Political Audiobooks, Pirated Manga, and More Library News

Katie’s parents never told her “no” when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has a BA in Creative Writing from Lake Forest College and is working towards a master’s degree in library science at U of I. She works full time at a public library reference desk in northern IL, specializing in readers’ advisory and general book enthusiasm, and she has a deep-rooted love of all things disturbing, twisted, and terrifying. (She takes enormous pleasure in creeping out her coworkers.) When she’s not spending every waking hour at the library, she’s at home watching Cubs baseball with her cats and her cardigan collection, and when she’s not at home, she’s spending too much money on concert tickets. Her hobbies include debating the finer points of Harry Potter canon, hitting people upside the head who haven’t read The Martian, and convincing her boyfriend that she can, in fact, fit more books onto her shelves.

Twitter: @kt_librarylady

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Here’s the cover of Ada Limón’s children’s book And, Too, the Fox.

Upcoming fall fiction to help you take a break from election news.

20 books to read before the summer ends.

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

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World – Anupreeta Das (Guardian, Washington Post)

The Hypocrite – Jo Hamya (New York Times, Washington Post)

On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything – Nate Silver (Guardian, New York Times)

RA/Genre Resources

The trope of the “crazy” female protagonist.

Mothers in horror, and the horror they represent.

The essential Shel Silverstein.

Where to start reading V.E. Schwab.

On the Riot

The best new weekly releases to TBR, as well as the best LGBTQ+ weekly releases.

The best book titles of 2024, according to Goodreads.

All Things Comics

Manga marked an $800 million loss from piracy in a single month.

Audiophilia

Audiobooks to offer political context to the Democratic National Convention.

3 audiobooks that emphasize the importance of getting accents right.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

Readalikes for The Summer I Turned Pretty.

The best back-to-school books.

Adults

8 short novels your book club will actually read.

20 memoirs written by Olympians.

6 enchanting retellings of Beauty and the Beast.

On the Riot

12 of the funniest fantasy and science fiction novels.

8 books that take place in libraries.

The best historical fiction set in Nigeria.

8 beautiful BIPOC family sagas to lose yourself in.

9 scary supernatural mysteries.

8 thought-provoking books that explore the possibilities.

8 of the best short books to read this summer.

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!