Turning the Page

My sister, Lisa, and I share some reading time

I don't need a contest to "make" me read. However, in 2018, I joined a couple of reading contests at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford and the year-long #ICT challenge, a collaboration between The Wichita Eagle and The Wichita Public Library.

Even after I finished the challenges, I decided to keep track of my books for the year. The grand total was 97 books. (I guess I should have read a little more so that I could have made it an even 100!)  That doesn't count all the books I read to Kinley and Brooke during our reading marathons. I love children's books, too.

Darci, me and Lisa with our books

I can't remember a time when I wasn't a library patron. My mom took us to the old library at the Pratt County Courthouse from the time we could toddle in on our own steam. It was exciting when the new library was built in Pratt. There was a whole room of children's books where I discovered Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew. I still love mysteries and thrillers today, and I have to believe those days of uncovering clues with them had to have laid an early groundwork for this love affair that's lasted all of my life.

One of my favorite childhood memories is listening to my mom read "The Little House on the Prairie" books. I read and re-read them myself as I got older. 

I was a champion reader. And I have the certificate to prove it. When I was a third grader, I read 166 books. (Let's just say I didn't win any certificates for math.)

I've decided to again tackle the #ICT challenge. Participating urges me out of my usual reading preferences. In fact, #2 is "a book from a genre you don't normally read." What did I tell you?

Here are the categories, if you'd like to join along. (Here's a PDF if you want to print the categories):

1. A book with a face on the cover
2. A book from a genre you don’t normally read
3. A book that makes you LOL
4. A book set in the place you were born
5. A classic or retelling
6. A book you’ve avoided or didn’t finish
7. A translated book
8. An award winner (Pulitzer, National Book Award, Newbery, etc.)
9. A book recommended by a child or teenager
10. A biography, autobiography or memoir
11. A book featuring a character who is different than you in some way (race, religion, abilities, etc.)
12. A book by an author slated to visit Kansas in 2019

The categories are flexible, so readers can bend and twist them to meet their individual reading habits and goals. For example, one reader on the #ICT reading Facebook group said she's using a clock face as a "face on the cover." See what I mean about flexibility? Nobody is "grading" your efforts. It's just a fun way to challenge yourself. And, since I'm part of the Facebook group, I often find book recommendations from other voracious readers.

Our Stafford library is undergoing a renaissance, so I joined in a couple of adult reading challenges there, and a new one begins January 21. In it, readers have to read five books with authors whose names begin with the letters in "Nora E. Larabee."

Stained glass window at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford

Participating in the reading challenges doesn't keep me from reading what I want to read. If Jodi Picoult or Lee Child or Jonathan Kellerman or some other favorite author has a new book out, I'll be putting my name on the reserve list at the library, even if it doesn't fit into a "category."

Nora Larabee Memorial Library - Stafford, KS

But broadening my horizons is a good thing. Want to join me? At the very least, give me some ideas of books you recommend - whether they fit the criterion or not! But bonus points if they fit in a category!

Read more here: https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/books/article222395745.html#storylink=c

Read more here: https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/books/article222395745.html#storylink=