check Your Shelf

If You Need a Break From Insurrection Updates, Here’s Some News About Libraries

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m writing this newsletter as more information pours in about Wednesday’s armed insurrection in Washington DC, and I’m struggling so hard to focus on anything library or work-related right now, and I imagine everyone else is as well. So, here’s a list of library-related news articles that can hopefully act as a distraction for you. If not, they’ll be here when you’re ready to focus on literally anything else.


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will be speaking at the 2021 ALA virtual Midwinter Meeting.

Many of you have probably seen this already, but NetGalley announced that they were hacked on December 23rd.

Cool Library Updates

The American Indian Library Association announces their Read Native 2021 challenge.

Milwaukee’s “Book Fairy” has donated thousands of books to Little Free Libraries.

These were the most borrowed books of 2020 in New York City.

Worth Reading

Why soaring ebook checkouts are worrying libraries. And as an interesting companion piece, a look at ebook licensing for school libraries.

Ways to get kids more excited about reading.


Book Adaptations in the News

A producer working on the Netflix adaptation of The Three-Body Problem was poisoned in an alleged murder plot. ** insert spit take here **

Netflix settled with the Conan Doyle estate over their lawsuit against the Enola Holmes movie.

Samuel L. Jackson is starring in Apple+ TV’s adaptation of Walter Mosley’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.

Lydia Millet’s A Children’s Bible is being turned into a limited series.

His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie is going to get an adaptation.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is getting a film adaptation.

Frances McDormand is producing and starring in the adaptation of Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

Blumhouse Productions is developing a sequel to The Exorcist. I have…well, I have some feelings about this.

Casting update for the Game of Thrones prequel.

JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions has optioned the rights to Burn by Patrick Ness.

Charlie Mackesy forms his own production company and teams up with Bad Robot to adapt an animated short of his award-winning book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse.

Noomi Rapace will star in a gender-swapped film adaptation of Hamlet.

Jennifer Lopez is producing and starring in an adaptation of Isabella Maldonado’s book, The Cipher.

There’s going to be a Little House On the Prairie reboot.

The Flight Attendant has been renewed for a second season with HBO Max.

His Dark Materials gets a third and final season at HBO.

Locke and Key gets another two seasons with Netflix.

Here are trailers for the Netflix adaptations of Shadow and Bone and The White Tiger.


Books & Authors in the News

A Black teenager was expelled from his elite private high school after his mother complained about his English class reading the play “Fences” by August Wilson.

Multiple authors across different franchises have said that they haven’t received any royalty money after Disney acquired multiple properties in 2012.

Shirley Jackson’s son uncovered an unpublished short story by his mother called “Adventure on a Bad Night.” The story has been published in The Strand Magazine.

Roxane Gay is starting a book club in 2021!

February 18th has been named Toni Morrison Day in Ohio.

Take a peek at all of the books that are now officially in the public domain.


Numbers & Trends

Publishers say that “the Trump bubble is already starting to deflate.”

OverDrive gives us a look at the top ebooks and digital audiobooks borrowed from public libraries in 2020.

Will we see an increase in illustrated novels in the future?


Award News

All of the award-winning novels of 2020.

Here are the longlists for the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards.


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The Teen Reader Society, a new nonprofit organization, will donate free books to children who were directly affected by the West Coast wildfires.

“I’ve never felt less festive”: the art of writing Christmas novels, 365 days a year.

Debunking the myth of “real reading.”

It’s okay if you didn’t read this year.


On the Riot

A social media strategy for libraries.

A Little Free Library walking tour of this writer’s neighborhood.

6 historical libraries that were tragically destroyed.

25 book-to-movie adaptations to look forward to in 2021.

A collection of different 2021 reading challenges from across the Internet.

Book Riot contributors talk about their biggest bookish achievements in 2020.

This Book Riot contributor talks about working at an Illinois Barnes & Noble. As a frequent shopper at multiple Barnes & Nobles in Illinois, I appreciate this.

My Goodreads TBR is my biography.

Music to listen to while reading.

How and why to spring clean your digital book clutter.


Solidarity to anyone in or near DC who has had a much more immediate experience of this week’s chaos. Stay hydrated, everyone.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Best January Titles to Purchase For Your Library

Welcome to Check Your Shelf, and welcome to a brand new year! I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing holiday. I did my best to bring some positive energy into 2021 by syncing up the drum solo from “In the Air Tonight” to play at exactly midnight on New Year’s, so…hope it helps!

I’m not thrilled about going back to a regular work schedule, but c’est la vie. Let’s take a look at what we missed over the last couple weeks.


Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Edelweiss announced the launch of Edelweiss BookFest, a virtual event scheduled to take place at the beginning of June. This is supposed to temporarily fill the gap left behind by Book Expo.

A look at the bizarre phishing scam within the publishing industry, which targets unpublished manuscripts.

Here’s a recap of the turbulent publishing protests in 2020.

