By Dawn M Chiossi

    Inspiring everyone to pick up a book and explore the delights of them, Kinnelon Public Library is currently hosting a new monthly reading challenge program sponsored by the Friends of the Kinnelon Public Library.

    Founded in 1979, the Friends of the Kinnelon Public Library are a dedicated group of volunteers eager to establish the library as the educational, informational, and cultural center for people of all ages in the community.

    Officials at the Kinnelon Public Library can relate. Keeping things fun, different and interesting, their new monthly reading challenge is described as reading three particular books per month. These books will be featured on a provided reading list. In a fun twist, depending on the theme of month, reader’s book selections will be different.

   For example, February’s reading challenge will feature the theme of love stories for Valentine’s Day and English Mystery Detective stories for April. Additionally, the event will feature a raffle where readers could win a prize such as an Amazon Gift Card and more. There is no sign up and everyone is on their honor system to read the books in the assigned month.

  According to officials at the library, the program was the brainchild of Program Coordinator and Club Sponsor, Kim Christian.

    “I invented it,” she quips. Bright and enthusiastic, Christian has been the library’s Program Coordinator and Club sponsor for four years. “They call me the library party planner,” she jokes.

     Christian says that she came up with the idea for the new monthly reading challenge as a way of putting a new spin on the library’s always popular reading challenges. Describing how in the past reading challenges at the library were in the vein of reading 52 books as quickly as possible, Christian decided that she wanted to do something different, to engage everyone.

    “Original reading challenges could sometimes be daunting for readers,” she states. “They don’t always have the time to read 52 books but reading three in a month is much more manageable.”

    She goes on to say that this particular reading challenge allows the reader flexibility in regard to their time.  

    “People can participate in the reading challenges one month, and skip the next month, then start up again.”

    Additionally, Christian points out another great benefit of the reading challenge.

    “I wanted get people out of their comfort zone with reading. We all have our favorite authors we like, and they are great, but there are so many other authors out there that people should try,” she remarks. “This event is a great way to do that and make it fun.”

    Even though the library’s reading challenge has just barely begun, feedback has already been enthusiastic, and Christian hopes that it will catch on even more.

    When asked what she is looking forward to most, Christian says she is particularly eager for July’s reading challenge where the books selections all involve space.

“We are timing the theme with the anniversary of the moon landing,” she enthuses. “We didn’t want to miss that!”