Category: Check Your Shelf

Holiday Cheer In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 22, 2021

Sponsored by Algonquin Books/Workman Publishing

To the young Cheryl Diamond, life felt like one big adventure. One day her family was in Australia, the next South Africa, the pattern repeating as they crossed continents, changed identities, and erased their pasts. What Diamond didn’t yet know was that she was born into a family of outlaws fleeing from the highest international law enforcement agencies. Surviving would require her to escape, and to do so Diamond would have to unlearn all the rules she grew up with. Wild, heart-wrenching, and unexpectedly funny, Nowhere Girl is an inspiring coming-of-age memoir about running for freedom against the odds.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This week, Illinois has opened up vaccine eligibility to include government workers, which happily includes library employees, and I have an appointment for my first vaccine dose on Friday! I also have a masked appointment for my first haircut in 8 months, so I’m hoping this will truly be a transformative week.

Supporting the AAPI Community

Statements from the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, the ALA Executive Board, and the Asian American Writer’s Workshop.

The impact that the pandemic has had on discrimination against Asian Americans.

Steph Cha writes for the LA Times about police violence against Asian communities.

“It requires an enormous act of will to force others not even to care but merely to see your reality.”

Library Journal shared their COVID-19 anti-xenophobia and anti-racist information resources, along with their COVID anti-Asian racism resources for K-12 students.

Reading lists to understand anti-Asian racism in America from Feminist Press and Vox.

AAPI-owned bookstores to support.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Not surprisingly, university presses are overwhelmingly white.

New & Upcoming Titles

Take a peek at Phoebe Robinson’s next essay collection, coming this fall.

Margaret Atwood is editing a collaborative novel about the pandemic, featuring authors such as John Grisham, Celeste Ng, Dave Eggers, and Emma Donoghue.

Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie, is writing a YA novel called Empress and Aniya.

Jesmyn Ward is also writing a YA novel.

Idris Elba signs a multi-book deal with HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Comedian and actress Iliza Shlesinger is working on an essay collection, which is due out next year.

Linda Rondstadt is working on a memoir, which will likely come out in the fall of next year.

The next Star Wars anthology will explore holiday cheer in a galaxy far, far away.

12 new books to make you smarter.

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

20 books out this spring.

27 spring books we couldn’t put down.

The best SFF books coming out this spring.

The best books of 2021 so far.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic – Glenn Frankel (NPR, USA Today)

Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America – Alec MacGillis (NPR, Washington Post)

Creatures of Passage – Morowa Yejidé (New York Times, Washington Post)

Men Who Hate Women: From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How it Affects Us All – Laura Bates (NPR)

How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession With Rights Is Tearing America Apart – Jamal Greene (Washington Post)

The Jigsaw Man – Nadine Matheson (NPR)

Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our Addictions – Michael Moss (New York Times)

The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner (NPR)

RA/Genre Resources

Readalikes for Harlan Coben’s Win, which is at the top of the best-seller lists this week.

Our autofiction fixation.

On the Riot

18 great 2021 YA books by AAPI authors to watch for.

8 of the best new & upcoming 2021 SFF books by Black authors.

13 great 2021 short story collections by Asian authors.

3 new YA historical fiction novels by women of color.

Reading pathways for Sherry Thomas.

Brown for no reason: finding books when Brandy Cinderella is your lodestar.

Will people still want to read pandemic books in the future?

All Things Comics

Dolly Parton is going to star in her own comic book.

Tiffany Haddish is starring in a film adaptation of the Mystery Girl comic book series.

Marvel introduces the first gay Captain America to the comics.

Dreamer, TV’s first transgender superhero, is making her debut in the DC Pride anthology.

Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki are collaborating on a yet-untitled graphic novel, due out in 2023.

On the Riot

5 graphic novels for kids that tackle tough issues.

Graphic novels to read if you liked The Ghost Bride.

Audiophilia

Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth by Rachel Maddow won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.

Benedict Cumberbatch will narrate the audio version of Edward St. Aubyn’s Double Blind.

Libro.fm is also going to be giving away audiobooks to anyone who spends $15 or more at a local bookstore for Indie Bookstore Day next month.

6 audiobooks to listen to in March.

On the Riot

7 of the best middle grade audiobooks.

10 of the best Audible originals to put in your ears.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

21 children’s books about dogs.

Must-read children’s books written by celebrities.

22 YA books about Asian Americans, past and present.

Adults

25 of the best true crime books of all time to unleash your inner Sherlock.

100 speculative fiction books to add to your TBR.

