It’s time for our first check-in post for this year’s Hub Reading Challenge!
How is your challenge going so far? Are you zooming through your TBR pile? Or maybe you’ve only made it through a couple of titles? Either way, you’ve still got time to get your books in before the challenge ends!
If you need an extra boost to get going, perhaps you could try a new format? The goal of this challenge is reading new books and trying new things, so why not try something else that’s new to you?
For a long time, I ignored audiobooks. I felt like I could read text faster and I didn’t always absorb audio as well as I did visuals.
Then I took a new job that involved a nearly hour-long commute.
You can probably see where this is going.
Desperate for ways to improve the (now much larger) part of my life spent in a car, I decided to give audiobooks a try. I borrowed the audio version of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue from my library and, from that day forward, I was hooked. Now I do the bulk of my reading while I’m in the car and I’m finishing more books than ever.
So maybe give audiobooks a try! Or, if you’re already an audio fan, see how a physical book treats you. Or borrow an ebook from your library and try out some of the features on your ereader (I personally love to bump up the size of the text–it makes me feel like I’m the fastest reader on the planet.) You may just discover something new you love about reading! And the books on this year’s reading list (sortable spreadsheet available here) are all available in lots of different formats.
We’ll check in one more time towards the end of June, so keep on reading! Here’s a quick reminder of the challenge guidelines:
- The goal of the Hub Reading Challenge is to read 25 books by the end of June from a list of the most recent award winner and honor books and YALSA selected lists.
- Format matters: a title that has been recognized for both the print version and the audiobook version can be both read and listened to and count as two books, but a book that has won multiple awards or appears on multiple lists in the same format only counts as one title.
- Books must be read/listened to (both begun and finished) between the date the award winners and selected lists have been released and June 30, 2019 at 11:59pm EST. If you’ve already read/listened to a title (before the winners/selected lists were announced), you must re-read/listen to it for it to count. The challenge ends on June 30, 2019 at at 11:59pm EST.
- Just about everyone who doesn’t work for ALA is eligible to participate. Non-ALA/YALSA members are eligible. Teens are eligible. Non-US residents/citizens are eligible. (More eligibility questions? Leave a comment or email us.)
- Once you finish the challenge, we’ll contact you with details about creating and publishing your response.
- If you’ve already finished, let us know here! The grand prize winner will be selected by 11:59pm EST on July 1, 2019. The winner will be notified via email.
–Stephen Ashley, Hub Member Manager