Unshelve With the Seasonal Change- Fall Themes

 While October is the home of Halloween which is many people's favorite holiday, there are other ways to celebrate the season. Depending upon your community, including fall may be something that is expected of you. 

• Suggested themes include: 
• Dark Academia 
• Cozy Reads
• Fall in Love with a Romance
• Small Town/Cottagecore
• Nostalgia

Here are some lists to give you inspiration

Martha Stewart  11 Books That Capture the Magic of Fall 

Reddit  Can you please recommend books that have a fall theme, and are compelling, but aren't "cozy"?

Reddit  What's the best book to read in Autumn?

Goodreads Listopia > Book Covers That Give You A Fall Vibe

The Everymom Your Perfect Fall TBR List: 40 Cozy Books to Read with a Pumpkin Spice Latte

Perpetual Page Turner The PERFECT Autumn Vibes Reading List For 2026

IL Librarians - Learn about genre blends from AART

 The Adult Reading Round Table is, as described on their website: 

Founded in 1984, the Adult Reading Round Table (ARRT) is dedicated to helping library workers develop readers’ advisory (RA) skills, learn useful tools for practicing RA, and promote reading for personal enrichment for adults throughout public libraries.

Led by a steering committee of Illinois library workers, ARRT plans and presents RA professional development opportunities, including in-depth genre studies and book club leadership sessions. We are committed to discussing and exploring works by and about a wide array of people and cultures to authentically reflect a variety of ideas, information, stories, and experiences.

Their current genre study   involves genre blends, something I have repeatedly suggested as a great theme for a book display. While the in-person meeting is for Illinois librarians, they do have their meeting topics and notes on their website. Use both the lists of books (under assignment) and the notes to get a better understanding of genre blends, a trend which will only get stronger and as inspiration for your own book display. 

If you can attend the meeting on October 1, 2027  at the Algonquin Area Public Library District – Eastgate Branch from 2-4 pm, you will learn a lot. Both Karrie Stewart and Emily Vinci will be there to guide you through horror blends. They are both great librarians and enthusiastic readers advisors. 

Unshelve with Booklist Online - Trend Alert

If you are ever searching for a book display idea, check out Booklist's Trend Alert. They cover a wide variety of genres, formats, and target ages. Even if their trend is focused on youth, you can take the basic idea and run with it for adults. For example, this post is a Microtrend Roundup for YA fiction. The examples could be used for adult fiction as well: 

• Apocalypse (but Make It Funny)
• Deep Space Travel
• Goblins
• Merfolk
• Time Loops

They do include sample titles which you can use to search for read alikes. 

For a very recent post, check out this one about paranormal romance. The titles they discuss are listed on the right hand side but don't feel constrained by those titles. Use what is in your collection. 

Booklist Online is a place I regularly visit for reviews, collection development ideas, and for trend information. It's devoted to books, readers, and readers advisory. 

Booklist - Shelf Care #51: It’s Not an Art Project; Book Displays with Lila Denning

I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with Bookllist editor Susan Maguire about book displays! You can listen here and the notes are below:  

On this episode of Shelf Care: The Podcast, host Susan Maguire chats with librarian Lila Denning about the ins and outs of book displays; Audio Editor Heather Booth talks audiobooks to fall asleep to (really!); and Kelly Ferreira, Senior Editor, Books for Youth, shares a few books they’ve been reading and loving lately.

