Summer is right around the corner, and The Westport Library is once again turning up the heat on reading with the return of our Kids’ Summer Reading Program and Adult Summer Reading Challenge! Whether you’re a seasoned challenger or a first-time reader, there’s plenty of fun for people of all ages in this year’s ultimate page-turning season.
Kids’ Summer Reading Program
From June 1 through September 1, kids of all ages are invited to participate in our Summer Reading Program, sponsored by the Bridgeport Islanders.
Join the club and read anything, anytime, anywhere all summer long. Hone literary skills while earning free books and a chance to win a special prize! Every minute counts, and every reader wins.
Register online and log your minutes read. Each registered reader will be given a bingo card to fill out as they read.
Read and log 500 minutes to choose and take home a free book from our prize cart. Earn another free book for every 1,000 minutes logged OR for scoring a “bingo” on a bingo card. Complete the entire bingo card and be entered into a special drawing to win four tickets to the Bridgeport Islanders’ opening game this October!
Adult Summer Reading Challenge
The 9th Annual Adult Summer Reading Challenge is back and better than ever, running June 2 through August 29.
If you’ve participated in our past reading challenges, you’ll be familiar with the rules — and if this is your first time joining us, we're thrilled to have you!
Between longtime bookworms, returning champions, and challenge newcomers alike, enjoy 25 brand new categories that will inspire your reading list. Brave them all or just one — as long as you have fun reading.
The rules are simple and there are only two:
Once you've finished a book that fits a category, you can submit it through the form on our website. Track your progress on our leaderboard, where you can follow the challenge’s rankings and see what other participants are reading.
You can also join your fellow readers in our Westport Reading Challenge Facebook Group to talk books, share recommendations, and stay motivated throughout the challenge. Connect with a good book — and your community!
If you’re still unsure about joining in on the summer fun, trust the reviews from our past year’s participants:
"It was really gratifying to see what everyone has read and to challenge myself to read as much as my friends!"
"This challenge was very impressive! I loved that you could see other people's suggestions."
"I look to see what is suggested by the library as well as what other participants are reading. I am continuing to read the authors I have discovered as a result."
Step out of your comfort zone and ignite your love for reading this summer!
Read With Us!
From picture books to beach reads, to epic journeys and everything in between, The Westport Library challenges you to find your new favorite book this summer. Don’t miss out on the fun!
The start of June means summer is on the horizon, and The Westport Library has a pair of challenges to make sure any and every reader — of any and every age — has the opportunity to bury their nose in a book during the year’s warmest months.
So, whether you’re looking for something to read on vacation, at the beach, or on your couch, or whether you want to make sure your kids or grandkids stay sharp and build their literacy skills during the break, we have a challenge and a club for you.
Adult Summer Reading Challenge
The 8th Annual Adult Summer Reading Challenge runs June 1 through August 31.
The rules are the same as past challenges, this year with a fresh round of 25 categories (the categories will be unveiled June 1). You can do all of them or only one, or anything in between, just as long as you have fun reading!
The rules are simple and there are only two:
Once you have read a book that fulfills a category, you can submit it via the form on our website (also available starting June 1) and track your progress on our leaderboard.
The leaderboard is where you can see what everyone else is reading and give recommendations to our community of readers. You can also join our Westport Reading Challenge Facebook Group and talk books all summer long.
Why should you join the challenge? Because as Rita L., one of last year’s participants, said: “The Westport Library’s Summer Reading Challenge is one of the best in the state! I love seeing what everyone else is reading and getting ideas about books that I end up LOVING but never would have read otherwise! Reading is my favorite hobby, and the Summer Reading Challenge takes me to the next level every year!”
Kids’ Summer Reading Club 2024
Starting Saturday, June 1, children may sign up for our Summer Reading Program, which continues through Labor Day weekend, wrapping up September 2.
Read anything, anytime, anywhere all summer long.
Register online and keep track of minutes read. For every 100 minutes, you can decorate a summer sun that will be displayed in the Library. Earn a treat from Shake Shack at 500 minutes. When you reach 1,000 minutes, you can choose a book to keep from our selection of titles.
For more summer fun and prizes, stop in the Children’s Library to play summer bingo and earn more free books.
Heyo, Readers! Get ready for the Library’s 8th Annual Adult Summer Reading Challenge, your chance to saddle up and out-read your competition.
If you have participated in the past, welcome back — the rules are all the same. If this is your first time joining us, we're thrilled to have you, and we've got a fresh round of 25 great categories to keep you busy this summer (categories to be unveiled June 1). You can do all of them or only one, or anything in between, just as long as you have fun reading! Challenge yourself; we dare you!
Once you have read a book that fulfills a category, you can submit it via the form on our website (also available starting June 1) and keep track of your progress on our leaderboard.
The leaderboard is an awesome place to see what everyone else is reading, and give recommendations to our community of readers. You can also join our Westport Reading Challenge Facebook Group and talk books all summer long.
Why should you join the challenge? Because as Rita L, one of last year's participants, said: “The Westport Library’s summer reading challenge is one of the best in the state! I love seeing what everyone else is reading and getting ideas about books that I end up LOVING but never would have read otherwise! Reading is my favorite hobby, and the Summer Reading Challenge takes me to the next level every year!”
The Westport Library Adult Summer Reading Challenge returns for its seventh year in 2023, replete with a fresh set of categories to keep you reading from its June 1 kickoff through the end of August.
That means three months — 92 days — to complete the 25 challenges in this year’s contest. (Full list of categories below.)
“Summer Reading Challenge time is my absolute favorite part of the year,” said Westport Library Reference Manager Melanie Kelly. “The best part is reading something wonderful that I might not have picked up if I hadn’t needed to fit it into a challenge category. It is kismet for books! And there is no pressure. You can do all of the categories or only one, or anything in between, just as long as you have fun reading!”
The challenge itself is simple: Fulfill one of the designated categories and then submit your result via the form available on The Westport Library website. (Click here to access the form.) And check back to the running leaderboard to track your progress, see what everyone else is reading, and provide recommendations to the Library’s community of readers.
The only rules are that each category may be fulfilled only once, and each book you read can be used for only one category.
In addition, join the Westport Reading Challenge Facebook group to talk books all summer long.
Westport Library 2023 Summer Reading Challenge
Read a book …
__ about an antihero
__ that blows your mind
__ about a character in disguise
__ about an escape
__ that takes place in an extreme climate
__ with eyes on the cover
__ that was first runner-up
__ about a golden age
__ that haunts you
__ that you heard about at the Library
__ featuring a librarian
__ in which the location is intrinsic to the story
__ with a neurodiverse protagonist
__ with a nonhuman narrator
__ about a podcast
__ that is published THIS summer
__ with a purple cover
__ recommended by a librarian
__ about a road trip
__ that is short
__ that SHOULD be a movie or a show
__ with a star on the cover
__ that takes place during a holiday
__ in which the time is running out
__ that takes place under the sea
