LibraryThing: State of the Thing - December

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the December State of the Thing! In this issue we announce a major overhaul of LibraryThing's recommendation system, updates to our Lists Pages, introduce a new set of charts, invite you into our holiday store, present our annual Top Five Books, dish out lots of book world news, present all of our regular columns, and offer 2,842 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter and [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram for news and updates. New Recommendations! We've rolled out a new personal recommendations feature. Changes include: - Improved recommendations for recently-published books. - Three "views," allowing you to see a bookstore-like display, or a textual list like our old system. - Recommendations now split by genres. - You can add books to your wishlist or library without leaving the Recommendations page View your recommendationshere: . And let us know what you think [on Talk](. Lists Pages Updated LibraryThing's [Lists Pages]( are the most recent to get the "LT2 treatment," as our site redesign project continues! Stylistically, the update has produced a page that is cleaner and less fussy, while it has also made the page more functional. Changes include: - Better accessibility, and a more mobile-friendly page, like all LT2 pages. - Covers and text are larger, for readability, while the overall layout has been tightened up, depending upon the display style chosen. - The addition of “Related Lists” on the right-hand side of the page. - An easier, more compact reordering process. Come [take a look](, and join the conversation over in [Talk](. New Charts Inspired by a [Twitter post]( asking about the authors whose work dominates readers’ libraries, when measured by page numbers, our developers have added a new set of statistics to the [Charts & Graphs]( section on the LibraryThing site. Members can now see their top authors, as measured by page count, as well as top series, top tags, top genres, and more. Come take a look at the new [Pages]( charts and graphs, and join the discussion in [Talk](. Holiday Store LibraryThing’s annual [Holiday Store]( opened on Cyber Monday (November 28th), and will run through Epiphany (January 6th). Check it out for great deals on your favorite LibraryThing and TinyCat gear: - CueCat barcode scanners for $5. - Barcode labels starting at $5 for the first packet in each set (that’s half off!). - LibraryThing and TinyCat enamel pins for $3. - Newly released laptop stickers for $1. » [Shop the Holiday Store now through January 6th]( SantaThing Update Entry for our [SantaThing]( holiday book exchange has closed, the gift selection process has been completed, and the ordering is almost done! All orders from [Kenny's Bookshop]( (Ireland), [Time Out Bookstore]( (New Zealand), [Reading's]( (Australia), [Longfellow Books]( (Portland, ME), [BookPeople]( (Austin, TX), [Powell’s Books]( (Portland, OR), and [Book Depository]( have been placed, and [Kindle]( ordering is currently underway. We have 394 entries this year, with 355 LibraryThing members participating, and 1,115 gifts that will soon be dispatched to lucky Santees! Join the conversation over in [Talk](, to stay current with the latest developments, and be sure to keep us posted about your own gifts in the [SantaThing Arrivals]( Talk thread, so Kate can keep the [SantaThing 2022 Arrivals Map]( updated. Staff Top Picks for 2022 As 2022 draws to a close, it’s time for LibraryThing’s annual December tradition: sharing our staff’s [Top Five Books of 2022](. We read in a wide variety of genres, so it’s always interesting to see what everyone comes up with. This year, with [Rebecca]( joining the company, we have ten lists for you to peruse. Come take a look at this year’s [blog post](, add your own top 5 books to our [December List of the Month]( (more below), and join the conversation in [Talk](. 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. December List of the Month. The year is coming to an end, and our December List of the Month is dedicated to members’ [Top Five Books of 2022](. This list was created in tandem with our annual [Staff Top Picks]( blog post, highlighted above. Head over to our list of [Top Five Books of 2022]( to add your top five choices. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - November. [Noirvember: The Best Noir]( - October. [Mythical Monsters of the World]( - September. [Best Spy Fiction]( - August. [Pleasant Surprises: Books That Exceeded Our Expectations]( - July. [Favorite Animal Fiction]( The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - Members are planning their [World War I Reads](, to be conducted January through March, over in the [Reading Through Time]( group. - Current [December Reads]( are being shared by the members of the [Crime, Thriller & Mystery]( group. - [Book Inscriptions]( discovered in members’ used tomes continue to be shared, over in the [Inscriptions & Dedications]( group. - The first [RandomKit Challenge]( of the year, devoted to hidden gems, is being put together in the [2023 Category Challenge]( group. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [A World of Curiosities]( by [Louise Penny]( - [Desert Star]( by [Michael Connelly]( - [The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times]( by [Michelle Obama]( - [Demon Copperhead]( by [Barbara Kingsolver]( - [The Choice]( by [Nora Roberts]( - [Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine]( by [Janet Evanovich]( - [The Boys from Biloxi]( by [John Grisham]( - [Stella Maris]( by [Cormac McCarthy]( - [Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir]( by [Matthew Perry]( - [No Plan B]( by [Lee Child]( - [A Christmas Memory]( by [Richard Paul Evans]( - [The Twist of a Knife]( by [Anthony Horowitz]( - [Hunting Time]( by [Jeffery Deaver]( - [Mad Honey]( by [Jodi Picoult]( - [The Whittiers]( by [Danielle Steel]( - [Our Missing Hearts]( by [Celeste Ng]( - [It Starts with Us]( by [Colleen Hoover]( - [The Passenger]( by [Cormac McCarthy]( - [Racing the Light]( by [Robert Crais]( - [Kiss Her Once For Me]( by [Alison Cochrun]( 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 [Lost Places and Other Stories](, a new collection from Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author [Sarah Pinsker](, offered by [Small Beer Press](; [Tales of Sley House 2022](, the annual anthology of horror stories from [Sley House Publishing](; and [Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine](, an anthology of Ukrainian writing from [8th & Atlas Publishing](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [Lost Places and Other Stories]( [Tales of Sley House 2022]( [The Sound of Light]( [Voices of Freedom: Contemporary Writing From Ukraine]( [Cold Light of Day]( [The Maid of Ballymacool]( [Silver Alert]( [Mountain Girl: From Barefoot to the Boardroom]( [Yesterday's Tides]( [Daughter of Eden: Eve's Story]( [Mystery of the Lost Lynx]( [This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew]( [And Poison Fell from the Sky: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Survival in Maine's Cancer Valley]( [Deetjen’s Closet](E2%80%99s-Closet) [Robbed Blind]( [A Mark of Grace]( [Hearts of Steel]( [Haunt]( [The Enchanted Suitcase: A Window Onto My German Father's World War II Life]( [Starlight Jewel]( Our December batch of Early Reviewers has 2,842 copies of 137 books. The deadline to request a book is December 27th, 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: In Memoriam Celebrated American science fiction author [Greg Bear](, who, in addition to his writing, was one of the co-founders of the San Diego Comic Con, [has died at 71](. Particularly known for creating “hard” science fiction featuring plausible and scientifically-detailed stories, Bear often consulted real scientists during the writing process. The author of over fifty books, his first novel, [Hegira](, was published in 1979. Bear was so well regarded in the field that the estate of [Isaac Asimov]( authorized him to continue the classic [Foundation]( series, leading to the 1998 publication of his [Foundation and Chaos](. He won multiple [Hugo]( and [Nebula]( awards for his short stories, and the [Prix Apollo](Award) for his 1985 novel, [Blood Music](. Award-winning German children’s author and artist [Wolf Erlbruch](, who is particularly known for the illustrations he contributed to [Werner Holzwarth’s]( humorous picture book, [The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit](, [has died at 74](erlbruch130.html). A two-time winner of the [Deutschen Jugendliteraturpreis]( (German Youth Literature Prize), Erlbruch was also the recipient of prestigious international prizes such as the [Hans Christian Andersen Award]( (2006) and the [Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award]( (2017). In addition to his more than thirty books, he was a professor of illustration and architecture at a number of different universities over the course of his career. American author [Marijane Meaker](, who wrote ground-breaking lesbian pulp fiction under the pseudonym “Vin Packer,” lesbian non-fiction under the pseudonym “Ann Aldrich,” popular young adult fiction under the pseudonym “M.E. Kerr,” and fiction for younger children under the pseudonym “Mary James,” [has died at 95](. Meaker’s 1952 novel, [Spring Fire](, is considered one of the first lesbian paperback originals, and helped to launch the lesbian pulp fiction genre. As a young adult author, Meaker was praised for her realistic stories, winning the [YALSA]( (Young Adult Library Services Association) [Margaret A. Edwards Award]( in 1993. Writing under her own name, she chronicled her brief relationship with fellow author [Patricia Highsmith]( in her 2003 memoir, [Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s](. Other losses in the book world this past month: - [Bob Cattell](, British children’s author and bookseller, [has died at 74](. - [Geoff Cochrane](, New Zealand poet and novelist, [has died at 71](. - [Aline Kominsky-Crumb](, American comics artist, [has died at 74](. - [Dominique Lapierre](, French journalist and author, [has died at 91](. - [Bernadette Mayer](, American poet and artist, [has died at 77](. - [Marcus Sedgwick](, British children’s and young adult author, [has died at 54](. - [Ellen Wittlinger](, American young adult author, [has died at 74](. Book World News: Freedom of Expression Venezuela-based publisher [Editorial Dahbar]( has [been named]( by the [Association of American Publishers]( as the winner of the 2022 [AAP International Freedom to Publish | Jeri Laber Award](, given annually in recognition of a publisher outside of the United States that has "demonstrated