We’ve recently discovered ListChallange.com, an online quiz-making platform, whose users apparently are avid readers! Folks after my own heart.

Users have created lists related to various genres of books, but the lists I’ve most enjoyed are more eclectic, including this one: 1000 Books You May Have Actually Read

This comprehensive list includes the classics you read in high school or college, modern literary fiction, and talked-about popular novels like E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Gray. Genre fiction is well represented, as is non-fiction. The list includes children’s and young adult selections, in addition to adult titles.

Yes, 1000 books is a lot, but completing the quiz is fast- just click the box by each book cover. I included books I read for fun, books I read in school, those I listened to as audiobooks, had read to me as a kid (Little Women, and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) and books I read to my own kids (lots of Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter, and Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

The fun is not just remembering books you loved, or loathed, but also those books you’ve meant to but read never got around to– yet.  Since summer is one of the four best seasons for reading, why not make this the year to check one or more of those books off your To Be Read list?  AAPLD cardholders can search our Virtual library collections, or reserve items in our print collection for curbside pickup. Remember, currently we can only fill holds for print and CD audio books we own.

If you aren’t yet signed up for AAPLD’s Summer Reading program just click the link. When you’ve read five books, you’ll win our 2020 Dig Deeper Summer Reading t-shirt.

Celebrate summer by digging deeper into your To Be Read list, have fun and happy reading!

June is Pride Month, and AAPLD is pleased to share books from our virtual and print collections that provide insight into the history, challenges and joys, faced by members of the LGBTQ community.

Whether you’re a member of the community, a supportive ally to a friend or family member, or if you’d just like to know more about the experiences of LGBTQ folk, past and present, real and fictional,  reading can provide valuable knowledge and perspectives.

We hope you’ll enjoy these ebook and downloadable audiobook selections from Hoopla and Overdrive, which includes fiction, memoirs, poetry, history and commentary. Click to learn more about each title. Items marked with an asterisk are also part of our print collection, and can be placed on hold by AAPLD cardholders for curbside pick-up.

Non-Fiction available through Hoopla:

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado*

City of Night by John Rechy

The Tradition by Jericho Brown

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel*

Homie by Danez Smith

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson*

 

 

Fiction available through Hoopla:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz*

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta*

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

Fiebre Tropical by Juliana Delgado Lopera

Broken People by Sam Lansky*

Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickles

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson*

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

 

Non-Fiction Available From Overdrive

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden*

You’ll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein*

Sissy by Jacob Tobia*

Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride*

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*

Boy Erased by Garrad Conley*

Fairest: A Memoir by Meredith Talusan

Here For It by R. Eric Thomas

 

Fiction Available From Overdrive

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

In At The Deep End by Kate Davies*

The Color Purple by Alice Walker*

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides*

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

The Gods of Tango by Carolina De Robertis*

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan*

Ash by Malinda Lo*

When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri*

Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman*

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender*

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has caused a national outcry. Not only is our nation forced to confront racial disparities in policing, but also generations of systemic racism against people of color.

Reading can provide different perspectives and promote understanding, which are crucial as America searches for new approaches and solutions. AAPLD is proud to partner with our patrons as they explore the issues of racial inequality, criminal justice, education, as well as the lives and works of Black authors and historical figures.

We’ve compiled a list of ebooks and audiobooks that are available through our virtual library collections. Click the links to learn more about each title, and download them to your device. (Not sure how? Find instructions on our Virtual Library page.) Selections with an asterisk are also part of our print collection, AAPLD cardholders can place them on hold for curbside pickup.

Our Youth Services department has also compiled a list of anti-racism reads for children. Access that list here.

Try these historical accounts, memoirs, poetry and social commentaries, available in digital and/or audiobook:

Available instantly on Hoopla:

• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi*
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ijeoma Oluo
• When They Call You A Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors*

 

Available digitally through Overdrive:

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo*
• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi*
• Me and white supremacy by Layla F. Saad*
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X*
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates*
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson*
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson*
• They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery*
• Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? By Beverly Daniel Tatum
• For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange*
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou*
•  The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward*
• Native Son by Richard Wright*

Prefer fiction?

• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead*
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead*
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward*
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison*
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale-Hurston*
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison*
• Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin*
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas*
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone*
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers*

Ready to dig deeper into a new book, and win a cool t-shirt in the process? One of our favorite summer traditions is back—welcome to AAPLD’s 2020 Summer Reading Program!

Like most things these days, this year’s summer reading looks a little different. We have a new online program called Beanstack where you can register yourself and your family, and also track your progress.

Beanstack is easy to use and convenient. One person can set up an account for an entire family, which means there’s just one user name and password to remember.  There’s also an app, available for free through your favorite app store.

Here’s how to set up an account for yourself, and add family members as readers:

1. Start at the AAPLD home page, and click the Dig Deeper Summer Reading 2020 logo. This will take you to the sign-up page.
2. Scroll down and click Register an Individual or Family
3. On the next page, Beanstack asks if you’ve used the platform before. For most AAPLD patrons the answer is no, but if you hold a card with a different library, your home library might have used it. Even so, since you haven’t used Beanstack through AAPLD before, you should still choose no, as you will need to create a new, separate account for AAPLD reading programs.
4. The next screen gives you the option to register yourself, or register a child. As the person registering, you are the account holder, and you will have the option to enter multiple readers (including yourself). Fill in the requested information.

• For a user name, we suggest using your library card number. If you don’t have a library card, use your email address.
• If you are registering adults as readers, simply use 18+ for the person’s age, “Adult” for the school they attend, and “Adult” for next years’ grade level.
• Be sure to allow the account holder to receive emails from Beanstack (that’s how you’ll be notified when you’ve won prizes), but it isn’t necessary to have separate email contact information for each reader.

 

5. If you selected Register Yourself as an account holder and reader, once you’ve entered your information, Beanstack will ask if you would like to add another reader. Select Yes to continue adding readers, and be sure to save after each one.

Tracking your progress is just a matter of logging into your account, and selecting the correct badge for the book or activity. Adults need to fulfill just 5 badges to win their Dig Deeper Summer Reading t-shirt. We’ll also be doing weekly drawings for e-gift cards throughout the summer reading program.

If you prefer to track on paper, no worries. You can download and print forms at home, or request one with your next curbside check-out.  More questions? Visit our FAQ page, give us a call or connect on chat! We’re happy to help.