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2025 Branch Out Reading Challenge: Home

Branch Out Reading Challenge 2025: How to Participate

Branch Out is a new reading challenge for adults, designed to grow your reading.

The program is designed to be as flexible as you like: complete the themes in any order, at whatever pace you like. Complete all 12 themes over 12 months, or faster if you prefer. With each completed theme, your name will go into the hat for raffles happening throughout the year. Finish all 12 themes for a collectible prize. 

How To Participate

  1. Choose a theme. 
  2. Read any book that fits the theme. Our librarians have handpicked some fiction and nonfiction suggestions for each theme to get you started, but you can pick any book that fits the theme, whether it is listed in the booklet, the additional reading suggestions, or something you selected on your own.
  3. When you finish the book, fill out this form to indicate you have completed that theme.
  4. Repeat until you have completed all 12 themes.
     

Have any questions? Check our FAQ or reach out to us at adultdesk@vapld.info or 224-543-1485

Looking for more recommendations beyond the titles in the booklet or listed below? Check out our reading suggestions or stop by the desk for additional book ideas.

Branch Out Themes

Meet Someone New

Step into someone else’s life. Read a biographical fiction book, a biography, or a memoir.

Cover of I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo Cover of Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken Cover of Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey

Cover of Scandalous Women by Gill PaulCover of The Wildes by Louis BayardCover of The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate

Cover of The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin DunneCover of American Flygirl by Susan Tate AnkenyCovers of Did I Ever Tell You? by Genevieve Kingston

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

 

Patron of the Arts

Find inspiration in the arts. Read a book related to music or the arts.

Cover of Symphony of Secrets by Brendan SlocumbCover of The Glassmaker by Tracy ChevalierCover of The Pole by J.M. Coetzee

Cover of Charm City Rocks by Matthew NormanCover of King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-TannerCover of The Swan's Nest by Laura McNeal

Cover of The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael FinkelCover of The Long Run: A Creative Inquiry by Stacey D'ErasmoCover of I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel J. Levitin

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Beyond the Headlines

Dive deeper into the news of the day. Read a book that relates to current events or has topical themes. 

Cover of Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. RendonCover of Burn by Peter HellerCover of A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Cover of I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif EngerCover All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri MaherCover of A Fire So Wild by Sarah Ruiz Grossman

Cover of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden KeefeCover of Dangerous Fictions: The Fear of Fantasy and the Invention of Reality by Lyta GoldCover of We Loved It All: A Memory of Life by Lydia Millet

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

What's in a Name

Play the name game! Read a book with a name in the title.

Cover of Catalina by Karla Cornejo VillavicencioCover of Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie PookCover of Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Cover of The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony CameronCover of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen LoigmanCover of The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Cover of Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond by Henry WinklerCover of Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O'BrienCover of Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Discover a Debut

Find a new favorite. Read a debut author.

Cover of Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi DarrajCover of The Storm We Made by Vanessa ChanCover of City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter

Cover of Oye by Melissa MogollonCover of Medusa by Nataly GruenderCover of The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Cover of My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo GutierrezCover of The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë SchlangerCover of All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess by Becca Rothfeld

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Blockbusters You Might Have Missed

Was there a book that made you say “Maybe later” when you saw the waiting list the first time around? Read a book that was recently popular with your neighbors.

Cover of The Housemaid by Freida McFaddenCover of Table for Two by Amor TowlesCover of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Cover of The Women by Kristin HannahCover of The God of the Woods by Liz MooreCover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

Cover of Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah HarariCover of Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina GartenCover of Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Award Winners

There’s a book for every reader and recognition for every genre. Read a book that won an award in recent years.

Cover of Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar HokeahCover of Witch King by Martha WellsCover of Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

Cover of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. SutantoCover of Trespasses by Louise KennedyCover of We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Cover of The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned BlackhawkCover of A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy EganCover of Liliana's Invincible Summer: A Sister's Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

 

One Word Titles

Short, sweet, and to the point. Read a book with a one word title.

Cover of Masquerade by O.O. SangoyomiCover of Diva by Daisy GoodwinCover of Playground by Richard Powers

Cover of Martyr! by Kaveh AkbarCover of Northwoods by Amy PeaseCover of Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Cover of Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam HigginbothamCover of Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia HyltonCover of Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Time After Time

Travel through time from the comfort of your home. Read a book about time, futuristic elements, time-travel, or parallel timelines.

Cover of Calico by Lee GoldbergCover of One Last Stop by Casey McQuistonCover of Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Cover of A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan PowerCover of The Fallen Fruit by Shawntelle MadisonCover of Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Cover of Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History by Rebecca StruthersCover of Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert MacfarlaneCover of On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking's Final Theory by Thomas Hertog

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

So Good, It’s Criminal

It’s criminally good! Read a mystery, crime fiction, or a true crime book.

Cover of Precipice by Robert HarrisCover of How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen PerrinCover of All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

Cover of Hunted by Abir MukherjeeCover of The Golden Gate by Amy ChuaCover of Better the Blood by Michael Bennett

Cover of Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskeyCover of The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit by Evan RailCover of Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree that Changed America by Harry N. MacLean

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Found in Translation

Transport yourself through the power of translation. Read a book that was translated into the language of your choosing.

Cover of Greek Lessons by Han KangCover of Shubeik Lubeik by Deena MohamedCover of A View from the Stars: Stories and Essays by Cixin Liu

Cover of The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki MurakamiCover of The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas CorreaCover of A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi

Cover of The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us if We Let Them by Peter WohllebenCover of The Soul of a Woman by Isabel AllendeCover of Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo

 

Looking for more books for this theme?

Treat Yourself

Take a well-deserved break. Read an uplifting, cozy, or humorous book.

Cover of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel BurrCover of How to Age Disgracefully by Clare PooleyCover of The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Cover of The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie LeongCover of The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen SimonsonCover of The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams

Cover of The Comfort Book by Matt HaigCover of Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World by Danna StaafCover of The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

 

Looking for more books for this theme?