LibraryThing: State of the Thing - January

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the January State of the Thing! We wish you a Happy New Year, and hope that 2024 brings you many great books to read! In this issue we share some LibraryThing milestones, highlight our 2024 Challenge groups, present our 2023 Top Titles in Public Libraries, give a shout out to all of our wonderful helpers, and serve up lots and lots of book world news, all of our regular columns, and 3,129 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter, [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram, and [librarythingofficial](librarythingofficial) on Threads for news and updates. LibraryThing Milestones and Updates LibraryThing keeps on growing, and it’s all thanks to our many active members! Recently the 200 millionth book was cataloged over on the site, as newly-joined member [maughan_ben33]( added a copy of [A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories]( by [Flannery O’Connor](. The book was added this past Saturday, January 21st, at 2:54 pm EST. We’ve also recently hit another site milestone, as [decaturmamaof2]( added our 5 millionth review, of [The Name of All Things]( by [Jenn Lyons](. We’ve reached out to both of these members to thank them for providing these milestones to the site, and to offer them some LibraryThing swag as a prize. In the [December issue]( of State of the Thing we introduced our new [LibraryThing Year in Review]( reports, highlighting what members have contributed to LibraryThing over the course of the year, including what they've read and added. Now that 2023 is actually over, these reports have been regenerated, in order to take all of the information from last year into account. Be sure to check out your own [Year in Review]( report, for a full record of your 2023 LibraryThing activity. LibraryThing’s annual [Holiday Store]( closed earlier in the month, on Epiphany (January 6th), but we still have some of our Holiday Bundles—the classic “LibraryThing Love” Bundle, the Sticker Bundle and the Pin Bundle—left. [Order some now](, while supplies last! 2024 Challenge Groups Every month we like to highlight the conversations going on in [Groups](. This month we’re devoting The Talk of LibraryThing column to some of our 2024 Challenge groups. If you have a specific reading goal—reading X number of books in a given year, increasing the national diversity of the authors you read, catching up on reading some of those books you already own—then a reading challenge may be just what you need. LibraryThing boasts quite a few groups devoted specifically to challenges (see some of our latest ones below), and a number of other, more general groups that include a challenge element. This time of year always sees a huge surge of activity around challenges, so come check out what’s available, and see if you want to join in the fun! - [75 Books Challenge for 2024](: In its 16th year, this group welcomes all who are interested in challenging themselves to read at least 75 books over the course of 2024. They offer monthly themes and an active membership. - [Club Read 2024](: “Thoughtful readers” can share what they are reading and draw inspiration from others in this “warm reading hub.” Participants can track their own reading, and can join group discussions hosted by long-time members. - [2024 Category Challenge](: This free-form group allows members to choose their own categories, and create personalized challenges for themselves. They also host optional year-long themed reads called CATs and KITs, as well as a BingoDOG. - [2024 ROOT Challenge](: Members here devote themselves to ROOT— Reading Our Own Tomes—as part of the eternal struggle against unread books in their own libraries. Individuals have goals to meet, and so does the group as a whole. - [100 Books in 2024 Challenge](: The readers in this group are determined to tackle one hundred books over the course of one year. Each member has their own thread to track their progress. - [2024 BIG FAT BOOK CHALLENGE](: Massive tomes and very long reads are the focus in this challenge group, as members track their progress reading books that are at least five hundred pages. In an effort to make our list of active groups each week more interesting, Tim recently reconfigured our algorithm. You can read more about that, and join the discussion, [over in Talk](. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! 2023 Top Titles in Public Libraries See the full chart: [Top Syndetics Unbound Titles of 2023]( 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 2023. The most popular book of the year was [Lessons in Chemistry]( by [Bonnie Garmus](, 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 2023 library titles in Australia, Canada and the UK have [also been compiled](. Lists of [Top Titles in Public Libraries by Genre]( have also been compiled, with some interesting (but perhaps not-so-surprising) results. Bird and Sherwin’s [American Prometheus]( (2005) found its way onto both the History and Memoir lists, due to the recent film, [Oppenheimer](. [Colleen Hoover]( dominated the Romance list. Prince Harry's [Spare]( was the only non-fiction book to appear on both a Genre list, and our list of overall top books for the year. Children's Books, Picture Books and Food/Cooking were dominated by perennial favorites. Come take a look at our [Genre lists](, and be sure to join the discussion about them [over in Talk](. 