Adults and teens who want to earn one or all of our six limited-edition Summer Quest badges can begin their quest by reading these books suggested by BCFL staff.
Summer Quest kicks off on Saturday, June 20 with registration for Beanstack, our online reading site, opening that day. Learn more.
Bona Fide Fan
- Black Panther & The Crew by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey
- The Disaster Artist: My Life inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero
- Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond by Jessica Abel
- Fandom by Francesca Davis DiPiazza and Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
- The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Geek Girls by Sam Maggs
- A Modern Nerd’s Guide to Fan Fiction by Katie Kawa
- The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s by Andy Greene
- Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Creators of Superman by Brad Ricca
- Wonder Woman: Ambassador of Truth by Signe Bergstrom
Once Upon a Time
- All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother by Danielle Teller
- Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
- Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace
- The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson
- Not Cinderella’s Type by Jenni James
- Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
- Thorn by Intisar Khanani
- The Turnip Princess: And Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
- Twisted Tale series by Liz Braswell
- The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine
Schooner or Later
- Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester
- Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson
- The Imperiled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea by Laura Trethewey
- Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
- My Penguin Year: Life Among the Emperors by Lindsay McCrae
- Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
- The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
- Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson
- Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Quest to Save the Oceans by Charles Moore
- Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures by Nick Pyenson
Standing Ovation
- 101 Magic Tricks: Any Time, Any Place by Bryan Miles
- 101 Mom Jokes: Like Dad Jokes, Only Smarter by Elias Hill
- Card Tricks: The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue
- Coin Magic by Jean Hugard
- Dad Jokes Too: Punnier than Ever by Editors of Portable Press
- Grandpa Magic: 116 Tricks, Amazing Brainteasers and Simple Stunts to Wow the Grandkids by Allan Zola Kronzek
- How to Rule at Photography by Chronicle Books
- Jokes for Mom by Jo King
- Me by Elton John
- Open Book by Jessica Simpson
- Super Dad Jokes: Saving the World One Bad Joke at a Time by Jimmy Niro
- The Garden Photography Workshop: Tips and Techniques for Capturing Your Garden by Andrea Jones
Bonus! Online Resources
- Design a Comic Book (Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning)
- Karaoke Music (Hoopla)
- Making a Short Film: Start to Finish (Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning)
- Mandolin Lessons (Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning)
- YouTube Tips Weekly (Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning)
Wandering Wordsmith
- Between You and Me by Mary Norris
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Creative Lettering and Beyond by Gabri Joy Kirkendall
- Dot Journaling by Rachel Wilkerson
- How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz
- In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
- Letters of Note by Shaun Usher
- Making Comics by Lynda Barry
- The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry
- On Writing by Stephen King
- The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer by Kevin Larimer
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer
Bonus! Digital magazines for writers:
Wondrous Wilderness
- The Art of Getting Lost: 365 Days of Adventures, Big and Small by Brendan Leonard
- American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey
- The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane
- My Old Man and the Mountain by Leif Whittaker
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- The Secret Wisdom of Nature by Peter Wohlleben
- The Story of More by Hope Jahren
- Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson
- Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen
