LibraryThing: State of the Thing - August

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the August State of the Thing! We’re coming to you a little early this time, as we’re shifting our schedule from the later to the earlier part of the month. In this issue we have lots of book world news, our regular columns, and 4,739 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter and [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram for news and updates. Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [Portrait of an Unknown Woman]( by [Daniel Silva]( - [The 6:20 Man]( by [David Baldacci]( - [The Daughter of Doctor Moreau]( by [Silvia Moreno-Garcia]( - [The Girl in His Shadow]( by [Audrey Blake]( - [Husband Material]( by [Alexis Hall]( - [The It Girl]( by [Ruth Ware]( - [Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]( by [Gabrielle Zevin]( - [The Dead Romantics]( by [Ashley Poston]( - [Lore Olympus: Volume Two]( by [Rachel Smythe]( - [Nightcrawling]( by [Leila Mottley]( - [A Prayer for the Crown-Shy]( by [Becky Chambers]( - [Upgrade]( by [Blake Crouch]( - [My Killer Vacation]( by [Tessa Bailey]( - [The Bodyguard]( by [Katherine Center]( - [What Moves the Dead]( by [T. Kingfisher]( - [The Measure]( by [Nikki Erlick]( - [The Border Keeper]( by [Kerstin Hall]( - [Every Summer After]( by [Carley Fortune]( - [Blade Breaker]( by [Victoria Aveyard]( - [An Immense World]( by [Ed Yong]( List of the Month August List of the Month. Our List of the Month this August is devoted to those pleasant surprises that come into our reading lives—books that exceeded our expectations, and ending up providing far more enjoyment than we thought they would. Head on over to our [Pleasant Surprises: Books That Exceeded Our Expectations]( list, and add your top ten picks. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - July. [Favorite Animal Fiction]( - June. [Pre-1969 LGBTQ Literature]( - May. [EU Fiction: 1950-2022]( - April. [Favorite Recent Poetry: 1980-2022]( - March. [A Ukraine Reading List]( 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. The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - Members have been decoding (tongue firmly in cheek) the [Meaning of Book Blurbs]( over in the [Book Talk]( group. - [August Reading Plans]( are being shared by LibraryThing’s [Science Fiction Fans](. - The recently announced [Booker Prize Longlist]( is being discussed by members of our [Booker Prize]( group - The [Secret Cinematic Speakers]( game, ongoing since 2011, continues aboard the [Hogwarts Express](. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! Hot in Libraries Here's what's hot across [thousands of public libraries]( in the United States: - [Where the Crawdads Sing]( by [Delia Owens]( - [The Hotel Nantucket]( by [Elin Hilderbrand]( - [The 6:20 Man]( by [David Baldacci]( - [It Ends with Us]( by [Colleen Hoover]( - [The House Across the Lake]( by [Riley Sager]( - [Verity]( by [Colleen Hoover]( - [The It Girl]( by [Ruth Ware]( - [The Summer I Turned Pretty]( by [Jenny Han]( - [The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo]( by [Taylor Jenkins Reid]( - [Sparring Partners]( by [John Grisham]( - [Lessons in Chemistry]( by [Bonnie Garmus]( - [Escape]( by [James Patterson]( - [Book Lovers]( by [Emily Henry]( - [Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]( by [Gabrielle Zevin]( - [The Last Thing He Told Me]( by [Laura Dave]( - [Horse]( by [Geraldine Brooks]( - [Portrait of an Unknown Woman]( by [Daniel Silva]( - [Reminders of Him]( by [Colleen Hoover]( - [The Midnight Library]( by [Matt Haig]( - [The Paris Apartment]( by [Lucy Foley]( - [Ugly Love]( by [Colleen Hoover]( To see what was popular in July, visit the [Syndetics Unbound News / Blog](. 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](?utm_source=LT&utm_medium=sott&utm_id=main). Book World News: In Memoriam Acclaimed American biographer and historian [David McCullough](, two-time winner of the [Pulitzer Prize](Prize) for [Truman]( (1992) and [John Adams]( (2001), [has died at the age of 89](. McCullough also won the [National Book Award](Book+Award) twice, for his [The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal]( (1977) and [Mornings on Horseback]( (1981). Praised for both the depth of his research and for his seemingly effortless literary style, his books were frequently best sellers, and his two Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biographies were both adapted by HBO, [Truman]( as a 1995 television