Sign up through our Beanstack app beginning January 1st, 2026.
ARO is open to readers ages 16 and up.
20 books in 2026 is the goal!
ARO resets every year, but you can jump in whenever you want! Sign up, get as close to 20 books as you can.
We’ll have prizes for you when you hit the 5-book mark, 10-book mark, and 20-book mark.
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!
Botanical horror is a subgenre of horror that incorporates plants, fungi, or other elements of nature as key sources of fear, danger, or supernatural occurrences. These stories often explore themes of nature reclaiming its power, human hubris in manipulating ecosystems, and the eerie intelligence of plant life. Dare to explore the dark side of nature? Check out a book from this list—if you can escape its grasp!
Whether you regard yourself as a scientist or not, we all have an inherent interest in the world around us. These riveting reads will bring out your inner scientist and inspire you to delve deeper into some fascinating scientific topics.
Fires. Floods. Blizzards. Plagues. Ship sinkings. The month of May marks the anniversaries of several great tragedies in history.
May 7, 1915: A German U-boat sinks the British ocean liner Lusitania, resulting in the deaths of 1,198 people.
May 6, 1937: The Hindenburg bursts into flames while landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
May 4, 1970: The Ohio National Guard kills four unarmed students and wounds nine others during an anti-Vietnam War protest.
May 18, 1980: Mount St. Helens erupts. The eruption was one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America, killing 57 people and destroying the mountain’s volcanic cone.
Brush up on your history by reading one of these curated titles covering tragedies in history.
The 1970s provided a bridge between the folksy ’60s and the over-the-top ‘80s, filling the disco decade with flowy bohemian fashion, manmade fabrics designed to
Read a mystery set anywhere outside of the USA. No passport or tickets necessary – Why spend money and stress on travel when you can go anywhere
April is National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month’s goals
In honor of one of the most influential poems of the 20th century that begins with the line, “April is the cruellest month”, this April
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often remembered through a few familiar lines from “I Have a Dream,” but his legacy extends far beyond a single speech. When King’s work is reduced to convenient quotations, the depth of his ideas and his growth as a bold, outspoken activist are often lost. Throughout his life, he challenged economic injustice, opposed the Vietnam War, and called for a “radical revolution of values.” This booklist invites you to read deeper and engage with King’s own words. By exploring his speeches, essays, and books in full, you can better understand the breadth of his vision and the lasting relevance of his call for justice.
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