Chase’s Calendar of Events

“Unshelve with help from Booklist—Body Horror” blog post

RA for All: Horror

“Unshelving When Inclusive Displays Make People Uncomfortable” blog post

Bruja’s Nest, by Brenda LaTorre

The Mars Room, by Rachel Kushner

Passively Recommending Books (Lila’s blog)

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

Game Changers, by Rachel Reid

Heated Rivalry, by Rachel Reid

Tough Guy, by Rachel Reid

The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, illustrated by Irene Koh and Killian Ng

The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, illustrated by Michelle Wong and Killian Ng

Scream with Me: Confronting Social Injustice through Horror (webinar)

When Evil Lingers, by Melissa Blair

Off the Reservation, by Stephen Graham Jones

Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke, read by Rebecca Lowman

More titles by Susan Maguire

Passively Promoting a Short Vacation

 I was out of town seeing my dad and some of my siblings so I apologize for the lack of posts. This is a good time to leave a short reminder that if you are the person who creates and fills in displays for your library, prepare for your own leave by setting up simple displays that anyone can fill in without having to search far and wide for titles to fill them in. Don't set up complicated themes or you might come back to either an empty display or random books added. 

Ideas like Books We Have Loved, Great Mysteries, Quick Reads (shorter novels and novellas) can be filled in by anyone on staff. 

Frank, my host with the most!

Unshelving October - Making a Plan in Advance

 It's time to plan for October already. There are many days, weeks and month-long celebrations in October. Halloween is the big deal in October. I have some posts about horror, The Bram Stoker Awards, and why you should not limit horror just to October. I think that what you should consider with your spooky book displays is to be as broad as possible as far as the authors, publishers, and level of scares you have on display. Stephen King is popular and finds his audience without our help so set him aside unless you want to use some of the books he has blurbed and do a display on that. There are roughly 100 so you likely own some of them at your library. 

There are also opportunities to take authors like King and come up with read alikes. One of the most common readers advisory questions I get is "What should I read if I've read all of Stephen King and Dean Koontz?" There are lists here, here, here, here, and here. I find Reddit useful for searches like this because you are getting answers from readers. Because King has written so many books, there are many options. For Dean Koontz, try here, here, here, and here. 

Hispanic Heritage Month crosses over into October. 

Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day is on October 12. There is plenty of horror written by Indigenous authors if you want to take your spooky theme and go in that direction. I would suggest that you know your community and your library administration. Use that knowledge as a guide for setting up a display. A balance between both themes is always an option. It's also National Indigenous People's Month which could be a separate display. 

It's also Italian-American heritage month which is a quick display to set up. You can use fiction, non-fiction, and DVDs in a display. 

With October 1 being National Poetry Day in the UK and October 15 in the USA, setting up a poetry display when it is not April is a great idea. While the 800's are sometimes a hard sell, I find that poetry will get checked out if you put it face out and in front of people. 

National Cookbook Month is also in October. There are the James Beard award winners but don't forget local cookbooks. If you partner with some local chefs and restaurants, there is an opportunity for programming as well. Do a book talk in a cooking store or a library card sign up outside a local restaurant. 

If it all seems overwhelming as you recover from summer reading and prepare for the winter holidays, note the various food related celebrations and put up a display with a sticky note on various titles which notes the celebration day. That can be continuously filled up. 

World Space Week is October 4-10. This is a UN designated week to highlight exploration in space. There are tons of fiction, non-fiction, and DVDs in every library that could fill a display for this week. Don't forget children's books.  It's fun to echo an adult display with youth materials. 

October 14-16 is also Sherlock Holmes weekend in Cape May, New Jersey. How much you focus on the Holmes books would depend on how they circulate in your library. There are also books not written by Doyle which you can find in many collections. Find read-alikes for the Holmes books here, here, and perhaps even books which have won the Agatha Awards. 

Finally, I will suggest Punk for a Day Day on October 25. This might be fun and unexpected for your patrons. Beyond whatever is in your non-fiction and DVD collections, try books on these lists: 

r/punk: I'm looking for books about punk
r/punk: Any good punk coming of age books to check out? 
r/punk: Fictional Punk Rock Literature?
r/booksuggestions: Books with punk characters/culture?
Goodreads: Best Punk Books
Goodreads: Best YA Books With Punk Rock characters
LitHub: Read These If You Aren’t A Poseur: Books That Embody The Punk Ethos

Unshelve With Read Alikes for Your Library's Top Reads

Many independent bookstores promote their top sellers even if they promote the New York Times Bestsellers. This photo is from my local, amazing independent bookstore, Tombolo Books. Publishing a list online or in your library of the top titles will certainly draw patrons' attention. The best way to use it as a book display is to add information about how to place a hold. Then look through your stacks for read-alikes for them to check out while they wait for that book with all the holds. 

