This year is the 400-year anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio. While it has sometimes been described as the most important single book in history, you wouldn’t be alone if you don’t know what this is and why it matters, so please indulge my minor history lesson if you want to understand the concept behind our upcoming Beanstack challenge in April. You’ll be especially lucky in April since there will be a second Beanstack challenge, Celebrate Earth, to participate in.

As usual, the new year greets us with a deluge of exciting new books. Looking at the entire year ahead is a bit overwhelming, so I want to focus on the first quarter of 2023. Here are some upcoming titles garnering a lot of buzz that have release dates in the first three months. 

November is Native American Heritage Month, which celebrates the heritage and history of the Indigenous peoples of this land. It feels like a good time to recognize the fantastic books Native authors have been contributing to our collection in the last year or two. Below is a selection of some of those books, with a handful of upcoming November releases. The final few are, admittedly, not by Native authors but wonderful additions that focus on Native subjects.

This list focuses on adult books, but the teen and youth areas have plenty of titles to contribute, as well!  

It’s the best time of the year: October, when all things dark and creepy are celebrated. As has been my custom for a few years, I wanted to share appropriate reading material for the season. There are so many great horror novels that have been released this year that I decided to showcase one for every day of the month. So here are 31 books to get you through Halloween and well beyond.

Now that we’ve had a bit of time to put the Summer Reading Challenge behind us, we’re ready to begin another Beanstack challenge. National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15 - October 15. We challenge you to read any book written by a Hispanic author, or about or set in a Hispanic country. You may read one of our recommended books or pick out a book on your own.

June is Audiobook Month/Audiobook Appreciation Month, and we at FRVPLD are always ready to celebrate this way of reading. Aren’t audiobooks cheating, you may ask? Definitely not! Reading is reading, whatever form it takes. Studies have shown that there is no significant difference in how the brain comprehends audio vs text books. Humans were oral storytellers for tens of thousands of years before the written word evolved, so it takes us back to our roots.

The Summer Reading Challenge is officially upon us! If you haven't signed up yet, see Kirstin's blog post for details on how to do so. The blog is also a great reminder for the details of our kick-off picnic coming up on Saturday, June 4.