Are you overwhelmed by all the voices on BookTok arguing about tropes? Do you spend more time scrolling through Netflix than actually watching movies or shows? Have you gotten bored of the same old video games you’ve already put 50+ hours into?
Here’s a selection of the best (in my opinion) resources for readers, as well as some curated lists of items from our collections.
PS: If you love watching movies or TV, take a look at the streaming services you can access for free with your library card! Hoopla and Kanopy offer tons of popular releases from renowned studios like Paramount and A24.
Resources for Readers
Bookworm Bundle is an exciting personalized book recommendation service for teens at the Ipswich Public Library!
Signing up is as easy as filling out a questionnaire. I (YA Librarian Viktoria) will select a book for you and box it up with some extra goodies. Then you can pick up your Bookworm Bundle and have fun unboxing it!
You must return the book and the box to the library by the provided due date, but the extra goodies are yours to keep.
Have you met Libby? She’s going to be your new best friend! You won’t believe how many books you practically inhale when they’re right on your phone.
Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines using the Libby app by OverDrive. It’s free and easy to get started, all you need is your library card number and PIN! If you don’t know your card number/PIN, call the library at 978-356-6648.
But wait! After you’ve added your MVLC card to Libby, you can add all of the other public library systems in Massachusetts. That’s eight total networks that you can borrow from! To learn more, check out this guide from MVLC.
NoveList Plus is an amazing resource that you can access for free with your library card. The librarians at NoveList have curated recommendation lists for all ages and preferences.
Try it yourself: search for the title of a book you enjoyed, and you’ll find a list of similar books that have been selected based on librarian reviews and appeal terms.
Speaking of appeal terms, NoveList has a uniquely robust appeal factor system. Try out their “appeal mixer” to blend some qualities you look for in a book, and see what comes out!
StoryGraph is like Goodreads but so much better. You start by filling out a questionnaire about your reading: they ask for your favorite genres of course, but they also ask about your preferred characteristics (ie. plot-heavy, unreliable characters) and moods (ie. dark, emotional, inspiring).
You will be surprised at how great the personal recommendations are!
Another excellent feature of StoryGraph is that they give you stats of your reading history. You can see your top genres, moods, authors, and more. This is a great tool to figure out what exactly you like in a book, and maybe identify some lesser-read genres that you’d like to try out!
“Blackness is not a monolith, we are many things, much more than our agony and much more than our pain. We are light, we are the embodiment of excellence … Black joy is eternal forever and ever.” – Thaddeus Coates, artist
We will have these titles on display in the Teen Nook all month.
Books to try if you like…
Cozy Video Games (Nintendo Switch)
All of these cozy games are available to check out at the library. A few involve combat or some spooky elements, but they are overall relaxing to play. Even if you’re not a big gamer, you’ll probably enjoy at least one of these!
Rated T (Teen) or below.
New Young Adult Books at the IPL
These are the most recently-added materials in the collection!