11 Asian-American love stories.

14 fabulous contemporary women nature writers.

15 of the best books about TV comedies.

10 thrillers based on real-life events.

20 new and classic books about feminism to get you thinking and talking.

Stephen King recommends 10 pulp crime authors.

15 books inspired by Shakespeare.

The best historical fiction books to read right now.

12 genre-bending books to read after watching Behind Her Eyes.

6 deliciously duplicitous female characters in thrillers.

7 books that show the full breadth of the adoption experience.

12 of the best Indian novels that everyone needs to read.

A reading list about unrequited love and unmet obsession.

On the Riot

5 excellent children’s books about flowers.

5 children’s books about writers.

6 of the best children’s books about hero pets.

4 YA books about survival.

18 books by Asian American and Pacific Islander authors.

20 of the best world history books.

The best books about grief.

4 books about sleep worth staying awake to read.

15 mystery book club recommendations.

8 great small town thrillers.

20 must-read free online stories.

13 great swashbuckling fantasy reads.

5 of the best Sylvia Plath biographies.

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 Overkill by Vanda Symon.

Check Your Shelf

Libraries Get BILLIONS in Funding!

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 18, 2021

Sponsored by Peachtree Publishing Company

One night, under the light of a silvery moon, Bear wandered into town and there he found a Thingity-Jig! A springy thing. A bouncy thing. A sit-on-it, jump-on-it thing! But the Thingity-Jig is too heavy to carry, and Bear’s friends won’t help. So how will he get it home?
Debut author Kathy Doherty infuses delightful wordplay with STEAM to tell a charming story about a little maker determined to share his nocturnal discovery with friends. Illustrator Kristyna Litten brings Bear’s world to life with whimsical settings and fanciful inventions kids will eagerly explore. Perfect for read alouds and storytimes!

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. An unfortunate reality of living in America is that we’re probably going to see more mass shootings as more places around the country reopen, and Tuesday night in Atlanta was sad proof of this. If you’re looking for a way to support Asian communities, here is a list of AAPI organizations looking for donations and resources.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Congress allocated billions (yes, billions!) of dollars to libraries in their COVID relief package.

Librarians are debating how to handle the Dr. Seuss controversy, but a lot of them say that the books will stay on the shelves for now.

The Chicago Public Library, however, is electing to remove the six Dr. Seuss titles from circulation.

But don’t worry about “cancel culture,” people. The discontinued Dr. Seuss books topped the bestseller lists last week.

Maryland state legislature passed a bill that ensures “ libraries can license e-books and other digital “literary’ content that is available to consumers.”

Cool Library Updates

Libraries and butterfly gardens.

Librarians turn to a Japanese form of storytelling during the pandemic.

Nap pods in the academic library.

Worth Reading

Tweens revolutionize online activism.

Meet the badass librarians of the NYPL.

Book Adaptations in the News

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is in talks to be adapted as a limited series.

The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin has been optioned for series development.

Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o are starring in the upcoming Lady in the Lake series.

Toni Collette is making her directorial debut with Writers and Lovers by Lily King.

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor is being turned into a series.

City of Ghosts by V.E. Schwab is getting a series adaptation.

Not exactly a book adaptation, but we’re going to get a series based on Agatha Christie’s teenage years.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner will write the limited series adaptation of her novel Fleishman is in Trouble for FX.

Lady Chatterly’s Lover is getting a new movie adaptation.

Harlan Coben’s thriller The Innocent will be hitting Netflix next month.

The new Game of Thrones spinoff show will not feature “egregious” violence towards women.

Casting updates for The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Essex Serpent, and Killers of the Flower Moon.

If you ever wanted a comprehensive look at all of the Hugo-winning and shortlisted works that have been adapted, here’s a handy dandy chart for you.

And here are all of the current Oscar-nominated films based on books.

Books & Authors in the News

Octavia Butler will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, along with NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters has added thirty three new members to its roster, including Joy Harjo, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Sigrid Nunez.

Numbers & Trends

Racial diversity in children’s books grows, but slowly.

Princess Diana’s biography returns to bestseller lists after the groundbreaking Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan.

7 New York Times fiction and nonfiction best-sellers from ten years ago.

Award News

Deesha Philyaw has won the 2020 Story Prize for her story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, making this the first book published by a small or university press to win the award, and making Deesha Philyaw only the fourth debut author to win.

Finalists for the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards and the 2021 Nebula Awards.

Indigiqueer author Joshua Whitehead’s Jonny Appleseed wins the CBC’s Canada Reads contest.