 

Unshelve those Independent or Small Press Titles

 I really love when stores like Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, FL shine a spotlight on small press and independent press titles. This is a great theme for a book display. Search your ILS for titles with small press publisher or that were independently published. Add them to a book display and encourage your patrons to suggest more. 

More and more bestselling authors these days have gotten their start with small publishers or by self-publishing. There are series that are popular, with many reader reviews, that aren't by one of the huge publishers. 

I can't recommend all of the presses to check out but RA for All Horror does have a list of horror publishers recommended for libraries. 

Unshelve with Mini-Reviews from Your Staff and Patrons

 

Another great idea from my local indie bookstore, Tombolo Books, is something that you might find in other indie bookstores. These shelf readers have a paragraph with a brief review including a tiny bit of plot and why the reader loved it. This is a way to provide passive readers advisory with even staff who work behind the scenes involved. Put the title of the book, the author, and a QR code to your online catalog so patrons can place a hold. If you own the book in your digital collection, add a link to that to the card as well. 

Spread the shelf readers around your collection - include non-fiction, youth, young adult, & large print as well. Don't forget to spotlight some of your A/V collection as well. 

Because these are written in advance, they can be reviewed before they are posted, anything that needs to be corrected can be changed before the public sees them. This would include your patron written blurbs. Either set up a an email address where patrons can review their favorite reads or have a box where they can drop their written reviews. You can either put them on the shelves or set up a specific display where your patrons can see what others thought. 

As with all passive advisory tools, remember that bestsellers and authors/titles in high demand don't need our promotional help. Have staff make shelf talkers about titles they loved which need some more help finding their readers. Staff who are fans of specific subjects or genres can help readers with similar tastes find hidden gems in your stacks. 

 

Unshelve Yourself for Labor Day

(The menace known as Stuffing)

 Today is Labor Day in the United States so I'm spending the day at home with my bunnies and some books. Tomorrow we will continue to look at some ideas from my local independent bookseller. 

Unshelve With Help from LibraryReads

 What is LibraryReads? From their website: 

LibraryReads is the monthly nationwide library staff picks list for adult fiction and non-fiction. Our goal is to help connect readers to as many books as possible, while drawing upon the incredible power that public library staff has in helping to build word-of-mouth for new books, and the important role that libraries play in creating audiences for all kinds of authors.

Anyone who works in an American public library is eligible to vote after they register with either NetGalley or Edelweiss. The monthly list of winners is published on their website. That list can be used to promote your holds list and to encourage patrons to place holds on upcoming titles. (This helps your library see in advance which titles will be popular.) This is something that we can definitely borrow from independent bookstores. St Petersburg's Tombolo Books features upcoming titles on their website. 

(Tombolo Books upcoming release wall)

NoveList provides readalikes for each title on the Top Ten list. Those can be used to build out a display of backlist titles similar to the upcoming titles. Remember that each book can be approached in different ways so be creative. A book with similar vibest is close enough. 

You can also use their archive to find backlist titles for a display. 

Since the monthly list is a national staff picks list, pair the list with your own staff's picks for a given month. Make sure that you encourage everyone to participate, regardless of where their work or what their title is. Gibson's Books in Concord, NH features staff picks on their website and so does Tombolo Books. 

Unshelve With Help from Booklist - Body Horror

Editor Susan Maguire at ALA's Booklist has a piece up about body horror. 

