Bonanza Valley Voice -

Cozy up with a good book and challenge yourself to read more this season with the Winter Reading Program!

"Read for a Better World," the 2023 Winter Reading Program begins Monday, January 2, 2023, and runs through Tuesday, February 28th at the Belgrade Myrtle Mabee library on the north end of Main Street.

The program provides fun incentives for readers to settle into cozy winter reading habits. It is designed primarily for teens and adults and is open to anyone in the 6th grade or older. Each of the 32 branch libraries in the GRRL system will have prize drawings for participants. All book lovers need to do is register for the program at a branch library, online at griver.beanstack.org, or on the Beanstack Tracker app.

Readers can log their winter reading either using a log from their library or our tracker app, Beanstack. By downloading and using the app, readers can keep track of their reading, get book recommendations, and earn online badges to help make reading a habit. Count each day you spend reading, so any amount of daily reading will make participants eligible for online badges and prizes. Branches will have drawings for special "Read for a Better World" mugs at the end of the program.

The library's first Winter Reading Program took place in 2004, and participation has increased every year since. Many of the region's libraries now schedule special events to support the program and encourage winter reading. Visit events.griver.org to see the full Events Calendar.

Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries and one to-go system in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. GRRL2GO is a locker system that allows you to pick up items at the Sartell Community Center. GRRL supplies the residents of Central Minnesota with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, and information services.