Categories
Check Your Shelf

More Laser-Eyed Loons

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. By the time you read this newsletter, I will be in (partially) sunny Florida for a short Disney & Universal Studios vacation! We’re expecting some rain while we’re out there, but thankfully, it should still be fairly warm, and honestly, anything above 45 degrees feels like a nice reprieve.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

ALA updates their core values.

Keeping libraries “right side up:” Budgets and funding 2024.

OCLC has filed a lawsuit against the shadow library search engine Anna’s Archive for allegedly stealing 2.2 TB of data from WorldCat. OCLC provided a follow-up statement.

Here’s a profile of Diana Haneski, the librarian at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who received the I Love My Librarian Award for her work making her school library a safe space for students after the Parkland shooting.

The 2024 Rainbow Book List has been published.

Cool Library Updates

The St. Paul Public Library launches a laser-eyed loon library card. (Best. Headline. Ever.)

Worth Reading

(Paywalled): Colorado librarians are now front-line workers in crisis intervention.

“Reading is so sexy:” Gen Z turns to physical books and libraries.

Book Adaptations in the News

Black British authors speak out about the truth behind the satire in American Fiction.

Tia Williams’ Seven Days in June is being developed as a series for Prime Video.

Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything will be adapted as an animated TV series.

Hulu has (maybe?) scrapped the adaptation of A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Ryan Reynolds and Paramount are working on an adaptation of John Scalzi’s Starter Villain.

Turtles All the Way Down is set to release on Max this year.

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is in development with Orion Pictures, with America Ferrera making her directorial debut.

Season 3 of AMC’s The Terror will be based on Victor LaValle’s The Devil in Silver.

Percy Jackson has been renewed for a second season, as has Interview With the Vampire.

The Color Purple gets a streaming release date on Max.

Uglies is coming to Netflix later this year.

Here’s the trailer for the film adaptation of Wicked.

Casting update for The Man in My Basement.

Here’s a first look at Paramount’s A Gentleman in Moscow, starring Ewan McGregor.

Apple TV+ released a trailer for their 2024 lineup, and it features a lot of book adaptations.

Teaser trailer for Dark Matter.

Censorship News

Why do we even read?

LeVar Burton responds to book bans with a Reading Rainbow video on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

San Francisco and Kansas City libraries united during the Super Bowl to raise public awareness about censorship and book bans.

Khaled Hosseini talks about book bans in the US: “It betrays students.”

Books are quietly disappearing from the shelves in Conroe ISD (TX).

The Community Standards Review Committee in League City, Texas, is ready to start reviewing potentially age-inappropriate books.

La Grange ISD school board members (TX) are trying to prohibit the purchase of a handful of new books because they contain specific keywords or because the author has already been banned in other school districts in the country. Please note that the board members have not actually read the books.

Brevard County Schools (FL) removed A Court of Thorns and Roses from shelves.

(Paywalled): Pasco Schools (FL) received their first formal book challenge for The Letter Q, a collection of essays for teens about being queer.

The Hernando County School Board (FL) voted against committee recommendations and permanently banned The Kite Runner and The Black Friend.

St. Johns County School District (FL) has a very long list of books that have been challenged, banned, restricted, or “quarantined.”

The MSAD 44 Board of Directors (ME) held a special meeting this week to hear from community members about whether or not to remove Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which was challenged by a former school board member.

Andover Public Schools (MA) have denied two separate challenges to four individual titles since 2018.

“After a principal had at least 117 manga removed from a classroom and effectively disbanded Magnolia Middle School’s anime and manga club in September, a new club has been formed and some of the books are being returned to the school library.” And at least one parent says that the school never followed their own book removal policy in the first place. This is in Delaware.

Carroll County Schools (MD) have retained several challenged books, but not all of them.

57 books are to be “temporarily removed” from Rockingham County Schools (VA). But at least it’s not a ban, amirite?? /s

“Explicit library content targeting minors roils Botetourt [VA].” THERE IS NO EXPLICIT LIBRARY CONTENT TARGETING MINORS, and the newspapers that publish these types of headlines are only fanning the flames.

A parent who wants over 670 books removed from Dorchester School District Two (SC) gets a profile piece, even though the article mentions that only a quarter of the books are even in the school district. Also, another parent chimes in with their interpretation of book banning: “‘When you write a book, publish it and distribute it, that’s not banning it.’” Truly, I cannot believe how ridiculous these book ban definitions are becoming. And the ACLU of South Carolina has spoken out against the situation in DD2.

The Lexington-Richland Five School District (SC) has removed the graphic novel The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb, although no one is entirely sure why since the school won’t release details. The article also notes that this is the same district where someone filed a challenge against a single book in the Court of Thorns & Roses series; a review committee found it appropriate, and the board voted not only to remove the challenged book but to remove the entire series, even though none of the other titles had been formally challenged.

Alabama’s break with ALA signals a broader attack on library independence.

Here’s a non-paywalled link to an editorial from the Decatur Daily (AL): Libraries shouldn’t be political battlegrounds.

The Autauga-Prattville Library Board (AL) has banned LGBTQ+ books for all patrons under 17, and library staff will “affix a red warning label prominently on the binding of any book or other material in the library’s collection containing content including, but not limited to, obscenity, sexual conduct, sexual intercourse, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance and advertised for consumers 18 and older.”

Some conservative Georgia state senators want the state to withdraw from ALA.

The Lafayette Parish Library (LA) has lifted its ban on Black History Month and Pride displays.

Nashville students marched to the State Capitol prior to the annual State of the State address, demanding better gun control laws and no book bans.

How Indiana schools are tackling library book complaints.

“A Senate committee approved a bill Wednesday that would give school boards the authority to approve or deny curricular materials concerning human sexuality.” This is in Indiana.

A new Wisconsin bill would target school librarians for books that some parents consider “obscene.”

“A proposal to give city councils more authority over public libraries would bring partisan political decision-making into library operations, including book selection, dozens of public library officials and supporters warned state lawmakers Thursday at the Iowa Capitol.”

A Johnston School Board member (IA) is on Twitter, citing BookLooks as a reason why Sold by Patricia McCormick should be banned.

A Nebraska State Board of Education member proposed a rule revision that would prohibit “pornographic materials or sexually explicit content” in all Nebraska public school libraries.

“A bill requiring public schools and libraries to publicize their policies for restricting minors from accessing obscene matter or materials passed in the House Education Committee Monday morning.” This is in South Dakota.

Colorado’s recently proposed “Freedom to Read” bill would establish a baseline process for challenging books in schools and public libraries.

“Lawmakers in the [Washington] state House have passed a bill that essentially bans the banning of books that focus on people of a protected or marginalized class.”