Are publishing diversity efforts starting to kick in?

Business was actually good for publishers in 2020.

The weirdest book news from 2020.

New & Upcoming Titles

8 books from 2020 that best captured the mood of the year.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads and Shelf Awareness.

January picks from Barnes & Noble, Entertainment Weekly, Epic Reads (YA), New York Times, Time, and Washington Post.

Best Books of 2020

Best books of 2020 from The Atlantic, Bustle, CBS News, HuffPost, and Vogue.

Crime Reads picks the best traditional mysteries, historical mysteries, and international mysteries of 2020.

Best romance novels.

Children’s publishers share their favorite books of 2020.

Best indie books.

Best cookbooks.

Best foodie fiction.

Best Canadian books.

From Lambda Literary staff: the books that helped them manage 2020.

LitHub and indie booksellers recommend the best under-the-radar books of the year.

And finally…everything you need to know about 2020’s biggest and best reads.

Most Anticipated Books of 2021

Most anticipated books of 2021 from AARP (nonfiction), Amazon (mysteries & thrillers), Barnes & Noble, Book Marks (books in translation), Bustle, Datebook, The Guardian (fiction and nonfiction), Pop Sugar, Seattle Times, Time, and Vogue.

What to read in 2021, based on your favorite books of 2020.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Prophets – Robert Jones Jr. (Entertainment Weekly, LA Times)

Bedeviled: A Shadow History of Demons in Science – Jimena Canales (Washington Post)

The Wrong Family – Tarryn Fisher (USA Today)

Nick – Michael Farris Smith (Washington Post)

On the Riot

10 under-the-radar fantasy & science fiction books from 2020.

Reading pathways for Jay Kristoff.

Why queer holiday stories are necessary.

This reader has conflicting feelings about reading what everyone else is reading (and I imagine that a lot of librarians feel the same way from time to time).


All Things Comics

10 best comics of 2020.

On the Riot

10 queer comics and manga that made 2020 bearable.


Audiophilia

23 audiobooks that were really popular in 2020.

Best audiobooks of the year.

12 best-selling audiobooks across genres.

On the Riot

8 of the best poetry audiobooks performed by their authors.


Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

18 YA mystery books like One of Us is Lying.

Adults

Writers recommend books that Joe Biden should read.

Angela Davis and other radical reading suggestions for 2021.

8 novels about female superheroes.

On the Riot

14 of the best books about unions, organizing, and American labor.

8 books to pair with your favorite gentle reality TV shows.

5 short books to help you finish that Goodreads reading challenge (or start your new one).

Read Harder: a book with a cover you don’t like, a romance by a trans and/or nonbinary author, a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color, and a food memoir by an author of color.

15 weed books that illuminate, demystify, and celebrate cannabis.

6+ books to teach you about Judaism.

10 books on architecture for non-architects.


Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.


Use that new year energy to stay hydrated and moisturized! I’ll catch you all on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently Muppet-arming about Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh. (So mother-forking funny!!)

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Say Good Riddance to 2020 and Hello to 2021

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This is going to be the last issue of Check Your Shelf until after the New Year, so I’m just going to say GOOD RIDDANCE 2020, YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED. And since this hasn’t been my greatest year in terms of reading and books, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on the little (non-bookish) things that got me through this year. So here’s a shoutout to all of the episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax that I watched over and over, the True Facts guy on YouTube who kept me entertained while I struggled through basic household chores, and the Chicken Lemon Orzo soup at Corner Bakery when I needed to eat but couldn’t fathom making anything for myself. Also, here’s possibly the cutest photo we’ve taken of Houdini to date.

So now, let’s talk books!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Publisher’s Weekly names “The Book Business Worker” as its 2020 Person of the Year.

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation launches a new publishing imprint with Random House.

A look at some of the biggest publishing news stories in 2020.

New & Upcoming Titles

Colson Whitehead’s next book, Harlem Shuffle, will be a heist novel!

Elizabeth Warren’s new book, Persist, will be out in April of next year.

Titan Books is publishing an anthology of stories inspired by Shirley Jackson, which will include submissions from horror authors like Paul Tremblay and Josh Malerman.

New books about artificial intelligence.

9 new poetry collections that highlight the diversity of Latinx identity.

Some of the best recent sci-fi and fantasy novels in translation.

Weekly book picks from Booklist Reader, Bustle, Crime Reads, New York Times, and Shelf Awareness.

Best books of December from Bitch Media (feminist picks), and Tor.com (horror/genre bending novels).

Most anticipated books of 2021 from Amazon, BuzzFeed (historical fiction), Epic Reads, The Rumpus, and USA Today.

Best Books of 2021

The ULTIMATE Best Books List of 2020.

Best books of 2020 from the Asian American Writer’s Workshop, AV Club, Book Marks, (fiction and nonfiction), BookPage, BuzzFeed, The Guardian, Jezebel, Lit Hub, Town & Country, USA Today, Vox, Vulture, and Wired.

