Readopoly

Yesterday, on our weekly visit to the library, Rebecca and I discovered that they are sponsoring an Adult Winter Reading Program.

They’re calling it Readopoly. Based, of course, on the Monopoly board game. How fun is that?

These days I mostly read library books on my Kindle, but Marilla of Green Gables isn’t currently available to check out digitally, so I was checking out the printed copy. Rebecca had several books in her stack as well.

As we were checking out we chit-chatted with the librarian about the Readopoly game.

“It’s pretty easy to qualify,” she told us. “One book might fit in more than one category.”

Since Marilla was next on my To Be Read list I was trying to determine how it would fit in.

The librarian suggested, based on the cover, that it might be a Romance.

Mmm… well, maybe. But since I already know that Marilla never marries (this being a prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series) I am not really expecting it to be a romance.

“Oh, look! ‘Book Set In Another Country.’ Yes, that’s it! This book is set in Canada!”

“Well, there ya go!” she said.

Since the game runs until April 8, I have plenty of time to read books in other categories as well. Each book read qualifies for an entry to weekly prizes and to the Grand Prize. Plus, if I complete the entire board I will double my entries!

Game on!

When I got home I studied the board a little closer, trying to plan my strategy.

Let’s see… 4 books in each category, with 3 suggested authors plus a Reader’s Choice square.

Ugh. I’m not so impressed with the suggested authors. Some I’ve already read and some I’ve tried and don’t care for. I wondered if you have to read the assigned authors?

Then… I bothered to read the rules.

“Select one book from a board category, check it out from the library, and read it.”

ONE. Per CATEGORY.

Whew!

I got this.

Not only did that give me the leeway to choose my own books, it also cut the number of books to read from 39 to 15. Definitely more doable.

It does say it needs to be library books, so I guess books I already own won’t count. Hopefully, titles checked on Kindle will.

So the challenge now is to see how many of the books already on my To Be Read list will fit into one of the categories plus be available as a library book.

For example, I checked out Brown Girl Dreaming. It’s kind of a memoir, but in poetry form. It could probably fulfill the Biography category… or Non-Fiction Title… or maybe Book With Traveling? I guess it will depend on what else I end up reading.

So I compared my To Be Read list with the library catalog to come up with…

My Readopoly Reading List:

Non-Fiction Title — Just Do Something by Kevin deYoung

Romance — A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden

Book Set In Another Country — Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

Fantasy — The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L. Rubart

Suspense — Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry

Book With Traveling — Thief of Glory by Sigmund Brouwer

Western — Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry

Mystery — The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright

Book Set On A Boat — As Waters Gone By by Cynthia Ruchti

Humor — Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet? by Charlene Ann Baumbich

Biography — Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Book Set On A Train — To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander

Sci-Fi — The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim

Librarian’s Pick! — remains to be seen

I’m not sure of some of those categories. Borders of the Heart is set in Arizona. Does that qualify it as a Western? As Waters Gone By is set on an island. I suspect there will be at least one scene set on a boat. If there’s not, I won’t count it. But does one scene count? Or does it have to be the whole book?

If not, can you recommend any books for those categories?

All this for a chance at a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Good thing I love to read just for the sake of reading.