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