Kern County Board of Education [CA] trustee Lori Cisneros serves a school that doesn’t even have a school library, and yet she wants to further restrict students’ access to books. She’s particularly concerned about Ellen Hopkins’ book Smoke. Also, this is somewhat beside the point, but if I had to imagine the most stereotypical outfit I would expect a book banner to wear, it would look remarkably like the outfit she’s wearing in the embedded video.

Books & Authors in the News

Writers Against the War on Gaza have written an open letter to PEN/America to release an official statement about the “225 poets, playwrights, journalists, scholars, and novelists killed in Gaza” by Israeli forces.

In celebration of The Martian’s 10th anniversary (holy crap, has it been that long??), Andy Weir has released a series of “lost” journal entries from Mark Watney.

Saul Bellow is getting his own official postage stamp.

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Here’s an article from Slate about how students are losing the ability to read critically or effectively.

On the Riot

Dictionary.com has released a list of new and updated words for 2024.

a black and white cat laying on its side on a colorful blanket

I can’t even begin to describe how snuggly Dini has become in the last couple months and especially since we said goodbye to Gilbert. I personally think he’s making the case for us to get another kitty friend, but I’m enjoying the snuggles regardless.

All right, friends. I’ll be back on Tuesday and back in Illinois again. Have a good weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Murder on the Dancefloor

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m writing this newsletter prior to Super Bowl Sunday, although considering I am not a huge fan of the NFL, Usher, or Taylor Swift (don’t hurt me!), I am mostly getting excited for the food. And, of course, being able to meet the Superb Owl. Hopefully, he makes an appearance this year. (My husband and I also have money on a couple spots on my MIL’s charity Super Bowl Square sheet, so fingers crossed!)

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The Lambda Literary Review has announced a hiatus.

Soho Press announces a new horror imprint: Hell’s Hundred.

New & Upcoming Titles

Brittney Griner is publishing a memoir about her incarceration in Russia and her subsequent release, which will be published on May 7.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s memoir will be published in September this year.

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Emily Nussbaum has a cover reveal for her latest book, Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV.

Attica Locke shared that the third book in her Darren Matthews trilogy will be coming out this year! The other two books are Bluebird, Bluebird and Heaven, My Home, and they’re both amazing.

Paula Hawkins has a new thriller coming out.

Anthony Fauci is publishing a memoir.

Ina Garten (a.k .a. the Barefoot Contessa) is also publishing a memoir.

We’re getting a posthumous picture book from Maurice Sendak 12 years after his death.

Emma Heming Willis is publishing a book about caregiving following her husband Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosis.

Rioter Tirzah Price shares the cover for her next Lizzie & Darcy mystery, In Want of a Suspect.

Cover reveal for Richard Chizmar’s upcoming horror novel, Memorials.

Cover reveal for Stephanie Wrobel’s upcoming thriller, The Hitchcock Hotel.

Book club picks for February.

5 of the best recent book picks from Ukraine.

Most anticipated debuts of 2024.

Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

February picks from AARP, Amazon, Gizmodo (SFF/H).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood – Ed Zwick (Entertainment Weekly, People, Washington Post)

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis – Jonathan Blitzer (New York Times, Washington Post)

The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster – John O’Connor (New York Times, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

A crime reader’s guide to Laurie R. King.

A look at several recent books featuring elderly protagonists.

On the Riot

11 of the best new cookbooks to look for in 2024.

The best weekly releases to TBR.

February 2024 picks for horror, romance, nonfiction.

Black historical fiction to read with your book club.

All Things Comics

On the Riot

February picks for comics & graphic novels.

1 in 4 books sold in France are comics.

Audiophilia

Michelle Obama won her second Grammy for her narration on The Light We Carry.

Spotify reports “exponential” audiobook growth and is introducing more listeners to audiobooks.

Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem gets a new audiobook recording narrated by Rosalind Chao, who also appears in the Netflix adaptation.

Cognitive Books has launched a series for and by people living with dementia and other cognitive difficulties, in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, featuring narration from Bill Nighy. The first title, Looking Back at… The Beatles will be published in April.

AudioFile’s February 2024 Earphones Award winners have been announced.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Books and activities for teaching kids about Black history and culture.

10 kids’ books for snowy days.

Adults

19 Canadian books to check out for Black History Month.

11 impactful books about Black history.

7 books about the triumphs and tragedies of mountain climbing.

Murder on the Dancefloor: 9 novels if you loved Saltburn.

Taylor Swift song-to-book pairings.

5 SFF works that explore the (sometimes perilous) power of libraries.

Literary works in which crimes are a means to understanding complexity. ​​

Seven SFF stories about artists and the creative struggle.

Football fiction to get you through your figurative (or literal!) Super Bowl hangover.

7 Texas novels about mother-daughter relationships.

Emily Henry’s top 5 books about love.

6 books about winter as it once was.

On the Riot

The best middle grade fiction that sneaks in sex ed.

The best fantasy series to fill your life with magic.

8 inspirational books on finding your purpose.

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 Edelweiss has a new catalog dedicated to diverse titles, which is managed by Early Word Galley Chatter Vicki Nesting. Check it out!

a black and white cat looking up from underneath a glass coffee table

I call this photo “Dini smells Portillo’s.” That’s a glass-topped coffee table and our primary defense against Dini stealing our food.

Well, that’s all I have for this newsletter. I hope both Super Bowl teams had fun this year. Catch you on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Moms For Liberty Thinks Goblin Butts Are Sexual

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This newsletter has taken about three times as long to put together because I decided to put on RuPaul’s Drag Race as background noise, and…let’s just say it’s not helpful if you need to focus.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Library Journal is pausing the LJ Index of Public Library Service and Star Library rating.

(Paywalled): In Philadelphia, Mayor Parker’s social media crackdown ruffles feathers with librarians.

Southern New Mexico rural library funding is in limbo.

Book Adaptations in the News

Amy Adams is in talks to star opposite Jenna Ortega in Klara and the Sun.

In more Amy Adams news, Nightbitch gets a director and a potential fall 2024 release date.

FX orders a limited series adaptation of Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing.

Sara Bareilles and Sarah Ruhl are teaming up on a musical adaptation of Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings.

Casting update for Hamnet.

Censorship News

American intolerance and book bans.

EveryLibrary has launched a Libraries2024 Initiative to engage voters about the big issues affecting libraries.

Cast as criminals, America’s librarians rally to their own defense.

A look at how Penguin Random House is fighting back against book bans.

How African American museums are navigating book bans.

Your rights as a student in US public schools.

