LibraryThing: State of the Thing - January

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2023 State of the Thing! In this issue we present our annual Top Titles in US Public Libraries, announce the expansion of LibraryThing's Add Books Express feature, highlight updates to LibraryThing Recomendations, dish out lots of book world news, present all of our regular columns, and offer 2,853 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter and [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram for news and updates. 2022 Top Titles in US Public Libraries See the full chart: [Top Syndetics Unbound Titles of 2022]( Drawing upon thousands of libraries nationwide that use [Syndetics Unbound](, a project to enrich the library catalog from LibraryThing and ProQuest, we have compiled the most popular books in US libraries during 2022. The most popular book of the year was [Where the Crawdads Sing]( by [Delia Owens](, but you can see the full list of the top one hundred titles on our [blog post]( and view the full year-long chart on [Flourish](. Charts for the top 2022 library titles in Australia, Canada and the UK have [also been compiled](. What about LibraryThing? Because people often catalog their entire libraries, LibraryThing's popular titles don't change a lot year to year. (Seven of the top eight were Harry Potter books. The only news is that the exception, The Hobbit, fell from #2 to #3 this year.) You can review some of these stats on our [Zeitgeist: Popularity page](. "Hot on LibraryThing" (below) is based on books cataloged, but with a "velocity" metric for books that are rising quickly. Recommendations Updates Last month LibraryThing announced the release of our [New Recommendations]( feature, with improved, more personalized recommendations for recently-published books, three different display styles, recommendations by genre, and the ability to add books to your wishlist, from the [Recommendations page](. We’ve been thrilled with the positive response from members and the rave reviews the feature has received! "I am impressed, I got a lot of books I've never heard of that actually seem relevant to my interests and likes… Usually recommendation systems either give me stuff I'm aware of already or stuff that I can't figure out why the system thinks I would like it." — [casvelyn]( "I mean, great googly-moogly, folks, these recommendations are On. The. Money." — [JBD1]( "This is absolutely wonderful; thank you to everyone who worked on this. A good example of why LT is head and shoulders above any similar system. As someone with a relatively large library and an insanely extensive wishlist, I like what I am seeing." — [cns1000]( Our developers have been hard at work, making even more improvements, and now we’re happy to announce that recommendations are filterable by tags and by publication dates, and that members now have the ability to see new books by authors they already have in their libraries, or to exclude those books entirely. View your recommendations [here](, and let us know what you think about this additional filtering option [on Talk](. Add Books Express LibraryThing is excited to announce the expansion of our new Add Books popup, just recently introduced as part of our improved [New Recommendations]( feature! Now Add Books Express is available on every book's work page, allowing for a faster, more convenient way of adding books. Want to add something to your wishlist immediately? Hoping to get a bunch of books in your library right away? Add Books Express will allow you to do this, while our standard [Add Books page]( is still available for members who want more control over the sources they use and the editions they catalog. Come check out the new Add Books Express feature, and join the conversation [on 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. January List of the Month. Truth is often stranger than fiction, and real life people more interesting than fictional characters. Our January List of the Month is dedicated to the [Best Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs](. Head over to our list of [Best Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs]( to add your top ten choices. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - December: [Top Five Books of 2022]( - November. [Noirvember: The Best Noir]( - October. [Mythical Monsters of the World]( - September. [Best Spy Fiction]( - August. [Pleasant Surprises: Books That Exceeded Our Expectations]( The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - LibraryThing changed its Terms of Service to prohibit most AI-produced content, such as reviews. [Members discuss](. - Members are calculating how many [Folio Society Books They Read in 2022](, over in the [Folio Society Devotees]( group. - In a similar New Years vein, readers are discussing [Fantasy First Published in 2022](, in the [FantasyFans]( group. - The [Definition of Canadian](, for the purpose of classifying literature, is being debated by members of the [Canadian Literature]( group. - Members are ranking their [Favorite Modern Presses]( over in the [Fine Press Forum](. 