The challenges offer fun ways to connect with reading and library services. Each time a participant completes four challenges, they get a ticket to enter in one of our great Summer Reading raffles. Participants seem to be having a great time exploring videos on the library’s streaming services, trying new reading genres, sharing books suggestions, and attending library programs!

The prizes make it even better. Ticket holders can enter raffles for seven great summer prizes, including:

*The Dorney Park Prize, with two passes donated by Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom via @DonationMatch.

*The World Heritage Celebration prize, with four World Heritage Tour tickets, books about Bethlehem history, and Moravian star ornaments – all donated by Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites.

*The Take Me Out to the Ballgame Prize, including four tickets to a game donated by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, an insulated cooler bag, and various baseball-related items.

*The Book Lovers Prize, with three popular manga books donated by Manga Lane, a gift certificate to a local coffee shop, and some great items to proclaim your love of reading!

*The Local Luxury Prize, featuring a beautiful bracelet donated by the Shoppe at the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, a lovely decorative candle donated by Sharon Gattuso, chocolate bars, and a journal.

*The Lazy Summer Day Prize, which includes a gift card to an ice cream store, a s’mores kit, and fun summer puzzles and books

*The Tech Treasures Prize, connecting a lucky winner to a portable power bank, Bluetooth headphones, and a computer carrying case!

Many thanks to our generous donors who made these prizes possible!

Our challenge takes the form of a “Bookopoly” game board, available at any BAPL library location – even our Bookmobile! Each space on the board features a fun activity that encourages reading, creativity, or trying something new at the library. Each space offers a fun way to connect with reading and library services. You might be challenged to read a book with a yellow cover, try a recipe from a library cookbook, or look someone up using our genealogy databases.

Complete four challenges and earn your first raffle ticket, along with a small treat bag. For every four additional challenges, you’ll receive another raffle ticket—up to a maximum of six.

Raffle prizes this year include seven themed baskets: Book Lovers, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, Lazy Summer Day, Local Luxury, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Tech Treasures, and World Heritage Celebration.

Participants must be 18 or older and reside within the BAPL service area. Only one challenge chart per patron, and 18-year-olds must choose to enter either the Youth Services or Adult raffle—not both.

Stop by and pick up your Bookopoly board to get started. Read, explore, and win—this summer, the library has something for everyone.

Is there a book you have been meaning to read?

Do you like to win prizes?

What if you could do all of these things at once? Sure, you might say, the library has a Summer Reading program for kids, but what can adults do? Good news! BAPL doesn’t limit the summer fun to young people. There are exciting programs, great books, and fun prizes for adults this summer.

You can pick up a Summer Reading Challenge Chart at the Main Library, Bookmobile, or Coolidge Branch, or you can print one yourself. The Summer Reading theme is “All Together Now/ Todos Juntos Ahora” and the chart suggests a variety of ways to get involved with the library, including reading suggestions, exploring library services, and participating in library programs. The more challenges you do, the more raffle tickets you can earn for our fabulous Summer Reading prizes.

The challenges are easy and diverse. When you have completed five of them, bring your chart to the Reference Desk at the Main Library. You will receive a small starter prize and your first raffle ticket! After that, you can earn a raffle ticket for every three challenges you complete.

The raffle prize baskets include:

The Get Growing Raffle Basket, which includes a $25 gift card for the Pharo Garden Center, gardening tools and gloves, and an incense holder with cones.

The Kitchen Creations Raffle Basket, which includes a $25 gift card for Azar Supermarket, a soft cooler, mugs, coasters, and several attractive cooking aides.

The On the Road Raffle Basket, which includes a $25 Wawa gift card, a BAPL tote bag, water bottles, and travel accessories such as an RFID wallet, a book light, and headrest hooks.

All raffle baskets also include a voucher for our popular BAPL Book Sale

The Summer Reading program continues until August 19. Be sure to get your raffle tickets soon!

The Bethlehem Area Public Library’s summer reading contest for adults continues until August 14. Just write a short review of a book that you’ve read, submit it online, at one of our libraries, or at the Bookmobile and you will be entered in our weekly raffle! Last week’s winner was Rachel T., who reviewed People You Meet on Vacation. Her prize is a gift certificate to the Clubhouse Grille. Thank you to the Friends of the Bethlehem Area Public Library for donating the prizes!

Bethlehem readers have reviewed a wide variety of books in our contest. Here are some of the fun summer romantic books they recommend. All of these books are available at one of our libraries and through our digital book collection in cloudLibrary.

Allende, Isabel. The Japanese Lover.

Bradford, Barbara Taylor. Playing the Game.

Bromley, Kate. Talk Bookish to Me.

Dev, Sonali. Incense and Sensibility.

Henry, Emily. Beach Read.

Henry, Emily. People We Meet on Vacation.

Morgan, Sarah. The Summer Seekers.

Moyes, Jojo. Me Before You.

Rudnick, Paul. Playing the Palace.

Sparks, Nicholas. Every Breath.

Steele, Danielle. Beauchamp Hall.

Williams, Preslaya. A Lowcountry Bride.

Williams, Tia. Seven Days in June.

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer reading – you’ll wish that summer could always be here!

Lauren B. tells us about Fatima Farheen Mirza’s first novel, A Place for Us:

A Place for Us is the debut novel of a young author and what a debut it was! I’m looking forward to see where this author goes. This novel is a slow burn family drama, somewhat akin to Little Fires Everywhere. The story starts at a wedding, and then goes back in time, showcasing little events that led the family to where they are at today. A Place for Us is about a Muslim Indian American family and deals with themes such as belonging, family ties, and cultural identity. I would give it a 3.5/5. I would recommend reading as much as possible in one or two sittings. It’ll make the biggest impact that way. When I stretched out readings more, I found I started losing the threads of what was happening in the book, since it does jump around timelines often and from different characters’ perspectives.

Our raffle winner this week is Barbara S., who reviewed Linwood Barkley A Noise Downstairs. She won a gift card to Patti’s Petals. Prizes are donated by the Bethlehem Area Public Library’s Friends of the Library.

We have great prizes left – so make sure your get your book reviews in to be entered in the raffle. You may enter online or in person at any Bethlehem library location or bookmobile stop.

Our third randomly selected raffle winner is Christine M.  who won a gift card to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

She recommends You Are Special; Words of Wisdom from America’s Most Beloved Neighbor by Fred Rogers:

This book is a compilation of “words of wisdom” from beloved neighbor, Mister Rogers. I marked over 23 quotes that I thought I might use in this review. Here are a few. “The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.” “Often, problems are knots with many strands, and looking at those strands can make a problem seem different.” When seeing scary things on the news: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” “We speak with more than our mouths. We listen with more than our ears.” His understanding of violence and the many changes in our world today made me think of things differently.

Prizes are donated by the Bethlehem Area Public Library’s Friends of the Library.

There are still more exciting prizes. Have you entered yet? Rules and entry links for the Summer Reading Raffle and Writing Contest, along with Summer Reading Fun for the whole family, can be found here.

 Have you participated in the South Side Branch’s adult summer reading program yet?