By Dirk Langeveld

WESTPORT – The Westport Library is inviting residents to enjoy some time curled up with a good book during the chilly months, with the Adult Winter Reading Challenge and Children’s Winter Reading Program returning for another season.

The Adult Winter Reading Challenge will run through Feb. 2nd. The library’s reference team has chosen 10 categories for participants to choose from. Participants can read books matching each category and log their reading on the library’s challenge leaderboard. Each book can only be logged once toward a single category.

Categories for the current Adult Winter Reading Challenge include:

• From Our “Best Of” List
• That Is or Was a WestportREADS Book
• With An Occupation in the Title
• Featuring a Party
• Whose Main Character is Shunned From Society
• About Being Unapologetically You
• About Regrets
• About a Holiday Gone Awry
• With Night on the Cover
• That Motivates You

The Westport Library has compiled a list of suggested titles, which can be found on this page.

The Adult Winter Reading Challenge was introduced in 2024-2025. Forty-four readers participated in that challenge, collectively reading 272 books, and one-third managed to fulfill all ten categories.

This initiative complements the WestportREADS 2026 program, which offers immersive programming around a single book to promote reading as a shared experience. The library chose All the Water in the World by Eireen Caffall as this year’s selection.

The Westport Library is also hosting the Children’s Winter Reading Program. Participating children can log the amount of time they spend reading a wide variety of material, including novels, picture books, graphic novels, comics, newspapers, and magazines. Time can also be logged for listening to stories read aloud by parents, librarians, or others.

Children can visit the library to receive an activity sheet, and completing 10 activities will earn them a book from the library’s prize cart. Those who complete 500 minutes of reading can take home another book. They will also receive nine color-coded stickers to contribute to a collaborative community art project at the library, with every 50 minutes of reading earning them more stickers.

“This program offers a chance for families to build shared reading habits,” said Mary Parmelee, the library’s director of youth services. “Parents who read inspire kids to read, and best of all, they get to share the joy of reading together.”

For more information on these programs, visit the library’s website at westportlibrary.org.