The Library’s 2019 Summer Reading Program celebrates the spirit of discovery that half a century ago inspired humanity to do what once seemed only possible in stories: travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere and journey among the stars. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, we invite readers to enjoy out-of-this-world books, events, and activities from the final frontier: your local library.    

Our theme, Dare to Discover, is a nod to our collective spacefaring legacy and ambitions to explore the unknown. But it’s also an invitation — and a challenge — to use the Library and its resources to learn, grow, and endeavor to know more about our world and how it works. Science is the pursuit of knowledge with the goal of giving us greater understanding; libraries provide open access to knowledge so that everyone may pursue it. Discovery happens daily in libraries.

Adults and youth alike will be given a little space to read . We’ll be covering supernovas and super novels, rockets and robots, cosmic classics and futuristic fiction. Our mad scientist librarians have cooked up some stellar Suggested Reading titles to get you started.

Read five books, Earn a Prize!

• The Summer Reading formula is simple: Read five books between June 1 and July 31, 2019. Pick enjoyable, lively reads in your preferred format, log them online, and earn a reward.  
• Sign up yourself or the entire family, and everyone gets a free book just for registering.
• Kids and teens participating in Summer Reading are eligible to have existing fines and fees erased.
• You can select official Suggested Reading picks for youth, teens, or adults, but like the cosmos, your choices are infinite.  You can read any five books in any format – hardcover, audiobook, eBooks, graphic novels... everything counts!
• Log your five reads online using the Beanstack service or the new Beanstack Tracker mobile app for iPhone or Android. (Paper forms also available at your neighborhood Library location. PDF download here.)
• Earn an out-of-this-world prize:
  • Ages 0-5: Sippy cup (*Note: Cups available after June 15)
  • Ages 6-18: Light-up plastic cup
  • Adults: Pint glass

Suggested Reading

Need ideas for books that fit this year’s theme? Library staff have chosen the right stuff for your to-read shelves. We've collected fiction and nonfiction, biographies and memoirs, genre fiction, and classics to provide a quality reading experience that is thoughtful and entertaining.

Whether the five books you select are from the Suggested Reading list or are other books you’ve always wanted to read, the goal of the Summer Reading Program is to promote the fun and discovery of reading for pleasure.

Want to explore strange new literary worlds? Let our librarian mad scientists cook up some reading, viewing, or listening engineered just for you. Try the Library’s Shelf Help service and get a customized list of recommendations tailored to your tastes.
 

More Adult Book Lists >

More Youth Book Lists >

PRIZES