"Bodies are gross. They’re squishy and floppy, and that’s on a good day. In these horror writers’ imaginations, bodies—especially those of women and trans people—become something else entirely. They are transformed, mutilated, beset by eldritch creatures and unnatural appetites. These body-horror books are not for the squeamish, but those who dive in will be rewarded with thought-provoking, worldview-changing terrors"

Body horror is a great way to showcase horror by and about women, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized people, especially if your state or local laws make overtly focusing on these groups difficult. More extreme forms of horror are having their day and should be popular with your patrons. Use these titles as a starting point. 

Over on RA for All Horror, Becky Spratford has several posts on body horror with some other titles you can use for inspiration. 

 

ALA Collection Development Crash Course

I'm excited to be presenting for ALA Continuing education again. On Thursday, September 3, I will be presenting one part of the Collection Development Crash Course. You will learn the fundamentals of adult fiction collection development including information about genre, how to find titles, purchase them, and promote your collection. 

• Developing the Adult Fiction Collection with Lila Denning: Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Developing the Youth Collection with Julie Jurgens: Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Developing the Adult Nonfiction Collection with Stephanie Sendaula: Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  
• Weeding Popular Materials Collections with Karen Toonen: Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific
  
  You can find information about the entire series here. I hope to see you in class!

Unshelving When Inclusive Displays Make People Uncomfortable

 As many of you know, changes to laws in places like Arkansas and Florida are making passive readers advisory more challenging. There are legitimate reasons for library workers to be concerned. 

The most basic way to deal with this is to follow what I wrote in RUSQ in an article called "Inclusion as the Norm: The Power of Diverse Book Displays." I posted about it here including a link to the article which is free for anyone to read. Every book display or other passive readers advisory tool should include a wide variety of authors and publishers. Patrons are as curious as we are and want to find great books. Many of them are written by diverse authors. 

Promote the final book in the Harlem Trilogy, Colson Whitehead's Cool Machine , by putting up read alikes and books about New York City and 80's history. Add information about your holds lists and you will be spotlighting a book by an award winning author without mentioning anything that will draw activist attention. You can create a sign that says something about "While You Wait for This New Release" and a smaller sign with the name & author. Change it out regularly, using a wide variety of authors. 

Being more general with signage is a way to promote books without creating negative situations for staff. Try using - 

1960's History - There are likely many books on your shelves, fiction and non-fiction, that you can use. There are years like 1965, 1968, and 1969 in which there were many significant events. 

Step Into Their Shoes - Focus on biographies and memoirs

Places Far and Wide- Use fiction and non-fiction by international authors and books about places outside the United States

Even a display like this one for The Day of the Cowboy could have books about the Black, Chinese, and Native Experience during the Western Expansion. Don't forget books about women and the West. By doing this you are including many experiences rather than just one. 

There is also the option of not using a sign. Make your book displays mini-collections with lots of faceouts. The covers of the books will draw attention to the titles. I realize that creating signage is enjoyable for staff but if there is fear in your administration, it might be easier to forget it. Use easels on the shelves and focus on a book at the service desks. 

The purpose of a display is to merchandise your collection and help patrons find their next great read. The battle over libraries and the freedom to read will continue in the courts and legislatures. We can still promote our entire collections and the wide variety of books in those collections. 

Remembering Dolly Parton

 Iconic songwriter, philanthropist, actress, and singer Dolly Parton died yesterday. When a famous person dies, patrons will often seek out materials by and about that person. On her website, she lists books she's written as well as her filmography and discography. There have also been books written about her. One relatively recent book that had many holds in my library system is Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics written by Dolly with Robert K. Oermann. 

Beyond her own works, don't overlook books about her peers in country music and the Grand Ole Opry. There are also non-fiction and fiction titles about Tennessee and Tennessee history that you can add. 

To make this an interactive display or passive program, partner with a local agency that distributes books and honor Dolly's Imagination Library by collecting new and gently used books for children. They can be either distributed by your local literacy agency or your library can hold an event and distribute them. If you add a label with your library's information on it, you can distribute them to laundromats, barbershops, beauty parlors, churches, and other places where your community will find them. 

