Reading Ideas
Booking Ahead is Beaverton City Library’s year-long reading program!
Each month, read or listen to a book that fits the monthly theme. Submit an entry for every month you complete to be entered into monthly prize drawings. All entries will also be included in a Grand Prize drawing at the end of the year.
Scroll through to see each month's theme.
JANUARY: Read Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, this year’s One Book, One Beaverton pick.
TIP: Join us for related events during the month of January. Learn more at BeavertonLibrary.org/1book.
FEBRUARY: February is Black History Month! Read a book (fiction or non-fiction) that celebrates Black history and culture.
TIP: Explore books by any of these stellar thinkers, writers, and activists: Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Jesmyn Ward, Ibram X. Kendi, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Audre Lorde, Cornel West, Alice Walker, Janet Mock, Toni Morrison, Bell Hooks, Brit Bennett, Ralph Ellison, and Colson Whitehead.
MARCH: Read a humorous book. It’s been a long year, and we could all use a good laugh!
TIP: Check out this excellent list from NPR: We Did It for the LOLs: 100 Favorite Funny Books.
APRIL: Read a book that is part of a series.
TIP: Check out the BookRiot article, The Best Book Series for Adults in Every Genre.
MAY: Read a historical fiction book. Historical Fiction is defined as a “narrative that takes place in the past and is characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages.”
TIP: Peruse one of the many historical fiction booklists created by library patrons and staff in the WCCLS library catalog.
JUNE: Read a book about the environment (fiction or non-fiction).
TIP: Search online for “eco-fiction” or “environmental non-fiction” for tons of great lists.
JULY: Read a mystery featuring an amateur detective.
TIP: This GoodReads list has tons of great suggestions.
AUGUST: Read a book about food: a cookbook, a chef’s memoir, a cozy mystery about a chocolate shop—any book where food plays a central role.
Tip: Explore some of these popular food writers: Padma Lakshmi, Anthony Bourdain, M.F.K Fisher, Ruth Reichl, Michael Twitty, Adrian Miller, Bill Buford, and David Chang.
SEPTEMBER: Celebrate National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month! Read a book by a Latinx author.
TIP: You'll find some fantastic suggestions in this WCCLS library-created list: The Best New Latinx Books for Hispanic Heritage Month.
OCTOBER: Read a collection of essays.
TIP: You can’t go wrong by checking out one of the annual Best American Essays collections, which are edited each year by different preeminent authors and essayists.
NOVEMBER: Read a book by a Pacific Northwest author.
TIP: Each year the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) awards the year’s best fiction, non-fiction, and children’s literature by Pacific Northwest authors. You can see the current year’s winners as well as winners from the past at their website, pnba.org/book-awards.
DECEMBER: December 10th is Human Rights Day, which celebrates the signing of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In honor of this day, read a book (fiction or non-fiction) that highlights triumph over oppression in any part of the world throughout history or in modern times.
TIP: This Human Rights Watch recommended reading list is a great place to start.