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 ten were Harry Potter books.) 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. LibraryThing Helpers What is LibraryThing without its members? LibraryThing has some of the best people around, helping to improve the site for themselves and for the larger community—making us the best bookish site out there. From dedicated helper groups like [Combiners!]( and [Spam Fighters!](, to the guidance provided by long-time members when newcomers have questions in [Talk About LibraryThing](, [Frequently Asked Questions]( or [Bug Collectors](, our members are always helping out. They add an enormous amount of valuable information to the site, filling out Common Knowledge fields on author and book work pages, adding cover images and author photographs, and improving features such as [Series](Nseries_controller), [Recommendations]( and [Awards](. Roll of Honor. Each month we call out some of the top contributors from the last month. So… special thanks this time go to [bismarckfairy]( (work combiners and series edits), [starbookworm]( (work combiners), [mitchellmom]( (edition separators and work author edits), [BarryBob]( (cover uploading), [GwynethM]( (work author edits and work relationships), [Brett-Woywood]( (author picture contributors and Common Knowledge contributors), [DuncanHill]( (author “never”-ers), [geophile]( (tag combiners), [bluedream]( (series edits), [labfs39]( (publisher series edits), [davidgn]( (Awards and Honors), [tlbiii]( (Awards and Honors), [Ghost_Boy]( (Common Knowledge contributors), [Heather39]( (all helper voting), [itstheblob]( (rating recommendations), and [belpalichka]( (translation). Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [Ruthless Vows]( by [Rebecca Ross]( - [Iron Flame]( by [Rebecca Yarros]( - [First Lie Wins]( by [Ashley Elston]( - [The Fury]( by [Alex Michaelides]( - [Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning]( by [Liz Cheney]( - [The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store]( by [James McBride]( - [Sanctuary of the Shadow]( by [Aurora Ascher]( - [Holmes, Marple & Poe]( by [James Patterson]( - [The Mystery Guest]( by [Nita Prose]( - [Last Night]( by [Luanne Rice]( - [The Atlas Complex]( by [Olivie Blake]( - [Mercury]( by [Amy Jo Burns]( - [The Bad Weather Friend]( by [Dean Koontz]( - [The Frozen River]( by [Ariel Lawhon]( - [Upside Down]( by [Danielle Steel]( - [Heartstopper: Volume 5]( by [Alice Oseman]( - [The Woman In Me]( by [Britney Spears]( - [The Night Island]( by [Jayne Ann Krentz]( - [Prophet Song]( by [Paul Lynch]( - [Divine Rivals]( by [Rebecca Ross]( 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 [Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage](, a previously unpublished third novel from the celebrated author, transcribed and edited by [Jessica Hooten Wilson]( and offered by [Brazos Press](; veteran and activist [Ron Kovic’s]( [A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy](, the third entry in the [Vietnam Trilogy](, offered by [Akashic Books](; and [The Pollutant Speaks]( by [Alex Cochran](, a futuristic work of science fiction, and our very first offering from [Bee Orchid Press](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [Someone Is Always Watching]( [The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple]( [A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy]( [Under a Neon Sun]( [The Pancake Problem]( [Flannery OConnor's Why Do the Heathen Rage: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress]( [Trash: A Poor White Journey]( [The Pollutant Speaks]( [My Vietnam, Your Vietnam: A Father Flees. A Daughter Returns. A Dual Memoir]( [Shared Blood]( [The Bloodstained Key]( [Would You Rather? Book for Kids 8-12: 350 Challenging Questions, Silly Scenarios, and Hilarious Situations]( [Trondheim]( [Atlantis Splitting]( [Questions for Kids Travel Edition: Icebreakers and Conversation Starters for Road Trips, Family Travel, Camping, School Breaks, and More]( [The Everlasting Road]( [Happy Healthy Wealthy and Wise: A Daily Companion Guide for Ordinary People Who Want Extraordinary Lives]( [Ulfhildr]( [Roux]( [A Vision in Crimson]( Our January batch of Early Reviewers has 3,129 copies of 151 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 Italian philosopher [Antonio Negri](, who spent a number of years in prison for his political writing and activities, and who was co-author of the best-selling [Empire]( (2000), a Marxist look at globalization after the end of the Cold War, [has died at 90](. Negri first came to widespread public attention in the late 1960s when, as a professor at the University of Padua, he helped to co-found Potere Operaio (Worker Power), a far left political group that eventually gave rise to the anti-capitalist Autonomist movement, of which Negri was considered the premier proponent. Many believed him to be the intellectual leader of the terrorist Red Brigades, who in 1978 kidnapped and murdered former prime minister Aldo Moro. Arrested in connection to this case in 1979, Negri was imprisoned for four years without trial, during which time he began to write about the work of Dutch philosopher [Baruch Spinoza](. Winning