“How one Katy ISD [TX] parent has essentially taken over the “internal review” process.”

“Florida’s war on books enters ‘goblin butts are sexual‘ territory, and of course Moms for Liberty is behind the whole thing.”

A Miami-Dade (FL) school is asking parents to consent for students to participate in Black History Month activities.

Nassau County (FL) schools removed 34 books after the ironically named Citizens Defending Freedom complained to the board.

88,000 books are being reviewed in Lee County (FL) schools. No, that’s not a typo. The district requires media specialists to review, catalog, and approve all books in all teacher’s classrooms before they are accessible to students.

Book challenges may cost Polk County (FL) schools $25,000 this year. This is also not a typo.

“Wealthy, liberal-leaning Blue Hill [ME] prided itself on staying above the fray — until the library stocked a book that drew anger from the left.” The book was Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.

A parent in Regional School Unit 73 (ME) suggested that the school board implement “Universal Book Ratings,” created by Moms for Liberty.

“Four months after a library director’s high-profile departure, the town of Suffield [CT] has yet to hire a new director, half of its library commission has been replaced, and the library’s associate director announced that she too will resign.” There are allegations of an anti-LGBTQ agenda.

This Philadelphia nonprofit is bringing attention to banned books by Black authors with Little Free(dom) Library.

A school-board-appointed committee in Hanover County (VA) voted to remove Valiant Ladies.

A bill in Virginia would ban book bans by school boards.

“One community member has sent a complaint to Dorchester School District 2 [SC] staff to take a second look at the material they consider obscene in 673 books, despite knowing only 170 are actually in the district.” What’s the endgame here, challenging hundreds of books that they know aren’t in the district?

Georgia is considering two recently proposed bills, one of which would “loosen restrictions on librarian certification and cut funding to any programs tied to the American Library Association,” and the other would “require the state board of education to establish standards for school books, as well as define what material might be construed as ‘harmful to minors, restricted materials, and sexually explicit.’” ALA issued a statement opposing the proposed legislation.

“Alabama Legislative Services Agency proposed rule changes to the Alabama Public Library Service that would force libraries to move books deemed ‘inappropriate’ for children in order to receive state funding.

Meanwhile, the Alabama Library Association has released a counterproposal to Gov. Kay Ivey’s recent proposed changes by saying that libraries cannot act in loco parentis, meaning that libraries cannot determine what is appropriate or inappropriate for minors.

“Parents representing Moms for Liberty asked the library board to move any books they deem as sexual content from the children’s section, to the adult section.” So, Moms for Liberty is calling the shots at the Huntsville Public Library (AL) now?

A Petal (MS) alderman wants to ban all books about gender, “transgenderism,” and sexuality from children under 12.

“Librarians urged Missouri lawmakers Wednesday to close the book on a plan to make public library boards throughout Missouri elected positions instead of appointed.”

Valetina Gomez, a candidate for Missouri Secretary of State, posted a video on Twitter of her holding a flamethrower, saying, “I will BURN all books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children.”

Cape Girardeau Public Library [MO] had a board meeting adjourn early because a member of the public couldn’t behave.

“Book bans are expanding from schools into public libraries in Sumner County [TN]. The group behind the shift is contributing to a culture of fear.”

A newly introduced bill in Tennessee would restrict access to materials in public libraries through public petitions, although a legal expert says that the bill “could jeopardize adults’ constitutional rights to access some kinds of information.”

A new Iowa law would allow cities and counties to opt out of funding public libraries. Taking the “public” out of “public libraries,” I see.

Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs is creating a library review board because they value “parent choice.”

“On Dec. 5, the Laramie County School District [WY] 1 Board of Trustees passed a controversial amendment to its Library Media Services policy, which allows parents and faculty members to nominate library titles they believe are inappropriate. To date, 18 titles at Cheyenne high schools have been added to the list.”

The Oklahoma State Board of Education will decide in March whether to revoke the license of the Norman School teacher who gave her students access to banned books via QR code.

“The Utah House has approved legislation that would potentially make it quicker to pull books with sexual content from school library shelves.”

Idaho legislators have modified a proposed “library porn” bill that a) does not redefine obscenity and b) doesn’t inherently classify “homosexual activity” as obscene. Private schools are also exempt from this legislation.

Meanwhile, Idaho librarians are contemplating leaving the profession and the state.

“A Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council member wants to reorganize the Half Moon Bay Library System’s [CA] children’s sections to move ‘inappropriate’ material to the adult’s section.”

(Paywalled): The Mat-Su (AK) school board cut a book banning discussion short after it devolved into “a shouting match and name-calling.”

Books & Authors in the News

Broadway legend and memoirist Chita Rivera has died at 91.

Robie Harris, author of the frequently-targeted book It’s Perfectly Normal, has died at 83.

The identity behind the Elly Conway pseudonym has been revealed, and it is officially not Taylor Swift.

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week.

Award News

More information on the fallout from the recent Hugo Awards controversy.

The longlist for the PEN/Faulkner Award has been announced.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The toddler book tolerability index.

The glitzy IRL book party is back.

a black and white cat using an orange and white cat's butt as a pillow

Today’s cat photo is a guest appearance from my parents’ cats Wrigley and Groucho. Groucho apparently thinks Wrigley’s bony butt makes for a lovely pillow.

All right, friends. I’ll be back on Tuesday. Have a good weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Lives of the Wives

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I hit peak Librarian Nerd recently…I was playing a video game where one of the side quests involved tracking down which characters had borrowed specific public documents. (It was LEGO Star Wars…hush up.) Anyway, my immediate reaction was one of horror, and I immediately texted a co-worker about how patron privacy laws were severely lacking in a galaxy far, far away. I think this is my sign I need to go outside and touch grass.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The FTC has launched an inquiry into AI deals by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

How artists and authors are required to market themselves online, especially on TikTok.

New & Upcoming Titles

Whoopi Goldberg talks about her upcoming memoir.

Here’s a first look at Lance Bass’ upcoming children’s book.

Cover reveal for Gabino Iglesias’ upcoming book House of Bone and Rain.

Locus has released its 2023 recommended reading list.

5 new books to read for Black History Month.

The buzziest romance books of 2024.

30 SFF titles to look forward to in 2024.

Most anticipated speculative crime novels in 2024.

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

February picks from Barnes & Noble, Epic Reads, Kirkus, New York Times, Washington Post.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Come and Get It – Kiley Reid (Guardian, LA Times, Millions, New York Times, NPR, USA Today, Vox)

Hard By a Great Forest – Leo Vardiashvilli (LA Times, New York Times)

Good Material – Dolly Alderton (Elle, New York Times, Shondaland)

RA/Genre Resources

The essential Alice Monroe.