Shortlist for the 2021 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

Pop Cultured

CBS has renewed The Equalizer with Queen Latifah for a second season.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

The Harlem community rallies behind a beloved book and toy store, raising $46,000 to help the store during the pandemic.

On the Riot

5 unique school library programs.

Let me ruin your childhood: the inequality of school book fairs.

By the numbers: Fabio romance novel covers.

Gamify your reading with a readathon board game!

What’s your favorite book? And other dreaded questions.

A brief history of the word of the year.

An A-to-Z guide to literary devices.

Have a good weekend everyone, and stay safe.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Check Your Shelf

An Endangered Species Conspiracy Novel, Royal Intrigue, and Origami

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 15, 2021

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

Amazon announced that it will not sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.

A second translator has been removed from working on Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb.

New & Upcoming Titles

E.L. James’ final Fifty Shades of Grey book, as told by Christian Grey, is coming out in June.

First look at Jeff Vandermeer’s new endangered species conspiracy novel, and honestly I’m mainly including this link so I could share the phrase “endangered species conspiracy novel.”

Recent books that reflect diverse Jewish experiences.

50 best fiction books to read this year.

Best books of 2021 so far.

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

March picks from Bitch Media, Bookmarks (SFF), Book Page (mysteries), Crime Reads, (psychological thrillers), Nightfire (horror), Tor.com (sci-fi, fantasy, horror/genre-bending novels, YA SFF)

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race – Walter Isaacson (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York – Elon Green (New York Times, NPR)

Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America – Alec MacGillis (LA Times, New York Times)

How Beautiful We Were – Imbolo Mbue (NPR, USA Today)

Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul – Brandy Shillace (New York Times, Washington Post)

The Girls Are All So Nice Here – Laurie Elizabeth Flynn (USA Today)

RA/Genre Resources

Murder, but gentler: cozy mysteries are a pandemic-era balm.

Hard science fiction is still overwhelmingly white, but it’s getting better.

Surviving childhood by reading science fiction.

On the Riot

The best books you’ve never heard of (Winter 2021).

6 stunning LGBTQ+ books by debut authors to read in 2021.

6 great 2021 YA books about teens who write.

6 brand new and upcoming Jane Austen retellings.

3 current and upcoming YA releases inspired by dance.

13 gothic romance titles to introduce you to the genre.

COVID turned realistic fiction into fantasy.

A defense of guilty pleasure reading across time.

A brief history of dime novels.

All Things Comics

Zoraida Cordova is making her Marvel comics debut.

Here’s a preview of the upcoming Sandman/Locke & Key comic crossover.

The best comics coming out in March.

On the Riot

The best comics to read after Wandavision.

4 little but fierce characters in manga.

Audiophilia

Breaking Bad alums Aaron Paul and Krysten Ritter reunite to voice characters in a new James Patterson audio drama.

Daveed Diggs and Lena Waithe lend their voices to Scribd’s audiobook version of Black Imagination. Want more? Here’s a look at the other 40 titles being launched with Scribd Audio.

Audiobook narrator Abby Craden talks about her experience recording almost 400 audiobooks.

The best audiobooks to listen to right now.

Audiobooks that recount American history as written and voiced by Black women.

27 nonfiction audiobooks to listen to on long walks.

On the Riot

7 of the best audiobooks written by Australian women writers.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Stories of girls and women who made history.

17 great LGBTQ middle grade novels.

25 best YA murder mysteries of all time.

YA books featuring powerful BIPOC female characters.

12 mythology-inspired YA novels.

Adults

What to read for Women’s History Month.

A reading list from the Asian American Writer’s Workshop for abolitionist imagination and practice.

Books about the Internet as we know it.

9 books about royal intrigue after Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview.

Read these writers to understand Native American comedy.

7 full-bodied reads from the literary vineyard. (AKA books about wine)

10 historical romances that feature sports.

5 underrated costume dramas for romance lovers.

8 dark novels about love and obsession set in the Mediterranean.

7 novels about women who reject expectations.

5 SFF books with middle-aged and elderly heroes who still kick ass.

On the Riot

8 fascinating kids books like Terrible Things That Can Happen to You.

5 YA books to pick up after Moxie.

20 must-read queer essay collections.

5 translated works of fiction about life and culture.

8 great feminist microhistories.

10 great novellas by authors of color.

5 unusually-structured speculative fiction novels.

8 romantic sci-fi and fantasy reads.

A beginner’s guide to occult books.

Crime novels about family.

9 nature novels to get lost in.