movie, and [John Adams]( as a 2008 mini-series. McCullough was the narrator of [Ken Burns’]( award-winning mini-series, [The Civil War](5BPBS%5D), and was the host of the public television series [American Experience](5BPBS%5D) from 1988 to 1999. Influential English scientist, environmentalist and inventor [James E. Lovelock](, who proposed the [Gaia theory](, postulating that the Earth was a unified, self-regulating system, [has died at 103](. Lovelock proposed the Gaia theory in the 1960s, and developed it with American biologist [Lynn Margulis](. The theory, which has been immensely influential in the development of the green movement, remains a topic of debate in scientific circles, more recently gaining wider acceptance. Lovelock was awarded the [Wollaston Medal]( in 2006 by the Geological Society of London, partly in recognition of his work on the Gaia theory. In 2012, the National Portrait Gallery unveiled a [portrait of Lovelock](, done by painter Michael Gaskell. Prolific American novelist [Stuart Woods](, the author of numerous best-selling thrillers, [has died at the age of 84](. Described by critic Janet Maslin as “the [Nora Roberts]( of mystery best-sellerdom,” Woods produced as many as five novels per year, and is particularly known for his 61-volume [Stone Barrington]( series. His debut thriller, [Chiefs](—the first in the [Will Lee]( series—won an [Edgar Allan Poe Award](Award) in 1982, and his [Imperfect Strangers]( was awarded France’s [Grand Prix de Littérature Policière](Prix+de+Litt%C3%A9rature+Polici%C3%A8re) (Police Literature Grand Prize) in 1997. African American actress and singer [Nichelle Nichols](, celebrated for her role as Lt. Uhura in the original [Star Trek television]( and [movie series](, has [died at the age of 89](. In addition to her work in the performing arts, Nichols was the author of the 1994 memoir, [Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories](, as well as the co-author of the science-fiction series, [The Adventures of Saturna](. Her work with NASA, to recruit minority and female personnel to the space agency, resulted in the recruitment of figures such as [Sally Ride](, Ronald McNair and Judith Resnik, while her performance as Uhura has been cited by [Mae Jamesin]( as an inspiration, in her own journey to become an astronaut. British comic book writer [Alan Grant](, particularly known for his work on the [Batman](5B1940-2011%5D-collections) and [Judge Dredd]( franchises, [has died at the age of 73](. Grant collaborated for many years with [John Wagner](, and had turned in recent years to work on stories about [Judge Anderson](, the psychic compatriot of Judge Dredd. Other losses in the book world this past month: - [Melissa Bank](, American short story author, [has died at 61](. - [Pauline Bewick](, Irish artist and illustrator, [has died at 81](. - [Tim Giago](, Native American journalist, [has died at 88.]( - [David Ireland](, Australian novelist, [has died at 94](. - [Sid Jacobson](, American comic book writer, [has died at 92](. - [Diana Kennedy](, British-born Mexican food writer, [has died at 99](. - [Charlotte Pomerantz](, American children’s author, [has died at 92](. - [Archie Roach](, Aboriginal Australian musician and activist, [has died at 66](. - [Ronni Solbert](, American artist and illustrator, [has died at 96](. - [Jeanne Steig](, American children’s author and artist, [has died at 92](. Free Books from Early Reviewers! Our Early Reviewers program pairs publishers and authors looking for reviews and book buzz with readers looking for their next great read. This month we’re pleased to feature [Random](, a new thriller from [Penn Jillette]( (of the celebrated “Penn & Teller” duo), offered by [Akashic Books](; ten different [Mint Edition]( classics from [West Margin Press](, including story collections from authors such as [H.P. Lovecraft]( and [Bram Stoker](, and an edition of the debut poetry collection from [Langston Hughes](; and [Funeral Girl]( by [Emma K. Ohland](, our very first giveaway from [Lerner Publishing Group](. We are also pleased to welcome back Canadian children’s publisher [Tundra Books](, who have returned after an absence of more than two years, in order to offer a wide array of fascinating new titles. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [Funeral Girl]( [Random]( [Escape to Witch City]( [Weird and Horrific Stories]( [The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story]( [Sundown]( [Romantic and Horrific Stories]( [Scientific and Horrific Stories]( [Funeral Train: A Dust Bowl Mystery]( [The Maze Cutter]( [The Further Adventures of Miss Petitfour]( [A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life]( [Fantastic and Horrific Stories]( [Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood]( [Mysterious and Horrific Stories]( [Honor's Refuge]( [The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society]( [Children of Sugarcane]( [Mystery of the Lost Lynx]( [The Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time: The Arctic Mission to the Epicenter of Climate Change]( Our August batch of Early Reviewers has 4,739 copies of 229 books. The deadline to request a book is August 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, visit the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Book World News: Freedom of Expression [PEN America](, the nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and defending freedom of expression in the United States, while also working with [PEN International]( to promote freedom of expression worldwide, is currently [marking its 100th anniversary](. In honor of the occasion, the [New-York Historical Society]( will be hosting the [PEN America at 100: A Century of Defending the Written Word]( exhibition from July 22 through October 9th, highlighting the many members—[Eleanor Roosevelt](, [Langston Hughes](, [Arthur Miller](, [Susan Sontag](, and [Toni Morrison](—who have been active in the organization over the years. Meanwhile, the controversies and conflicts surrounding library curation and classroom curriculum—covered in numerous past issues of SOTT—continue in many parts of the United States. The court in the Virginia Beach obscenity lawsuit, which challenges the distribution to children of [A Court of Mist and Fury]( by [Sarah J. Maas]( and [Gender Queer: A Memoir]( by [Maia Kobabe](, has been [urged to dismiss the case](. It has been reported that a Utah school district has [pulled 52 books from their libraries](, including [Maia Kobabe’s]( graphic memoir, and flagged another 32 for review, while a Michigan town has [voted to defund its public library](, in protest at the inclusion of [Gender Queer]( in its adult graphic novel section. The debate about issues of censorship and freedom of expression also continues to rage in various newspaper and magazine columns, with a recent New York Times editorial from [Pamela Paul]( about the dangers of [self-censorship in the publishing industry]( provoking much debate, and an opinion piece in Education Week from a teacher at a public school with no library at all offering [a different perspective on some of the controversies]( surrounding school library curation. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. The winners of the 2022 [Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards](Award) have [been announced](, with [Barry Windsor-Smith]( and [Jason Tynion IV]( both taking home trophies in three separate categories. Windsor-Smith won the Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer/Artist, and Best Lettering trophies for his [Monsters](, while Tynion won the Best Writer trophy, and shared the Best Continuing Series trophy for [Something Is Killing the Children]( and the Best New Series trophy for [The Nice House on the Lake](. [Phil Jimenez]( has won Best Single Issue and Best Penciller/Inker for [Wonder Woman Historia](, while [P. Craig Russell]( was inducted into the Hall of Fame and won Best Graphic Album–Reprint for [The Complete American Gods](. For a complete list of winners, see [this announcement](. Turkish-German author [Emine Sevgi Özdamar]( has [been named as the winner](buechnerpreis132.html) of Germany’s [Georg Büchner Preis](, awarded annually by the [Die Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung]( (German Academy for Language and Literature) to authors “writing in the German language whose work is considered especially meritorious and who have made a significant contribution to contemporary German culture.” The jury praised the “highly poetical sound” of Özdamar’s work, which they described as prompting “a dialogue that’s both intellectual and poetic between different languages, cultures, and worldviews, in which we can participate in reading.” The winners of the [Wales Book of the Year Award](20Book%20Of%20The%20Year) have recently been announced, for both [English-language]( and [Welsh-language]( works. The English-language winners were [Nadifa Mohamed]( for [The Fortune Men]( (Fiction), [Jeremy