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: - [Spare]( by [Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex]( - [A World of Curiosities]( by [Louise Penny]( - [Hell Bent]( by [Leigh Bardugo]( - [What Lies in the Woods]( by [Kate Alice Marshall]( - [Age of Vice]( by [Deepti Kapoor]( - [The Stolen Heir]( by [Holly Black]( - [Demon Copperhead]( by [Barbara Kingsolver]( - [The House in the Pines]( by [Ana Reyes]( - [Loathe to Love You]( by [Ali Hazelwood]( - [The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times]( by [Michelle Obama]( - [The House of Wolves]( by [James Patterson]( - [Sleep No More]( by [Jayne Ann Krentz]( - [The January 6th Report]( by [Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack]( - [Without a Trace]( by [Danielle Steel]( - [Just the Nicest Couple]( by [Mary Kubica]( - [Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries]( by [Heather Fawcett]( - [The Bandit Queens]( by [Parini Shroff]( - [The Villa]( by [Rachel Hawkins]( - [Ms. Demeanor]( by [Elinor Lipman]( - [The Song of the Cell]( by [Siddhartha Mukherjee]( 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 [Under the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian Genocide](, a memoir from [Mae Bunseng]( and [James Taing](, offered by [Greenleaf Book Group](; [The World Itself: Consciousness and the Everything of Physics](, a witty exploration of physics and nature from [Ulf Danielsson](, offered by [Bellevue Literary Press](; and our very first titles from [Tyndale House Publishers](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [Under the Naga Tail: A True Story of Survival, Bravery, and Escape from the Cambodian Genocide]( [The Year of Jubilee]( [The World Itself: Consciousness and the Everything of Physics]( [Second Time Around]( [Code Name Edelweiss]( [After the Shadows]( [Voices off the Ocean: A Literary Visit to Ruth Moore's Maine]( [Who Owns the Clouds?]( [The Panacea Project]( [A Match in the Making]( [Comfort Is an Old Barn: Stories from the Heart of Maine]( [The Weight of Air]( [Tell the Rest]( [The Fear of Winter]( [Under Fire]( [Anne's Tragical Tea Party]( [Forged in Love]( [Endless Grace: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms]( [My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick ](C2%A0) [Color Capital of the World: Growing up with the Legacy of a Crayon Company]( Our January batch of Early Reviewers has 2,853 copies of 141 books. The deadline to request a book is January 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: In Memoriam Award-winning Serbian-American poet [Charles Simic](, who was the fifteenth [Poet Laureate]( of the United States, [has died at 84](. A prolific writer who published more than thirty collections of poetry, Simic’s work was heavily influenced by his childhood experiences in World War II Serbia, but has also been described as distinctly American. He won the [Pulitzer Prize](Prize) in 1990 for his [The World Doesn’t End](, the [Wallace Stevens Award]( in 2007, and the [Poetry Society of America’s]( Frost Medal in 2011. In addition to his writing, Simic taught for more than three decades at the University of New Hampshire. Celebrated German poet and writer [Hans Magnus Enzensberger](, considered one of postwar West Germany’s “Schmeissfliegen” (blowflies), a name given to a generation of authors determined to come to grips with the country’s Nazi past, [has died at 93](. The author of over seventy books, he made his debut in 1957 with the poetry collection “Verteidigung der Wölfe Gegen die Lämmer” (Defence of the Wolves Against the Lambs), which lambasted the conformity of the “sheep” who had followed Hitler, but his masterpiece is widely considered to be [Der Untergang der Titanic. Eine Komödie]( (The Sinking of the Titanic: A Poem), inspired by his year in Cuba in 1969. Enzensberger was the recipient of many awards over his long career, also working as a translator, and publishing under a variety of pseudonyms. American fiction writer and poet [Russell Banks](, who is particularly known for his portrayal of the lives of the American working class, [has died at 82](. The author of twenty-one works of both fiction and nonfiction, Banks was twice nominated for the [Pulitzer Prize](20Prize%20finalist), and won the [John Dos Passos Prize for Literature]( in 1985. His 1991 novel, [The Sweet Hereafter](, was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film of the [same name](, as was his 1989 [Affliction](. Elected a Fellow of the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences]( in 1996, he was the New York State Author from 2004-2008, and taught creative writing at Princeton University. Other losses in the book world this past month: - [Ronald Blythe](, British nature writer and essayist, [has died at 100](. - [Natalie S. Bober](, American children’s biographer and historian, [has died at 92](. - [Pope Benedict XVI](, theologian and former Pope, [has died at 95](. - [Vicki Cobb](, American science teacher and children’s author, [has died at 84](. - [Aubrey