12 of the best romance novels about writers.

11 stories featuring origami.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Be nice to yourselves, and I’ll see you on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Check Your Shelf

Weed the Racist Books, Librarians

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 11, 2021

Sponsored by Wild Outside by Les Stroud (Annick Press)

From surviving a frigid night in northern Canada to munching on grubs in the Australian Outback, Les Stroud’s passion for the outdoors has driven him to some of the planet’s most remote and beautiful locations. In Wild Outside, he invites readers into his world of wilderness adventures with fast-paced stories, nature facts, and practical advice for spending time outside. Featuring kid-friendly activities and tips like how to safely observe wildlife, Stroud shows readers that adventure awaits everywhere—whether in a jungle or a city park. Andrew P. Barr’s dramatic illustrations amp up the excitement alongside photos of Survivorman’s adventures.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. This is a sad evening for me – my parents had to say goodbye to one of their kitties very suddenly this afternoon, and it was a tremendous shock to everyone. Lovebug and her two kittens came to live with my grandpa in 2009, and my parents took the three cats in after my grandpa passed away in 2012. Lovebug more than lived up to her name – she adored everyone she met, and had one of the sweetest kitty faces I’ve ever seen. We’re going to miss this fluffy lady.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

Local public libraries in Portsmouth, Virginia have begun removal of the six Dr. Seuss books that were pulled from publication last week.

The New York Public Library has elected to keep the six Dr. Seuss books in its collections.

Cool Library Updates

Health librarians quell pandemic panic with webinars.

The road to normal: bookmobiles and outreach during COVID.

Worth Reading

A history of racism in American public libraries.

The Dr. Seuss controversy: what educators need to know.

The New York Times provided a summary of the Dr. Seuss news and surrounding controversy, if you need a catch-up or a refresher on what’s happened.

Cancel culture and “classics:” EDI and readers advisory implications. Or in other words, weed the racist books, librarians.

Want to borrow that ebook from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.

How a year without the library changed this writer.

Book Adaptations in the News

Kindred is being turned into a TV series.

Sarah Gailey’s latest book The Echo Wife is getting a film adaptation already.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters is being turned into a TV series.

David Simon and George Pelecanos from The Wire are turning We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops and Corruption by Justin Fenton into a limited series.

Amazon Studios is developing a series adaptation of The Wives by Tarryn Fisher.

Peacock is developing a series based on The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

Disney’s 20th Television grabbed the rights to Chris Whitaker’s new novel We Begin at the End.

Armando Lucas Correa’s The German Girl is being turned into an international TV series.

Stephen King’s 2018 novella Elevation will be getting a film adaptation. Also, the creators of Stranger Things are adapting The Talisman.

The Queen’s Gambit is becoming a stage musical.

There’s a Bosch spin-off series set at IMDB TV.

Update on the new Goosebumps TV series.

Trailers for Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse and Made for Love by Alissa Nutting.

Books & Authors in the News

Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth, has died at 91.

The kid lit community rallies against anti-Asian racism.

Carmen Maria Machado defends her memoir In the Dream House, which was one of several books pulled from Texas high school shelves for review following parent complaints.

Amanda Gorman reported being tailed by a security guard on her way home, who questioned whether or not she actually lived in her building. As Amanda said, “This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat.”

Mariah Carey’s brother sues for emotional distress caused by her recently-published memoir.

In much better news, NASA has named the Mars landing site of Perseverance “Octavia E. Butler Landing.”

Numbers & Trends

The most popular in-demand books in US libraries from October – December 2020.

Award News

The longlist for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been released.

C.J. Cherryh wins the 2021 Robert A. Heinlein Award.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Some writers aim to smuggle what Iran censors.

The artists dismantling the barriers between rap and poetry.

The Book Lady of Danville, VA wants to give away 1 million books to her community – so far, she’s given away over 63,000 books since 2017.

On the Riot

The ever-growing challenges of getting books into prisons.

A media studies perspective on canceling books.

15 online book clubs to boost your reading in 2021.

Your ultimate guide on where to buy ebooks.

A case for reading multiple books at a time.

Reflections on rereading and the self.

A brief history of the exclamation mark (!)

Have a good weekend, everyone. Give your fur babies some extra treats.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently listening to Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey.

Check Your Shelf

10 of the Most Confusing Books of All Time

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 8, 2021

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

E.L. James is launching a new imprint with Sourcebooks, and she’s taking her entire catalog with her.

Union booksellers protest at The Strand in New York City.