The long and bloody history of true crime lit.

“Lives of the wives” books won’t save us.

What murder mysteries solve.

13 romance authors making space in the genre.

“Smut” is not a dirty word: Author Sarah J. Maas (and romantasy at large) deserves more respect.

On the Riot

The most anticipated cozy mysteries of 2024.

100 must-read new books by Black authors.

12 of the most anticipated queer books for 2024.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

February picks for mystery/thrillers, SFF, nonfiction, children’s books.

Just how much has LGBTQ+ representation grown in middle grade in the last half-decade?

All Things Comics

Disney and Dynamite have announced a line of Disney Villain comics for teens.

Audiophilia

The New York Times looks at Spotify’s emergence in the audiobook market.

The 2024 Audie Award finalists have been announced.

Audiofile’s best audiobooks of January.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Picture books to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Valentine’s Day books for little readers.

Age-appropriate romance reads for 10-12 year olds.

8 YA books set during the Holocaust and WWII.

Adults

Black History Month reading suggestions.

8 books about women’s invisible labor.

The 13 best college-set novels of all time.

The best books about artificial intelligence.

11 books about seasonal and migrant farmworkers in America.

5 of the best books about gossip.

8 addictively good dark romantic comedy books.

Isn’t every day Groundhog Day? Here’s your reading list to get you through the monotony.

On the Riot

7 middle grade horror novels to read by flashlight.

Great adult books with YA appeal.

No big quest, just fantasy coming-of-age stories. ​​

The most underrated sci-fi books on Goodreads.

12 of the best award-winning romance novels.

Dark romantasy books to get swept away in.

100 of the most popular romances of the last three years, according to Goodreads.

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 Edelweiss has a new catalog dedicated to diverse titles, which is managed by Early Word Galley Chatter Vicki Nesting. Check it out!

black and white cat iwith long whiskers sitting n a person's lap, looking back at the camera

This photo is a little small, but I think you can still see Dini’s magnificent whiskers. He kept looking up at me and pouring on the cute every time I stopped petting him.

All right, friends. Have a good week, and I’ll pop back in on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

The Mortal Queen of Faerie Smut

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Is anyone else super into the latest season of True Detective?? I’m loving all of the references to The Thing, and even though we’re still in the middle of winter, I’m making a list of creepy snowbound thrillers to read once the season is over. Also, I love the fact that it added the word “corpsicle” into my vocabulary. (Iykyk, but if you don’t know, I don’t recommend Googling it…)

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

American Libraries has a roundup of last week’s LibLearnX programming.

The Lafayette Parish Library (LA) may not require library director applicants to have a master’s degree from an ALA-accredited school.

The Dallas Public Library has increased service hours and hired 65 additional staff.

Cool Library Updates

Minneapolis schools added more librarians, and now books are flying off of the shelves.

Book Adaptations in the News

David Grann talks about seeing Killers of the Flower Moon on the big screen.

Speaking of KotFM, Lily Gladstone is starring in the adaptation of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

HBO is developing a limited series adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places. After their phenomenal adaptation of Sharp Objects, I’m very much looking forward to this one!

Amanda Seyfried is starring in the Peacock adaptation of Liz Moore’s Long Bright River.

Teaser trailer for Apples Never Fall.

The 10 best Harlan Coben book adaptations ranked.

Censorship News

The library trust matrix.

A brief history of the grand old American tradition of banning books.

A secret shelf of banned books thrives in a Texas high school, thanks to the efforts of several students.

Katy ISD (TX) is requiring parents to sign permission slips for their students to visit the school book fair. As Kelly Jensen points out in her roundup, “apparently ‘not giving kids money’ isn’t enough parental input on the matter,” so I have to assume that parents are afraid their kids might catch a glimpse of an LGBTQ character on a book cover or something.

A high school teacher in the Conroe ISD (TX) shared photos of all the books they had to box up and send to the district for disposal.

A transgender student at Sherman High School (TX) was removed from the school’s upcoming performance of Oklahoma! and then reinstated. “The student was first removed from the production after Sherman ISD school board members voted to require each cast member to play characters whose sexual identities matched the actors’ sex assigned at birth.” You really have to go out of your way to be this bigoted.

A Florida subcommittee approved a proposed law that would impose a fine on anyone who submits more than five challenges to school instructional materials in a calendar year if they don’t have a student enrolled in the district. On the one hand, this is surprisingly progressive for Florida. On the other hand, this only applies after the fifth challenge ($100 per additional challenge) and only applies to people who don’t have students registered in the district, so the impact isn’t as large as it may seem.

After deciding to retain Identical, the Hillsborough County School District’s (FL) decision was challenged, so now they’re re-evaluating their decision.

Brevard County Schools (FL) will retain The Kite Runner and Slaughterhouse Five.

A Broward County (FL) school board member challenged two books, even though one of the books wasn’t actually available or in the library.

Indian River County Schools (FL) banned Alan Gratz’s book Ban This Book because it made mention of the ALA. The same district also banned The Banned Book Club.

“The committee ended up tabling the approval for the town library budget, stating it wanted to see a full list of every book the librarian intends to purchase.” This is in Lebanon, Maine.

New Hampshire legislators have proposed a bill that would require a book rating system in schools.

Several new Vermont bills target book bans in schools and public libraries.

“A book removed from a North Attleborough [MA] elementary school library will be returned to the shelves amid dismay from the community, the superintendent said.” The book in question is Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice.

What you can’t read behind bars in New York.

The Freedom to Read Act has been reintroduced in New Jersey.

West Virginia legislators are trying to lift criminal liability protections for schools and libraries that carry controversial books.

Rockingham County (VA) students staged a walkout in protest of their school board’s recent book bans.

Catawba County Schools (NC) will retain Nineteen Minutes.

Georgia GOP senators target the American Library Association with a new bill.

The Alabama Public Library Service has officially cut ties with the American Library Association.

“Orange Beach [AL] school libraries reconsidering books with LGBTQ characters.” I hate these passive headlines.

The Livingston Parish Library (LA) continues to face pushback over funding and LGBTQ books. “I just don’t think we should be giving [the library] that much money to be ruining our children’s lives when that is the parent’s responsibility.” One of the parish council members also said that although the community narrowly voted to continue funding the library, residents don’t want to “over-support” the library. I didn’t even know “over-supporting” a library was a thing.

The Rolla Public Library (MO) will keep The Every Body Book in the children’s department.

The Camden County Library District (MO) has removed two titles (Flamer and It Feels Good to Be Yourself) until they figure out what to do with the two books. Yep, that’s censorship.