Unshelve With Adaptations with RA for All

Over on RA for All, Becky Spratford has a comprehensive post about Book Riot's Best Adaptations of the Century So Far. We know that popular movie and TV versions of books drive patron interest as well as hold requests. I've addressed how to use excitement about a movie or TV show to market your collection before in this list of posts and here and here. 

She includes links to her posts on the topic, including one on using them for book displays that you should definitely read. 

These displays can focus on one currently hot show or movie. They can also be a generalist display of books that have been adapted. Pair them with DVDs to have patrons ponder if the book was better. 

If you need more inspiration after reading Becky's posts, try these lists:

Goodreads - Listopia > Books Made into Movies or TV Shows

New York Times - Read These Books Before They Hit Your Screens in 2026

Reddit- r/suggestmeabook - Books that were made into movies or tv shows?

Reddit- r/booksuggestions - Book that have a movie/tv-show adaptation

Fulton County Library System - Movies and TV Shows Based on Books

The Booker Prizes - Booker Prize books that have been adapted for film and television

Enterainment Weekly - The 50 books we're dying to see get adapted

If you find a list online with a snappy title, you can adapt it for your displays. I give credit if I take something in its entirety. If you use "Was the Book or Movie Better?" or Entertainment Weekly's idea of what they wish was adapted, the display can easily become a passive program with patrons providing their answers either as comments to a social media post, on a bulletin board, or in a box near the display so you can preview their answers in advance. Know your community and pick the one that will work best for you. 

Unshelving September - Making a Plan in Advance

 September is the start of the autumn season and school is rolling into session. It's also the build up to spooky season for everyone who loves Halloween. I did a September post in 2024 and the information there is mostly still applicable. One change is that Islam, like Judaism, follows a lunar calendar. The holidays in Islam change months year to year. Malwid is in August this year.  

Here is a general list of September celebrations. 

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are September 11 and 20, respectively. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. It is the first day of the Days of Awe which end with Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.  It is a time for self-reflection, introspection, forgiveness, and accepting forgiveness.
Books on these topics can be used to enhance a book display or fill in as titles are checked out. 
Here are some book lists:

Chicago Public Library - Rosh Hashanah Books
PBS Kids- Picture Books That Celebrate Rosh Hashanah
Jewish Book Council - High Holidays
Hey Alma - 17 Books That Will Get You in a Reflective Mood This High Holiday Season

Library Card Sign Up Month is celebrated in September. 

You can use the theme of this year to highlight your books and DVDs about music as well as CDs and music streaming services. ALA has sample proclamations and other resources including social media graphics here. 

There are a number of food related celebrations in September. Beyond cookbooks, you can use fiction with that food in the title. 
National Gyro Day - September 1 (You can expand this to any Greek food)
World Coconut Day - September 2
National Cheese Pizza Day - September 5
World Samosa Day - September 5
National Peanut Day - September 13
Fortune Cookie Day - September 13
Eat a Hoagie Day - September 14
National Cheeseburger Day - September 18
Ice Cream Cone Day - September 22
National Drink a Beer Day - September 28
National Coffee Day - September 29

With Celebrate Bisexuality or Bi Visibility Day on September 23, how you handle it depends on your community, library, and local/state laws. One way is to set up a romance display and focus on books with bisexual characters. 
Arapahoe Libraries -  Bi-Bi-Bi! Romance Books With Bisexual Main Characters
Meet Cute Romance Bookshop- The Bi(sexual)s Have It: Bi Characters in Great Romance Novels
Goodreads - Bisexual Romance Books
For those looking to expand this display, look at the Lambda Literary Awards which have  bisexual fiction and bisexual non-fiction categories. 

World Translation Day is September 30. Search your collection for books in translation. You can even have a tiny display on a service desk with an easel. Add a new book when one gets checked out. 

