Summer reading fun starts NOW!

Last year, more than 15,000 readers joined us, and we're making this year's challenge even bigger and better. I'm so glad you decided to join us!

How the Challenge Works:

1. Download your Summer Reading Challenge Workbook and June Reading Tracker here.

   We made it black and white so it's easy to print and color in as you finish each book! 

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2. Join our Summer Reading Challenge Facebook Group

   We're all about making reading a shared adventure. Join thousands of fellow readers for book discussions, recommendations, giveaways, reading check-ins, and plenty of cozy book-loving fun.

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3. This year we're bringing you a Summer Reading List!

   We've partnered with incredible authors to create a Summer Reading List filled with recommendations for every kind of reader. You just might discover your next favorite book.

   *(This list is not the mandatory kind. It's optional, intended to be fun and to introduce you to new books and new authors)

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4. READ! And have fun doing it!

   This year's challenge is simple:

   • Read 3 books in June
   • Read 3 books in July
   • Read 3 books in August

   That's 9 books total this summer!

   Read whatever genres you love. Romance, mystery, thriller, fantasy, memoir, nonfiction, audiobooks, eBooks... it all counts.

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5. Tell your friends about the challenge!

   Know someone who would love a little reading motivation this summer? Invite them to join us. Every friend you invite can earn you bonus entries into our monthly giveaways!

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6. Complete the challenge by reading all 9 books and you'll unlock your completion rewards!

   Finish the challenge and you'll receive:

   • A surprise printable
   • A collection of free ebooks
   • A collection of free audiobooks

   You'll also be entered to win bonus prizes including book boxes, reader t-shirts, and Barnes & Noble gift cards.

So let's do this! Let's make this the most fun Summer Reading experience we've had since we were kids.

I unlocked the Adventure avatar bundle!

I chose my favorite look and got my avatar ready for adventure. I am showing off the new look on social media with #maricopacountyreads.

My May 2026 Reads

🧴 Audiobook That I Listen To While Doing Skincare:

✅ 1. [🌞GLENDALE LIBRARY🌞]: 🥀 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Frankie Corzo (Narrator)

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☕️ My Main Coffee Read:

✅ 2. 👩🏻‍🦳 Female Force: Bestsellers: JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice, and Charlaine Harris by Melissa Seymour

✅ 3. [☀️PHOENIX LIBRARY☀️]: 🌉 The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter J. Tomasi, Teo Duvall (Illustrator)

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👯‍♀️ Sister Summer Book Club Pick:

✅ 4. 🗝 The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Review: The Housemaid

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished reading this book on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 6:22 p.m. Our last reading session was 84 minutes, or 1 hour and 24 minutes. Ale read last. It was a real page turner towards the end of the book!

View all my reviews

🗝 The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

This will be the first book for the Sister Summer Book Club for 2026. We both picked it for our free book prize for last year’s reading program. We saw that Mom was watching the movie for it, so we have that to look forward to. This will be a book we start reading before June 1st, which is the official start to this year’s Summer Reading game. I think that this will be a good read.

We watched the movie after our book discussion with Mom. She already watched it once, so this was her second time watching it, though she had to leave during it to go to Sam's Club to get the pick up groceries. Ale gave it like three stars and I gave it four. We liked the change at the end where Nina let out Andrew while he was still alive.

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* When it was mentioned that Nina has a white purse it reminded me of that one vine that Ale and I quote sometimes. The “you spilled lipstick in my Valentino bag.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8dksl5aIo

* I thought that it was so funny when Millie said that, “... if I took a look” (65).

lolz

* Overall, I really liked this book. I can see why it’s so popular and was made into a movie. This book is like a blockbuster. I would rate this book a five out of five stars because it was so good. The plot had you second guessing and it was a real page turner at the end. So much so that Ale and I finished the book a whole three days early because we just had to find out what would happen next. My initial impression were that this story was obviously going to be a domestic one where the husband cheats on the wife with the new housemaid, hence the book title, but Freida McFadden took it to a different level. This book reminds me of another book I read that had similar themes. “Behind Closed Doors” by B.A. Paris. It has that same trope of trapped wife and psycho husband. But that’s what makes it a thriller book. I am really looking forward to seeing the movie now! I have noticed a theme with thriller books. The real meat of the story always happens at the end of the book. This book is a part of a series!

So on the day we were going to do our book discussion Mom and Ale went to Chandler to follow up on Ale's surgery and after that they went to Black Bear Diner. There was a jukebox there and Ale saw this song on there. It is the song Nina mentioned when we were getting her backstory! She said that she named Cecelia after this song by Simon & Garfunkel. Ale showed me the picture on her phone while we were doing our book discussion! This was such a coincidence! Wow!

AANHPI Month 2026

Jewish American Heritage Month 2026

AZ Read 250 May 2026 (Minutes) | MLCC | May 1, 2026 - May 31, 2026

I'm pretty sure the reward is an AZ sticker :/

Benny the Bean's Birthday! XDDDD

I wonder how old he is. Happy birthday, Benny from Beanstack! XD

Review: The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York

The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter J. Tomasi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished reading this book on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 3:25 p.m.

View all my reviews

🌉 The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York by Peter J. Tomasi, Teo Duvall (Illustrator)

So since Ale, Emma, and I are going to New York in October 2026 I wanted to learn all I can about New York history. I wanted to read a graphic novel about New York history and found this book. I first found this book as an eComic, but I’d really rather have a physical book instead. I saw that the Phoenix library has a physical copy in their catalog, so I borrowed it from them and picked it up at the Palo Verde outdoor holds locker. I love those things! I wish that every library had them. I think that I will enjoy this story!

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* I thought that it was so sweet that Washington Roebling’s father came to help him with his stomach pains. I think that their Irish if Washington calls his father Da, but after searching online I found out that they are of German descent.

* I think that it’s cool how there’s a panel of the Delmonico’s restaurant that the Impractical Jokers filmed at! The panel to the top left said it was 1870 and Delmonico's opened in 1837. Page 83. At 2:36 you can see the outside of the actual restaurant. At 19:25 to the delmonicossss i need to make a clip of that!!!!!! https://youtu.be/MugI-CbGRYE?si=52j4wa0CAHIfGQoj&t=154

https://youtu.be/d0yOHqbk4Js

* I also thought that it was crazy how the bridge workers found the skeletons of British soldiers from the last century. Wow! Page 105.

* I got teary eyed and emotional when Em, or Mrs. Roebling first crossed the bridge. I loved what Mr. Roebling said in the bottom panels. Page 186-187.

I thought that this was so cool!!!!

John is so cute! <3

Beautiful!

🥹

I also got teary eyed at this page.

We're Ready To Go For 2026's Summer Reading Game!

Spring Into Reading 2026 - Casa Grande Library