The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp (IN) will be reviewing People Kill People.

A new Illinois bill looks to address threats made to library workers.

The Iowa teachers union calls on schools to restore banned books since a federal judge issued an injunction against the state’s new legislation. Some districts are already complying.

OpEd: Oklahoma’s association with Libs of TikTok creator is an embarrassment to the state.

Colorado saw a 500% increase in challenges to books and library services between 2021 and 2022.

A new proposed law in Utah would require schools to remove specific books from their shelves if at least three other schools in the state have done so. I’m sorry…wtf kind of nonsense is this?

After the Bible was challenged and retained at the Davis School District (UT), the district also determined that the Book of Mormon and the Quran will stay on school library shelves.

The ImagineIF Library Board (MT) has added obscenity language to their collection development policy, which library staff say is “unnecessary and redundant.”

Billings (MT) will retain Assassination Classroom in school libraries.

“Huntington Beach [CA] is moving ahead with creating a parental committee that would review and possibly stop children’s books it deems offensive from entering the public library.” Yeah, it’s not up to parents to decide that.

The Washington Senate just voted to make it more difficult to shut down libraries. The legislature also just introduced a bill to crack down on school book bans.

The Ketchikan Public Library (AK) will keep Flamer and Red Hood in the teen section.

Books & Authors in the News

Pulitzer Prize-winning Indigenous author N. Scott Momaday has died at 89.

Horror and thriller author J.D. Barker has apologized for a “creepy” marketing request that was sent exclusively to young female BookTok influencers. His agent has since dropped him as a client.

How Sarah J. Maas became “the mortal queen of faerie smut.”

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week.

Award News

The NAACP Image Award nominees have been announced.

The 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award finalists have been announced.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Defunding liberal arts is dangerous for health care.

On the Riot

The world’s most surprising fiction writers.

9 of the best books that won awards in 2023.

a black and white cat looking up at the camera with sun on its face

Look at this sunshiny Doodle! We haven’t had much sun around here lately, so Dini was very happy to have some sun on his face!

All right, friends. I’ll be back on Tuesday. Have a good weekend!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Literary Mean Girls

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I’m getting this newsletter in a little later than I usually do because Blaine and I were playing a cutthroat game of Scrabble that lasted for over two hours. (I won, or as Blaine put it, “barely escaped with my life.”)

Collection Development Corner

New & Upcoming Titles

Anthony Hopkins is writing a biography, release date TBD.

Elton John is publishing a book about his experiences during his farewell tour, out September 24th.

Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner are writing a new standalone global thriller.

Alex Segura is publishing a follow-up novel to Secret Identity, out later this year.

Louise Penny announces the 19th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series, out on October 29th.

Here’s a first look at Casey McQuiston’s third adult romance novel, The Pairing.

Most anticipated books of 2024 from BBC, Elle.

Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

January picks from LitHub (children’s books), New York Times (romance), People.

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

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Martyr! – Kaveh Akbar (LA Times, New York Times, NPR)

Dead in Long Beach, California – Venita Blackburn (New York Times, Shondaland, Washington Post)

The Bullet Swallower – Elizabeth Gonzalez James (Esquire, LA Times, Shondaland)

The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon – Adam Shatz (LA Times, New York Times)

RA/Genre Resources

The Wall Street Journal offers book, movie, and TV recommendations made by AI.

Decolonizing the gothic.

Why so many authors are writing multi-generational stories.

So fetch, so fierce: in praise of all the literary mean girls.

On the Riot

25 excellent books to read in 2024.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

What genres and subgenres should be called, based on their covers.

Embracing seasonal reading with picture books.

All Things Comics

Publisher’s Weekly has a spring 2024 comics & graphic novels preview for adults and teens.

The New York Times looks at the recent surge in the popularity of French graphic nonfiction.

On the Riot

The 10 categorically best comics of 2023.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Audiophilia

On the Riot

The complete user’s guide to Spotify audiobooks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Great Greek mythology books for kids.

15 YA books that navigate teen pregnancy.

Adults

9 literary mysteries with a big winter mood.

Weirding the West: Strange tales that complicate the picture of Texas.

5 horror novels featuring spooky mountains.

6 books to read if you’re upset about Greta Gerwig’s Oscar snub.

20 books you can read in a weekend.

On the Riot

8 gothic science fiction novels that will chill and thrill you.

Books that will help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions.

The most influential fantasy books of the 1980s.

10 modern horror classics keeping the genre alive.

Making sense of 2023 through books.

20 must-read sapphic fantasy books.

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 Edelweiss has a new catalog dedicated to diverse titles, which is managed by Early Word Galley Chatter Vicki Nesting. Check it out!

black cat meowing with its front paws perched on a person's leg

I went back through the photos of Gilbert I’ve used in previous newsletters and found this gem — our happy, chatty boy yelling for more snuggles.

All right, friends. I’ll be back on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Who is Elly Conway?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. I don’t know about your corners of the world, but in the Chicago area, we went from winter storms and subzero temperatures to freezing rain and low 40s, so it’s been nothing but fog, fog, fog over the last few days. Everything just feels damp all the time.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

The Kalamazoo Public Library (MI) has suspended services at the Douglass Community Association due to a new security protocol at the DCA that requires all guests (including library patrons) to be admitted electronically during open business hours and sign in and out during their visit. The Kalamazoo Public Library is (rightfully) concerned about patron privacy and is assessing temporary locations.

What has the impact been from NYC libraries ending seven-day services due to budget cuts?

The Brooklyn Public Library and the Lincoln Center have issued an open call for a contemporary national anthem in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.

“An independent review of libraries in England has found a ‘lack of recognition’ across government and a ‘lack of awareness’ among the general public of what libraries have to offer.”

Book Adaptations in the News

Warner Brothers snagged the rights to Kristin Hannah’s upcoming book, The Women.

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis’ memoir has been optioned by Universal.

We’re getting a new Jurassic World movie, and while this hardly qualifies as adaptation news at this point, the script is being written by David Koepp, who did the scripts for Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Casting update for It Ends With Us.

Trailer for One Day, based on the book by David Nicholls.

Here’s the trailer for Netflix’s Ripley, starring Andrew Scott and Johnny Flynn, an actor/musician who I’ve been a fan of since the early 2010s and most people aren’t familiar with, and I’m glad he’s getting more recognition!

Do we really need another adaptation of The Great Gatsby?

Censorship News

Be your own library advocate.

What do parents really think of libraries and book bans?

In a major win for libraries and publishers, the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals on January 17 upheld a lower court decision to block key provisions of HB 900, Texas’s controversial book rating law.

