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

With his work over the past 40 years, Stephen Wilkes has established himself as one of our most iconic photographers, his pieces displayed throughout the United States and around the world.

Now, he is coming to The Westport Library.

Wilkes, who lives and maintains a studio in Westport, will unveil his new exhibit, “Stephen Wilkes: Visualizing Time,” at The Library with a special event held Thursday, September 8, in conversation with fine art and editorial photographer Stacy Bass, a fellow Westporter and former president of the Library’s board of trustees. The event arrives on the eve of StoryFest, leading into Connecticut’s largest literary festival with a celebration of art and the indelible artist who created it.

“Stephen is a Westport treasure, an artist of great renown and incomparable talent,” said Bill Harmer, executive director of The Westport Library. “We are honored to host him and Stacy for an event celebrating his life and work and to have his exhibit displayed in our galleries. And for this to debut right before StoryFest is most fitting — reaffirming our commitment to celebrating community and the arts in all their forms.”

This exhibit, which will be featured in all three of the Library’s galleries, explores how Wilkes’ visualization of the concept of time has evolved from the earlier days of his career through his latest, celebrated series, “Day to Night” and “Tapestries.”

The September 8 program will be preceded by a reception with the photographer at 6:15 pm, followed by a Q&A in the Trefz Forum. The exhibit will run in the Library from September 8 through November 29.

“Visualizing Time is a personal journey through my five decades as a photographer,” Wilkes said. “There is a single thread that connects all of my work throughout these periods, a fascination with depicting time and memory in all its forms. From my early work documenting Ellis Island, capturing the spirit and energy in its abandoned ruins, to ‘Day to Night,’ where I seamlessly compress the best moments of a single day into one photograph, and ‘Tapestries,’ where I explore fractions of time, capturing the way we perceive a specific place.

“Each of these bodies of work tell personal stories, witness history, and capture the emotion I feel in what I am bearing witness to.”

For more on Wilkes and his career, please visit stephenwilkes.com. For more on Bass and her work shooting architecture, interiors, landscapes, and gardens, visit stacybassphotography.com.

And for more on art at The Westport Library, please visit our gallery webpage.

Those strolling The Westport Library this month will notice a new collection of artwork gracing the walls, with five remarkable new pieces gifted to the Library’s collection.

The latest acquisitions include two collage paintings and one collage illustration by the revered Fred Otnes, donated by the Robert K. Otnes Trust; a piece donated by renowned artist Charles Joyner; and an iconic image of the famed boxer Muhammad Ali donated by photographer Richard Frank.

The two paintings by Fred Otnes and the Joyner piece are all hanging in the Library’s mezzanine, with the Otnes illustration appearing in one of the conference rooms. The Ali image is located prominently in the first-floor stairwell.

“Westport has a long and rich tradition of fostering artists and honoring their work,” said Westport Library Exhibit Curator Carole Erger-Fass. “We are very proud to be part of that tradition and incredibly fortunate to receive so many amazing pieces to add to our collection. We thank all our generous donors, and we invite all our patrons to visit and see them in person.”

All three artists have connections to Westport, many dating back years.

Otnes was born and lived in the Midwest before moving to Westport in 1953 while working with the prestigious Rahl Studios in New York. Here, he found community with area’s many illustrators and remained in the area for most of his life, passing away in Westport in 2015 at the age of 89.

A native North Carolinian, Joyner came to Westport in 1964 at 16 years old as part of the American Friends Service Committee’s “Southern Negro Student Program,” a Quaker initiative that placed southern Black students in the north to complete high school and live with host families. Joyner graduated from Staples High in 1966. From March through June of this year, the exhibit, “Charles Joyner: Stepping Out on Faith,” funded in part by CT Humanities and the Drew Friedman Foundation, was housed in the Library’s Sheffer Gallery. The artist donated the title artwork from that event. 

Frank, meantime, has lived in Westport for more than 30 years with his wife Leona, a painter and art teacher. In addition to his many notable works, he documented the Library’s transformation project, which was completed in 2019 and culminated in an exhibit when the Library reopened called “Transformation: The Workers.” His Ali image is one of his most famous works, taken at Jake’s Diner in Athens, Ohio, in 1969.

“I was having a cup of coffee at 11 pm, and to my surprise Muhammad Ali walked in, surrounded by an entourage of students,” Frank recalled. “Although I was awed by his presence, I summoned up the nerve and asked him if he would mind taking his picture. I quickly decided that the best vantage point would be from behind the counter and managed to keep the camera steady enough to capture this moment.”

For more on the Library’s art collection and upcoming events, visit our Art at the Library webpage.