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
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.
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.