Dixon]( for [A Voice Coming From Then]( (Poetry), [John Sam Jones]( for [The Journey Is Home: Notes from a Life on the Edge]( (Creative Non-Fiction), and [Zillah Bethel]( for [The Shark Caller]( (Children’s). The Welsh-language winners were [Ffion Dafis]( for [Mori]( (Fiction), [Grug Muse]( for [merch y llyn]( (Poetry), [Non Parry]( for [Paid â Bod Ofn]( (Creative Non-Fiction), and various author for the collection [Y Pump]( (Children’s). The [Booker Prize Longlist](Prize+Longlist) for 2022 [has been revealed](, with thirteen books in the running for the UK’s most prestigious literary award. They include: [Glory]( by [NoViolet Bulawayo](, [Trust]( by [Hernan Diaz](, [The Trees]( by [Percival Everett](, [Booth]( by [Karen Joy Fowler](, [Treacle Walker]( by [Alan Garner](, [The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida]( by [Shehan Karunatilaka](, [Small Things Like These]( by [Claire Keegan](, [Case Study]( by [Graeme Macrae Burnet](, [The Colony]( by [Audrey Magee](, [Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies]( by [Maddie Mortimer](, [Nightcrawling]( by [Leila Mottley](, [After Sappho]( by [Selby Wynn Schwartz](, and [Oh William!]( by [Elizabeth Strout](. [Robert Dessaix]( has been [announced as this year’s winner]( of the [Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature](, which recognizes “the achievements of eminent literary writers over the age of 60 who have made an outstanding and lifelong contribution to Australian literature.” Dessaix is particularly known for novels like [Night Letters]( and [Corfu](, and for his memoir, [A Mother’s Disgrace](. Also in Australia, [Jennifer Down]( has been [announced as the winner]( of the 2022 [Miles Franklin Literary Award](20Franklin%20Literary%20Award) for her [Bodies of Light](. The award recognizes a novel of great literary merit, one which depicts “​​Australian life in any of its phases.” The judges described Down’s book as inviting “readers to witness the all-too-often concealed, destructive forces of institutionalised care…an urgent issue in contemporary Australian life.” In further news from down under, [Bernadette Brennan]( has [been announced as the winner]( of Australia’s 2022 [National Biography Award](20Biography%20Award) for her [Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mear](. The book, which has also won this year’s [Magarey Medal](Medal), was praised by the judges for its “graceful writing and sensitive approach to an enigmatic and often contradictory personality.” The winner of the 2022 [Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award](20Old%20Peculier%20Prize) has been announced as [Mick Herron](, who won for [Slough House](, the seventh entry in a series of the [same name](. [Michael Connelly]( was also honored, receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award in recognition of his three-decade career in the field. English PEN has [announced the 2022 recipients]( of its PEN Translates Awards, which provides funding for the translation of many award-winning books. Twenty-one books from nineteen countries and eighteen languages were selected, including “The Summer You Weren’t There” by [Petar Andonovski](, to be translated from the Macedonian by [Christina E. Kramer](, and “The Clock and the Guest” by [Hassan Blasim](, to be translated from the Arabic by [Jonathan Wright](. For a complete list of winners, [see this announcement](. The winners of this year’s [V&A Illustration Awards](2526A+Illustration+Award) have [been announced](, with [Gérard DuBois]( taking home the Book Illustration Award for his work on the [Folio Society edition]( of [Cormac McCarthy’s]( [The Road](. The winner of the Best Cover Illustration has gone to [Kerry Hyndman]( for her work on [Stella Gibbons’]( [The Rich House](. See [this announcement](4968671&slide=0) for all of the winners. Award Changes: In our [July issue of State of the Thing]( we reported on the discontinuation of a number of prominent prizes in the UK, from the [Costa Book Awards]( to the [Blue Peter Book Awards](Peter+Book+Award). A [recent article by Ellen Peirson-Hagger]( in the The New Statesman has explored these unfortunate developments more fully. In response to the discontinuation of the Costa, it was recently announced that the [Rathbones Folio Prize](Prize) will be [expanded to encompass three categories](, starting in 2023. Additional Award-Winners This Month: [Academy of American Poets: Poet Laureate Fellows]( | [Cheshire Novel Prize]( | [Davitt