Collection Management

Hush-Hush by Stuart Woods tops library holds lists this week. More best-of 2020 books lists are out from The Atlantic, HuffPost, and Vogue. Time offers a look at what happens when copyright on The Great Gatsby expires Jan. 1. The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk will be adapted by the creator of The Shield, and a limited series of Sex and the City may be in the works. Plus, remembering author Barry Lopez, who died at age 75.

The longlists for the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards are out. Finalists will be announced in Feb. A film adaptation of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is in the works. Adaptations being released this week include The Midnight Sky, News of the World, Wonder Woman 1984, and Bridgerton. Plus, The New Republic looks into ebook licensing at school libraries.

Roxane Gay is launching The Audacious Book Club in 2021. The first read for January is Black Futures edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham. More best-of 2020 book lists are out from CrimeReads, BuzzFeed, the CBC, and others. Read excerpts of Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman and Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe by Dr. Bonnie Henry and Lynn Henry. Plus, adaptation news about The School For Good And Evil series by Soman Chainani.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett leads 2020 checkouts at the New York Public Library. Toaster Oven Perfection by America's Test Kitchen tops library holds lists this week. The January issue of Entertainment Weekly is out, featuring reviews of The Push by Ashley Audrain and Girl A by Abigail Dean. Above the Ether by Eric Barnes wins the best novel category for the 2020 Darrell Awards. Sarah Polley will direct and Frances McDormand will produce and star in the film adaptation of Women Talking by Miriam Toews.

Barack Obama's 17 favorite books of the year include Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Deacon King Kong by James McBride, and Jack by Marilynne Robinson. BOMB looks at new titles released by small and independent presses during 2020, plus other best-of lists from the L.A. Times, CrimeReads, Book Riot, and more. The audiobook version of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders has a star-studded narration. Jennifer Lopez is producing and starring in a feature adaptation of The Cipher by Isabella Maldonado for Netflix.

Paul Farmer, Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History, wins the $1 million 2020 Berggruen Prize. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's new book, Persist, will be out April 20, 2021. More lists of the best books of the year arrive from Town & Country, CrimeReads, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Read excerpts of Godspeed by Nickolas Butler and This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron. Plus, adaptation news about His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, and more.

Best sellers in medicine, December 2019 to date, as identified by GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO.

Jay-Z's Roc Nation is partnering with Random House on the new imprint Roc Lit 101, and the first releases will be memoirs by former Yankee CC Sabathia and music journalist Danyel Smith. The January Library Reads list is out, with The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins as the number one pick. More lists of the best books of 2020 arrive from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, The A.V. Club, Slate, Vox, and more. MLA gives its 2020 First Book award to The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States by Derrick R. Spires. Plus, news on adaptations of Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution by P. W. Singer and August Cole, and more.

Lit Hub looked at 41 best-of lists that recommended 952 books to calculate "The Ultimate Best Books of 2020 List," and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett takes the top spot. More best-of lists are in from Vulture, CrimeReads, and BookPage. There's forthcoming book news from DC about a Batman anthology series, and from Henry Holt on Gabriel Debenedetti's book about the relationship between Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Also, see new trailers for Nomadland and Bridgerton.