In this episode, Ross speaks with Programming Manager Sarah Brubaker about the upcoming our Winter Reading program. Listen for more information on this year’s theme (HINT: Get ready to press the A button!), incremental prizes, and grand prizes.
Winter Reading runs from December 19, 2025 to January 19, 2026. To learn more about signing up for the challenge, please visit our website.
Introduction:
Ross Gericke: Hello and welcome to Unreadable, the official Forsyth County Public Library podcast for news, upcoming programs, and recommendations. I’m your host, Ross Gericke, the branch manager at Hampton Park.
In this episode, I speak with our Programming Manager, Sarah Brubaker, about our upcoming Winter Reading Challenge. The Winter Reading Challenge will run from December 19 to January 19. So make sure to get signed up for Beanstack and record all your reading and earn some cool, retro-themed prizes.
Now on with the show.
Interview:
Ross Gericke: Sarah, welcome to the podcast.
Sarah Brubaker: Thank you for having me.
Ross Gericke: Well, it's early December as we record this and it's very cold outside, so winter reading must be close at hand.
Sarah Brubaker: Absolutely. It is time to cozy up with that blanket and hot cocoa, and read a book.
Ross Gericke: So, what do our patrons have to look forward to for this year's Winter Reading program?
Sarah Brubaker: Our challenge is going to be running from December 19th, which is the last day of school for all of our students, until January 19th, which is Martin Luther King Day. That way we have a full month for everyone to enter their reading and get as many points as they can. As all ages read, they will be earning points and prizes. So just like our Summer Reading, every minute that someone reads will be one point. And for our littles, every book that they read will be 20 points.
And we're going to have prizes throughout the process so that everyone gets to enjoy the challenge. We're going to have two point-based prizes at 250 and 500 points. And for our kids, they're going to get a button, or for our littles, they can get a little preschool prize. Then for our teens and adults, they will be able to select a vinyl sticker.
And then we're trying something new this year, which is that each location is also going to have a unique badge. And so uh for our kids who love collecting buttons, we have seen button mania active during the summer. So we decided to continue that theme. Each branch, including the Bookmobile, has its own unique button. So, if our families want to go and visit the different locations, they can earn different buttons. And so there's a possibility to earn six location buttons and two point buttons for all of our kids, who love those buttons.
And then our adults and our teens who may, you know, be a little too cool for the button craze, they will be able to get a Friends of the Library bookstore coupon for a free book up to $3 in value.
Ross Gericke: Now, the theme this year I really enjoy because it's a kind of a retro gaming theme. And I'm old enough that when I played retro style games, they weren't retro, right? They were just games. But I enjoy the eight bit art. It looks really cool, Sarah.
Sarah Brubaker: Yes. I definitely enjoy cozy gaming, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, all of those types of things that kind of give a little nostalgia. Even the ones that are current and popular, I think they do hearken back to something that feels a little simpler. In today's age of social media-driven gaming and everything, it's like, “Okay, how can I just, you know, make myself a little bit better? How can I level up? How can I, you know, find the cool Easter eggs?” I think of course of Ready Player One – excellent book for anyone out there. But just, you know, how do you become a better hero in your own adventure? And that's kind of what we wanted to draw on for our winter reading challenge.
Ross Gericke: Plus, pixel art never ages.
Sarah Brubaker: Absolutely.
Ross Gericke: So, what big prizes though do patrons have to look forward to?
Sarah Brubaker: Absolutely. So, we do have grand prizes for every age group. That's going to be preschool, elementary, teen, and adult. And each location has their own set of prizes. So, you will automatically be entered into the grand prize drawing for your age group when you hit 500 points. So, you want to keep reading all winter so that you can get those points and automatically get your entry into the grand prize drawing.
For our preschoolers, we have MAGNA-TILES, which are very popular these days. They're fun building blocks, essentially, that are magnetic.
For our elementary, I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about this one. We've got some of that retro gaming vibe. So, we have a handheld Tetris console, a Rubik's cube, some hot chocolate, [and] a Squishmallow [to] make it a little cozy, and they will also get Kanoodle as a part of that bundle.
Our teens are a little bit different from the retro gaming thing, because we wanted to give them a boba basket. We know that boba tea, milk tea is very popular, and our teens do love to get sugared up. So, they are going to get a kit that serves six different milk tea beverages as well as a fun boba tea pencil pouch and some sticky notes, so that they can bring it to school.
And then our adults get a cozy murder mystery basket. So, they get to solve some murder mysteries at home. We're going to have a Hunt a Killer mystery box, a Murdle puzzle game, and then a book that's called How to Get Away with Murder. So, any of our adults who enjoy murder mysteries, true crime, [and] all of that, will definitely enjoy winning that prize.
Ross Gericke: Well, those all sound incredible, Sarah, and it sounds like our patrons have a lot to look forward to this winter during our Winter Reading challenge.
Thank you for coming on the podcast.
Sarah Brubaker: Of course. Happy to be here.
Outro
Ross Gericke: Thank you for listening to the December 2025 episode of Unreadable.
Please subscribe to our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Contact the podcast directly with any comments by email at Unreadable@forsythpl.org
Keep up with all the excitement happening each month on our interactive calendar available on our website, www.forsythpl.org. You can also stay connected with the library through Facebook and Instagram @FOCOlibrary.
Our theme music is “Open Those Bright Eyes” composed by Kevin MacLeod. This and other compositions by Kevin MacLeod are available at Incompetech.com
I’m Ross Gericke, and this podcast has been Unreadable.
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