Becky Brower, left, and Katie Moran are excited for the Syracuse Public Library’s 2023 adult reading challenge to kick off Jan. 1. Readers can sign up at the library. Photo by Sarah Wright.

News Release

SYRACUSE — Make it your New Year’s aspiration to read more. The Syracuse Public Library’s 2023 adult reading challenge launches Jan. 1, so “Join the Search Party” on its quest to find the year’s best books.

Guess how many books you will read from Jan. 1 through Oct. 10 and sign up with Becky Brower; there is a 15-book minimum goal to join the challenge. Finally, start reading. Any book — including e-books, comic books, audiobooks, etc. — read within the period counts even if you read them before you officially sign up for the challenge.

While reading, don’t forget to record your finished books. Choose whichever method of recording you prefer, whether you use scrap pieces of paper, Goodreads, a notebook or a spreadsheet. Strive to meet your goal by the Oct. 10 end date, and then attend the challenge party. Stay tuned for more details.

To sign up digitally, email [email protected].

Book Clubs Announce January Picks

Get a head start on reading goals by joining one of the library’s book clubs.

The adult book club will read “All by Myself, Alone” by Mary Higgins Clark. Mystery fans won’t want to miss the boat on this suspenseful tale surrounding a murder and a missing emerald necklace that takes place on a cruise ship. Discussions occur at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, via Zoom; and at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in the library’s downstairs meeting room.

Contact Becky Brower, [email protected], for information or to receive a Zoom invitation.

Young adults will read “Mirror Girls” by Kelly McWilliams, a story about twin sisters separated after the lynching of their parents, who died for loving across the color line. Now, at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Charlie is a young Black organizer in Harlem, while white-passing Magnolia is the heiress to a cotton plantation in rural Georgia.

The sisters reunite as teenagers in the deeply haunted town of Eureka, Ga., where ghosts linger centuries after their time and dangers lurk behind every mirror. They couldn’t be more different, but they will need each other to put the hauntings of the past to rest, break the mirrors’ deadly curse — and discover the meaning of sisterhood in a racially divided land.

Young adults can discuss at either 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, or noon Saturday, Jan. 28. Both discussions will meet in the Rosalyn Jones Room/young adult space. Contact Amber Weber, [email protected], or Michelle Parker, [email protected], for information.

Books for both clubs are available for checkout at the Syracuse Public Library. Digital e-books and audiobooks are also available on the Libby app.

Upcoming Teen Art Contest Deadline

The extended “All Together Now!” Teen Art Contest deadline arrives Friday, Jan. 6. Teens in sixth through 12th grade can turn in their finished projects and packets at either the North Webster Community Public Library or Syracuse Public Library. For information, rb.gy/6mgek9.

The art open house happens from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at the North Webster Community Public Library, 110 E. North St. Artists, their families and the community are invited to attend.

New Year’s Closings

The Syracuse Public Library will close from Saturday, Dec. 31, through Monday, Jan. 2, for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.