Roger Public Library patrons have already been signing up, completing challenges, and even winning prizes, and our annual #RogerReads reading challenge has only just begun! You can join now by registering and entering the books you read at rpl.readsquared.com under “missions.” Each month, prizes will be awarded to two readers who complete a mission online by the end of the month. If you complete all twelve missions by December 31, 2021, you will be entered for the grand prize that will be awarded at the end of the challenge.

Each month, we will highlight one of the twelve challenges here with some ideas of titles that could fulfill that prompt, but you can finish the challenges in any order over the course of the year with eBooks, audiobooks, or print copies of a title. Share your own ideas and show off your progress by tagging us on social media with #RogersReads. We are excited to see what you select to fulfill these challenges!

Read A Book That Is About Food Or Has Food In The Title

Really any cookbook would help you complete this challenge, but Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, The Food Lab by by J. Kenji López-Alt, and How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman are all cookbooks that are well recognized as great resources for any aspiring chef.

Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast by Ken Forkish, Pastry Love by Joanne Chang, and The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz are some of the many cookbooks in our collection that reflect specific interests or types of foods.

If you are curious about what really happens in the kitchen, you can check out any of these memoirs written by professional chefs. Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson, Notes From A Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi, and Sous Chef by Michael Gibney.

If you are more interested in fiction, don’t fear! We have plenty of fiction books where food is front and center. Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal, The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones, and White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby may fit the bill if you are interested in more realistic fiction.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown, and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo are all fiction books that explore a character’s relationships to food in one way or another.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert, and Natalie Tan’s Books of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim are all fiction books that are cooking up some romance.

We are looking forward to a year full of challenging new reads with you!

Happy reading!

#RogersReads Reading Challenges for 2021

1. Read a book that makes you laugh.
2. Read a book that is about food or has food in the title.
3. Read a book set in or about space.
4. Read a book that is about or based on mythology or folklore.
5. Read a book whose author is known for something other than writing.
6. Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, about nature.
7. Read a fictional retelling of a historical event.
8. Read a book you meant to read in 2020.
9. Read a book with an animal on the cover.
10. Read a book from your least favorite genre.
11. Read a book that, for better or worse, you judged by its cover.
12. Read a book with a body of water on the cover or in the title.