While having both of our physical locations shuttered has made things more challenging for all of us, there is one challenge that you can definitely overcome while practicing social distancing and spending lots of time at home. Yes, I’m talking about the Everett Public Library Reading Challenge 2020.  

But how can I cross off all those twelve tasks without being able to check out a physical book you might ask? Let me show you how you can fulfill every one of them without setting foot in one of our, admittedly wonderful, locations. While the road will not be easy, actually it will, once completed you will feel like Hercules after he completed his twelve labors. No hydra killing required. 

Pro Tip: Most of these suggestions require access to our eBooks and eAudiobooks via the OverDrive and CloudLibrary apps. Check out this post on how to get started if you need help getting set up. 

A book by Yangsze Choo 

Read or listen to several titles by the author on the Libby, Overdrive, or CloudLibrary app. Also check our her webpage and Twitter feed. 

A book by Tayari Jones   

Read or Listen to her novel American Marriage which was chosen for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 and won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. For more, take a look at her website and Twitter feed. 

A book by Phillip Margolin 

There are several titles from which to choose in both eBook and eAudiobook format. Also check out what the author is up to on his official website. 

A book set in the 1920s 

You can definitely fulfill this one in the electronic realm by sticking with some of the classic 1920s authors including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway to name but a few. You can also expand out by using topic searches such as Jazz Age, Prohibition or simply 1920s to get lots of contemporary fiction and non-fiction set in the 1920s. 

A graphic novel or comic book 

Surprisingly, well surprisingly to me at least, our digital service Hoopla is the go to for graphic novels and comic books. I thought Hoopla only had digital movies and music, but after reading Jesse’s excellent post on their graphic novel content, I found out otherwise. Being a Sci Fi nerd, I was delighted to find the large collection of graphic novels exploring alternative storylines and versions of classics such as Alien, Blade Runner and Star Trek. 

An eBook or audiobook 

The choices are limitless here. Just take a gander at all that is available on Overdrive and CloudLibrary to get you started. If eAudio is your thing, Hoopla is also an excellent source of titles to listen to. 

A book that challenges your point of view 

This is a tricky one since everyone’s point of view is unique. Override your instincts, and go for an ebook that you might otherwise avoid. Do you like tragedy or comedy?  Are you a believer or a doubter? Whatever your position, we have plenty of ebooks from both perspectives to challenge your ideas and help you cross this one off the list. 

A book of short stories or essays 

A simple subject search in the catalog will give you more than enough books of short stories and essays to choose from. If you don’t mind your short stories on the dark side, let me recommend Florida by Lauren Groff, Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez and Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah as excellent choices.  

A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics 

Step 1: find out which cities have hosted the Olympics. Step 2: in the catalog, use that city name as a keyword and limit the results to eBooks. Result: lots of great titles to choose from based on one city alone! 

A book recommended by library staff 

Might I humbly suggest this very blog for staff recommendations? While you could limit yourself to posts published since March 12^th (totaling 27 so far and counting) that have focused on eBooks and electronic resources exclusively, I would suggest looking at all the authors and checking to see if the item is available as an eBook. Chances are it is. 

A book published in 2020 

So many new ebooks, so little time. One of the few good things about our our physical locations being currently closed is the fact that the library is buying more ebooks than ever. To find them, you could search the catalog by limiting the publication date or take a look at the new releases on the OverDrive and CloudLibrary collections sites. 

A cookbook or a book about food 

You could definitely search the catalog to find more than enough titles to check this one off the list. However, I would recommend taking a gander at two outstanding posts recently published by Joyce and Susan that focus on cookbooks and food related titles in ebook format to get you started.