Summer Tales 2021
Summer Tales is a virtual community for students taking classes remotely. It promises short mental breaks from coursework through reading and social interaction, two fool-proof methods of distraction.
Jump into Booktube
Beginner to Advanced Fantasy Books Sorted by Merphy Napier and Daniel Greene
Download & Share: Bookmarks
Making buttons and bookmarks was popular at the Reading Harry Potter events. We can't put the button making machine online, but it's easy to craft your own fun bookmark with the templates.
- Free Bookmark templatesThe best bookmarks are made of material that you already have at home. We love corner bookmarks!
Create your own bookmark using ours!
Want to be a Poet? Try Poetry for Fun
- Poem GeneratorWrite a poem using a specific structure such as a sonnet or haiku in a minute.
- Various Poem GeneratorsA list of free Poem Generators, simple to use by filling out the form and pressing the submit button.
- Poetry MachineA fun poem generator from Poetry Games.
Social Media
- Discussion threads on TwitterBooks We Read Twitter feed. Follow to see the fun things we get up to!
Love Your Library Quizzes
- Which Rutgers Library are You?Take this Buzzfeed quiz made by Chang Science Library Staff to find out which Rutgers library you are!
- Your Library Design Determines Your Favorite Genre"the library you design for your house will determine your favorite book genre"
Bookworm Quizzes
- Do you know these classic book covers?"Only a true bookworm will be able to pass this book cover quiz"
- Find Your Next Book Soulmate"this quiz will reveal the book that speaks to your soul"
- Guess The Writer"Can you identify a writer by reading a random paragraph?"
- Guess the Character"Can you identify the iconic book character from the way they are first described?
Download & Share: Coloring pages
- Color Our CollectionsDownloadable coloring sheets from the Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives.
Platforms for Readers and Writers
- GoodreadsTrack your books, set challenges, rate books, write and read book reviews, get recommendations, and more!
- NaNoWriMoNational Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel.
- WhichbookGet book recommendations based on the emotional elements of books! For example you could find books that are happy, optimistic, and unconventional or sad, bleak, and conventional. You can also search by character to find books by race, gender, sexuality, etc or by setting or plot.
- Literature MapGet author recommendations by searching for your favorite author. Results form a map where the closer the authors are to the middle of screen the more similar they are to the author you searched for.
Quarantine Reading Lists
- A Dystopian Reading ListThe Guardian recommends books to delve into during self-isolation.
- So You Want to Read the Classics?A classics reading list from Vox that walks you step by step through the books, going from easy and accessible to advanced.
- Books Spotlighting Mental HealthFrom Oprah Magazine, this list highlights 10 incredibly important novels with mental illness topics to learn from or relate to.
- Books for ComfortThe New York Times features the books that various high profile authors turn to when looking for comfort.
Audiobooks
Do you prefer listening to books? Audiobooks are a great way to chill and immerse in a story in the summer. Our top 5 reasons to try audiobooks:
- You can have your entire library in your pocket when you go running or to the beach.
- You won't look like a total nerd with a backpack of books among music lovers with earphones.
- You will be able to pronounce the most difficult words correctly (stop sounding like Harry Potter's Victor Krum trying to please Hermione).
- You have an excuse to ask for the latest AirPods for your birthday.
- You can read with your eyes closed. Just don't try that while driving.
- Cloud LibraryListen to audiobooks, browse eBooks with your library card from your public library.
- Internet ArchiveNearly 20,000 free audiobooks from various authors to listen.
- LibrivoxFree public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world.
- LibbyUse Libby to borrow and read ebooks and audiobooks from your local public library for free.
- Open CultureHundreds of free titles streaming, mp3, iTunes, audible, and more.