Seven Steps to Prepare for a Summer Reading Challenge, According to Me

The arrival of Summer is heralded by different things, for different people. 

For some, it may be the first time you hear ice cream truck music crackling through burnt-out speakers, playing through an open window. For others, it's when the temperature tips above a certain number of degrees (Tacoma hit 80 in mid-May this year). It may be the last of final papers graded and input into your classroom portal, or it may be the quiet resignation you feel towards finally starting to clean up the yard a little bit, while the grass is still green. 

For me, it's when the Seattle Public Library finally publishes their Summer Reading Challenge Bingo Card for the year. 

First discovered when I was in my senior year in college, living in my own apartment for the first (and last) time - soaking up as much independence as I could while completing my final class before graduation - SPL's Summer Book Bingo has become as quintessentially "summer" to me as strawberry lemonade, local baseball games, or manhandling gargantuan, spider-covered zucchini from the garden. 

It is the defining factor as to how much room I need left in my luggage while I pack for Central Oregon, or what's going to keep me distracted from the mosquitos or wildfire smoke we inevitably encounter on our various camping trips. It's what causes my purse to hang a little lower, with the heft of my Kindle tucked inside, when someone decides on an afternoon jaunt to the waterfront, and it provides the backdrop for a variety of gorgeous titles in my room, luxuriating in the late evening sun that splashes across my bed, shining through the slats of the blinds. 

It's what decides if my August is spent in tense self-hatred, or a warm feeling of accomplishment. (Full disclosure, in the many years I've been taking part in this challenge, last summer was pretty much the first time ever with this challenge that I got to enjoy that second experience.) 

The point is, SPL's Summer Book Bingo provides a framework around which I organize my summer reading, every year. It has led me to books that changed my worldview ( like This is Going to Hurt, by Adam McKay), and books that I still mutter about under my breath (like Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife). It causes me to reach beyond my comfort zone, or indulge in old favorites, or finally pick up that one title on my shelf I've been eyeing for forever. 

And yes, it's still not the only reading challenge I have on deck for this year. (Because of how much I love The Ripped Bodice, as well, it's not even the only bingo reading challenge I'm taking part in THIS SUMMER.) But it is the one that takes up the most of my time and brainpower, and the one that earns itself a giant stack of books teetering perilously across the span of my endtable. 

Because I want you to take part, too, I figured I'd make you a handy step-by-step guide on how to prepare for your Summer Reading Challenge of Choice. 

(Though if you are taking part in the SPL Bingo, too, I certainly can't wait to hear about all of your plans!)

STEP ONE: Wait, anxiously, for weeks, until your Reading Challenge of Choice finally gets uploaded to the Internet. For Seattle Public Library's 2023 Summer Reading Book Bingo, that means May 25th. For the Ripped Bodice's 2023 Romance Book Bingo, that's June 3rd. Both feel like an eternity. 

STEP TWO: Print out your Bingo card, or various reading challenge forms of measurement. For some people, that might look more like hooking up to an app on your phone - which is increasingly used at libraries these days - but for those of us who prefer a more tactile recording style, that means you either have to hightail it to your nearest library branch, or print out your own copy online. 

(And if you belong to the Summer Book Bingo challenge in Seattle in particular, make sure your printer has plenty of yellow ink left. Trust me.)

STEP THREE: Get your bearings. Read through your Challenge one or two times before you even take another step, just to get a lay of the topography of what you're working with. How confident are you, before diving into the nitty gritty work? How are you feeling? 

Assemble one (or two, no more than three) beverages or snacks of your choice, grab something to write with and something to write on, and mosey on over to your TBR stack(s) or shelf(/ves). 

STEP FOUR: One by one, go through each square on the Bingo Card. Try not to balk at anything too early, daunting though they may be - 'Joyful?' you may think, 'Hip Hop'? 'Sea Creatures'? - but just take each new square as it comes. When greeted by the prompt, does anything come to mind immediately? Are there any 'Indigenous Author's in your stacks? What about a 'Manga / Graphic Novel'? Start to assemble your Summer Challenge TBR Stack with things you already have on hand; no Barnes and Noble run or library holds waiting required. 

