On October 3, the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) announced the six North American public libraries named as Top Innovators for 2024 as part of its annual Innovations Initiative. 

Oprah picks From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley, with Riley Keough, for her book club. Publishers Weekly rounds up the rest of October’s book club picks. Finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the Wonderland Awards are announced. October’s Loanstars features top pick The Waiting by Michael Connelly. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak. BBC will adapt Janice Hadlow’s The Other Bennet Sister, to be aired during the 30th anniversary of BBC’s classic Pride and Prejudice series. Plus, the latest on the Princess Diaries 3 film, based on the books by Meg Cabot.

In an effort to minimize student boredom while learning library information, Jacksonville State University (JSU) librarians implemented gamification―introducing game mechanics into non-game environments―which studies have shown can increase engagement and motivation, and in turn, improve learning across age groups and settings. JSU librarians Karlie Loren Johnson and Kimberly Westbrooks analyzed their results in “Quelling the Boredom with Alternative Instruction: Augmented Reality, Escape Kits, and Scavenger Hunts.” 

Former librarian Terah Shelton Harris has been named Target’s author of the year; The Women by Kristin Hannah is book of the year. The Elgin Awards winners are announced. The 2024 Nobel prize in literature will be awarded this Thursday. From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley with Riley Keough gets reviews and buzz. The Millions revisits Claudia Rankine’s Citizen 10 years after its publication. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty will get a new series adaptation, courtesy of Nicole Kidman. Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him will be adapted for film. NYT looks at weeding in libraries. Plus, LJ announces a new partnership with the Libraries Lead podcast.

The American Library Association and the Sustainable Libraries Initiative have announced the new National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries and created an implementation guide to help libraries incorporate climate action locally into strategic and facility plans.

The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Sophie Kinsella, Patricia Cornwell, Melania Trump, and James Patterson and Brian Sitts. Five LibraryReads and five Indie Next picks publish this week. The Millions releases “The Great Fall 2024 Book Preview.” Salman Rushdie announced he will publish a series of novellas, his first works of fiction since his stabbing in 2022. And novelist Robert Coover has died at the age of 92.

Library Journal is proud to announce a new partnership with the “Libraries Lead” podcast. Hosted by Mike Eisenberg (Professor and Dean Emeritus, U. of Washington iSchool), David Lankes (Virginia & Charles Bowden Professor of Librarianship, University of Texas at Austin), and Beth Patin (Assistant Professor, Syracuse University's School of Information Studies), the show explores the various social, cultural, and technological issues shaping (and being shaped by) libraries and librarians. New episodes drop monthly, and past episodes are now available at librarieslead.libraryjournal.com.

The finalists for the Cundill History Prize are announced, the winners of the Ned Kelly Award for Australian crime writing, the shortlist for the Endeavour Award for SFF by Pacific Northwest authors is announced, and the winners of the Rhysling Awards for speculative poetry are announced. The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore wins an Isle of Wight Book Award. A federal judge has ordered an Arkansas library to stop segregating controversial books into special “social sections.”

The shortlist for the Goldsmiths Prize and the finalists for the Writers’ Trust of Canada Balsillie Prize for Public Policy are announced. Reese Witherspoon announces her first novel, a thriller cowritten with Harlan Coben and due out next fall. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Kate McKinnon, Lola Milholland, and Kate Conger and Ryan Mac.