Best book covers of 2020.

Best mystery & crime books from Book Marks and Crime Reads (noir fiction, debuts, gothic fiction, psychological thrillers, true crime, and espionage fiction).

Best romance novels.

Best YA novels.

Best books by indie presses.

Best books in translation.

Best queer books.

Best poetry.

Best comedy books.

Best cookbooks.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

A Certain Hunger – Chelsea G. Summers (LA Times, Washington Post)

Red Hands – Christopher Golden (Washington Post)

Worked Over: How Round-the-Clock Work is Killing the American Dream – Jamie K. McCallum (Washington Post)

Stakes is High: Life After the American Dream – Mychal Denzel Smith (Washington Post)

Expedition Deep Ocean: The First Descent to the Bottom of All Five Oceans – Josh Young (Washington Post)

On the Riot

13 great Fall 2020 books in translation.

Best positive thinking books of 2020.

Dark mood reading that’s working for this reader.

All Things Comics

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is named the best graphic novel of the year by Publishers Weekly critics.

Best-reviewed graphic literature of 2020 from Book Marks.

Audiophilia

Best audiobooks of 2020 from Slate and Washington Post.

5 family mystery audiobooks to share.

Great holiday audiobooks for young readers.

8 audiobooks you’ll love as much as their adaptations.

Audiobooks with animal narrators.

On the Riot

8 of the best audiobooks narrated by Emily Woo Zeller.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

8 interactive books to entertain your restless young reader.

14 YA releases to catch up on before their sequels drop in 2021.

The ultimate cozy YA books for cold winter days.

Adults

22 authors on the books that gave them hope in 2020.

USA Today contributors list the books that got them through this year.

23 modern SFF twists on classic stories.

5 books about the world after the end of the world.

11 dark academia books.

On the Riot

15 great English/Spanish books for kids.

Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2020.

Read Harder: A SFF anthology written by a person of color, a middle grade mystery, a fat-positive romance, a work of fanfiction, a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author.

8 gritty thrillers to keep you turning the pages.

11 of the best holiday horror novels.

15 books like Taylor Swift’s Evermore for your winter reading list.

15 of the best historical fiction series.

10 space books to read so the Galactic Federation will talk to us.

8 intergenerational family sagas to dig into this winter.

5 memoirs in verse by amazing women writers.

8 books about magical and mysterious 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 created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

I have to believe that 2021 will be better than this year. Stay safe and healthy this holiday, and I will see you all in January!

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Enough Adaptation News to Tide You Over Till 2021

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Let’s get right to it, because this newsletter is virtually exploding with adaptation news.


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

A board meeting for the Lincoln Parish Public Library turned into a heated debate as parents expressed concern about the library including books with LGBTQ+ themes in the children’s section.

Worth Reading

The impact of COVID-19 on academic libraries.

Dreaming about the ideal library.

Book Adaptations in the News

Scott Frank, co-creator of The Queen’s Gambit, is working on three new projects involving book adaptations.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will be adapted for Disney+.

Rebecca F. Kuang’s fantasy series beginning with The Poppy War is going to be adapted for TV.

Kid Cudi is producing and starring in the adaptation of Brandon Taylor’s novel, Real Life.

Julia Roberts is starring in a limited series based on the forthcoming book The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

HBO is looking at a True Blood reboot.

Apple is reportedly looking at an adaptation of Blake Crouch’s thriller, Dark Matter.

Megan Abbott’s Dare Me is coming to Netflix on December 29th.

Amazon is developing an unscripted docuseries and a scripted series based on Jessica Simpson’s memoir Open Book.

Range Media and CrichtonSun are partnering to develop several adaptations based on Michael Crichton’s work.

Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land is getting a TV adaptation.

A four-part BBC series based on Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life is in the works.

Netflix UK is going to adapt Stuart Turton’s The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which is actually titled The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in Britain.

UK producer Arrow Media has optioned both Chasing Cosby: The Downfall of America’s Dad by Nicole Weisensee Egan and The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski by Samantha Geimer. Both will reportedly be turned into documentary series.

Hulu renewed The Handmaid’s Tale for a fifth season.

Trailers for Clarice, A Discovery of Witches Season 2, Nomadland, and Bridgerton.


Books & Authors in the News

A conservative youth group will offer Burbank students free copies of the five books that were recently challenged as required reading materials in the school district.

Literary giant John le Carré has passed away at age 89.

Douglas Stuart has partnered with the Streetreads initiative to donate 300 copies of Shuggie Bain to people experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh.


Numbers & Trends

The most popular & purchased books of 2020 by Amazon customers.

What – and how – people were reading during the pandemic, according to the CEO of OverDrive.

The most popular romantic novels from the last six decades.


Award News

The winners of the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Award have been announced.


Pop Cultured

Yeah, Disney just announced a LOT of new upcoming projects.


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

A multi-million dollar book heist from 2017 has been solved.