Of course, some of them are going to get you stuck. The Seattle Public Library has, thankfully, thought of his already, and has put together various lists for you to choose from, should you not be able to make it on your own. Some are, obviously, not included - for instance, 'Read with a Friend' has a lot more to do with a Friend than the Library - but most are there for you to select from a large assortment. It's up to you to decide! 

(And if the Library Lists don't work out, of course, there's always Google, and Goodreads Genre Lists, and Storygraph selections, and all sorts of pathways for diving your future reads. Make sure you reach out to a bookish friend or two and see what they're reading this Summer, as well!)

STEP FIVE: In the case that you've figured out a book worth reading that fits the Challenge prompt, but you don't necessarily have on your shelves, then you've got a perfect solution: remember how these kinds of challenges are hosted and promoted by your local library? It's time for you to use it! Even for someone with particularly robust reading shelves, like me, I still had to place about twelve different holds for books throughout the library system to cover absolutely all of my bases. 

Make sure you're taking into account things like Due Dates, which might otherwise interfere with your summer reading plans, as well as Holds Lists, because chances are, other people are taking a part in the same challenge you are, too! I'd recommend going after "achievable" holds lists only, and not bothering with those that might take longer than your summer to get through: for instance, Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures certainly might have fit the "Sea Creatures" bill perfectly, but there are over 30 people in the holds line before me, and there are only ten copies on deck in the library system for lending. Yikes! 

If you're the kind of person who is NOT on a Book Buying Ban - you lucky thing, you - make sure to plan where you're picking up each of your reads, too, and get to ordering what you need. Barnes and Noble, or Half Price Books, or Goodwill? Thrift Books, or Bookshop.Org? Chart your course! Though I would, of course, recommend starting with your cheaper options first, and climbing upwards as availability wanes. Remember some online retailers, like Book Outlet, have fairly long wait times for your packages, in case you're trying to get your books read sooner rather than later! 

STEP SIX: After you've got all of your materials pulled together, it's time to rank your stack. Anything with a Due Date goes on top first: any and all library books have got to go, before someone else stakes a claim on your title before you finish it! 

Next up, are any books that have been lent to you from other bookish companions, so you don't force your very generous friends to wait for you. Then, everything else! 

STEP SEVEN: Plan it out. There are approximately fourteen Sundays between Memorial Day Weekend and the first Sunday of September... you need to make sure you know what goalposts to be hitting each week! If you're trying to complete the Seattle Public Library Book Bingo, that means twenty-four books, across fourteen weeks: if you can commit to reading two books, every week, then you'll end the Summer Reading Challenge with time to spare... ideally, for more reading! 

Are there any books, in particular, you're going to want to read earlier or later in the Summer? What's going to make for the perfect beach read, or what will make more sense to keep at home for weeknight dedication? Which Horror novel are you going to want to be safe in your own bed while reading, and which Romance makes more sense to bring along with you on that overnight camping trip? 

At the very least, try to divide your stack so that you know what you're going to be attempting for your upcoming two weeks at a time.

Then, all there's left to do is get started! Make sure you keep your Book Bingo Card handy, for easy recording, and keep on top of those Library Due Dates, so you don't incur any unnecessary fines as a result of sheer enthusiasm. Check the Events section of your local library's website to see if there are any Reading Challenge-related events you can attend; SPL partners with Seattle Arts and Lectures for this exact reason. Check out an author visit, or if your library branch is super high tech, see if you can attend virtually.

There's more Summer Library content coming down the pipe from me, but for now, get to charting your course for adventure this summer, by taking part in a Reading Challenge! I can't wait to see what new treasures you'll discover this year... my own challenge is already well underway.

Are you taking part in a Summer Reading Challenge this year? Is it through Seattle Public Libraries and Seattle Arts & Lectures? Let me know, in the comments below!