So last summer I got this idea that I wanted to do a summer reading program for grownups. As a librarian I have seen countless summer reading initiatives to keep kids reading during their off-school months, but I kind of wanted to do this with grownups. Virtually, so you could participate from anywhere, at any time. And give away prizes!

We had an awesome group, and it was very low key. We had a few dozen men and women across several generations and at least 2 countries signing up to participate. The rules were…there were no rules. Read pretty much whatever you want, and just fill out a form to let me know when you’d finished a book. There weren’t a lot of restrictions on what you could read, and there wasn’t a lot of pressure to read a certain amount. It was a go-at-your-own-pace kind of thing.

At the end of the summer I gave away prize packs (with goodies like popcorn, crayons, Amazon gift cards) to the readers who read the most books, read the most pages, and listened to the most audiobook minutes.

But really, the best part about the group were the discussions of great books on our list. Because the reading tastes ran every which way. Since we weren’t picking a monthly book that we would all read (and therefore not interfering with book clubs that members may already participate in), the discussion was a free for all of great stuff we’re reading, and stuff we want to read.

So we decided to do it again in 2016.

I actually meant to do this post a month ago, but in my defense I shall point you to our rather challenging end of the year around here.

So, now signups are open to anyone who wants to join us. But since this time it will be a year-long challenge, and I’d like to give away some more treats throughout the year (for trivia, smaller scale reading challenges, etc.). For 2016 I’m charging a $5 fee for the year. This is all to cover things like shipping, and prizes, and any other costs that may come up.

Want to join our awesome group? Email me at jackie @ jackiereeve.com to let me know, and I’ll give you my PayPal address and add you to the group. Signups for new members will be open until January 31st.

Rules: You can read pretty much whatever you want, in whatever format, and just enter it into the reading log. Comic books and children’s chapter books count, but magazines and picture books do not. The picture book rule is tough for me, I read so many. But, they will skew the numbers!

Contest dates: The contest is running from 12:00am ET January 1, 2016 to 11:59pm ET December 31st, 2016. So you can go back and log any books that you’ve FINISHED going back to January 1st at midnight ET after you sign up.

That’s it! Tell your friends, spread the word, and read, read, read.