On the Riot

YA book adaptations due out next year.

Saddle Up & Read improves kids’ literacy, one farm trip at a time.

11 ideas to tackle as 2021 reading goals.

Why this reader is joining Instagram book clubs.

How reading helps this writer with writer’s block.


That’s all for me, folks. Stay fed, hydrated, and moisturized!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Best Books of 2020 to Keep You Occupied Until 2021

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Last week during a down moment in a Zoom meeting, I looked to the side and said something to one of my cats, who was in the chair next to me. When I looked back at the screen, a coworker was looking at me strangely, and I realized that she couldn’t see the cat, and was slightly puzzled as to why I had just called her “Doodlebug.” So…that was my week last week. Let’s hope for a better one.

Also, here’s a video of said Doodlebug exploring the wonders of the Christmas tree for the first time.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver was recently announced as the largest Black-owned bookstore in the country, but that messaging has met with a lot of criticism from Black booksellers.

Will the latest publishing mega-merger kill off small presses and literary diversity?

Just how white is the publishing industry?

New & Upcoming Titles

Bob Woodward is publishing another book about the Trump presidency.

Rachel Howzell Hall has a new book coming out!

Helene Wecker announces a sequel to The Golem and the Jinni, called The Hidden Palace, which comes out in June.

Zoraida Cordova’s debut adult novel, The Inheritance of Orquidea Divinia, will be released next year.

Seanan McGuire will have four more books coming from Tordotcom.

Kellyanne Conway has reportedly received a multi-million dollar deal for an upcoming memoir.

Melania Trump’s White House memoir may be a coffee table book.

5 recent books about the climate crisis.

November romance picks.

Weekly book picks from Booklist Reader, BuzzFeed, Crime Reads, New York Times, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.

December picks from Amazon (mystery/thriller, biography/memoir), BookPage (mystery/thriller, romance), and Tor.com (fantasy, science fiction, YA SFF).

Most-anticipated books for 2021 from AARP, O: Oprah Magazine (general picks, romance), and Tor.com (SFF).

Best Books of 2020

Best books of the year from Electric Lit, Entertainment Weekly, LA Times, LitHub, People, Slate, Vanity Fair, Vulture, and Wall Street Journal.

Best books of 2020, as selected by a panel of guest authors for The Guardian.

Best overlooked books of 2020.

Best crime novel picks (Crime Reads, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal)

Best historical fiction from the New York Times.

Best science fiction, fantasy, and horror (LitHub, Wall Street Journal)

Best short story collections (Bookmarks, Chicago Review of Books, Electric Lit)

Best LGBTQ books (New York Public Library, Shondaland)

Best nonfiction picks from Bookmarks (biographies/memoirs, poetry collections), Electric Lit, Kirkus (general nonfiction, biographies, memoirs, music), LitHub (essay collections), Smithsonian Magazine (history, travel, food), Wall Street Journal (political), and Wired (science).

Best children’s books from Read Brightly, Smithsonian Magazine, and Wall Street Journal.

Best YA fiction, and best speculative YA fiction (BuzzFeed, Tor.com)

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Purpose of Power: How To Come Together When We Fall Apart – Alicia Garza (Washington Post)

Crosshairs – Catherine Hernandez (USA Today)

Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House – Rachel Maddow & Michael Yarvitz (New York Times)

The Blade Between – Sam J. Miller (NPR)

On the Riot

The best books you’ve never heard of: Winter 2020.

6 strategies for recommending books to friends so they’ll actually read them.

Reading pathways for Holly Black.

All Things Comics

Ava DuVernay is adapting DC’s Naomi for the CW.

Best graphic novels of 2020.

Best new comics for December 2020.

Why are so many comics creators going to Kickstarter instead of publishers?

On the Riot

15 graphic novels for the middle grade reader on your shopping list.

Audiophilia

Audible’s 10 best audiobooks of 2020.

AudioFile has more best-of lists for 2020: fiction; romance; mystery & suspense; scifi, fantasy, & horror; kids & family; and young adult.

12 reasons to gift audiobooks.

On the Riot

6 summer audiobooks for readers in the southern hemisphere.

18 of the best horror audiobooks to extend the haunting season.

Balancing audiobooks and podcasts during quarantine.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Best Jewish children’s books of 2020.

Adults

Bill Gates picks 5 books for a lousy year.

10 books that will connect you in a socially distant year.

23 discussion-ready books for your next book club meeting.

8 fat-positive queer books.

14 cozy holiday romances.

6 mysteries that prove you really can’t go home again.

9 books about Krampus and other holiday horrors.

18 books to read at home over holiday break.

16 books about Princess Diana that pull back the curtain.

5 books about the horror of winter.

On the Riot

10 inclusive children’s holiday books for the most wonderful storytimes of the year.

13 fantastic books about East Asian American kids.

10 middle grade books teens want you to read right now.

10 excellent short stories for high school students.