Davis](, Canadian storyteller and children’s author, [has died at 73](. - [Cara De Silva](, American journalist and food historian, [has died at 83](. - [Cai Emmons](, American novelist and short story writer, [has died at 71](. - [Jean Paré](, Canadian caterer and cookbook author, [has died at 95](. - [Edith Pearlman](, American short story writer, [has died at 86](. - [Nélida Piñon](, Brazilian author and writing professor, [has died at 85](. - [Jonathan Raban](, expatriate British travel writer and novelist, [has died at 80](. - [David Rhodes](, American novelist, [has died at 75](. - [Barbara Walters](, American television journalist and memoirist, has [died at 93](. - [Fay Weldon](, British novelist, playwright and screenwriter, [has died at 91]( Book World News: Freedom of Expression In [last month’s issue]( of State of the Thing we reported on 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, which [raised concerns about freedom of expression]( in the publishing and larger book industry in that country. It has now been reported that the independent Russian publisher [Popcorn Books](, which specializes in Russian and translated works of fiction that explore “uncomfortable” topics such as self-identification, racism and sexism, [is being investigated]( by the authorities after being reported by a Russian lawmaker for labeling their book covers with Article 29.5 of the Russian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. In the United States, in the meantime, the battle over library curation and school curriculum, often also driven by opposition to LGBT themes in books, continues to unfold. Publishers Weekly recently offered [a roundup of news stories]( featuring efforts to challenge or ban books in American libraries and schools. In mid-December the publication named their 2022 People of the Year as [The Defenders](—“the librarians, booksellers, authors, publishers, and allies standing tall in the face of an unprecedented attack on the freedom to read.” Recent examples of such defenders include the [Texas students fighting book bans](, and the young participants in the upcoming inaugural [Freedom to Read Advocacy Institute](, hosted by [PEN America]( and the [Brooklyn Public Library](. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. [Anthony Joseph]( has been [named the winner]( of the 2022 [T.S. Eliot Prize](S.+Eliot+Prize), given annually to the best new poetry collection published in the UK or Ireland, for his [Sonnets for Albert](, which was also shortlisted for the [Forward Poetry Prize](20Poetry%20Prize%20Shortlist) for Best Collection. Award chair [Jean Sprackland]( praised the book, describing it as “a luminous collection which celebrates humanity in all its contradictions and breathes new life into this enduring form.” Also in the UK, poet [Selima Hill]( has been awarded the [2022 King’s Gold Medal for Poetry](, the first such prize to be presented since the ascension of King Charles. The Poetry Medal Committee chair, Poet Laureate [Simon Armitage](, praised Hill as “an inimitable talent. The mind is fragile and unreliable in her poetry, but is also tenacious and surprising, capable of the most extraordinary responses, always fighting back with language as its survival kit.” King Charles’ first [New Years Honours]( list has also recently been released, and the bookish honorees include biographer [Hermione Lee](, British Library chief executive Roly Keating and authors [Catherine Belton](, [Francesca Simon]( and [Dara McAnulty](. The 2022 winners of the [Tasmanian Literary Awards](20Literary%20Awards) have [been announced]( in multiple categories, with [Amanda Lohrey]( taking home the prize in the Fiction category for her [The Labyrinth](, and [Andrew Darby]( taking the honors in the Nonfiction category for his [Flight Lines](. The winners in the Young Readers and Children’s category were [Lian Tanner]( and [Jonathan Bentley]( for [Ella and the Ocean](, while the winner in the Poetry category was [Esther Ottaway]( for her [Intimate, low-voiced, delicate things](. The winners of the 72nd annual [National Jewish Book Awards](20Jewish%20Book%20Award), given out by the [Jewish Book Council]( since 1950 in recognition of outstanding Jewish literature, [have been announced](. The winner of the Everett Fam­i­ly Foun­da­tion Book of the Year was [Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew]( by [Michael W. Twitty](, while the winner of both the new Holo­caust Mem­oir cat­e­go­ry and the Shephardic Cul­ture cat­e­go­ry Mimi S. Frank Award was [One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World]( by [Michael Frank](. The winner of the J.J. Green­berg Memo­r­i­al Award for Fic­tion was [Dani Shapiro]( for her [Signal Fires](, while the winner of Gold­berg Prize for Debut Fic­tion was [Ashley Goldberg]( for his [Abomination](. The full list of winners can be found in [this announcement](. The winners of the [British Book Design and Production Awards](, given out in seventeen categories this year, [have been announced](, and [The Folio Society](, which has its own group of loyal [Devotees]( on LibraryThing, has [won in four categories](, including the Brand/Series Identity category for their edition of [G.R.R. Martin’s]( [A Song of Fire and Ice]( and the Literature category for [Philip K. Dick’s]( [Selected Short Stories](. Additional Award News This Month: Winners. [The Crooks Corner Book Prize]( | [The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards]( | [The KYD Creative Non-Fiction Essay Prize]( | [The LiBeratur Award]( | [The Mystery Writers of America Special Awards]( | [The Pacific Northwest Book Awards]( | [The Peter Porter Poetry Prize]( | [The Porchlight Business Book of the Year]( | [The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize]( | [The RSL Giles St. Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction]( | [The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation]( | [The Silvers-Dudley Prizes]( | [The Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature]( Other Book World News Bookselling and Publishing [Print book sales fell 6.5%]( in the United States in 2022, while overall [book sales fell by 2.1%]( in Germany, and [by 2.2%]( in the UK. In Australia, by contrast, [book sales were up 7.2%]( in 2022, according to Nielsen BookScan data. The labor unrest at the New York headquarters of HarperCollins, which we have been chronicling in State of the Thing over the last half year—see our coverage of the brief, one-day worker strike in the [July edition]( the news of [layoffs]( and the union vote to[authorize a second strike]( in the [October edition]( and the commencement of that [second, ongoing strike]( in the [November edition]( continued to heat up. Support for the striking workers is high amongst authors and agents, with [authors co-hosting a rally in solidarity with the strikers]( in mid-December, and [71.9% of literary agents expressing support]( in a survey conducted by the Association of American Literary Agents. The strike reached its 50th day on January 18th, with workers [holding a rally outside the publisher’s parent company](, News Corps. The issue of AI-generated content and the use of ChatGPT in the publishing world was a subject of discussion and debate recently, at the [Digital Book World]( conference, which focuses on publishing innovation. As outlined above, LibraryThing itself has responded to this issue by adding a new provision to our [Terms of Service](, outlawing AI-generated book reviews on the site. You can read that announcement and join the discussion [on Talk](. Library and Literary News Children’s author [Meg Medina](, who won the [Newbery Medal](Medal) in 2019 for [Merci Suárez Changes Gears](, has [been chosen]( as the eighth [National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature](. The position, established by the Library of Congress in 2008, is meant to encourage literacy in American children and teens, with each laureate choosing to focus on specific themes and projects of interest to them. Medina, who says she is conscious that reading is an academic subject on which children are graded, has declared that part of her mission is “to reclaim it and return it to families and kids and communities.” A record number of libraries worldwide [exceeded one million ebooks borrowed]( in 2022, setting a record for digital lending in the library sphere. According to a report from digital library platform [OverDrive](, 129 library systems exceeded this mark in 2022, up from 121 in 2021. The libraries in question are located in seven countries—the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany—with the record being set by the [Los Angeles Public Library](, which exceeded 10 million digital loans this past year. Some of literary giant and Nobel Prize laureate [Toni Morrison’s]( rarer papers [will go on display this coming month](, as part of a series of exhibitions and performances to celebrate her life and work being put on by Princeton University, where she once taught. 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. of the Month. TinyCat’s featured library this past month was the [Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach](, which works to preserve and promote the architectural legacy, natural beauty and cultural heritage of Palm Beach, Florida. The foundation’s Archives Assistant Amanda Capote sat down with Kristi this past month to answer her questions about the organization and [their library](. Q. Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?: Founded in 1980, the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach is dedicated to preserving the architectural and cultural heritage and the unique scenic quality of the Town of Palm Beach. Through advocacy initiatives, educational programs, architectural resources, and cultural events, the Foundation’s goal is to encourage the community to learn about and save the historic sites that make Palm Beach special. You can find the [full interview on our blog](. TinyCat Webinars. 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. 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](.