courage and fortitude in defending freedom of expression." AAP Freedom to Publish chair Terry Adams said that Editorial Dahbar had “exhibited tremendous courage and commitment in continuing to publish, even as the social and political environments in Venezuela have deteriorated, causing many others to flee the country.” The [recent passage of a law]( prohibiting ostensible “LGBT propaganda” in Russia, an expansion of a similar 2013 law aimed at preventing such “propagandizing” aimed at minors, has [raised concerns about freedom of expression]( in the publishing and larger book industry in that country. The International Publishers Association’s [Kristenn Einarsson has warned]( that “Russian publishers will find themselves at risk, even when publishing some classics of Russian literature,” while Mikhail Ivanov, the co-founder of the St. Petersburg-based Podpisnye Izdaniya (“Subscriber Editions”) bookstore, [has commented publicly]( on the effect this law has had on his business, and how they are responding. In a guest essay in the New York Times, [Elisabeth Schimpfössl]( and Felix Sandalov have opined that a popular new Russian young adult novel chronicling the first love between two young men [has helped to propel this new law](. In the United States, in the meantime, the conflict over library curation and school curriculum, often also driven by opposition to LGBT themes in books, is ongoing. A new [PEN America study]( has found that the state of Missouri has pulled almost 300 books from shelves in eleven school districts since August in response to a new law prohibiting “explicit sexual material” aimed at minors, while a newly proposed [“book rating” bill in Texas]( has drawn criticism from freedom to read advocates. [PEN America]( and [We Need Diverse Books]( have [penned an open letter]( to a Florida school district, signed by over 170 authors, protesting the removal of 176 books, while We Need Diverse Books has also recently launched its [Books Save Lives initiative]( in opposition to censorship. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. The winners of the 2022 [National Book Awards](Book+Award), given out in multiple categories, [were announced]( in late November. In the Nonfiction category, [Imani Perry]( has won for her [South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation](, while the winner in the Fiction category is [Tess Gunty](, for her [The Rabbit Hutch](. The winner in the Poetry category is [John Keene]( for his [Punks: New & Selected Poems](, while [Sabaa Tahir]( has won in the Young People’s Literature category for her [All My Rage](, and [Samanta Schweblin]( in the Translated Literature category for her [Seven Empty Houses](. The [Literarian Award for Outstanding Contribution to the American Literary Community]( was given to Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association, while the [Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters]( went to [Art Spiegelman](. This year’s winners of the Scotland National Book Awards, also known as the [Saltire Society Awards](20Society), have recently [been announced]( in [several categories](. History Book of the Year and overall Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year has gone to [David Alston]( for his [Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean](. Fiction Book of the Year has gone to [Mara Menzies]( for her [Blood & Gold: A Journey of Shadows](, while [Chitra Ramaswamy]( has won Non Fiction Book of the Year for her [Homelands: The History of a Friendship](. Poetry Book of the Year has gone to [Claire Askew]( for her [How to Burn a Woman](, while [Will McPhail]( has won First Book of the Year for his graphic novel, [In](. The Lifetime Achievement Award has gone to [Alexander McCall Smith](. The [Royal Society Science Book Prize](20Society%20Prize%20for%20Science%20Books) has [been awarded]( this year to [Henry Gee]( for his [A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters](, praised by the judges chair Maria Fitzgerald for the way in which “momentous physical and biological changes are described with immense skill and dynamism combined with almost poetic imagery.” The winners of the 2022 [An Post Irish Book Awards](20Book%20Award) have [been announced](, with [Sally Hayden]( winning Irish Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year for [My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route](. Other winners include [Louise Kennedy]( for Novel of the Year for her [Trespasses](, [Alice Ryan]( for Newcomer of the Year for her [There’s Been a Little Incident](, and boxer [Kellie Harrington]( for Sports Book of the Year for her memoir, [Kellie](, written with [Roddy Doyle](. The Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award went to [Anne Enright](. This year’s winners of the [Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards](Prime+Minister%27s+Literary+Award) have [been announced]( in multiple categories, with [Nicolas Rothwell]( winning in the Fiction category for his [Red Heaven](, and [Andy Jackson]( winning in the Poetry category for his [Human Looking](. [Mark Willacy]( has won in the Nonfiction category for [Rogue Forces: An Explosive Insiders' Account of Australian SAS War Crimes in Afghanistan](, and [Christine Helliwell]( has won in the Australian History category for [Semut: The Untold Story of a Secret Australian