5 YA books about teens who travel (when you can’t).

Read Harder suggestions: a LGBTQ+ history book, a non-European novel in translation, a book about anti-racism, a book you’ve been intimidated to read.

15 books about Appalachia to read instead of Hillbilly Elegy.

10 books like The House in the Cerulean Sea.

25 must-read books about Buddhism.

Women writing about women: must-read memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies.

11 of the best books about artificial intelligence.

7 books to get you through unemployment.

5 food novels by Southeast Asian women writers.

5 books for an introduction to disability history in the US.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

Let’s keep stumbling towards the new year, everyone. Stay hydrated and moisturized!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Drag Queen Story Hour Helps Children Grow

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Is anyone else counting down till December 22nd, when the days start getting longer again? I’m almost more excited for extra daylight than I am for Christmas, and I think that just about sums up 2020 for me.


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Amazon Publishing is reportedly in talks to offer ebook access to public libraries.

Allegheny County Jail has reversed its policy banning book delivery to its incarcerated population. For a deeper look, check out this article about the hidden history of the Allegheny County Jail Library.

A look at how Chicago-area libraries have decided whether to stay open or close their doors to the public.

The investigation into the Douglas County Library’s public statement supporting Black Lives Matter has revealed that no library policies were violated.

A Louisiana library has pulled the LGBTQ books from its children’s section.

Cool Library Updates

This Georgia library set up a drive-through food pantry that helped 370 families.

The Canadian government has provided $34.5 million in net zero carbon funding to the facility that will house Library and Archives Canada, as well as the Ottawa Public Library.

How drag queen story hour is helping children grow during the pandemic.

The Books to Go program in West Ottawa Public Schools has helped students stay connected with their school libraries.

Worth Reading

Funding and book borrowing are on the decline at UK libraries.

Librarians will miss BookExpo.

Library books: a small antidote to a life of perpetual dissatisfaction.


Book Adaptations in the News

Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey is being developed as a drama series for Sony.

Shuggie Bain will likely be developed into a TV series.

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish will be developed into a film.

Ring Shout by P. Djéli Clark is being turned into a series.

Hulu has a Hardy Boys reboot series that you can stream now.

Showtime has already snagged screen rights to journalist John Heilemann’s upcoming book about Joe Biden’s campaigns.

Trailer for Season 3 of American Gods.


Books & Authors in the News

Jason Reynolds is awesome. On Giving Tuesday, he bought up all of his books from Washington D.C. bookstores and told readers to go pick them up for free.

Pulitzer-winning novelist Alison Lurie has died at age 94.

Roald Dahl’s family has apologized for his anti-Semitism, thirty years after his death.


Numbers & Trends

Publishers are seeing sales spikes for chess books following the success of The Queen’s Gambit.

Not surprisingly, in-house sales for bookstores are down, but online sales are WAY up.


Award News

The 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards winners have been announced.

The Science Fiction Writers of America have named Nalo Hopkinson as the 37th Damon Knight Grand Master.

Raven Leilani wins the Center for Fiction’s 2020 First Novel Prize for Luster.

Attica Locke wins the Staunch Book Prize for Heaven, My Home.

Barnes & Noble selects World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Fumi Nakamura as their 2020 Book of the Year.

The Literary Review has canceled its annual Bad Sex in Fiction award, saying that people have been through too many bad things this year.


Pop Cultured

Warner Brothers will release all of their 2021 movies in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously.

Universal is planning a new monster movie in the Van Helsing universe.

New trailer for Wonder Woman: 1984.


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

A campaign is underway to purchase J.R.R. Tolkien’s house and turn it into a museum, and the coolest part is that the campaign has been backed by Lord of the Rings actors Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, and John Rhys-Davies!

A look at how book clubs have adapted during the pandemic.

Is it worse to steal books from a library or a bookstore? (PSST: DON’T STEAL BOOKS!)


On the Riot

It’s the 2021 Read Harder Challenge!! Plus our annual 2021 Reading Log!

The most popular under-the-radar books in US libraries from July to September.

The benefits of community reading programs.

A look at morality clauses within the literature and entertainment industries.

The pandemic tanked this person’s reading habits. (Don’t worry, it tanked mine too.)


Well, that’s a wrap folks. Stay warm, and keep your hands well-moisturized! The frequent hand washing and the winter weather have turned me into a lizard.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

It’s the NPR Book Concierge AND the Book Riot Best-Of List in One Newsletter!

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I spent this last weekend getting all my holiday shopping done, but I’ll probably still end up waiting until the last minute to get my wrapping done. Maybe a good time to find a new audiobook? At any rate, it feels really bizarre to have a raging pandemic happening outside, and still be figuring out the logistics of holiday wrapping.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

ReedPop is retiring BookExpo and BookCon, although there will likely be attempts to re-invent the conference. Booksellers have said that they aren’t surprised that BEA has been retired.

