Month: October 2020
#RogersReads2020: Read a Book First Published in the Year You Were Born
If you haven’t signed up for the #RogersReads reading challenge for 2020, now is the time! Click the #RogersReads image on the library website or use this link to begin logging your completed challenges and enter for monthly prizes! Each month, prizes will be awarded to two readers who enter a new book into their online log by the end of the month. If you complete all twelve prompts before February 2021, you will be entered for the grand prize that will be awarded at the end of the challenge.
Each month we will be highlighting one of the twelve reading prompts along with some ideas of titles that could fulfill that prompt. Share your own ideas and show off your progress by tagging us on social media with #RogersReads. Please remember that you can complete the #RogersReads prompts in any order using eBooks, audiobooks, or print copies of a title. We are excited to see what you select to fulfill this prompt!
Read a Book First Published in the Year You Were Born.
We can’t create a recommendation for each and every reader’s birthday, but we can take some guesses about what may fit your needs. You may have to do some additional research to find the perfect book from your birth year, but we have collected some options to get you started. We have listed below several titles from each decade, but you can always contact the library if you need help finding the perfect book for you!
1930
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936)
- Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (1934)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
- The Waves by Virginia Woolf (1931)
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)
- The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck (1931)
1940
- Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (1942)
- Native Son by Richard Wright (1940)
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (1940)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943)
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947)
- Under the Volcano by Malcom Lowry (1947)
1950
- The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (1954)
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (1958)
- Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin (1953)
1960
- A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul (1961)
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965)
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)
- Cover Her Face by P.D. James (1962)
1970
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1970)
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)
- Roots by Alex Haley (1976)
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (1970)
- Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (1970)
- Grendel by John Gardner (1971)
- Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (1974)
1980
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
- Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1984)
- A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (1988)
- White Noise by Don DeLillo (1985)
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty (1985)
- Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
1990
- How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez (1991)
- Jazz by Toni Morrison (1992)
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (1993)
- The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett (1998)
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
- The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999)
- Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
2000
- White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2000)
- Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (2000)
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001)
- Runaway by Alice Munro (2004)
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
We are looking forward to a year full of challenging new reads with you!
Happy reading!
The rest of this year’s challenges are listed below with links, when possible, to suggestions that can fulfill them.
Read a book with “Bronze,” “Silver,” or “Gold” in the title.
Read a book set in the “Jazz Age” (1920s).
Read a book first published in the year you were born.
Read a book that includes a map.
Read a book with a title that is only one word.
Read a book that is the first in a series.
Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, about a historical figure.
Read a book someone you know dislikes.
Read a book from the Young Adult section.
Read a book that is not written in traditional prose.
Read a book that has a season in the title.
Read a book about what you wanted to “grow up to be” when you were a kid.
Get to know EBSCO’s LearningExpress Library Overview
LearningExpress Library features online tutorials, practice tests, and e-books to help patrons of all ages. It offers job search and workplace skills improvement, skill building in reading, writing, math, and basic science, career certification and licensure exam prep, college and grad school entrance test prep, GED® test prep, and more.
See the descriptions below of the different learning centers available on LearningExpress Library:
Adult Core Skills
The Adult Core Skills center helps adults achieve their personal, education and career goals by offering resources to help them improve their basic skills in reading, writing, and math, and prepare for the U.S. citizenship exam.
School Center
The resources in the School Center provide skill-building for classroom and homework success. The School Center helps students in elementary, middle, and high school prepare for important tests, get extra help with assignments, and boost their skills in important subjects.
College Admissions Test Preparation
A college education is an important step to building a strong future. For admission you must do well on your college admission tests and write a personal essay that highlights your special talents. Use this center to get the resources you need to achieve your college preparation goals.
College Center
The College Center provides valuable resources that help college students strengthen their academic & life skills, prepare for placement tests, and get ready for graduate school entrance exams.
Career Preparation Center
Are you preparing for a professional exam? Are you curious about a particular occupation or looking to improve your workplace skills? Choose the Career Preparation Center and begin your path to a bright future.
High School Equivalency Center
Earning a high school equivalency credential can open the door to better income, a more fulfilling job, and a college education. If you are preparing for the GED®, HiSET® or TASC exams, the High School Equivalency Center’s practice tests, interactive tutorials, and e-books will help you reach your goal.
Recursos en Español
Herramientas de aprendizaje, carrera y ciudadanía en español. Este centro ofrece a los adultos que están muy ocupados los recursos para mejorar sus habilidades básicas, ganar sus credenciales de GED® o ser ciudadano estadounidense.
Resources in Spanish (English Translation)
This center provides learning tools as well as career and citizenship resources to help busy adults improve their basic skills, earn a GED® credential, or become a U.S. citizen.
Computer Skills Center
Video courses are the fastest and easiest way to learn how to use a computer. Use the materials in the Computer Skills Center to learn the basics of computers, from searching the Internet to using popular software programs for word processing, creating spreadsheets and databases, implementing design and more.
Popular Software Tutorials
If you’re looking to keep up, stay competitive, or get ahead, you’ll need to know how to use today’s most popular software programs, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. These easy-to-use courses will teach you everything you need to know and help make your goals a reality — all designed to fit your current skill level and schedule.
Computer and Internet Basics
Video tutorials are an efficient way to learn how to use a computer. Now you can learn computer and internet basics quickly and become comfortable with everything your computer has to offer.
Job & Career Accelerator™
Whether you’re looking to find a new job in your current field or pursue a career in an exciting new industry, Job & Career Accelerator™ has the powerful tools and expert guidance to help you through every step of the process to succeed in today’s job market. You can even generate a resume and cover letter, and apply for a job directly in the center.
Student Success Skills Center
Build the foundational skills that are vital for success in high school, college, and in life. The Student Success Skills Center covers topics such as time management, multitasking, study skills, information literacy skills, personal success skills, and more.