Beth the Book Buying Librarian

PUBLISHERS-- submit your works for awards. ALWAYS and for every award.

Also HWA members-- the rec list is NOT a submission to the Jury. Those are recs by members. They matter, but getting your book in front of the jury matters more. SELF SUBMIT!

bramstokerawards.horror.org/submissions/

Movie you have seen more than six times, gifs only.

Screenshot of author trend that starts "If you see this, it's a sign to post the first page of your book so readers can get hooked"

Just spent a solid hour going through first book pages on Threads thanks to a delightful trend. Impressive marketing authors!
Not sure who started it, but thanks!

"that asshole Kobach" is exactly how we refer to him in our Kansan house too.

Buy audiobooks & support local bookstores Libro.fm makes it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through local bookstores.

Side note: I have a meeting with the team from Libro.fm (independent of this to talk about what they can do for libraries). Also, I have never had anything close to the kind of following that would merrit advertisements so this is literally me gushing about them independently.

Screen shot of Libro.fm's promotion raising money for booksellers impacted by the LA wildfires.

I got Libro.fm about a week ago just to try a (for my personal collection) alternative to Audible.com. Our Library still has Libby. BUT all I'm saying is that I've been consistently impressed by them and @farrahrochon.bsky.social continues to be a rockstar who supports people in need.

Cover art for Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage. Book is a cozy mystery featuring the golden girls.

Everything else on my TBR is taking a back seat to this beauty. Just got an early copy. Thank you for being a friend #Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue. Release date is 4/15/25.

Yep. I've been hoarding Blu-Rays and physical books the last few years. I know that the day when I can't reasonably afford all the subscription services is coming soon.

The workds 25 in 2025 in fron tof a background of fireworks. Subtitle reads: Next year's resolution is to reread 25 books I have loved!

I generally only believe in New Year's resolutions that I wanted to do anyway. So with that in mind, my 2025 resolution is to reread 25 books I remember loving. I finish around 50 books each year so half 2025 is all about old favorites.

Cover Art of The Most Wnderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

My hardest Christmas decision each year is what to read the night of Christmas Eve. BIG, HUGE thanks to Under the Cover (the Romance indie bookstore) for having a copy of THE book that my friends have been talking about all season. I present:

Do I check out library books? Obviously.
Did I send my local Indie bookstore a list of ISBNs for books I want for my personal collection? Yep!
Excitedly awaiting my Christmas present to myself! Buying indie makes me super happy!

No notes. Standing ovation only.

Photo of Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London.

My current read is absolute fangirl candy. The heroine finds out the characters of her favorite vampire book series are real and she's got to help them get back to our world.

Side note: My dad's elderly Shih Tzu and our dog are warming up to one another.

Cover of Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Finished my last "homework" (or book for a work project) of the year and I'm starting my New Year's resolution early. Rereading 25 books I loved in 2025. First up, my favorite YA vampire series!

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Tell Me More: Romance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Get your romance and fantasy fix! Moderator and Kansas librarian Beth Atwater welcomes authors Kristin Cast, Chantal Gadoury, Jessi Elliott, Sarah Hawley, Juliette Cross, and Kritika H. Rao to discuss...

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Ad for BroDart panel. Featuring Kristin Cast, Chantal Gadoury, Jessi Elliott, Sarah Hawley, Juliette Cross, and Kritika H. Rao.

Fellow Librarians: I'm hosting an online panel today that's free. Apologies for the short notice, but we'll be talking Romantasy with six authors who have first in series titles out now or around the corner. BroDart is sponsoring this for library staff and I'll post a link to the registration below.

I'm constantly surprised by how poorly we (as an industry) handle educating authors about how we buy. So many don't know we use the same wholesale retailers that bookstores use.

I know middlemen are irritating, but we buy in volume and paying retail for a book because it's on Amazon or available for order directly from the author is a luxury most of us can't afford. #Booksky #Library

As usual, the answer is continuing education about vendor services and how libraries buy books. Conventions, street teams, and social media are great marketing, but it doesn't matter much if I can't get the book through Ingram, BroDart, or Baker & Taylor. #Booksky #library

For the second time in one week, I've been invited to a meeting with vendors to discuss how they can help libraries access indie authors. A thread. #Booksky #library

Cover art of Until the Last Page by Chantal Gadoury.

Checking social media and logging in to show off my current read.

Well this is the most adorable thing I've seen on social media today. I went straight to Etsy.

Cover art for A Rebel Without Claws.

Current read is A Rebel without claws by Juliette Cross. Feb 11, 2025 release date. So far it's got a werewolf, a witch, and some romance. I love the Romantasy trend, but its nice to get back to the kind of paranormal romances/urban fantasy I read pre-SJM.

My dad's dog enjoying her couch privileges.

I've been staying with my dad a lot this year as his health has declined and I need #Booksky to understand how badly I now need a cozy mystery series about an elderly Marine and his elderly Shih Tzu solving crimes and watching Rockford Files reruns. Somebody write this!

I just want an eInk eReader with buttons that gives me the same joy as the Kindle Oasis while running on Android. Boox Go Color is stalking me on the Internet, BUT I returned the Boox Palma so maybe I should give a different company a chance. Anyone got a button friendly eReader they love? #Booksky

Adding it to my watchlist based on this tweet! Thanks!

Black and white Shih Tzu begging for an onion ring she'll never get.

Up against my self-imposed social media limit so I leave you with an oldie, but goodie photo of our first dog. She had the BEST puppy dog eyes for begging.

Finished my holiday shopping online today and I feel this post in my soul. I spend one day shopping and a month hitting unsubscribe to recover from junk emails.