LibraryThing: State of the Thing - October

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the October State of the Thing. We’ve got an invitation to our annual Halloween Hunt, two author interviews—with Priyanka Champaneri and Danielle Rose—lots of award news, and 1,885 free books. If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter for up-to-the-minute site news and updates. Halloween Hunt [HuntBirds]It’s October, Halloween is just around the corner, and LibraryThing’s spooky [Halloween Treasure Hunt]( is back! Come trick-or-treat through our website, reading and solving the thirteen clues, and finding the pages on LibraryThing that match your solutions. When you find each right page, you’ll see a banner at the top of your screen announcing that you’ve found a jack-o-lantern. Everyone who finds at least two jack-o-lanterns receives a profile badge, with other prizes available the more clues you solve. Come brag about your collection of jack-o-lanterns (and get hints) on [Talk](. Interview: Priyanka Champaneri LibraryThing is very pleased to sit down this month with author [Priyanka Champaneri](, whose debut novel, [The City of Good Death](, won the [Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing](Restless+Books+Prize+for+New+Immigrant+Writing) in 2018 and is shortlisted for the [Center for Fiction’s 2021 First Novel Prize](for+Fiction+First+Novel+Prize+Shortlist). Set in the Indian city of Banaras, it follows the story of a man who works at one of the city’s death hostels, where the dying come for a “good death”⁠—one that will release them from the cycle of reincarnation. See an excerpt below, and the full interview [here](. Q. Your book is set in a locale you have never visited, and addresses a very specific set of cultural and religious practices. How did the idea for this story come to you? Priyanka: I'd grown up in a Hindu household and had a distant understanding of Banaras and its importance within the religion, but my interest wasn't really piqued until after college, when a friend sent me a link to a Reuters article titled "[Check In and Die in Two Weeks, or Get Out](." That article was my introduction to the city’s death hostels, and I was immediately intrigued. In hindsight, I now realize the attraction was likely hooking into the different parts of my identity. The part that had grown up surrounded by Hindu philosophy understood the practical need for a death hostel, but the part that was born, raised, and educated in the United States could also view the hostels from a Western perspective, one that might see such places as utterly unique or even alien. Visit the blog to [read the whole conversation](. Interview: Danielle Rose This month LibraryThing sat down with poet and editor [Danielle Rose](. Rose is the author of at [first & then](, which won the Fall 2019 [Black River Chapbook Competition](, as well as [The History of Mountains](, available through [Variant Lit](~:text=The%20History%20of%20Mountains%20is,the%2Dcusp%20of%20new%20beginnings.). Her poems have appeared in publications such as [Hobart](, [Palette](, and [Sundog Lit](. She was recently at the center of a social-media storm for comments about the state of poetry in the wider culture (see below), leading to her dismissal from her position as Poetry Editor at Barren Magazine. See an excerpt below, and the full interview [here](. “I wish poets understood that the general population has no interest in what we do, so when we speak we are speaking only to each other. The delusion that poetry is something powerful is a straight line to all kinds of toxic positivities that are really just us lying to ourselves.” Q. You’ve said that your position is not a defeatist one, but affirmative—even liberatory. What did you want fellow poets to take away from your original post? Danielle: Intent is a slippery, untrustworthy thing. It is so much in the moment, and our recollection is deeply influenced by our own feelings. My feelings have run a gamut—exhausted, indignant, astonished, cowed, jubilant, disgusted. In one way the tweet was a crude public frustration, in another way the tweet was a nasty dig at folks who genuinely believe that the whole world is composed of poetry all the way down. There was agreement and disagreement, a lot of conversation. Then some people showed up uninvited and broke everything fragile while setting the refuse bins on fire. I am reminded of Brian Massumi: “You are aware of the result, not the process.” Visit the blog to [read the whole conversation](. The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - Members continue to chronicle their [2021 Historical Fiction Adventures]( over in the [Historical Fiction]( group. - A discussion of the role and merits of [Favorite Publishers]( is being undertaken in the [Book Talk]( group. - [Upcoming Japanese Translations]( are being highlighted by the members of the [Japanese Literature]( group. - An exploration of [The Napoleonic Era]( is being undertaken from October through December by the members of the [Reading Through Time]( group. Speaking of Groups, if you're new to LibraryThing, there's a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! List of the Month Come join LibraryThing’s List of the Month project, as we create a new thematic book list each month. Like all of our [Lists](, the List of the Month draws upon the knowledge of the LibraryThing community, while also aiming to provoke discussion around each theme. See our [wiki page]( for a complete List of the Month list, and join us over in our [Talk group](, for further discussion of the project. October List of the Month. Our October List of the Month is dedicated to Scary Stories for the Season. Chosen in honor of Halloween but not bound to that holiday in terms of content, this list is meant to encompass those books that either give the reader a shiver, or creep them out in some way. Head over to our list of [Scary Stories for the Season]( to add your top five choices. