Summer has officially arrived, folks, and here at the library our favorite way to celebrate summer is with a good reading contest. We often think first of summer reading programs for kids when we stop to think about reading contests, but summer reading is for adults and teens, too! The Morrill Memorial Library is here to keep you motivated with prizes and fresh challenges to fuel your summer reading.

Have you heard of Reader’s BINGO? We started summer and then winter Reader’s BINGO in 2015 and have offered the biannual contests ever since. We know that it’s easy to get stuck in a reading rut or hit analysis paralysis, and this friendly reading challenge is a fun way to stretch your reading habits and help you find titles you might otherwise have missed. The nuts and bolts of how to play BINGO and submit your sheets are spelled out on the game sheet, which can be picked up in person at the library or found on our website.

This article isn’t about the rules of BINGO. This article is about helping you WIN at BINGO with proven strategy tips from your friendly neighborhood librarians. Remember, you can always ask us for help finding title options, but for the adventurous reader who wants to strike out on their own, let’s explore this year’s challenges…

The BINGO sheet this summer has book categories ranging from “Read a novella” and “Read a Graphic Novel” to “Read an author’s debut book.” These squares give you enough guidance to narrow down the genre or type of book that will satisfy the challenge, while also leaving some wiggle room to find something you’ll like.

In the past I’ve heard from readers that they find it challenging to fill in the Graphic Novel square since they don’t like to read comic books. After a little conversation, I usually find that what they mean is they don’t care for stories about superheroes. Luckily, the graphic novel format has come a long way since Superman first landed on the scene, and there are some absolutely stunning and moving graphic novels depicting history and cultural experiences. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a good introduction to graphic novels, plus there are many adaptations of classics like The Illiad and Great Gatsby; graphic novel enjoyment without a masked avenger in sight.

There are a few squares that are a little more whimsical, like “Read a book with a yellow cover” and “Read a book while you’re near a body of water.” I like to think of these squares as the reader’s secret weapon. Is there a book you really want to read but that doesn’t fit into one of the category squares, like your favorite author’s latest summer romance or thriller? Save these squares to fit those books! Do you read books from your child’s summer reading list or are you part of a book club? Count one of those titles towards “Read with a partner, friend, or family member.” As much as we want to challenge you to read more, we also try to find ways to fit the reading you’re already doing into the BINGO game.

Veteran BINGO players know that while some of the squares prompt the reader to read a book from a given genre, other squares are activity-based squares, like “Borrow from the Library of Things,” “Borrow a Museum Pass,” and “Watch a movie or TV series from the library, either on DVD or on streaming video.” Did you know we have museum passes for Norwood residents? Most passes are date-specific and you can reserve them in advance on our website. We’re very excited about our newest museum pass to the Hale Reservation in Westwood!

We also have lots of options for watching movies, TV shows, documentaries, and even recorded live concert performances. Many people are familiar with using hoopla digital and Kanopy to watch feature films, foreign films, and TV shows with their library card. We have brand new offerings as well including The Great Courses, Qello concert recordings, and Indieflix for a wide range of indie and feature films. You have instant access to these by opening the Libby app on your device, or visiting libbyapp.com on a desktop computer, and logging in with your library card number.

We hope you enjoy exploring these different BINGO categories on your own, but your librarians are also happy to offer up specific titles that will fit this contest. For instance, we have a display of books on the first floor designed to fit the square, “Read a book that was made into a movie,” and we have other BINGO-themed displays in the works, such as cookbooks to satisfy the square, “Take out a cookbook and make a recipe from it.” If you ever need help figuring out which book to read, just ask us! We love offering reading guidance. Facilitating literacy and literary pursuits is pretty much what we do. Happy reading!

Liz Reed is the Adult and Information Services Department Head at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the July 8, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.