Bruce Friedman got a small write-up about the hundreds of book challenges he’s submitted in Clay County, Florida. He said he plans to take his challenges to the press and let the community decide if they want these books in the schools. If he goes that route, I hope it backfires spectacularly, especially since most studies and reports show that people overwhelmingly support the right to read.

Bill O’Reilly, a card-carrying member of the Leopard Face-Eating party, is outraged that the book ban legislation he supported in Florida has led to his own book being banned.

A parent has complained about Rick by Alex Gino in the Regional School Unit 73 libraries (ME).

“During the visitor comment section of the meeting, the Board was questioned about the resource material review, in which a committee is reviewing books that could potentially be deemed inappropriate for school libraries. The board was asked whether or not the committee would have to read all of the books. The Board responded that only 2 members of the committee are required to fully read the books.” This is the Blackhawk School Board in Pennsylvania.

“West Shore School District [PA] could soon fire its law firm following the election of four far-right school board members who ran on a platform of ‘parents’ rights’ issues.”

“The Troutman Police Department [NC] has opened a criminal investigation into a Moms for Liberty member who read aloud passages describing rape and incest during the public comment period of the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education meeting.” It’s astonishing how many people fail to recognize the distinction between an individual privately reading a book and not subjecting those around them to the content and an individual publicly reading controversial passages in front of a forced audience.

“After six months, numerous discussions, several delays, and nearly $14,000 spent on the review process, the [Moore County] Board of Education (NC) has decided to remove four books from district libraries.” If you’re mathing at home, that’s about $3500 per banned title, and that’s an extraordinary waste of money.

South Carolina wants to institute book ratings in public school libraries, similar to what Texas is trying to do.

Several members of the Charleston (SC) chapter of Moms for Liberty are starting their own public charter school. “The new school, to be known as the Ashley River Classical Academy, will be fully taxpayer-funded, but is structured in a way that effectively avoids any state oversight or accountability.”

The comic The Curse of King Tut has been banned from Lexington-Richland 5 District Schools (SC).

25 books were banned in Marietta City Schools (GA).

The St. Tammany Parish (LA) woman who submitted 160 book challenges has withdrawn all of them because she believes the new slate of parish officials will be more strict about restricting books across the board.

“A city councilwoman’s talk-radio campaign to remove a book she finds offensive from the Rolla Public Library [MO] shelves led to a call for her resignation—or censure—at Tuesday night’s Rolla City Council meeting.”

The Boone County School Board (KY) voted to retain Endlessly Ever After in the elementary schools.

Is Ohio banning books? Librarians weigh in.

The Yorkville School District (IL) met illegally last year to ban Just Mercy, and apparently, they’re standing by that decision.

The state of Iowa is appealing the injunction that has blocked parts of its recent book banning bill. Meanwhile, the Danville and West Burlington school districts say they will continue to follow the state book ban.

Kansas and Colorado legislators are introducing their own anti-book-ban bills.

NBC isn’t burying the lede here: “A far-right influencer who was accused of instigating bomb threats against a school library in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last year has been named an adviser to a state library committee, the head of the state Education Department announced Tuesday.” That far-right influencer is Chaya Raichik, who runs the Libs of TikTok social media account, and her online harassment campaigns and lies have directly led to several of my former coworkers being harassed and threatened. And on top of all that, she’s not even an Oklahoma resident.

The Billings school board (MT) is recommending a ban on Assassination Classroom for glorifying “killing our teachers,” apparently missing the point that books don’t kill people…guns do.

Students and librarians are pushing back against the West Ada (ID) book removal policy.

“The Mingus Union High School District [AZ] is considering a policy that would let anyone challenge whether a book in the school’s library should be out in the open or placed in what amounts to a ‘back room.’”

Books & Authors in the News

Who is Elly Conway? People, Vulture, Vanity Fair, Variety, and the Washington Post all weigh in.

Why January 6th insurrectionists sent a warning letter to the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Beatrix Potter gets an obituary in The New York Times as part of their Overlooked No More feature.

Numbers & Trends

The best-selling books of the week, according to all the lists.

Award News

Oscar nominations have been announced. Here’s how to read your way through the nominees.

The 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence have been awarded, as have the Newberry and Caldecott Medals.

The 2024 Edgar Award nominees are out!

For the first time in seventy years, the Crime Writers’ Association will award the Diamond Dagger Award to two authors “after judges ‘almost came to blows this year.’” The honorees are Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke.

The Bram Stoker preliminary ballot has been released.

The shortlists for the 2024 Indie Book Awards have been released.

The Dublin Literary Award released its 2024 longlist.

The Hugo Awards are facing another controversy.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The Washington Post looks at alternatives to Goodreads.

On the Riot

8 mystery novels with great movie adaptations.

The worst dead-end questions to ask your book club.

Has TikTok ruined reading?

a sleeping black and white cat wrapped in a dark blue blanket, with its paw stretched out on a person's leg

I think Dini knows his humans are sad about losing Gilbert — he’s stayed by our side for almost the entire week and given us all kinds of snuggles. As hard as it’s been without Gilbert, I know it would be a million times worse if we didn’t have our Doodles.

All right, friends. I’ll catch you again next week.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

What Makes An “It” Book?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. It’s been a devastating week in the Horner household — we had to say goodbye to our beloved kitty Gilbert on Friday. He had so much unconditional love and trust, and I can’t adequately describe how much Blaine and I loved him back. He was the best cat we could have ever hoped for. I’m getting through the day with lots of distractions, but this, by far, is the hardest pet loss I’ve ever had to go through. Give all of your furry friends a hug for me.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Shipping costs are likely to increase due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis.

Why is March 2024 shaping up to be one of the best months in years for new books?

Why did Atria Books send a TikTok influencer on an Antarctic cruise?

New & Upcoming Titles

Senator John Fetterman is writing a political memoir with Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights.

We’re getting an illustrated edition of The Hunger Games later this year.

Most anticipated 2024 titles from Brightly (YA), Crime Reads, Paste (romance), Washington Post.

Vogue picks the best books of 2024 so far. (Okay, calm down, Vogue).

The 10 best new novelists for 2024.

20 books by Latinx authors coming out in 2024.

10 promising fiction debuts for spring 2024.

Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

January picks from Crime Reads (psychological thrillers), Kirkus.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture – Kyle Chayka (Atlantic, NPR, Washington Post)

The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History – Manjula Martin (LA Times, New York Times)

The Fetishist – Katherine Min (LA Times, Seattle Times)

More: A Memoir of Open Marriage – Molly Roden Winter (New York Times, Washington Post)

RA/Genre Resources

The year of the female creep.

