We’ve been hosting an adult reading program for close to 15 years and this year we decided to switch things up a bit and play a reading game based on one of the most famous board games that we all know and love. (Most of us anyway). Book-Opoly ended up being much fun to organize and from what we’re hearing from participants, it’s been a lot of fun to play. The game board looked very familiar to anyone who has ever played Monopoly, but when you took a closer look, you realized you weren’t on Park Place anymore. You could, however, go to jail if you wished. We came up book categories, grouped by the familiar colors of the Monopoly properties, and as you read the books you got a sticker of a house on your game board and if you finished a group of three, you got a hotel sticker. Never underestimate the power of reward, even for adults. Participants also received a small prize and chances to win one of 10 beautiful baskets that our staff person, Carol, put together for us. The categories this year were, as always, cleverly designed by staff. Some of them were Book with A Blue Cover, Book with a White Cover, Book with a Color in the Title, Book with an Animal on the Cover, Book with a Person on the Cover, Book with No Picture on the Cover…you get the idea. Some might argue we took the easy way out this year – we say we made the program much more flexible. We did come up with some categories that were less vague than the ones already mentioned, and we also added categories to introduce people to our “Library of Things”. So, this year, some people learned how to play a Ukulele or a Harp, and others baked a cake in one of many shapes using one of our novelty cake pans. Of course, there was a bonus to including a category about baking a cake…we had some of the best cake of our lives this winter. The response to our adult reading program was fantastic. The boost the program gives to participants and us during the long winter months cannot be overstated. The next best thing after helping people find something to read, is discussing what they read after they bring the book back. We will keep having this program as long as people want to play. Thank you to everyone who participated.