Staff Reading Challenge Update

Submitted by Stephen Kight

Now that we are halfway through 2021, I’d like to provide an update about the Staff Reading Challenge.  As of today, 48 staff members have signed up to take the challenge and 243 books have been recorded.  That is impressive!  I love that so many staff have decided to participate and are reading so many different kinds of books.  To complete the challenge and win a small prize you only need to complete 6 of the 12 tasks, and they can be done during any month and in any order.

The most popular of the 12 tasks so far has been to “Reread a Childhood Favorite or Read a Children's Book Published Within the Last Five Years,” with 41 books recorded.  I’ve enjoyed seeing the comments about childhood favorites read through an adult lens, as well as the discovery of newer children’s books.

“Read a Book That Was Made into a Movie or TV Series” has been another popular task, with 32 books recorded.  One of the aspects I am enjoying about this challenge is that staff are not hesitant to record books they didn’t like.  For example, two staff members didn’t like Normal People by Sally Rooney (which I liked very much, enough to seek out her first novel).  It was great to see that several staff read and loved The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, now a popular series on Hulu.  (And I’d love to hear what they thought of its sequel, The Testaments.)

As a former theater major, my favorite task has been to “Read a Book of Poetry or a Play,” and I’m thrilled to see 26 books recorded.  I’ve read four plays for this challenge, including All My Sons by Arthur Miller (every bit as affecting as his classic plays Death of a Salesman and The Crucible) and the contemporary plays Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar, Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and King Charles III by Mike Bartlett.  Bartlett’s play is subtitled “A Future History Play” and envisions the British Royal Family after Queen Elizabeth II has died, with Prince Charles next in line for the throne.  It is an enjoyable read for fans of The Crown.

The 22 books recorded for “Read a Book By or About Someone with a Different Background from Your Own” have provided some great ideas for future reading.  I had already been familiar with several of the authors listed, such as Louise Erdrich, Jacqueline Woodson, and Lisa See, but it has also been nice to discover authors who were new to me, such as Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Zeyn Joukhadar, and Sadeqa Johnson.

It’s not too late to participate and complete the staff reading challenge this year if you’d like to.  You can find the spreadsheet to sign up and record your books in the #WeKnowBooks section on SharePoint.  Happy reading!