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - September. [Native American / Indigenous Literature](25252F-Indigenous-Literature) - August. [The Cookbooks of Home]( - July. [Best Beach Reads]( - June. [Favorite Caribbean Books]( - May. [Must-Read Maine Books]( - April. [Recommended Nature Writing]( Free Books! Early Reviewers is our program where you can win free advance copies of books to read and review. This month we’re pleased to feature a high altitude breakfast cookbook from [Nicole Hampton]( that looks to be full of delicious recipes, as well as the first English-language edition of [Pauline Baer de Perignon’s]( memoir of her effort to reconstruct her great-grandfather’s art collection, looted by the Nazis during World War II. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. Our September batch of Early Reviewers has 1,885 copies of 57 books. The deadline to request a book is October 25th, 6pm Eastern time. Did you win a book recently? When you receive your book, make sure you head over to your [Books You've Won]( page to mark it received. After you've read your book, add your review to LibraryThing. First, add the book to your LibraryThing catalog. Then click the pencil-shaped "edit" icon next to the book, or click "edit book" from the work page. Type your review into the Review box, and click "submit" to save it. Reviewing your books gives you a greater chance of winning books in the future, while neglecting to review lowers your odds. For more information, vist the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. The [2021 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded]( to Tanzanian novelist and literary critic [Abdulrazak Gurnah](, with the committee praising “his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” An author and academic currently based in the UK, Gurnah was born and raised on the island of Zanzibar. His novels have been [shortlisted for the Booker Prize](Prize+Shortlist) in years past, with 1994’s [Paradise]( being his most cataloged title on LibraryThing. Ugandan novelist [Kakwenza Rukirabashaija](, tortured by his government while detained in 2020, [has been named 2021 International Writer of Courage]( by [Tsitsi Dangarembga](. This award is given annually to a writer who has been persecuted for expressing their beliefs, with the winner chosen by that year’s [PEN Pinter Prize]( winner. [Joy Williams]( has received the 2021 [Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction](, awarded annually to an author whose body of work has "told us something essential about the American experience." Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden [selected Williams from a pool of over sixty candidates](. The 2021 [Arthur C. Clarke Award](C.+Clarke+Award), presented annually to the best science fiction novel of the year, [has been given]( to Australian author [Laura Jean McKay]( for her debut novel, [The Animals in That Country](. [Sofie Laguna]( has [been given]( the 2021 [Colin Roderick Award](20Roderick%20Award), presented annually to the "best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life," for her novel [Infinite Splendours](. The [National Book Award Finalists](Book+Award+finalist) have [been announced]( by the [National Book Foundation](. In the Fiction category, the finalists include: [Cloud Cuckoo Land]( by [Anthony Doerr](, [Matrix]( by [Lauren Groff](, [Zorrie]( by [Laird Hunt](, [The Prophets]( by [Robert Jones, Jr.](, and [Hell of a Book]( by [Jason Mott](. The Nonfiction category finalists are: [A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance]( by [Hanif Abdurraqib](, [Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains]( by [Lucas Bessire](, [Tastes Like War: A Memoir]( by [Grace M. Cho](, [Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America]( by [Nicole Eustace](, and [All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake]( by [Tiya Miles](. The list of finalists for the other three categories recognized by the foundation—Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature—[are available as well](. The [National Book Foundation]( has also [announced its 5 Under 35 honorees]( a group of "five fiction writers under the age of 35 whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape." Honorees include: [Caleb Azumah Nelson]( for [Open Water](, [Nathan Harris]( for [The Sweetness of Water](, [Lee Lai]( for [Stone Fruit](, [Claire Luchette]( for [Agatha of Little Neon](, and [Dantiel W. Moniz]( for [Milk Blood Heat](. [The Poetry Foundation](—literary organization and publisher of [Poetry]( magazine—[has announced the winners of their Foundation Awards](. [Patricia Smith]( is the winner of the 2021 [Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize](, given out annually to “a living US poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition.” [Susan Briante]( has won the 2021 [Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism](Award+for+Poetry+Criticism) for her [Defacing the Monument](. The [T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry Shortlist](20S.