Make 2021 your best reading year yet, with a fun reading challenge that 
continues all year long!
Reading Resolutions encourages you to read a book that fits a different theme each month. For each month you participate, you’ll be entered into a monthly prize drawing, and a grand prize drawing at year’s end.
These are the twelve monthly themes:
January – Famous and Infamous (read a biography)
February- And the winner is… (read an award winning book)
March- Twice Told Tales (read a book that’s been adapted into a movie, TV series, or another book)
April- Let’s Get Graphic (read a graphic novel)
May- Graduation Day (read a Young Adult book)
June- Summer Lovin’ (read a romance or a love story)
July- #OwnVoices (read a book by an author from a marginalized group about a character from the same group)
August- The Great Outdoors (read a book set primarily in nature, such as a western, or a beach book, or a non-fiction book about nature or climate)
September- Back to School (read a literary classic)
October- Spooky Reads (read a horror, paranormal or mystery novel, or non-fiction about eerie phenomena, or true crime)
November- When I Was Growing Up (read a book set in your childhood/teen decade)
December- Short and Sweet (read poetry, short stories, novellas, essays)
You can also request a bookmark listing the themes with your next drive through or curbside pick-up.
Get started by signing up in Beanstack. If you’re participating in Winter Reading or did 2020 Summer Reading, you will already have an account. If you’re not sure, or can’t log in, ask an Adult Services staff member for help.
Check out the FAQs to learn more about how Reading Resolutions works
FAQs
Do I have to register to participate?
Yes, and you’ll receive your first prize drawing entry, just for signing up.
To participate, you will need to create an account in Beanstack.com. If you’re participating in Winter Reading, or if you did 2020 Summer Reading, you already have one. Not sure? Ask an Adult Services staff member for help.
Once you’re signed into your Beanstack account, select the Reading Resolutions Reading Challenge banner.
This will take you to the 12 monthly themes (known in Beanstack as “activity badges”) for the challenge. When you’ve read a book with that month’s theme, click the corresponding activity badge to record your progress and be entered in the drawing.
You can also track your reading progress on paper and ask an Adult Services staff member for help recording your progress in Beanstack.
Can books I read for Reading Resolutions count toward Winter Reading?
Yes! But you’ll have to enter them under the Reading Resolutions Challenge’s activity badges AND log them as books read to count them for the Winter Reading Challenge
Can I read more than one book for each month’s theme?
While only one book can count toward your Reading Resolutions Challenge activity, if it’s a theme you love, you can always count additional books toward Winter Reading.
Do I have to read a book every month?
No. You can participate in the challenge every month or just once. Remember though, that every month you participate earns you another entry in the prize drawing. If you complete all twelve months, you receive a bonus Completion badge, for a total of 14 entries. Better odds!
What if I miss a month?
No problem! You can catch up. Badges activate on the first day of the month for that theme and will remain active through the end of the year.
Can I count a book I’ve already read?
As long as it’s a book you read in 2021. But you cannot click on the badge until it becomes active on the first day of the theme month, so no jumping ahead.
How about ebooks or audiobooks?
Of course!
What are the prizes?
Each month we’ll give away a $10 gift card, and at the end of the year, we’ll give away a $100 gift card and a $50 gift card for a local merchant. Monthly winners are still eligible for the year-end drawings.
How do I find books to fit the theme?
Each month, we’ll have a display set up in the Adult Services Department. We’ll feature book ideas on the Adult Services blog, and you can also find links to suggested titles in Beanstack. You can also read a book from your personal collection.
So far, snow hasn’t been falling, but books are definitely calling, as AAPLD opens its 2020-21 Winter Reading program. The program officially kicked off on Monday, December 14, and runs through February 1.
Hoopla
Overdrive
It happens to everyone. You browse the library’s catalog, or you read one of those “Best of…” articles that gives you great ideas for books you’d love to read. You place them on hold. And then? They all arrive at once and you’re overflowing with books!