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, the original Dutch translator for Amanda Gorman’s poetry, has stepped down after criticism that a white author was selected for the task.

These sisters formed a publishing house to launch a novel about a Black Muslim teenager.

New & Upcoming Titles

Kal Penn is writing a memoir.

Billie Jean King’s autobiography All In: An Autobiography will be released in August.

Henry Thomas (E.T., The Haunting of Hill House) has a debut fantasy novel coming out.

Joe Exotic of Tiger King infamy is working on a tell-all memoir that’s slated for November.

5 new books that engage with the climate change crisis.

5 romance novels from February to add to your TBR.

Weekly book picks from Buzzfeed, Crime Reads, LitHub, The Millions, New York Times, People, Publishers Weekly, The Root, Shelf Awareness, and USA Today.

March picks from Amazon, A/V Club, Barnes & Noble, Bustle, Crime Reads, Entertainment Weekly, io9, Lambda Literary, The Millions (general, poetry), O: Oprah Magazine, PopSugar (general, mystery/thriller, romance, YA), Shondaland, Time, Tor.com (YA SFF), and Washington Post.

20 new novels for spring.

42 LGBTQ books coming soon.

11 YA books featuring South Asian characters to read in 2021.

A running list of the best books of 2021.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Infinite Country – Patricia Engel (New York Times, NPR, Washington Post)

Klara and the Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro (NPR, USA Today, Washington Post)

The Committed – Viet Thanh Nguyen (NPR, USA Today)

The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto – Charles M. Blow (New York Times)

What’s Mine and Yours – Naima Coster (New York Times)

RA/Genre Resources

The delicate relationship between grief and fanfiction.

On the Riot

2021 LGBTQ books by Black authors.

6 of the darkest SFF reads coming in 2021.

10 riveting thriller novels to read in 2021.

10 great March 2021 YA releases.

5 great 2021 UK middle grade novels to check out.

Reading pathway for Roxane Gay.

Kids need queer books.

All Things Comics

Comic-Con International announced that WonderCon and San Diego Comic Con will be virtual events this year, but that they’re also hoping to hold a special in-person pop culture event in November.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a new Superman film for DC and Warner Brothers.

Alyssa Cole is collaborating on a Sleeping Beauty-inspired YA graphic novel.

Stephen Graham Jones has a graphic novel coming out as well.

On the Riot

7 of the best comedy manga.

Sports manga and anime to make you smile.

Audiophilia

All of the audiobooks you can listen to for free, without a subscription.

The March 2021 Earphones Award winners.

Check out this new Indigenous lit audio book club/podcast!

What to listen to in 2021, based on what you loved in 2020.

7 kids’ audiobooks celebrating African American heritage.

21 audiobooks and podcasts by Black Canadians.

On the Riot

6 great audiobooks by trans authors.

Where to find audio dramas and audiobooks with sound effects.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

13 books with resilient role models for tweens.

YA books by Asian and Pacific Islander authors you should read ASAP.

19 YA books fueled by revenge in the best way.

Books to read if you love Shadow and Bone.

35 YA books with a strong female lead to celebrate Women’s History Month (all year long).

Adults

A literary guide to combat anti-Asian racism in America.

Jacqueline Woodson’s Black History Month reading recommendations.

Nonfiction books that celebrate Women’s History Month.

4 books to read for Women’s History Month.

8 great books about Black boyhood.

7 poetry books by BIPOC women to add to your TBR.

8 books by and about Afghan women.

A reading list of obsessive female relationships.

10 most confusing books of all time.

5 books that will make you think twice about walking in the woods.

On the Riot

7 science board books in English and/or Spanish.

7 books for kids that fight COVID-19-inspired racism.

13 picture books to read instead of Dr. Seuss for Read Across America.

6 great YA authors writing romance novels.

10 books about Black women activists during the Civil Rights Movement.

6 books that give voices to forgotten women in our stories.

8 essential diasporic novels.

7 witchy reads for fans of WandaVision.

10 innovative sci-fi novels about robots and AI.

18 books about Mars to celebrate the Perseverance landing.

10 books if you loved Gideon the Ninth.

20 must-read queer books in translation from around the world.

8 romantic fantasy books to make your heart swoon.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Be nice to yourselves, and I’ll see you on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading They Never Learn by Layne Fargo.

Check Your Shelf

When You Think Haruki Murakami, You Think T-Shirt Design

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 4, 2021

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

You’re probably well aware of this news already, but Dr. Seuss’s estate has pulled six of his titles from publication due to racist imagery. This presents a significant quandary for libraries about what to do with these titles. The Denver Public Library, for example, has said that they won’t pull any Dr. Seuss books from its collection.