On the Riot

The best mysteries/thrillers, romance, science fiction, and nonfiction of 2023.

The most popular books on Book Riot in 2023.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

25 of the best self-improvement books to read in 2024.

Cozy fantasy books you won’t want to miss in 2024.

8 science books to look for in early 2024.

The best book club books for 2024.

What makes an “it” book?

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Children’s books that carry on the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

12 YA historical fiction books by Black authors.

Adults

9 great speculative whodunnits.

Recent crime novels by AAPI authors.

10 of the best vegan cookbooks.

5 reads perfect for chilly days.

5 of the best postcolonial novels.

12 hot and heavy hotel romance novels.

Turn up the heat with these spicy romances.

10 life-affirming reads for fans of Frederik Backman.

10 historical fiction mysteries perfect for winter reading.

The best books on artificial intelligence, as selected by ChatGPT.

On the Riot

12 thrilling YA heist novels.

9 books to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mean Girls.

Must-read historical fiction set in Italy.

Level Up (Library Reads)

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

a woman with her arms wrapped around a black cat so that only the cat's head is sticking out

I had Blaine pick out a photo of Gilbert for this newsletter because I’m still struggling to go through our photos. This one was taken within the last couple of months and shows Gilbert in his happiest state — being aggressively snuggled by one of his humans. This is how I’ll always remember him.

Let’s hope for a happier week this week. I’ll see you again on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Check Your Shelf

Trauma, Book Bans, and Libraries

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. Y’all, is anyone else having any bonkers problems with their building recently? Our library has had to close because of bad weather, HVAC issues, and a gas leak, all in less than 7 days. I feel like I’m in 30 Rock — “What a week, huh?” “Lemon, it’s Wednesday.”

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Minnesota public libraries are the latest to receive multiple bomb threats.

NYC libraries will not face a second round of budget cuts.

Worth Reading

After getting a feature profile in The New York Times, librarian super-fan Mychal Threets faced a barrage of insults on social media, but thankfully, thousands of people came to his defense. And he himself responded with remarkable empathy. Why are people like this, though?

Gen Z and millennials have an unlikely love affair with their local libraries.

Book Adaptations in the News

Oprah plans to adapt Abraham Verghese’s latest novel, The Covenant of Water.

Netflix is doing another Fear Street film — this one based on The Prom Queen.

American Born Chinese has been canceled at Disney+ after just one season.

Andrew Garfield has left the cast of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein adaptation, and now Jacob Elordi has reportedly been cast as Frankenstein’s monster. They’re going to need a lot of prosthetics to make that objectively symmetrical face look monstrous.

Censorship News

Trauma, book bans, and libraries: a resource guide for library workers, library supporters, and beyond.

EveryLibrary has updated their “Legislation of Concern” list for 2024.

Book banning will not stop at schools.

Ann Patchett had two books banned in the Orange County school district (FL), so she booktalked them on Instagram.

More than 1600 books have been banned in Escambia County (FL). Meanwhile, “a federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the Escambia County school district violated free speech rights through its removal and restriction of school library books.” In other words, the judge called BS on the attorney general’s argument that book removal constituted “government speech” and, therefore, wasn’t subject to the First Amendment.

Manatee County (FL) commissioners voted to end the county’s membership in the American Library Association.

Massachusetts senators filed a bill that would “prevent book removal ‘due to personal or political views’” in municipal and school libraries.

The New York Times highlighted the shutdown of the Rockwell Falls Public Library (NY), which has been closed for months after the director and most of the staff resigned following a wave of pushback against a Drag Queen Story Hour program.

Carroll County Schools (MD) is reviewing 60 challenged books but refused to remove or challenge the Bible due to “Constitutional considerations,” which apparently doesn’t apply to other books? They have also approved a controversial policy that restricts books with “sexually explicit content,” meaning “unambiguously describing, depicting, showing or writing about sex or sex acts in a detailed or graphic manner.” One of the school board members said, ‘There is no academic value in providing children access to books with explicit sexual content that goes into graphic and textual detail of sexual activity,’ so expect to see a lot of books about puberty and sex ed pulled from the district in the near future.

Rockingham County Schools (VA) have “temporarily” pulled 57 books from the shelves while the board develops a book review policy, which is something they should have already had in place, but the damage has been done.

Augusta County Schools (VA) have started getting a number of book challenges. “At the December meeting, another resident, Bill Shirley, spoke during delegations, telling the board members that he was there to speak against all ‘sexually explicit and pornographic materials in our school libraries,’ saying those materials ‘corrupt and pervert our thought processes.’ He offered no proof that any sexually explicit books were in school libraries.”

Moore County Schools (NC) will vote on the fate of nine challenged books. The recommendations for each title are in the article and feature a range of restrictions and required permissions to access them.

Oconee County Public Library (GA) will retain four challenged books.

Monroe County Public Library (GA) voted to keep two challenged books (Stranger Than Fan Fiction and My Most Excellent Year) after a coordinated set of challenges were submitted. Both books will also remain in the Young Adult section.

A newly proposed Alabama bill would let local governments remove library board members at will. “Delaney [Ozark-Dale library board chair] voiced concern that the change would chill library board member’s ability to do what they feel is in the best interest of the library for fear of running afoul of the local governing body.” And that’s the point.

Moms for Liberty sends a letter to Alabama lawmakers urging them to take action to restrict access to certain materials in libraries.

A new Tennessee bill would expand the definition of who can challenge a book in the public schools; specifically, parents of “eligible” students (students who do not attend the public schools but could attend in theory) could submit challenges. What’s more, the representative who introduced the bill, Gino Bulso, is also a private attorney who happens to be representing a group of parents who filed a lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education for not abiding by the Age Appropriate Materials Act, and one of the parents involved in the lawsuit has children who are “eligible” to attend the public schools, but instead attend school elsewhere. Not surprisingly, Bulso says that he sees no conflict of interest between the lawsuit and the newly introduced legislation.

Indiana libraries are facing drastic funding changes and limits on library programs and activities with a recently proposed bill.

New Prairie Schools (IN) will retain six challenged books in the middle school library.

“Reading a book before challenging it is still a hot topic for the Brainerd School Board [MN]. As board members continue working on a new policy that outlines how school library materials are chosen and can be challenged, one person remains vehemently opposed to asking anyone who challenges a book to read it in its entirety first.” I mean, why should the bigots have to put in the work to show their bigotry? /s

Iowa City Public Schools are holding off on removing 68 books from the shelves now that the state legislation is on hold.

Plattsmouth (NE) voters have recalled a school board member who created a book removal policy and was the only board member to vote against a committee’s recommendation to retain 51 challenged titles.