September 30 is also  International Podcast Day. Your collection may include books about how to start a podcast or editing. Add books from these lists to make a display: 

Goodreads - Books By or Related to Podcasts and Podcasters
Bookshop.org - Books by women podcasters
Brooklyn Public Library - 20 Books By Your Favorite Podcast Hosts
Cambridge Public Library - Podcasts that wrote books
Reddit - Best books written by Podcasters
              Podcasts that also have a book

 

Unshelve with Library Journal - Display Shelf | Ancient Stories

 Library Journal is here to remind us that when a movie the The Odyssey catches patrons' attention, we can use that interest to help draw attention to library collections. On August 5, they featured stories set in ancient times for fans of The Odyssey. The post includes a link to a spreadsheet with more titles than featured on their graphic. Don't do extra work when journals help you out with features like this. 

Unshelve With Help from the New York Times Again - Best Thrillers Edition

The New York Times has a list of the 50 Best Thriller Books up on their website. (Should be a gift link) The list was compiled with the help of authors, librarians, editors, critics and Bookstagrammers. The list is helpful for collection development but I would suggest that you look at the read-alikes for each book that are listed below the description. You can use the list and the read-alikes to set up a generic thriller display. They are very popular now and some time on a display will help any titles that are lacking checkouts to find their reader. 

Another way you can use them is to pick one of the titles and use it for a more focused display around setting, theme, or plot. There are books like Jar of Hearts with complicated, messy women or Tell No One with its story of a spouse who died (or did she?) You can search for similar books as the read-alikes in the description to come up with a full display. 

A final idea for a display based upon this list is to look at how the authors and other book people voted and use their choices to create a display. Readers love recommendations from celebrities. Note the celebrities on the sign if you would like and update it if you have to change out the books. This sort of display would be a great idea for a small display on a service desk or near a catalog computer. 

Unshelving for Small Libraries - One Author Shelfies

 

Not every library has room or funds for a dedicated display space. There are many alternatives. A fun alternative is to put a picture of several authors' titles in the stacks and post it on your social media. Put those titles on a service desk or on a library cart with a sign that says "This week's shelfies." 

Change it out weekly. You can even move to non-fiction titles by selecting a niche subject area or biographical subject. The space and time commitment are both minimal but it does allow you to showcase the depth and breadth of your collection. 

As an example, I have included photos of two authors perfect for Summerweek - Clay McLeod Chapman and Rachel Harrison. 

Using the NYT Book Review Book Club To Unshelve

 It seems as if every celebrity and news organization has their own book club. It is certainly possible to use them to create a book display - read alikes for the current pick and for past picks. If circulation has dropped off on the backlist of picks, you can display them as well. Today, I am going to focus on the New York Times Book Review Book Club that airs on their podcast with reader comments on an online post. 

For July, they read John of John by Douglas Stuart. The book club post is here and the podcast post is here. You can use the book club picks as a way to create a book club, even if you don't have the staff time. Patrons could gather to discuss the book and even listen to the podcast together. The most useful part of the podcast for me is the read-alikes that the participants suggest. For John of John, the books mentioned were: 

• “Shuggie Bain” and “Young Mungo,” by Douglas Stuart
• “What We Can Know,” by Ian McEwan
• “The Banshees of Inisherin,” directed by Martin McDonagh
• “The Keeper,” by Tana French
• “A Natural,” by Ross Raisin
• “The Spell,” by Alan Hollinghurst
• “Seascraper,” by Benjamin Wood
• “Whale Fall,” by Elizabeth O’Connor
• “Clear,” by Carys Davies
• “Wuthering Heights,” by Emily Brontë
• “Persuasion,” by Jane Austen
• “Washington Square,” by Henry James
• “The Town of Babylon,” by Alejandro Varela
• “Memorial,” by Bryan Washington

Look beyond these specific titles by looking at read-alikes for them that could have a connection to the title they are reading. This will give you enough titles for a full display, especially if you add past book club picks. 

The next title they are reading is London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. They have suggested resources on the announcement page. I've tried to include gift links here, by the way. 