What a new BookExpo could learn from the Helsinki Book Fair.

Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster has drawn a lot of objections.

A look at some of the (many!) new imprints announced this year.

What are publishers really doing to diversify?

New & Upcoming Titles

Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds have announced an adaptation of Stamped for kids! Check out the cover here.

Akwaeke Emezi will be releasing their first poetry collection next year

Mary Trump will have another book coming out in July 2021.

Paula Hawkins announced her next suspense novel, which will be released in August of next year.

Sister Souljah has a follow-up to The Coldest Winter Ever, called Life After Death, which will be released in March.

Lauren Groff is writing a new book in 2021.

Melania Trump is possibly shopping around a memoir.

John Cena is releasing an illustrated book of uplifting quotes adapted from his Twitter feed.

11 new books by Native American writers.

13 new books to get cozy with this holiday season.

16 recent holiday romances to fall in love with.

Books that deserved more buzz this year. Plus, this season’s hidden gems.

Weekly book picks from Booklist Reader, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Crime Reads, New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.

December picks from Amazon, Bitch Media (YA feminist picks), Lambda Literary (LGBTQ), The Millions, New York Times, Pop Sugar (romance, thrillers, buzzy books), Shondaland, Town & Country, and Washington Post.

32 LGBTQ+ books to look forward to in 2021.

Best Books of 2020

NPR’s Book Concierge is BAAAAACK!

Best picks from Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, New York Times, New Yorker, Parade, Shondaland, and Smithsonian Magazine.

Best debuts of 2020 (Barnes & Noble).

Best romances (BookPage).

Best mysteries & thrillers (BookPage, Seattle Times).

Best memoirs (BookPage).

Best science books (Smithsonian Magazine).

Best children’s books from BookPage (picture books & middle grade), Kirkus, New York Times.

Best art & photo books (BuzzFeed, New York Times).

Best book covers (LitHub).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Long Time Coming: Reckoning With Race in America – Michael Eric Dyson (NPR, Washington Post)

Perestroika in Paris – Jane Smiley (NPR, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

NYPL put together a list of readalikes for recent award-winning titles.

On the Riot

It’s Book Riot’s Best Books of 2020! (MUPPET ARMS!!)

And our best children’s books of 2020! (MORE MUPPET ARMS!!)

20 must-read picture books from 2020.

10 short story collections by Asian authors from 2020.

A response to claims of racism in Naomi Novik’s A Deadly Education.

Foretelling the future of vampire books.

Reading pathways for Ally Condie.

Mood is the most underrated literary device, and the most valuable.

How to get a refresher without rereading the previous book in a series.

All Things Comics

Did you know that Kristin Cashore’s YA novel Graceling is being turned into a graphic novel?

Switch up your reading routine with these 15 graphic novels.

On the Riot

Epic comics to get lost in.

Magical careers in manga.

Audiophilia

Okay, this is just RUDE: Alex Trebek has been omitted from his own memoir’s Grammy nomination, despite narrating a significant portion of the audiobook. And Ken Jennings is pissed.

Epic Reads asks what it’s like working in audiobooks.

AudioFile announced their Best Audiobooks of 2020.

Libro.fm announced that their Thanks for Giving campaign led to over $170,000 being spent at independent bookstores during the last week of November!

On the Riot

6 of the best audiobooks set in the American South.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

10 Kwanzaa books for kids and families.

Children’s books that celebrate diverse holidays and traditions.

YA novels with complicated friendships.

7 YA books that perfectly depict the fake dating trope.

Adults

25 festive holiday romance novels.

10 chilling thrillers to read this winter.

6 novels to read if you love Hallmark movies.

Books about addiction written by women.

Excellent 500+ page novels to lose yourself in.

Get holly and jolly (and slightly murderous) with these Christmas cozy mysteries.

5 unconventional fictional families that will (maybe) make you miss your own.

5 awesomely pulpy books.

On the Riot

7 books with stuffed animals to cheer up your little ones.

8 middle grade and YA fantasy novels written by Indian authors.

5 royal YA fantasy books for fans of The Crown.

5 queer YA books to read if you’re disappointed with Boys’ Love.

8 YA domestic thrillers.

Learn about 8 other classic teen sleuths who weren’t Nancy Drew.

28 sex-positive books for readers of all ages.

5 books about complicated families by BIPOC authors.

8 anti-racist books to help you dig deeper.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Why is the Chicago Public Library Still Open?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Somehow, in the midst of all *waves vaguely* THIS, we still have our annual Winter Reading Program happening. Maybe this is what people need to keep them occupied right now. Although there’s something innately maddening about trying to figure out the best way to distribute regular prizes via curbside pickup.


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Why are Chicago Public Libraries still open amid soaring COVID rates?

Amazon is under pressure to lift its ban on library sales for in-house eBooks.

Cool Library Updates

King’s University College in Ontario receives a one million dollar donation from one of its former librarians, making it one of the largest individual gifts in the college’s history!