Two substitute teachers in Kansas spoke during public comment at several Lansing School Board meetings about various school policies, including the district’s Parental Bill of Rights and the board’s lack of transparency regarding book banning. They’ve since been fired, and they’re now suing the school district.

“An Oklahoma lawmaker is proposing a bill that would further crack down on what’s allowed in a school library. If this bill passes, schools would have to send their list of library materials to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) for an annual review.” Oh, Mylanta, this is such an enormous waste of time, money, and resources.

Former Campbell County (WY) library director Terri Lesley filed a defamation lawsuit against three members of a local family for their comments and threats against her for refusing to remove challenged books from the library. The family is now asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

Laurel Public Schools (MT) has “disallowed” six books from the high school library. WHEW, that word is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

The Bozeman School District (MT) will not remove The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from the curriculum.

Idaho has revived its unpopular “harmful to minors” library materials bill. The biggest change is that the bill requires libraries to move contested titles to an adult collection.

New Mexico introduces its own anti-book ban bill.

Coronado Public Library (CA) staff have faced an onslaught of harassment and abuse after the library was not able to accommodate a person’s request to do a patriotic and Christmas-themed storytime. Most of the harassment appears to be coming from non-local emails, but the messages are pretty horrific.

Ketchikan Public Library (AK) will decide whether or not to move two books from the young adult section to the adult section. The books in question are Red Hood and Flamer.

Numbers & Trends

The most popular books on Goodreads over the last decade.

The best-selling books of the week.

Award News

The Golden Globe winners were announced, and adaptations won big.

Judy Blume will be awarded the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award for Bravery in Literature.

Here are the 2024 Walter Award Winners for Youth Literature from We Need Diverse Books.

The shortlist for the 2024 Writer’s Prize (formerly the Rathbones Folio Prize) has been announced.

The nominees for the 2024 Philip K. Dick Awards have been announced.

Katherine Hall Page and R.L. Stine have been named the 2024 Grand Masters by Mystery Writers of America.

Pop Cultured

Amanda Knox is producing a true crime drama about her wrongful conviction.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Since when did reading books become a game? Related, 12 tips for how to read as many books as possible (complete with title suggestions.)

And something new to worry about: do you have “bookshelf wealth?”

This Slate writer talks about surviving a 24-hour Moby Dick readathon.

On the Riot

What’s the best time of day to read?

a black and white cat sitting in an open kitchen cabinet

Houdini’s latest trick is to suddenly appear in the dish towel cabinet when Blaine accidentally leaves the door open.

All right, everyone. Hope all of your library buildings remain open and functional! I’ll see you on Tuesday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter

Categories
Check Your Shelf

It’s a BookTok Extravaganza!

Welcome to Check Your Shelf, where everything is frozen over. Blaine and I had to spend about 20 minutes digging out his car over the weekend, which was covered in 3-4 inches of frozen, packed snow. The forecast says that it’s going to get above freezing again in a week or so, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

ChatGPT says the quiet part out loud: it’s “impossible” to create AI tools without access to copyrighted material.

Meanwhile, scammy AI-generated books continue to flood Amazon.

Tor.com is rebranding as Reactor on January 23rd, complete with a new website.

Women ruled the bestseller list in 2023.

New & Upcoming Titles

Keanu Reeves and China Mieville are teaming up to write a novel based on Reeves’ BRZRKR graphic novel series.

Random House is publishing Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir later this year.

Alice Hoffman is writing a book for younger readers based on Anne Frank’s early life.

Alien is getting an ABC children’s book treatment, and yes, we’re talking about THAT Alien. C is for “chest-burster,” F is for “face-hugger,” J is for “Jonesy,” and X is for “xenomorph.” I am ALL IN FOR THIS WEIRDNESS!

Cover reveal for Paolo Bacigalupi’s latest fantasy novel, Navola.

Cover reveal for Rainbow Rowell’s upcoming adult fiction release, Slow Dance.

Cover reveal for Akwaeke Emezi’s upcoming novel, Little Rot.

Book club picks for January 2024.

20 of the best new reads for your own book club.

Here’s an excerpt from the upcoming book, So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We’re Still So Obsessed with It) by Jennifer Armstrong. (Oh my God, why are you so OBSESSED with me?!)

Best books of 2023 from USA Today.

Weekly picks from Crime Reads, LitHub.

January picks from The Guardian, Tor.com (sci-fi, YA SFF/H)

Most anticipated for 2024 from CBC, LitHub, The Millions (general, poetry), Salon (celebrity memoirs).

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Inverno – Cynthia Zarin (LA Times, New York Times, Shondaland, Washington Post)

Poor Deer – Claire Oshetsky (New York Times, Shondaland, Washington Post)

My Friends – Hisham Matar (New York Times, Washington Post)

The Fetishist – Katherine Min (NPR)

RA/Genre Resources

On Appalachian literature and noir.

On the Riot

Book Riot’s most anticipated books of 2024.

10 new January 2024 book club picks.

The best fantasy, LGBTQ+ romance, and historical fiction of 2023.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

The next big books on TiKTok.

Bookstagram vs. BookTok.

Why is nonfiction rare on TikTok?

And does literary fiction work on BookTok?

How to diversify your BookTok FYP.

BIPOC BookTokkers and queer BookTok accounts to follow.

Is reimagining history through biofiction ethical?

How to read more short stories and anthologies.

All Things Comics

On the Riot

New YA graphic novels/comics for January – March 2024.

New manga for January 2024.

Audiophilia

The January 2024 Earphones Award winners have been announced.

Andrew Garfield and Cynthia Erivo are leading a new Audible adaptation of 1984.

On the Riot

10 of the most anticipated audiobooks for January 2024.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

5 underrated SFF YA novels.

Body positive books for tweens and teens.

Adults

5 novels about plagiarism.

6 books to help you start your year off right.

7 books set in Turkey.

5 thrillers with all the social commentary.

Novels set in hotels.

Crime fiction set in the Pacific Northwest.

Cozy mysteries featuring reporters.

8 fast-paced thrillers for fans of Lucy Foley.

7 books that will earn your tears.

What to read while you wait for House of Flame and Shadow.

On the Riot

6 books to get you started with the POPSUGAR 2024 reading challenge.

12 of the most popular romantasy books on TikTok.

9 genre-defying mystery novels.

Level Up (Library Reads)

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

a black cat laying on a blue and green blanket

Look who’s coming out from his hiding spot! Gilbert has finally realized that it’s much easier for him to get pets and snuggles if he’s not hiding in the closet.

All right, friends. Hopefully, it’s warmer by the time the next newsletter comes out. See you on Friday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.