
Book by Book:Adult Summer Reading

June 1 - August 31, 2023
Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is here to help grown-ups celebrate this summer with the best books around. Read or listen to five books between June 1 – August 31, 2023, and be entered to win a fantastic prize.
- To sign up, visit any MPL location for a reading log. Receive a coupon* for one free used book from the Friends of Milwaukee Public Library (while supplies last).
* Redeemable at any MPL location - Keep track of your books & activities on a reading log.
- Return the completed log to any Milwaukee Public Library by Thursday, August 31, 2023, and enter for a chance to win a prize.
- One entry per participant (paper or online). Ages 18+
- For more information on additional reading challenges and prize opportunities, visit your Beanstack account.
The Book by Book Adult Summer Reading Program supports the library’s goal of creating a city of readers and lifelong learners by encouraging adults to read based on their interests, visit the library during the summer, and model positive reading habits. Past program participants have shared that the program helped reignite their passion for reading with the added benefit of fun prizes!
A special thank you to our 2023 prize sponsors!
- Samsung Galaxy Tablet (3)
- Milwaukee Art Museum Family Membership (3 - One Year Each)
- Discovery World Family Membership (3 – One Year Each)
- More MPL Experience Prizes - TBD
Explore Our Suggestions:
- Thriller/Horror
- Romance
- Mystery
- Literary Fiction
- Short Story Collections
- Wisconsin Author
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
Recently Added
by Adam Sternbergh
Signed up for The Eden Test, a week-long getaway for couples in need of a fresh start, Daisy, a talented actress, and her husband, Craig, as the lies pile up, are forced to go to the extreme to save their marriage.
View on CountyCatby Justin Cronin
A ferryman, shepherding people through retirement - and, when necessary, enforcing it? Proctor Bennet, of the Department of Social Contracts, receives a disturbing and message, while The Support Staff, who keep Prospera running, organize a revolution.
by Mcfarlane, Fiona
In 1883 colonial Australia, when a 6-year-old goes missing during a dust storm, the entire community is caught up in the search for him as they confront their relationships with one another and with the landscape they inhabit.
by John Scalzi
As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the U.S., the only job Jamie can find is delivering food, until he begins to work for a secret NGO preserving large animals. What Jamie didn't know is just how large.
View on CountyCatby J. S. Dewes
This is an epic space fantasy about all the “wrong” people, the tense relationships they build, and the single goal that unites them all. And this is only the beginning.
View on CountyCatby Nnedi Okorafor
When an alien artifact turns her into Death’s adopted daughter, Sankofa, with her name being the only tie to her family and her past, searches for answers as cities fall in her wake.
View on CountyCatby Andrea Bartz
Bartz, who is from Brookfield, set the majority of this story in Milwaukee, Emily’s home. The story is replete with Wisco details – old fashioneds, Brady Street, custard, going up north.
by Christina Clancy
Clancy has a PhD in Creative Writing from UW-Milwaukee, and taught English for almost a decade at Beloit College. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband John. They have two kids, Olivia and Tim.
View on CountyCatby Anthony Veasna So
Short stories that portray of the lives of Cambodian-Americans still dealing with the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide including a young, disillusioned teacher obsessed with Moby-Dick and a child whose mother survived a school shooting.
by S.A. Cosby
When his son Isiah and his white husband, Derek, are murdered, ex-con Ike bands together with Derek’s father, another ex-con, to rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys while confronting their own prejudices about each other and their sons.