Worth Reading

Can a patron who gets sick sue the library?

College libraries once again have to adjust to shutdowns during this second pandemic wave.

This reader misses libraries, especially the browsing part.

Peep this 2020 holiday gift guide for librarians and book lovers!


Book Adaptations in the News

Adam Conover, host of Adam Ruins Everything, has teamed up with the Obama’s production company to transform Michael Lewis’ book The Fifth Risk into a Netflix sketch comedy series about the government.

First trailer for the adaptation of Cherry by Nico Walker.

Here’s your first (adorable) look at Clifford the Big Red Dog, which will be made into a movie in 2021!


Books & Authors in the News

The Romancing the Runoff fundraiser has raised almost $400,000 for the runoff Senate elections in Georgia!

Legendary science fiction author Ben Bova has passed away at 88.


Numbers & Trends

Over 118 million people attended library programs in 2017!

Award News

Mystery Writers of America announced its 2021 Grand Master and Raven Award recipients.

The 2021 Hugo Awards will include a special category for Best Video Game.

The winners and finalists of the Brooklyn Public Library literary awards have been announced.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell is named as the Waterstones book of the year.

The shortlist for the Costa Book Awards has been released.


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster both chose the word “pandemic” for their word of the year.

In 2010, Edie Vonnegut, daughter of Kurt Vonnegut, found 226 love letters from Vonnegut to his wife, Jane. The love letters are now being published in a book called Love, Kurt: The Vonnegut Love Letters, 1941-1945.

What do you get when you cross Where’s Waldo, cats, and Hong Kong markets? You get this adorable photo book!


On the Riot

50+ alternative careers for librarians.

“Is that all you do?” Self-promotion as a school librarian.

5 indie bookstores that started book subscriptions or personalized care packages to survive the pandemic.

6 places to buy books online that aren’t Amazon.


We’ve only got a few more weekends before we’re done with 2020, and I know that it’s not like the world’s going to reset on January 1st, but I’m starting a little countdown…let’s tick one more weekend off our lists.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Book Recs for All Kinds of Appetites

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Despite this extremely non-traditional Thanksgiving weekend, I still managed to eat enough to strain the waistband on my comfy pants…there’s been a lot of napping in the McLain-Horner household over the last few days.


Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

And then there were four…Penguin Random House’s parent company is officially purchasing Simon & Schuster.

Penguin Random House employees in Canada have protested the publisher’s decision to publish a new book by Jordan Peterson.

A Somerville (MA) mother started an indie publishing house to showcase more stories of “the South Asian experience.”

A new online bookstore for LGBTQ+ readers opens in the UK.

Scholastic Book Fairs revamp their options for the pandemic.

New & Upcoming Titles

Pope Francis’ new book supports demands for racial justice and speaks out against COVID-19 deniers and conspiracy theorists.

Yusef Salaam, one of the five teens who became known as the “Central Park 5” in 1989, will publish a memoir next year.

Lorde went to Antarctica and is publishing a photo book to prove it.

46 books from 2020 that indie booksellers were grateful for this year.

Books of the week from Booklist Reader, Bustle, LitHub, The Millions, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today.

November picks from Amazon (history), Crime Reads, and LitHub (bio/memoir).

December picks from Epic Reads and New York Times.

Best books of 2020 from BBC, Book Page, (general & SFF), Kirkus (picture books), LitHub (short story collections), New York Times, Shelf Awareness (children’s/YA), Smithsonian Magazine (food), Time (children’s/YA, nonfiction), and Wired (cookbooks).

15 mysteries and thrillers to look for in 2021.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Thirty Names of Night – Zeyn Joukhadar (USA Today, Washington Post)

The Freezer Door – Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (New York Times, Washington Post)

Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future – Pope Francis (NPR)

A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery From the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War – William G. Thomas (New York Times)

On the Riot

15 of the best post-apocalyptic books in 2020.

How to find LGBTQ+ new releases.

10+ new self-help books, and how to find more.

Angst all the way down: where to get started with John Green books.


All Things Comics

Simon & Schuster is launching two new graphic novel lines for young readers.

Kid Quick, DC’s first non-binary character, will appear in next month’s anthology, DC’s Merry Multiverse.

On the Riot

11 comics to relax with.

10 middle grade graphic novels to gift this year.


Audiophilia

Writer’s groups have been protesting Audible’s exchange policy, which allows users to return their audiobooks within 1 year of the purchase, and allows Audible to avoid paying authors and narrators their royalties. Audible has since altered its return policy.

The Grammy nominees for Best Spoken Word Album have been announced.

Audiobooks to soothe you during Lockdown 2.0.

5 literary thrillers on audio.

On the Riot

The neuroscience of audiobooks.

How to find audiobooks for sleep.

7 audiobooks for Indigenous Heritage Month.


Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

12 nonfiction books kids will actually read.