%20Eliot%20Prize%20Shortlist) has [been announced](, with nominees including: [All the Names Given]( by [Raymond Antrobus](, [A Blood Condition]( by [Kayo Chingonyi](, [Men Who Feed Pigeons]( by [Selima Hill](, [Eat or We Both Starve]( by [Victoria Kennefick](, [The Kids]( by [Hannah Lowe](, [Ransom]( by [Michael Symmons Roberts](, [single window]( by [Daniel Sluman](, [C+nto & Other Poems]( by [Joelle Taylor](, [A Year in the New Life]( by [Jack Underwood](, and [Stones]( by [Kevin Young](. Poet and activist [Sonia Sanchez]( has [been awarded]( the 2021 [Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize](, given annually to an artist “who has pushed the boundaries of an art form, contributed to social change, and paved the way for the next generation.” It [has been announced]( that [Seán Hewitt]( has won the 2021[Laurel Prize](20Laurel%20Prize) for nature and ecopoetry, for his [Tongues of Fire](. Established in 2020 by [Simon Armitage](, the Poet Laureate of the UK, [The Laurel Prize]( recognizes the "best collection of nature or environmental poetry to highlight the climate crisis and raise awareness of the challenges and potential solutions at this critical point in our planet’s life." The 2021 winners of the [American Book Award](20Book%20Award), given out annually by the [Before Columbus Foundation](, have [been announced](. Winners include: [Ayad Akhtar]( for [Homeland Elegies](, [Maisy Card]( for [These Ghosts Are Family](, [Anthony Cody]( for [Borderland Apocrypha](, [Ben Ehrenreich]( for [Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time](, [Johanna Fernández]( for [The Young Lords: A Radical History](, and [Carolyn Forché]( for [In the Lateness of the World: Poems](. The complete list of winners [is available here](. The [Shortlist for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize](20Giller%20Prize%20Shortlist), awarded annually to a Canadian author for a novel or short story collection published in English, [has been announced](. Nominees include: [Omar El Akkad]( for [What Strange Paradise](, [Angélique Lalonde]( for [Glorious Frazzled Beings](, [Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia]( for [The Son of the House](, [Jordan Tannahill]( for [The Listeners](, and [Miriam Toews]( for [Fight Night](. The 2021 [Cundill History Prize Shortlist](20Prize%20Shortlist) has also [been announced]( with finalists including: [The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India]( by [Manan Ahmed Asif](, [Survivors: Children’s Lives After the Holocaust]( by [Rebecca Clifford](, [The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World]( by [Marie Favereau](, [Underground Asia: Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire]( by [Tim Harper](, [Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All]( by [Martha S. Jones](, [Blood on the River: A Chronicle of Mutiny and Freedom on the Wild Coast]( by [Marjoleine Kars](, [An Infinite History: The Story of a Family in France over Three Centuries]( by [Emma Rothschild](, [White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea]( by [Tyler Stovall](. The 2021 [Finalists for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction](20Weston%20Writers'%20Trust%20Prize%20for%20Nonfiction%20Shortlist), awarded annually by the [Writers’ Trust of Canada]( to the best work of nonfiction by a Canadian author, [have been announced](. The nominees include: [NISHGA]( by [Jordan Abel](, [On Foot to Canterbury: A Son’s Pilgrimage]( by [Ken Haigh](, [Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir]( by [Tomson Highway](, [Peyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity, A Memoir]( by [Darrel J. McLeod](, and [Disorientation: Being Black in the World]( by [Ian Williams](. The [Finalists for the Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Fiction Prize](20Gibson%20Writers'%20Trust%20Fiction%20Prize%20Shortlist), also presented annually by the [Writers’ Trust of Canada](, have likewise [been announced](. The five finalists are: [Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch]( by [Rivka Galchen](, [We Want What We Want]( by [Alix Ohlin](, [Fight Night]( by [Miriam Toews](, [August Into Winter]( by [Guy Vanderhaeghe](, and [The Strangers]( by [Katherena Vermette](. Other Book World News COVID-19 Updates. Covid-19 conditions continue to have an impact on the book world, influencing decisions about public events, and causing supply chain disruptions that are impacting publishing schedules. After a pandemic-related hiatus in 2020, [New York Comic Con returned this month](, with in-person attendance⁠—150,000 convention-goers over the course of four days⁠—falling by more than 100,000 people, when compared to 2019. The [Madrid Book Fair]( and [Brooklyn Book Festival]( also both returned to in-person events⁠—in late September and early October, respectively⁠—although the former had roughly half its usual attendance, due to Covid protocols, and the latter remained a hybrid event, with a number of virtual panels rounding out the schedule. The Canberra Writers’ Festival, originally to be held this past August, and [then postponed until later in