“Why the decision to pull six Dr. Seuss books is an important move for diversity.”

The Indiana state Senate has withdrawn a bill that would punish schools and public libraries for distributing “harmful material” to minors.

Cool Library Updates

This Brooklyn librarian has become an unlikely star with her virtual bilingual story time.

Worth Reading

Library Journal published the results of their 2021 Library Budgets survey. Not surprisingly, budgets got majorly messed up in the last year.

A disproportionate pandemic: library patrons with disabilities have face compounded challenges in the last year.

How school librarians adjusted to remote learning.

The librarian war against QAnon.

Looking at libraries as essential services. (Sadly, this is not about a push to get library workers vaccinated early.)

This article, however, DOES push for library employees to be vaccinated immediately.

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

A Black History Month moment from 1961 when the Tougaloo Nine tried to integrate their local library through a read-in.

How user-friendly is your website?

Book Adaptations in the News

HBO Max options Marissa Meyer’s YA novel Instant Karma for a series.

America Ferrera makes her directorial debut with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

Phoebe Robinson will write and star in the adaptation of her book Everything’s Trash But It’s Okay.

George R.R. Martin is working on another project with HBO that isn’t Winds of Winter.

Madison Wells has picked up the rights to Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, with plans for film, TV, and a podcast.

David Fincher will adapt the graphic novel series The Killer by Alexis Nolent as a film.

The Stephen King short story “The Jaunt” is getting an adaptation.

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters fame is working with his mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, to adapt her book From Cradle to Stage: Stories From the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars as a six-part unscripted series.

Paddington 3 is officially in the works.

Casting updates for the HBO adaptations of The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Girl Before.

The Dry is going to be released in North America on May 21st!! Squeee!!!

First look at the upcoming adaptation of Lisey’s Story by Stephen King.

Trailer for Shadow and Bone, which premieres April 23rd on Netflix.

Teaser trailer for the latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Books & Authors in the News

A best-selling and extremely controversial book about transgender people has been removed from Amazon three years after its publication.

Haruki Murakami has launched a new…t-shirt line?

Numbers & Trends

The Ripped Bodice posted the results of their 5th annual Diversity in Romance survey, and (not surprisingly) there’s still a LOT of work to do.

(TW: sexual abuse) France is seeing an increase in the number of memoirs alleging sexual abuse.

Award News

Nomadland won the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama.

Longlists/finalists were announced for the PEN/Faulkner Awards, Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, LA Times Book Prize, and International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Thanks to Undocupoets, poets don’t need papers to be heard.

The Ben West Palm Hotel in Florida launches a Book Butler program for guests.

On the Riot

Libraries offering services to seniors during the pandemic.

7 services your public library (probably) offers.

A list of literacy-related places seeking donations to help with relief efforts in Texas.

Ten-year-old Joziah Jason started a podcast called “R.E.A.D. Books with Joziah” to share his love of reading with listeners.

An ode to the paperback book.

How reading eBooks changes our perception (and reviews).

I hope everyone gets to enjoy some sunshine and warmer weather this weekend! Catch you on Tuesday!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Check Your Shelf

Kill the Book Blurbs

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date March 1, 2021

Sponsored by Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, with Fierce Reads

The book that started a revolution—now a Netflix Original Film directed by Amy Poehler! In Jennifer Mathieu’s empowering novel, an unlikely teenager starts a feminist revolution at a small-town Texas high school.

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. A couple weeks ago, the optometrist set me up with some reading glasses for the first time since college, and now that my glasses have come in, I’m marveling at how well I can actually see! The words don’t blur together on my screen anymore! I can read food labels again! It’s a brand new world!

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

What happens when a publisher becomes a megapublisher?

Who Can Get Your Book? grades accessibility in the age of exclusives and restrictive licensing.

Cafe Noir, an online bookstore that sells books by Black, POC and LGBTQ+ authors, is working to open a physical storefront in Memphis.

These Afro-Latina writers want to see more voices like theirs in publishing.

Is it time to kill the book blurb?

New & Upcoming Titles

Yup, Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny are indeed teaming up to write a political thriller.

Brian Stelter’s book Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth is getting a significant 20,000 word update for the paperback release, which will cover the tumultuous end of Trump’s presidency.

Cindy McCain is publishing the memoir Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor in My Life With John McCain in late April.

Farrah Rochon signs a two-book deal with Disney-Hyperion.