14 YA books that prove that all teens are messy in the best way.

10 YA books with saints & angel mythologies.

Epic Reads has a (dare I say it?) EPIC YA Holiday Gift Guide!

Adults

20 life-changing books to gift to someone you love.

7 books you should read AFTER dinner this holiday season (this is from the Ladies of Horror Fiction, so that should tell you a few things about the content of this list).

6 SFF novels that defy genre distinction.

5 SFF reads with Chinese representation.

5 SFF books with an astonishing number of twists and turns.

5 books about women fighting their way out.

Companion reading for a truly fraught holiday season.

10 romantic books for readers new to the genre.

On the Riot

7 children’s books by Asian writers.

10 ancient mythology and folktale books for kids.

5 of the best morally ambiguous monster hunting YA novels.

YA books set in bookstores.

Food & travel book recommendations for all your pandemic armchair travels.

20 must-read short books for short attention spans.

15 of the best books for teachers

12 books for coping with a COVID winter.

5 new books to read if you love Toni Morrison.

14 books about pop culture to distract you from 2020.

Books you should read if you’re a middle child.


Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

See you on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Reading For Pleasure When the World Is On Fire

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Has anyone else been having a ridiculously hard time keeping track of what day it is? Earlier this week, I asked my husband multiple times to confirm that it was still Tuesday (it was). And today, my boss gave me a mini heart attack when he asked me to take care of something at the library, and when I told him I wasn’t there (I’m not normally scheduled for Wednesdays), he said, “But aren’t you supposed to cover for me today?” Thankfully, he quickly realized that he had asked a different staff member to cover his shift, but in that amount of time, I thought I felt my heart stop.

So what day is it again?


Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

A new rule bans Allegheny (PA) County Jail inmates from receiving books, and limits them to 214 pre-selected eBooks on faulty tablets that cost inmates money.

The Manhattan poetry library Poets House has suspended operations due to economic difficulties during the pandemic, but employees say that the move is a retaliatory measure against staff members’ recent attempts to unionize.

New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell and several top public library officials have been accused of misleading the public with their proposed plan to reallocate millions in property taxes.

Cool Library Updates

The Redwood City (CA) Library will be hosting a virtual version of its award-winning Human Library program on December 5th.

Dallas Libraries add 2100 mobile WiFi hotspots to their collections.

New York Public Library released several Best Books of the Year lists for kids, teens, and adults.

Next month, you’ll be able to stream a new documentary for free about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Worth Reading

How libraries handle the legacy of racist murals.

How local libraries shaped the life of Octavia E. Butler.

10 people share why they’re thankful for libraries.

How German librarians played a thirteen-year game of cat-and-mouse with an elusive book thief.


Book Adaptations in the News

Netflix is working on an adaptation of Forty Acres by Dwayne Alexander Smith, and if you’ve read this book before, you know that it was MADE to be a movie!

Umbrella Academy has been renewed for a third season with Netflix.

Rebecca Carroll is adapting her upcoming memoir, Surviving the White Gaze, for television.

We may be seeing a reboot of Waiting to Exhale from ABC.

First official trailer for Tiny Pretty Things!

Trailer for the long awaited sci-fi adventure Chaos Walking.

New trailer for The Underground Railroad.


Books & Authors in the News

Bustle looks at how romance authors and their “Romancing the Runoff” fundraiser is helping Stacey Abrams turn Georgia blue.

Warner Brothers TV strikes an overall deal with YA author and activist Kimberly Latrice Jones.

Barack Obama has made his memoir available for free to all Chicago High School students and staff!

The book White Fragility has been removed from a Florida high school after several parents complained.

Bret Easton Ellis bypasses book publishers for his latest story, and instead turns to podcasts.


Numbers & Trends

Obama’s memoir breaks first day sales records for Penguin Random House, selling more than 887,000 copies in the first day.

Not surprisingly, James Patterson was the decades’ best-selling author.


Award News

Joy Harjo will serve a rare third term as US poet laureate.

The winners of the National Book Awards have been announced!

Douglas Stuart wins the 2020 Booker Prize for Shuggie Bain.

Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump wins the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

The shortlist for the 2020 Reading Women Award in nonfiction has been released.


Pop Cultured

Wonder Woman: 1984 will be released in theaters on Christmas Day, but it will also be available to stream on HBO Max simultaneously.


Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Charles Darwin’s notebooks have reportedly been stolen from Cambridge University, although they were originally believed to be mis-shelved as far back as 2000.

Oxford has broken with its tradition of naming a single word of the year, and instead named multiple words of the year for 2020.


On the Riot

5 favorite fictional librarians from children’s media.

Librarians know…even hardcore book people engage in bad book habits.

Encouraging pleasure reading while the world is on fire.

A call for more people to try reading out loud.

How to strengthen your reading habits.

10 of the best book lights for late-night reading. Or, you know, if you’re looking for ideas for winter reading program prizes…

How to make a DIY book page wreath.


See everyone on Tuesday. Have a safe weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.