the year]( due to Covid outbreaks, has [now been officially cancelled](, although organizers are hopeful that it will resume next summer. The National Book Award ceremony in New York City, which was due to return as a limited in-person event this November, [has now also been cancelled](, as a result of the emergence of new strains of the virus. For the second year in a row, an entirely virtual ceremony has been planned. In the [September State of the Thing]( we reported on the [chaotic situation in the publishing and bookselling world](, as the result of supply chain disruptions. The New York Times has now reported that, due to these issues, [publishers are choosing to postpone the publication of many new titles](. Book Sales & Bookselling. Although 2021 book sales in the US continue to show an overall improvement over 2020, Publishers Weekly reports that [they have slowed in the third quarter](. In previous editions of State of the Thing we reported on rising book sales in the [USA](, [UK](, [Italy](, [Canada]( and [Spain]( during the first half of 2021. Sales continue to [show improvement over 2020 rates]( in Italy, while German book sales [have reached the pre-Covid levels of 2019](. British and Dutch booksellers have been experiencing significant technical troubles this past month, with UK-based Blackwell’s bookstore chain [offline for more than a week]( due to IT problems, and approximately 130 Dutch bookshops affected by a [ransomware attack on the French company Titelive](, which provides them with their software. Literary News In sad news for the children’s book world, [Gary Paulsen has died]( at the age of 82. A prolific author of children’s and young adult fiction, often centered around wilderness survival, [Paulsen]( was awarded a Newbery Honor three times, for [Hatchet](, [Dogsong]( and [The Winter Room](. There has been [growing discussion in the book world]( about the importance of giving translators the credit they are due. On September 30th⁠—International Translators’ Day⁠—the UK-based [Society of Authors]( organized [an open letter]( to demand that translators’ named be present on book covers on, and the hashtag [#TranslatorsOnTheCover]( was trending earlier this month. In [last month’s edition]( of State of the Thing we reported on the migration of notable authors such as [Salman Rushdie]( and [Chuck Palahniuk]( to the Substack platform. Variety reports that journalist and best-selling author [David Kushner]( has now [joined their ranks](. Hot on LibraryThing - [Peril]( by [Bob Woodward]( - [Crossroads]( by [Jonathan Franzen]( - [Bewilderment]( by [Richard Powers]( - [Apples Never Fall]( by [Liane Moriarity]( - [The Man Who Died Twice]( by [Richard Osman]( - [The Lincoln Highway]( by [Amor Towles]( - [Harlem Shuffle]( by [Colson Whitehead]( - [Cloud Cuckoo Land]( by [Anthony Doerr]( - [Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law]( by [Mary Roach]( - [The Last Graduate]( by [Naomi Novik]( - [Matrix]( by [Lauren Groff]( - [Beautiful World Where Are You]( by [Sally Rooney]( - [Beautiful Country: A Memoir]( by [Qian Julie Wang]( - [The Love Hypothesis]( by [Ali Hazelwood]( - [Forgotten in Death]( by [J.D. Robb]( - [The Hawthorne Legacy]( by [Jennifer Lynn Barnes]( - [Under the Whispering Door]( by [TJ Klune]( - [The Magician]( by [Colm Tóibín]( - [Rock Paper Scissors: A Novel]( by [Alice Feeney]( - [Iron Widow]( by [Xiran Jay Zhao]( Hot in Libraries Here's what's hot so far in October across thousands of public libraries in the United States. This data was collected by Syndetics Unbound, a LibraryThing/ProQuest project to enrich the library catalog. The search data is fully anonymized the day it is collected. For more information about Syndetics Unbound, please visit [Syndetics.com](. TinyCat [TinyCat]( is the online catalog for small libraries, created by LibraryThing. It turns your existing LibraryThing account into a simple, professional, web-based catalog. New Feature: Admin Users. case you missed the announcement in [last month’s State of the Thing]( TinyCat has added a new Admin Users feature. From the new [Admin Users Settings]( page, you can now add staff and volunteer logins for those assisting with circulation and patron management, without granting complete access to your LibraryThing account or Settings pages. Admin users will be able to log into your [TinyCat Admin]( portal, but will only have access to a limited number of pages. Staff will have access to your [Check in/out]( page, [Transactions]( pages, [Patrons]( pages, and [Reports]( pages. Volunteers will only have access to your Check in/out page and your Transactions pages. We hope you love this new feature! Please let us know what you think, or post any questions you might have on [Talk](. Live Demo. To learn more about TinyCat, join Kristi for a live demo Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Webinars are now on Zoom, so make sure to use our new [link to attend](. You can also check out our playlists of Tiny Tutorials on [LibraryThing's YouTube channel](, where Kristi walks you through various features of TinyCat in 30 seconds or less. If you'd like to schedule a webinar at another time or if you have other questions about TinyCat, you can reach Kristi at tinycat@librarything.com. That's all for the Thing this month! Happy reading, Abigail This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from future emails](.