Summer is over, the Autumn crush has started, and you may be feeling like reading for pleasure isn’t a priority right now. But reading for yourself should always be a priorty! And to give you a little encouragement MPL has set up a low stakes reading challenge.

Step 1: Log in or sign up to Beanstack either on the web or via the Beanstack Tracker app. (Make sure you are signed into Malden Public Library’s Challenge site. Don’t use Beanstack Go)

Step 2: Register for the “Find Yourself in a Book Challenge”

Step 3: Read (at least) one book a month that is strictly for you. Not a school book, something for work, not a side hustle. Just something you think you will enjoy.

Step 4: Collect a stamp from the library that shows you’ve completed the monthly reading. (Bookmarks available at Info and the Children’s desk, so you can log your stamps).

Step 5: Get a stamp for each month between September and June and qualify for a fun enamel pin to celebrate your accomplishment.

That’s it! Just at least one book a month. We know how hard it is to make a reading commitment sometimes. And also how easy it is to let free time slip away without using it to recharge. This challenge is here to combat that with a gentle nudge to do something wholly good for you. And to up the stakes just a little, we are adding a community goal of 10,000 books read by June. The hope is that all the other books you read each month will make their way into our stats and help us celebrate how spectacular our reading community really is. So lets make a commitment together to try to read at least a little bit every month, as a community. It will help inspire the busy library staff to keep up on their reading too, so do us a favor and sign up!