January Theme: Free Fallin'

This month is a freebie! Read a book from your TBR or come by to pick up a title you’ve been eyeing or a staff favorite with the gift cards you got over the holidays. Save 10% off staff picks each and every month of the challenge!

​

February Theme: Freeze Frame

Don't let the slow-motion weekdays stare you down — chill out with our February theme. Inspired by Susan’s love of anything arctic exploration, we are blowing this category wide open to include anything cold or pop rock/new wave. Ice cream? We all are screaming … YAS! Hockey romance? Of course, stop pucking around. We love a good mix so shake it up!

 

March Theme: Imagine Dragons

First things first ... here there be dragons and any other fictional or unbelievably strange creature you and Grant can dig up. Your imagination is the only limit on this category. Make us a believer!

 

April Theme: The Human League

Get out of your head and get into an inhuman perspective with a story told by an animal or inanimate object. Stranger things have happened, especially when Andrew is looking for a good book to read, so feel free to ask him — or any bookseller — for recommendations or to push the boundaries of this category with your own suggestions.

 

May Theme: You Are My Sunshine

Good day sunshine! Signs of summer are peeking through the clouds and inspiration abounds. Get creative, move your body, shake off the winter doldrums, and celebrate your shine! Resident artist and bookseller, Nona, is armed with a paintbrush and bookmark to help you do just that. Beware: She has a mean brushstroke!

 

June Theme: Rebel Yell

Be careful what comes dancin' to your door. Villain, antihero, a damsel who causes distress … these characters call out, and Steph responds with a “Hell yeah!” Chant along with her and our other booksellers while reading about characters — real or fiction — who buck the norm and challenge the status quo. Love ‘em or love to hate ‘em … the choice is yours.

 

July Theme: If I Had a Tail

The entire world of literature is your oyster. Melody’s slumber has been haunted by dreams of tail-flipping tall tales, and she's ready to take back control the night. Sail the seas, cast a line or catch sight of a mermaid with her and the team as we dive into life on or under the water. Listen for the siren song of a good book at your own risk; you might just uncover a pearl.

 

August Theme: First Rock Lesson

Recess is in session, and Ashley is getting her room ready for the season! Stock up on back to school books for your kids, your teachers or your classrooms. If school isn’t your thing, engage your brain to learn something new, like say how to rock climb, identify rocks (or rawk!) or discover the rock of ages. 

 

September Theme: We Are Family

We flock just like birds of a feather! The ties that bind aren’t always written in blood; sometimes the families we find are the ones that hold us up, keep us together and nurture our souls. Regardless of your ties, Willow recommends giving love in a family dose by picking up a book about connection, be it with ourselves, with others or with the world.

 

October Theme: Monster Mash

This month's theme is a graveyard smash! Monsters and mayhem are all around us — in the real (true crime) and not so real (vampires, unless you’re a bat). Seek out the things that go bump in the night, just don’t knock down bookseller Kaytlyn in the process!

 

November Theme: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Hold onto these books like you'll never let them go! Escape the holiday bustle, even just for a few moments of quiet reading, with a book that transports you to another place, another time or another space. Plan a trip for yourself or the whole family for a big dopamine hit. Just don’t let Nadine sneak along with you … we need her here until after the holidays!

 

December Theme: Holiday Road

It's a long way down the Holiday Road, so we recommend getting a head start on the holiday spirit with a winter or holiday adjacent read, from non-fiction to fiction, solstice to Hannukah and every celebration in between.