Adults Read On:

Adults Read On:

FALL into a good book!

ARO is in the air!

There has to be something to say about ARO being "Autumnal," right? That seems like the sort of word a poet would use...

Well, don't wait on us to figure out the poetics of it all, start on your ARO adventure today!

How It Works

Sign Up

Sign up through our Beanstack app.

ARO is open to readers ages 16 and up.

Mission

Earn points by completing reading challenges.

We have a variety of reading challenges with accompanying reading lists for you to choose from.

Don’t see a challenge you like? Don’t worry! We publish new challenges and lists monthly!

Earn 1 point per challenge completed.

5 points is all you need to complete ARO for the year, but you can complete as many challenges as you like!

You are not required to select any specific challenge. Please pick the top 5 challenges that align with your reading preferences.

Need Help?

Reading Lists

Looking for some great books to help you complete the challenges? We’ve got some librarian-recommended titles that should suit just about any reader. You don’t have to pick from these lists to finish the challenges, we just wanted to give you some good options!

Summer Foods

July is here! It’s National Hot Dog Month. It is also National Ice Cream Month. And National Watermelon Month. And, wouldn’t you know it, it is also National Blueberry Month. It seems that July is the month of summer foods! Read a book with one of these summer foods (and maybe even enjoy the food while you read!). The food can be featured in the title, the cover, or elsewhere in the book.  

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Raw Dog: The Naked Truth about Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus

Hot dogs: a deeply American food. Comedian Jamie Loftus takes readers on an adventure into the significance of hot dogs and documents his travels to see how people around the U.S. consume them. Loftus covers the creation of the iconic food, as well as the culture and class influences to reveal what hot dogs say about America now. 

Book

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Death of an Ice Cream Scooper by Lee Hollis

In this Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery installment, Hayley’s friend Lydia has a big issue: her husband, Jamie, is not only cheating on her, but may be a killer! Jamie is a college professor who has been spending way too much time off campus with one of his students, who also happens to work for Lydia’s gourmet ice cream shop. Soon, the popular college student’s body is discovered in Lydia’s freezer. Can Hayley find out if Jamie is the true culprit?

Book/eBook/Audio eBook

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The Wiles of Watermelon by Lynette Sowell

Andi and Ben Hartley are newlyweds with an adorable kitten. Ben is ready to start a family right away, but Andi isn’t sure she is ready to look like a watermelon yet. Their conversation is put on hold when the kitten finds a bone from a 30 year old skeleton in their watermelon field. Soon after, the lively owner of the town’s best restaurant is found murdered. As Andi goes into detective mode, she finds that the deaths are connected. Who is the murderer? 

Book

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The House on Blueberry Lane by Brenda Jackson

Despite Jaye and Velvet’s three year exclusive relationship, Jaye wasn’t ready for commitment to anything, and did not believe in love or marriage. Exasperated, and without telling him goodbye, Velvet leaves. Jaye realizes too late that he truly loved Velvet and spends the next few years trying to find the love of his life. Now that he has found her in Catalina Cove, Jaye is willing to do anything to win Velvet back. But will Velvet let Jaye win her over again? 

Book/eBook/Audio eBook/Large Print

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Hot dog: a Melanie Travis mystery by Laurien Berenson

Melanie Travis has a lot on her hands: her annoying ex-husband, wanting some time away from her boyfriend, and stalkers in the form of a TV crew wanting the next big story. She now has the task of finding the owner of Dox, the adorable Dachshund. Melanie soon finds that Dox is an emotional pawn in a divorcing couple’s messy split. As if this isn’t enough, sinister occurrences are now occurring: a midnight break in at Melanie’s house, her wallet is stolen, her son’s safety is put at risk, and Dox is dognapped. Melanie, juggling the world on her shoulders, is determined to solve the case.  

Book/eBook

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A Game of Cones by Abby Collette

In this cozy mystery, Win Crewse’s family owned ice cream shop, Crewse Creamery, is restored to its former glory and is happily serving sweet scoops to the Chagrin Falls community. All is well until a developer wanting to change everything with a big mall is found murdered. Soon, Win’s friend is the prime suspect. And if that wasn’t enough stress, Win’s estranged aunt has arrived in town wanting to take over Crewse Creamery. Win is determined to exonerate her friend and keep control of her ice cream shop.  

Book/eBook

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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

In July 1962, four year old Ruthie, a member of a Mi’Kmaq family who came to Maine to pick blueberries vanished. The unsolved mystery haunts her family and the small Maine community for the next fifty years. Meanwhile, Norma, a member of an affluent Maine family, grows up unsettled by dreams and visions that feel too real for comfort. Norma’s intuition tells her that her parents are hiding a secret. She spends the next few decades trying to uncover that secret. 

Book/eBook/Large Print

List Archives

"several hotdogs in buns"

Summer Foods

July is here! It’s National Hot Dog Month. It is also National Ice Cream Month. And National Watermelon Month. And, wouldn’t you know it, it

Read More »
"a dark movie theatre"

Book to Screen

SEEN any good books lately? A wide variety of fiction and nonfiction books have been adapted for films or series. The librarian’s mantra, “Read the

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"a person in a large maze"

Stories in Stories in Stories

Explore the labyrinthine depths of storytelling with our captivating selection of metafictional masterpieces, where stories within stories beckon you into a world of narrative intrigue.

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"missing person poster"

Mysterious Disappearances

There’s something uniquely disturbing about people vanishing into thin air…. March marks the anniversary of the disappearance and murder of Charles Lindberg’s infant son. The

Read More »
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Books on Ice

Hockey fans: this is the list for you! Select a fiction or nonfiction title celebrating the energetic sport of hockey – whether you are an

Read More »
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Cyberpunk

Dive into the electrifying world of cyberpunk, where neon-soaked cityscapes meet the gritty underbelly of the future. In this genre, technology reigns supreme, but so

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The Love of Friendship

The month of February celebrates more than Valentines Day, which traditionally focuses on the love between romantic partners. In fact, February 15th is Singles Appreciation

Read More »
"a group of 77 squadron pilots posed next to a P-40 Kittyhawk aircraft"

World War II

This curated booklist is filled with compelling titles set against the backdrop of World War II, transporting readers to a tumultuous era of history. These

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"magnet word tiles"

Just.One.Word.

Read a book with a one-word title! Whether you are in the mood for a memoir, a classic graphic novel, or a suspenseful thriller, pick

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"books in an old library"

Dark Academia

Embark on a literary journey that delves into the enigmatic realm of academia’s shadows and gothic literature. This curated booklist invites you to explore the

Read More »

Adults Read On:

Adults Read On:

ARO is all new, all great for 2025!
Instead of an ever-rolling challenge, ARO is now an annual
event that resets every year.

How It Works

Sign Up

Sign up through our Beanstack app.

ARO is open to readers ages 16 and up.

Mission

12 months in a year, 1 book per month, that’s the plan!

How It Works

ARO resets every year, but you can jump in whenever you want! Sign up, get as close to 12 books as you can.

We’ll have prizes for you when you hit the 4-book mark, 8-book mark, and 12-book mark.

Need Help?