In preparation for summer break, the Humanities Department launched the second-ever Summer Reading Challenge with physical checklists and a Goodreads forum, which lists many faculty recommendations and discussions from last summer’s challenge.
Students are invited to embark on the Summer Reading Challenge during their break from the school year. By reading at least one book from each category outlined on the checklist and the Goodreads forum, participants will broaden their literary horizons and celebrate the joy of reading for pleasure. There is also the potential to win fun, book-themed prizes such as bookmarks, stickers and coasters or the grand prize of a new or gently used book.
“Recommendations on the checklist and Goodreads are completely optional; as long as they fit within the category, they count,” says Associate Professor of Spanish Dr. Katya Soll. “Students don’t have to be part of the Goodreads group to participate; it’s just a fun way to see what others are reading.”
Collins Library currently has a display with book recommendations from each category. Participants are encouraged to talk to the librarians to see if they have any additional suggestions. Students can check out books for the full summer if they need to.
“The only category we brought back this year was a book recommended to you by a librarian,” Professor of English and Humanities Department Chair Joanne Nystrom Janssen said. “The library staff truly care and are passionate about their love for reading, so we thought this would be good for community building.”
Last summer, 35 participants were in the Goodreads group, leading to many discussions about what members were reading or looking forward to. While many categories differ from last year’s, Dr. Soll has already revived the discussion boards, allowing participants to see what people were reading and talking about this time in 2023.
Students can pick up physical copies of the checklist in the library, one of the Humanities offices, or the cafeteria. They can then turn them, or something tracking their reading progress, into Dr. Soll or Dr. Janssen in September.
