2023 Massachusetts Reading Challenge

You may have heard about the 2023 Reading Challenge being hosted by the Massachusetts Center for the Book – maybe someone you know is doing it – and maybe you’d thought, “It’s already August – too late for me to join.” Not true! You can start participating any time according to the FAQ on the Challenge’s website.

The folks at Mass Center for the Book have assigned a category of book to each month. So, for example, January was a book under 100 pages; February was a book set in your home town/city; July was any book from your local library, and so on…. The reader signs up for the challenge and then can submit a comment about the book they read each month. Joining at any time during 2023 allows you to participate in the year-end celebration hosted by Mass Center for the Book.

We see the Challenge as a source of inspiration – a way of answering the perennial question of “What do I read next” (especially when your TBR list is endless like ours). And to help you whittle down that vast list of possibilities even further, your librarians have book suggestions for each month’s challenge on display on the stairs leading to the 2nd floor of the library, near the Avon St. entrance.

August’s challenge is to read a book in translation, but if translation conjures up thoughts of musty Russian philosophers or another edition of Beowulf, don’t forget that some of your favorites like Frederik Backman (A Man Called Ove), Marie Kondo (The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up), Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Elena Ferrante (My Brilliant Friend) all came to you in English courtesy of a great translator.

Check out some suggestions for fabulous translated books in the graphic below. Just click on the cover to place a hold. But this is just a taster of what we have to offer. Drop by the library to pick up a suggestion for August or any of the other remaining months of 2023 from the Avon Street stairwell display. And, of course, you can always come to the Reference Desk, where our favorite thing to do is talk with you about books!