Operation in WWII Borneo](. The winner in the Young Adult category is [Leanne Hall]( for [The Gaps](, and the winner in the Children’s Literature category is [Sherryl Clark]( for [Mina and the Whole Wide World](. The winners of the 2022 [New Zealand Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement]( have [been announced](, with [Stephanie Johnson]( honored in the fiction category, historian [Vincent O’Malley]( in the nonfiction category, and [James Norcliffe]( in the poetry category. The three award winners will be honored at a lunch to be hosted by the prime minister in March of 2023. The [Canada Council for the Arts]( has [announced the 2022 winners]( of the [Governor General’s Literary Awards](20General's%20Literary%20Award), with books honored in fourteen categories. For English-language books, [Sheila Heti]( has won in the Fiction category for [Pure Colour](, [Eli Baxter]( has won in the Non-fiction category for [Aki-wayn-zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth](, and [Annick MacAskill]( in the Poetry category for [Shadow Blight](. The winner in the Drama category is [Dorothy Dittrich](, for her [The Piano Teacher](, while the award for Young People’s Literature (Text) went to [Jen Ferguson]( for her [The Summer of Bitter and Sweet](. [Naseem Hrab]( and [Nahid Kazemi]( won in the Young People’s Literature (Illustrated Texts) for their [The Sour Cherry Tree](. For French-language books, [Alain Farah]( has won in the Fiction category for [Mille secrets mille dangers](, and [Sylveline Bourion]( has won in the Non-fiction category for [La Voie romaine](. See the other winners [HERE](. [Tiya Miles]( has [been announced as the winner]( of the 2022 [Cundill History Prize](20Prize) for her [All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake](. Juror chair J.R. McNeill praised Miles’ book for “its clear and moving prose, its imaginative research, and the way the author illuminates the human condition through a family story.” The 2022 [Baillie Gifford Prize](20Johnson%20Prize%20for%20Non-fiction) for excellence in non-fiction [has gone]( to [Katherine Rundell]( for her [Superinfinite: The Unique John Donne](, which was praised by the jury as a “glorious celebration” of the poet’s life and work, one which “makes an irresistible case for Donne’s work to be widely read 400 years later, for all the electric joy and love it expresses.” Irish author [Colm Tóibín]( has been announced as the recipient of the [Bodley Medal](, to be presented as part of the 2023 [FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival](. The highest honor presented by Oxford University's [Bodleian Library](, the medal is awarded to “individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the worlds of books and literature, libraries, media and communications, science, and philanthropy.” The 2022 winners of the [Forward Prizes for Poetry](20Poetry%20Prize), given annually by the UK’s [Forward Arts Foundation]( in three categories, [have been announced](. The Forward Prize for Best Collection has gone to [Kim Moore]( for her [All the Men I Never Married](, which addresses everyday sexism through “a gallery of exes and significant others.” The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection has been awarded to [Stephanie Sy-Quia]( for her [Amnion](, and the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem has gone to [Nick Laird]( for his poem ‘[Up Late](,’ published in [Granta Magazine](. Additional Award News This Month: Winners. [The Balsillie Prize for Public Policy]( | [The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction]( | [The Catalyse Nonfiction Prize]( | [The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize]( | [The Chicken House Children’s Fiction Awards]( | [The Deborah Cass Prize]( | [The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year]( | [The Dymocks Book of the Year]( | [The Goncourt des détenus]( | [The Jan Michalski Prize]( | [The Kids Book Choice Awards]( | [The Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award]( | [The New York Times Best Books of 2022]( | [The Patrick White Award]( | [The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize]( | [The Petrona Award]( | [The Polari Prizes]( | [The Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry]( | [The Russell Freedman Award for Nonfiction for a Better World]( | [The Scarlet Stiletto Awards]( | [The SFWA Grand Master]( | [The Tony Lothian Prize]( | [The Toronto Book Award]( | [The Walkley Book Award]( | [The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation]( | [The Waterstones Books of the Year]( | [The William Hill Sports Book of the Year]( | [The Woollahra Digital Literary Awards]( 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. TinyCat Webinars. Our last live webinar of the year was on December 7th, but you can watch one of our recorded sessions anytime from [LibraryThing’s YouTube channel](. That’s also where you can find Tiny Tutorials for using TinyCat and LibraryThing. Live webinar sessions will start back up by January 11th, so stay tuned for details. 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. Wait, That's It? That's all I have for the Thing this month! If you have any suggestions, or ideas for improving State of the Thing, please reach out to me at abigailadams@librarything.com. 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](.