his release through his election to Parliament, Negri fled the country and lived in exile in France for a number of years, before returning to Italy in 1997 to serve out the remainder of a reduced sentence. It was while he was in prison that he and his co-author [Michael Hardt]( completed the immensely influential [Empire](, going on to publish two sequels together: [Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire]( (2004) and [Commonwealth]( (2009). Other recent losses in the book world: - [Joan Acocella](, American dance critic and author, [has died at 78](. - [Terry Bisson](, American science fiction author, [has died at 81](. - [Fred Chappell](, American author, poet and academic, [has died at 87](. - [Norman H. Finkelstein](, American children’s author and librarian, [has died at 82](. - [Kim Flottum](, American beekeeper, researcher and author, [has died at 76](. - [Bill Granger](, Australian chef, restaurateur and food writer, [has died at 54](. - [Dan Greenburg](, American author, humorist and journalist, [has died at 87](. - [Robie H. Harris](, American children’s author and educator, [has died at 83](. - [Colleen J. McElroy](, American poet and short story writer, [has died at 88](. - [Mbongeni Ngema](, South African playwright and composer, [has died at 68](. - [K.M. Peyton](, British children’s and young adult author, [has died at 94](. - [Herman Raucher](, American author and screenwriter, [has died at 95](. - [John C.G. Röhl](, British historian and academic, [has died at 85](. - [David J. Skal](, American historian, author and horror critic, [has died at 71](. - [Dale Spender](, Australian feminist author and scholar, [has died at 80](. - [Howard Waldrop](, American science fiction author, [has died at 77](. Freedom of Expression We chronicled the terrible knife attack on author [Salman Rushdie]( in our [September 2022 issue]( of State of the Thing, PEN America honoring him with the [PEN Centenary Courage Award]( in our [June 2023 issue]( and his [receipt of a Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award]( at a literary event hosted by the Václav Havel Center in New York in our recent [December 2023 issue](. It has now emerged that the trial of his attacker has [been delayed](, with the judge ruling that a copy of Rushdie’s forthcoming memoir detailing his experience of the attack, [Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder](, must be provided to the defendant, in order to allow him to prepare his defense. The memoir is due out from Random House this coming April. In Texas, [the lawsuit concerning the recent book-rating law](, HB 900, which would require book vendors to rate the titles that they sell for sexual content, with those being marked as explicit to be excluded from school libraries—see our earlier coverage in the [September 2023]( [October 2023]( and [December 2023]( issues of State of the Thing—has reached a possible conclusion, with the Fifth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals [upholding an earlier decision]( from a lower court to block specific provisions of the law. In Florida, a judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought last year by PEN America and Penguin Random House against the Escambia County school district—see our reporting in the [May 2023 issue]( of State of the Thing—alleging that the district engaged in “unconstitutional book bans,” [can go ahead](. The decision comes some months after [a temporary stay on the case]( that was issued this past August. According to [a recent report in The Washington Post](, the books pulled in Escambia County include numerous dictionaries and reference titles. In Iowa, a judge has [blocked two portions of SF 496](, a recent state law which prevents books with sexual content from being included in school libraries, and which prohibits discussion of sexuality and gender identity in classrooms with students below the seventh grade. In his 49-page opinion, judge Stephen Locher criticized the law for being “incredibly broad,” and noted that it was unlikely to satisfy the First Amendment. Book World News: Awards Awards and Prizes. Jamaican poet [Jason Allen-Paisant]( has been [named the winner]( of the 2023 [T.S. Eliot Prize](, given annually to the best new poetry collection published in the UK or Ireland, for his [Self-Portrait as Othello](, which also won the [Forward Poetry Prize]( for Best Collection. The judges praised the book for its “large ambitions,” which are “met with great imaginative capacity, freshness and technical flair.” Also in the UK, King Charles’ second [New Years Honours]( list has recently been released, and the bookish honorees include authors [Jilly Cooper](, [Kate Mosse](, [Charlie Mackesy](, and [Alexander McCall Smith](, as well as [Libraries Connected]( president Carole Stump. The 2023 recipients of the [New Zealand Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement](, managed by Creative New Zealand and selected by the Arts Council, [have been named](. The winner in the Fiction category was horror and speculative fiction author [Lee Murray](, while indigenous studies scholar [Linda Tuhiwai Smith]( won in the Non-fiction category. In the Poetry category, the winner was poet, performer and children’s author [Tusiata Avia](. American author and philanthropist [David