November Challenge
11 | A book with a beautiful-to-you cover
Have you ever picked up a book simply because its cover caught your eye? Now's your chance to dive into an enchanting world where the beauty of the cover is just the beginning. This reading prompt invites you to choose a book with a cover that you find breathtakingly beautiful.
  
Selections for this month's prompt
Need some inspiration?
Find all these titles and more at the Grimsby Public Library or Libraries in Niagara Cooperative. Click on any of the book covers below to visit our online catalogue and place your hold.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus: A Read with Jenna Pick by Emma Knight
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Emma Knight

A witty, atmospheric, and brilliantly told novel that offers compelling portraits of womanhood, motherhood and female friendship, along with the irresistible intrigue surrounding an extraordinary British family 
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
The Knight and the Moth
by Rachel Gillig

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Gillig comes the next big romantasy sensation, a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a young prophetess forced on an impossible quest with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight. 
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
by Ottessa Moshfegh

After losing her parents, a young college graduate in New York City spends a year alienating the world under the influence of a crazy combination of drugs. By the author of Eileen.
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
Whale Fall
by Elizabeth O'Connor

With shimmering prose tempered by sharp wit, Whale Fall tells the story of what happens when one person's ambitions threaten the fabric of a community, and what can happen when they are realized. O'Connor paints a portrait of a community and a woman on the precipice, forced to confront an outside world that seems to be closing in on them.
Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben
Nobody's Fool
by Harlan Coben

In this stunningly twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce's college days comes back to haunt him. His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don't add up...which is something he cannot ignore.
A Song of War: A Novel of Troy by Kate Quinn
A Song of War: A Novel of Troy
by Kate Quinn

From seven masters of historical fiction--including New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn--comes a richly imagined anthology of stories which bring the epic tale of the Trojan War to life.Troy: city of gold, gatekeeper of the East, haven of the god-born and the lucky, a city destined to last a thousand years. But the Fates have other plans--the Fates, and a woman named Helen.
Holly by Stephen King
Holly
by Stephen King

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil as she uncovers the truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town. 
The Limits by Nell Freudenberger
The Limits
by Nell Freudenberger

A stunning new novel set in French Polynesia and New York City about three characters who undergo massive transformations over the course of a single year A big-hearted, tightly-plotted novel that bravely takes on our times by looking at the timeless stuff of human intimacy. 
Passing Through a Prairie Country by Dennis E. Staples
Passing Through a Prairie Country
by Dennis E. Staples

A darkly humorous thriller about the ghosts that haunt the temples of excess we call casinos, and the people caught in their high-stakes, low-odds web. 
Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known about Menopause by Naomi Watts
Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I'd Known about Menopause
by Naomi Watts

Actress Naomi Watts opens up about the challenges she faced upon reaching early menopause in this empowering, fun, and practical guide to menopause and aging, all based on the latest advice from hormone experts, doctors, and nutritionists--
You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck
You Never Know: A Memoir
by Tom Selleck

There are many miles from the business school and basketball court at the University of Southern California to 50 million viewers for the final episode of a TV show called Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck has lived every one of those miles in his own iconoclastic and joyful way.
Is a River Alive? by Robert MacFarlane
Is a River Alive?
by Robert MacFarlane

A New York Times Bestseller A #1 Sunday Times (UK) Bestseller A New York Times New Nonfiction to Read This Spring Recommendation - A Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2025 - A Guardian Nonfiction to Look Forward To in 2025 Pick - A Washington Post Book to Watch For in 2025 From the best-selling author of Underland and the great nature writer...of this generation (Wall Street Journal), a revelatory book that transforms how we imagine rivers--and life itself.
The Wedding People : a novel by Alison Espach
The Wedding People : a novel
by Alison Espach

Mistaken for a wedding guest while staying at the grand Cornwall Inn, Phoebe Stone, at rock bottom, is determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself, and unexpectedly becomes bride's confidant and through her, meets a cast of surprising characters who help her start anew.
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
The River Has Roots
by Amal El-Mohtar

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Water Moon
by Samantha Sotto Yambao

A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical quest when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike fantasy novel. 
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore's multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore's most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.
Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson
Probably Ruby
by Lisa Bird-Wilson

Probably Ruby is an audacious, brave and beautiful book about an adopted woman's search for her Indigenous identity. Probably Ruby is a perfectly crafted novel, with effortless, nearly imperceptible shifts in time and perspective, exquisitely chosen detail, natural dialogue and emotional control that results in breathtaking levels of tension and points of revelation.
Good Material: A Read with Jenna Pick by Dolly Alderton
Good Material: A Read with Jenna Pick
by Dolly Alderton

Follows Andy after his breakup with his ex-girlfriend Jen, as Andy tries to figure out what when wrong in their relationship.--Provided by publisher.
To place a hold, click on the cover and go to our online catalogue. 
2025 GPL Reading Challenges
To access the full list of challenges any time, visit the Grimsby Public Library's 2025 Reading Challenge page on our website all year round.
 
How to participate
Read a book according to each month's challenge to be eligible to win our grand prize at the end of the year. That's one book a month, and only 12 books total.
(Tip: you don't have to do the challenges in order, as long as you complete all 12 within the year, it still counts!) 
 
Monthly recommendations 
By signing up for this e-Newsletter, you'll get monthly recommendations for each challenge throughout the year straight to your inbox. Every year in January we start again and send you a brand new list of 12 challenges.
Stay on Track
Half the battle of completing a reading challenge is keeping track and staying motivated. Here are a couple ways we suggest to stay organized:
  1. Download, print and fill out the GPL Reading Challenge form
  2. Create a list of what you read using your GPL online account
  3. Use a book tracking website like Goodreads or The Storygraph
Share with us!
Sharing the books you read is not required, but highly encouraged! Share your progress with us and other readers by posting photos and updates on social media using the hashtag #GPLReadingChallenge  and tagging us @GrimsbyLibrary!
Good luck!
Grimsby Public Library
18 Carnegie Lane
Grimsby, Ontario
L3M 1Y1
www.grimsby.ca/library