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A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by James Patterson and Candice Fox, Anthony Horowitz, Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, and Sara Paretsky. People’s book of the week is My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-Wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me by Caleb Carr. Salman Rushdie speaks about the attack that almost took his life and writing his new book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. As Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance turns 50 this year, fans will re-create his famous motorcycle ride. Plus, NYT celebrates 100 years of Simon & Schuster.

The Greater Columbus Convention Center’s exhibit halls were full of activity during this month’s Public Library Association (PLA) 2024 conference in Ohio. Here are a few of the topics LJ had the opportunity to discuss in person at the show, as well as other vendor announcements within recent weeks.

The winners of the Oregon Book Award are announced, as are the shortlists for the Tolkien Society Awards for excellence in Tolkien scholarship and fandom. PBS News Hour reports on the librarians fighting attempts to ban books. Plus Page to Screen.

By all accounts the 2024 Public Library Association (PLA) conference, held April 3–5 in Columbus, OH, was a resounding success. The 7,573 participants—including 5,702 attendees, 1,518 exhibitors, and 353 virtual registrants—packed the show floor, programs, and speaker sessions with palpable enthusiasm.

At the 2024 Public Library Association (PLA) conference, held April 3–5 in Columbus, OH, presentations were notably targeted and useful. And, as a number bore out, those concerns overlap in many areas. 

Encourage environmentally friendly living with a display full of books that offer ideas on wasting less and helping the planet.

Offer some home decorating inspiration with a display full of beautiful books on how to adorn one’s abode.

Michael Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Europa Editions, saw libraries and publishers as star-crossed lovers that have been kept far apart for as long as possible, finally meeting in one room in Columbus, OH, at IndieLib, a conference hosted by the Independent Publishers Caucus and the Digital Public Library of America on April 2.

The winners of the Whiting Award for emerging authors are announced. Also announced are the shortlists for the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards for British food writing and the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romantic Novel of the Year Awards, the longlists for the League of Canadian Poets Prizes, and the nominees for the Doug Wright Awards for best Canadian comics.

The newest edition of Life+Style features key reads across cooking, crafts, fashion, gardening, interior design, self-help, travel, and more.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

Hollywood and musical memoirs are highlights, along with a memoir about reading and books, science, and the supernatural. 

These collections feature literary observations and reminiscences from Deborah Levy and Steve Wasserman and humorous insights from comedians Randy Rainbow and Jenny Slate.

Emil Ferris grew up during the turbulent 1960s in Chicago, where she still lives, and is consequently a devotee of all things monstrous and horrific. She has an MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The International Booker Prize shortlist and PEN America Literary Awards longlists are announced. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump will write a series of crime novels. How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin and Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra go head-to-head for a chance to be named the new Fallon Book Club pick. Earlyword’s April GalleyChat roundup arrives. Ina Garten previews her forthcoming memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. Renée Zellweger will return as Bridget Jones in a new adaptation, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, based on the novels by Helen Fielding. 

Two books that explore the talent, creativity, and deep appeal of the Fab Four.

Richly detailed worldbuilding and inspiration from the Persephone myth all lend to a layered, immersive storyline in Sangoyomi’s debut.

Coryell’s engrossing bent comedy isn’t afraid to delve into scathing and frank analyses of modern dating culture, American classism, and serial killer fixation, while still being a thrilling read with twists throughout. 

This genre of feel-good fiction has been a hit in Japan and South Korea. Share these English-language translations with patrons on a display shelf.

Comics play to their strengths this season, stressing layout and mood while also supporting reader interests in works of horror and adaptation.

The daughter of Mama Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein share life stories centered in sound.

The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction shortlist and the Plutarch Award longlist are announced. Heinz Janisch and Sydney Smith win Hans Christian Andersen Awards. NYPL announces 21 winners of its national teen writing contest on the freedom to read. Interviews arrive with Doris Kearns Goodwin, Percival Everett, Lauren Wesley Wilson, and Anne Lamott. Dolores Redondo’s “Baztan” novel series will be adapted for television. And Raymond Pun is elected to the ALA presidency for 2025–2026.

While writing this post, nestled here in Baltimore, the world watched and witnessed the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, after it was struck by a cargo ship. The bridge, a landmark here in Charm City, arched over the Patapsco River carrying more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023. 

Academic librarians are helping both students and instructors navigate the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.

It’s National Library Week, and ALA releases a list of the top 10 most challenged books of 2023, along with the “State of America’s Libraries Report 2024.” The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo leads holds this week. Also buzzing are books by John Sandford, Megan Miranda, Yulin Kuang, and Amanda Montell. People’s book of the week is Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles. James Patterson, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading, and librarian Mychal Threets discuss book bans, bookstores, and libraries with USA Today. The Ondaatje Prize releases its 2024 longlist.