Unshelve Your Weird Girl Fiction

 According to BookRiot, there is a new book trend which has developed on TikTok - Weird Girl Fiction. They describe it as: 

In fact, there’s a new one that has recently emerged on TikTok, no less: weird girl fiction, or weird girl lit. Weird girl fiction is commonly defined as books that elicit “unhinged female rage” and “transgress social norms.”

 While the terms can be problematic, these novels exhibit an unconventional, unhinged, or dark tone. In My Year of Rest and Relaxation, isolation and self-destruction are the central themes. 

There are some books listed in their article but I will include some more below. Because it crosses and blends genres, it also is part of the greater trend of genre blending. 

Reddit has a entire subreddit about it - https://www.reddit.com/r/weirdgirlliterature/ The image at the top of the subreddit can give you inspiration for your signage. 

Here are some other lists to help get you started: 

Daniel Boone Regional Library: Weird Girl Fiction

The Spinoff: What is ‘weird girl lit’ – and why is it trending right now?

Instagram: The Definitive Weird Girl Lit Reading Guide

Henrico County Public Library: Weird Girl Fiction 

Crime Reads: Weird Girl Lit Galore: 10 Novels

Denver Public Library : Weird Girl Fiction

Goodreads: Weird Woman Fiction

Unshelve With Your Area Code

 The local tourism marketing organization for my county is among the groups who encourage locals to celebrate "727" on July 27. This is our area code and the idea is to celebrate the local culture, history, and community.  There are local deals and so forth available to those who live within the county. 

You can take this idea and pick a week that matches your own area code.  Use it to focus on books about local history, culture and food. For some places (Maine, New Hampshire) there is one area code for the state which gives you many options. For others, it may be limited to a city. 

Set up a display with signage that echoes the date (Celebrating [area code]). With some planning, it may be possible to involve local businesses. Local bakeries or coffee shops can recommend books or do pairings with different treats or drinks. This can be posted in the library as well as in their establishments. Ask local civic, government, and community leaders for their reading suggestions and use that as a social media post or display. 

This is a great theme to take out of your library, unshelving the library to your community. There are always people who need to be reminded about the services and items your library offers. Bringing information about your digital services is a great topic for this sort of unshelving. This will increase your users and those who are invested in your library. 

Don't forget to look outside of any special local collection you have to include fiction by authors from the area,  biographies of people from the area, and non-fiction related to your area. If you have movies filmed locally or about local issues in your collection, add them as well. 

Unshelve with the Upcoming Anthony Bourdain Biopic "Tony"

 The late Anthony Bourdain has become a cultural icon. With the upcoming release of the bio pic "Tony"  it's a good time to use his popularity to bring some attention to your collection. If you don't have his book Kitchen Confidential, I would order a copy or so before the August 7 release of the movie. On July 28, Bloomsbury Publishing will re-release his three crime novels in a single collection. 

Beyond checking your collection for his books and for No Reservations on DVD, you can set up a book display or online booklist focused on read-alikes for Kitchen Confidential. There are some suggestions on these lists: 

What Should I Read Next? 
Reddit - What should I read if I liked kitchen confidential?

                Books similar in themes to kitchen confidential

                Books like Kitchen Confidential but not necessarily related to the cooking world? Or like Tim Rogers' videos?

                 Other travel writers with a similar style to Anthony Bourdain?

 Instagram - Books Like Kitchen Confidential

Book Browse - Books Like Kitchen Confidential

Fodor's Travel - 10 Books to Read if You Miss Anthony Bourdain’s Writing as Much as We Do

Meet New Books - Books Like Kitchen Confidential

                                  Books Like A Cook's Tour

My Favorite Writers’ Favorite Books: Anthony Bourdain

Chicago Public Library - Top Picks: Books by or Featuring Anthony Bourdain

A display like this can also include travel and cookbooks about the places which Bourdain featured on his show or books by and about other famous chefs.