Awards Shortlist]( | [Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction Shortlist]( | [Furphy Literary Award]( | [Glass Bell Award Shortlist]( | [Gordon Burns Prize Shortlist]( | [James Cropper Wainwright Prize Shortlist]( | [Klaus Flugge Prize Shortlist]( | [Queensland Literary Awards Shortlist]( | [Silvers Grants for Works in Progress]( | [Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Shortlist]( Other Book World News Bookselling and Publishing The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random House’s proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster has been [dominating publishing news]( these last few weeks. Celebrated author [Stephen King]( has [testified for the Department of Justice](, arguing that the merger between the two massive publishers would harm authors, while Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp [testified on behalf of the publishers involved](, highlighting numerous examples of competition between Simon & Schuster editors and Penguin Random House as evidence that the merger would not negatively impact authors, or the publishing world at large. Macmillan CEO Don Weisberg [offered testimony that the merger would indeed be harmful]( to the wider world of publishing, while HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray [testified that the combination of PRH and S&S is what would made the merger anti-competitive](, rather than the reduction of the Big Five publishers to the (potential) Big Four. Murray also testified that HarperCollins, which itself made an offer for Simon & Schuster, would still be interested in acquiring the other publisher. In our [previous issue of SOTT]( we reported on the [one-day strike]( at the New York headquarters of [HarperCollins](, precipitated by an employment contract dispute. Labor troubles have also been making themselves felt recently in the bookselling world, with a number of notable bookstores—[Book Soup]( in West Hollywood; [Page 1 Books]( in Albuquerque—working to unionize. According to labor activists, the unionization of smaller businesses like independent bookstores is a fairly new phenomenon in the United States. ABC news [explored the trend]( in an article published this past November. Recent floods in the state of Kentucky, and in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, have inundated a number of independent bookstores, leaving them and their stock damaged or destroyed. [BINC]( (the Book Industry Charitable Foundation) has [asked for donations]( to aid affected businesses, with authors [Kate DiCamillo](, [Ann Patchett](, [Will Schwalbe](, and [Garth Stein]( promising to match gifts up to $15,000. Library and Literary News The results of [a 2021 study]( conducted by Booknet Canada have recently been released, with the news that [a third of Canadians read daily](. Other insights include the fact that half of those surveyed reported reading at least one book per week in the previous year, while 80% report having read or listened to at least one book in the previous year. 42% of readers used smartphones to listen to their audiobooks in 2021, as opposed to 28% in 2020, and print book readers read more nonfiction than in the previous year. In the UK, the Publishing Association [has announced]( its annual [Summer Reading List for Parliamentarians](, featuring titles highlighted by MPs and Peers as having had a personal impact upon them. The list includes a diverse array of books, ranging from classics like [Louisa May Alcott’s]( [Little Women]( (Nikkie Aiken MP) and [Gabriel García Márquez’s]( [One Hundred Years of Solitude]( (Baroness Bonham Carter) to modern novels such as [Margaret Atwood’s]( [The Handmaid’s Tale]( (Alison Thewliss MP) and [Thomas Keneally’s]( [Schindler’s List]( (Julian Knight MP). Former US President [Barack Obama]( released his much-anticipated [summer reading list]( on Twitter in late July, highlighting titles he has enjoyed, from [Emily St. John Mandel’s]( [Sea of Tranquility]( to [Yascha Mounk’s]( [The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure](. 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. Follow [@TinyCat_Lib]( on Twitter for the latest TinyCat news, and be sure to check out [LibraryThing’s Youtube channel]( for a range of TinyCat tutorials. 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. On that note, that's all I have for the Thing this month! Happy reading, Abigail PS: If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from future emails](.