Baldacci]( has been [named as the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion](, an honor bestowed annually in recognition of literacy advocacy. In addition to being the author of more than sixty books, Baladacci is the co-founder of the [Wish You Well Foundation](, which supports many literacy programs throughout the United States, and is one of the sponsors of the [Mark Twain American Voices in Literature Award](. The 2024 [Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature](, more commonly known as “The Walters,” [have been given out in two categories](: Teen and Younger Readers. In the Teen category the winner was [Ari Tison]( for [Saints of the Household](, while [All the Fighting Parts]( by [Hannah V. Sawyer]( was given an Honor. In the Young Readers category [Remember Us]( by [Jacqueline Woodson]( was the winner, while [Grounded]( by [Aisha Saeed]( was awarded an Honor. The winner of the 2023 [Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation](, an annual award given to an English translation of a full-length work originally published in Arabic, [has been announced](, with [Luke Leafgren]( taking home the honor for his translation of [Najwá Barakāt’s]( [Mister N](. Leafgren has won the prize once before, for his work on [Muḥsin RamlÄ«’s]( [The President’s Gardens](. Additional Award News This Month: Winners. [The Crook’s Corner Book Prize]( | [The Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature]( | [The Moore Prize]( | [The Pacific Northwest Book Award]( | [The Silvers-Dudley Prizes]( Shortlists/Finalists. [The Edgar Award]( | [The Hans Christian Andersen Award]( | [Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize]( | [The Story Prize]( | [The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards]( | [The Writers Prize]( Other Book World News Library and Literary News In last month’s issue of State of the Thing we reported that ebook vendor OverDrive had [released a list]( of the most borrowed digital books on Libby, their popular library reading app. The most borrowed fiction ebook was [Verity]( by [Colleen Hoover](, while the most borrowed nonfiction ebook was [Spare]( by [Prince Harry](. OverDrive has now reported that [2023 was a record-breaking year for digital library loans](, with an increase of 19% from 2022 circulation. 662 million ebooks, digital audiobooks and digital magazines were borrowed worldwide, with 152 library systems reporting more than one million digital loans. We’re pleased to report that the [New York Public Library](—the fourth-largest library in the world—which was recently hit with [budget cuts]( that necessitated [closing all locations on Sundays](, has been [spared any further cuts](. In a statement, New York City mayor Eric Adams said that “libraries are a lifeline to countless communities and a great equalizer.” In England, [a recent review]( conducted for Culture, Media and Sport minister Stephen Parkinson on the state of libraries found that these institutions were suffering from “a lack of recognition” from the government, and “a lack of awareness” on the part of the general public. The review proposes the creation of a libraries minister, among other measures to correct the situation. The [Los Angeles Public Library](, in the meantime, is [branching out into book publishing](, announcing that it had acquired [Angel City Press]( through donation, and that it would henceforth be known as Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library. The press publishes five to eight books per year, with eight planned for 2024. Bookselling and Publishing [Print book sales fell 2.6%]( in the United States in 2023, a lower decrease than industry experts were predicting last summer, when sales were steadily falling. In the UK, [sales value increased by 1.3%](, due in large part to an increase in selling prices, but sales volume fell by 5%. Sales in the German book market [fell by 1.9%](, although turnover was up by 2.9%. In past issues of State of the Thing we have reported on various lawsuits brought against OpenAI and other artificial intelligence companies—see our coverage of the wider issue in the [January 2023]( [February 2023]( [March 2023]( [April 2023]( and [December 2023]( issues. It now emerges that the [New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft](, alleging copyright infringement in those companies’ use of the NYT’s intellectual property in training their AI tools. In the United States, a number of celebrated books [entered into the public domain]( on January 1st of this year, including A.A. Milne’s [The House at Pooh Corner](, Agatha Christie’s [The Mystery of the Blue Train](, D.H. Lawrence’s [Lady Chatterley’s Lover](, and Virginia Woolf’s [Orlando: A Biography](. The University of Pennsylvania maintains [an online catalog of U.S. copyright entries](, for readers interested in checking whether a specific title is currently within the public domain. 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 and [tinycat_lib](tinycat_lib) on Threads for the latest TinyCat news, and be sure to check out [LibraryThing’s Youtube channel]( for a range of TinyCat tutorials. 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. Past issues of State of the Thing are available in our [SOTT Archive](. 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](.