Well, this year’s Winter Reading Challenge is drawing to a close.  Over the last two months, we have had a lot of fun reading new things – we hope you have too!  We are now in the home stretch, so if you are looking for a few “quick read” suggestions to pad your game card before turning it in, try these categories:

Read a book that is less than 200 pages

The pleasures of a short book cannot be denied – from the feeling of accomplishment when you finish it so quickly to the sense of admiration for the author who has managed to tell a great story in 200 pages or less.  For me, Stephen King is the master of the novella.  I always marvel how he can capture my imagination (and usually scare me!) in just a few pages.  Many popular authors have tried their hand at the short format.  You can find titles by Sandra Cisneros,  Lorrie Moore,  Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Jenny Offill, George Saunders and more.  Or do you want to try something new?  If you browse our shelves for those thin spines. something is sure to strike your fancy!

Read a graphic novel

Graphic novels are a very popular storytelling format – great stories, beautiful illustrations, quick reads – what is not to like?  Even better, there is a graphic novel for every reading taste.  Do you like classics?  Try The Handmaid’s Tale, The Parable of the Sower, or To Kill a Mockingbird.  How about books about animals?  Fetch will make you cry and How To Tell If You’re Cat Is Plotting To Kill You will make you laugh.  Maybe nonfiction is your thing?  We have biographies (my two favorites: Radioactive and The Life of Frederick Douglass), memoirs, and history.  And if superheroes and zombies are more your thing, we have you covered!

Remember, game cards are due back by Friday March 4th.   We look forward to learning what you have been reading this winter!