I approached my library summer reading programs with the goal of reading lighter things, but also to read a variety of different kinds of things. I sometimes find that I read the same types of books, and my goal was to get out of my comfort zone a little bit. It was a mini-challenge for the five or six weeks of the summer.
For one the programs, I succeeded in reading books that didn’t count for any other challenge. For the other, I just kept track of the books that I read; they did count for other challenges. I tried to have a variety of books, and I did. It was fun.
Library Program A
For the first program (my home library), I tried to read a variety of genres. The books counted for “challenges,” but I tried to name a variety of books among those that I counted for the program. I got a coffee mug and got entered in to a drawing for a free book.
- The Words We Live By by Linda Monk (nonfiction; Dewey Decimal Challenge)
- Wit by Margaret Edson (drama; Summer Lovin’ Challenge)
- The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (fiction; Martel-Harper Challenge; Nobel and Pulitzer Prize; audiobook)
- A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (memoir; Spice of Life Challenge)
- Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (fiction; Spice of Life Challenge)
- The Door by Margaret Atwood (poetry; Martel-Harper Challenge)
Library Program B
For the second program (the library at which I volunteer), I only counted books that didn’t count for a reading “challenge” that I’d already joined: this was to be my own personal challenge. Optionally, I had to read books in certain categories, and I succeeded in doing so. It was fun finding out-of-challenge books for each category! I got a free book (selected from the Friends of the Library books rack): Saturday by Ian McEwan.
- Africa: Historical Fiction, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Schaeffer and Barrows (fiction)
- North America: Book of choice, The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean (fiction)
- Antartica: Audiobook, The John Cheever Audio Collection (short stories)
- Asia: Mystery or Suspense/Thriller,The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King (fiction)
- Australia: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (YA fiction)
- Europe: Book of Romance or Poetry,The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (YA fiction)
- South America: Biography,Twenty Years at Hull-House by Jane Addams (memoir)
Congrats on finishing and your prizes.
Quick question – why does Uglies count as for Australia? I know Westerfeld lives part of the year in Australia because that’s where his wife is from, but he’s from Texas and Uglies takes place in the western US. ? I’m just curious what the country association is.
Nice job!
Lezlie
Amanda, I don’t think the countries have anything to do with the books — just with the subjects. So Australia was Sci Fi/Fantasy because Australia was home to “unique animals and plants” and sci-fi/fantasy is “unique.” So library’s categories, yeah, were kind of a stretch 🙂
Way to go! You got them done with time to spare!
That’s…strange. Kind of funny, actually. 🙂
I am so jealous that you got to participate in not just one but two library programs for which you even got prizes! I wish my library had a reading program for adults like that. They have a great one for teens, where they get a free book for doing 3 book reviews. Wouldn’t that be fantastic??
Jessica, yeah it was fun! The first one I had to be a part of the library (my home library) but the other one is a smaller library, so they were happy I joined in. That’s really sad your library doesn’t do an adult program. It is fun! Can’t imagine: a prize after three books?! Wow.