Slow down, take a deep breath, and take the Beanstack Read Grateful Challenge!
Fall is here! Embrace the cool weather and cozy vibes. What better time to settle in and read a great book. Track you reading, earn online badges, and make reading a habit.
Great River Regional Library's Read Grateful - Reading Challenge for ALL AGES will be available from October 16 to November 30, 2024.
![Beanstack: Read Grateful - reading challenge [image of butterflies, pumpkins, and candles]](https://griver.org/sites/default/files/news-pics/ReadGrateful2024_resize.jpg)
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A girl and her mother wander through the city looking for the many things to be grateful for, and enjoying being present and aware in the moment.
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Book
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E Whi
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"Get to know Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, in this twenty-sixth Goddess Girls adventure!--
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Book
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J FIC Hol
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Celebrations : [rituals of peace and prayer]
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Book
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811 Ang
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Eighteen months before her father died, Kathryn Schulz met Casey, the woman who would become her wife. This book weaves together their love story with the story of losing Kathryn's father in an exploration of the way families are lost and found and the way life dispenses wretchedness and suffering, beauty and grandeur all at once. It is organized into three parts: "Lost," which explores the sometimes frustrating, sometimes comic, sometimes heartbreaking experience of losing things, grounded in Kathryn's account of her father's death; "Found," which examines the experience of discovery, grounded in her story of falling in love; and finally, "And," which contends with the way these events happen in conjunction and imply the inevitable: Life keeps going on, not only around us but beyond us and after us.--
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Book
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306.85 Sch
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"Discover 100 creative ways to express gratitude for all that's good in your life with this powerful little book, packed with positive thoughts, practical ideas, and take-action prompts. Rejoice in snow days! Make time for belly laughs! Pause to marvel at the wonders of nature! In today's hectic, fast-paced, overscheduled world, so many of us -- including kids! -- try to do it all. This book offers up unique ways to slow down, be mindful, and appreciate life's little gifts. The pages are filled with inspiration and motivation on how to be appreciative and pass along kindness. Interviews with National Geographic explorers offer examples of ways to give back. Uplifting quotes and ideas are sure to motivate readers to do more and be more mindful every day, so we all come away with a renewed sense that life is pretty great!"--
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Book
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J 179.9 Ger
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Let Go Of Who You Think You're Supposed To Be And Embrace Who You Are
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Book
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158 Bro
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A collection of 101 inspiring stories by people who have changed their lives for the better by actively practicing gratitude, by saying thanks, and by stopping and thinking about their blessings, even on a bad day.
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Book
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179.9 Chi
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A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations. A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power. Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen's premier guard. A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself. A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent. When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives--and their hearts.
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Audiobook
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YA FIC Pea
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"At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers--one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they're both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other" --
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Book
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FIC Roo
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Originally written only for his personal consumption, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations has become a key text in the understanding of Roman Stoic philosophy. This Penguin Classics edition is translated with notes by Martin Hammond and an introduction by Diskin Clay. Written in Greek by an intellectual Roman emperor without any intention of publication, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius offer a wide range of fascinating spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the leader struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation, they cover such diverse topics as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods and Aurelius's own emotions. But while the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation, in developing his beliefs Marcus also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a series of wise and practical aphorisms that have been consulted and admired by statesmen, thinkers and ordinary readers for almost two thousand years. Martin Hammond's new translation fully expresses the intimacy and eloquence of the original work, with detailed notes elucidating the text. This edition also includes an introduction by Diskin Clay, exploring the nature and development of the Meditations, a chronology, further reading and full indexes. Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus (121-80) was adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius and succeeded him in 161, (as joint emperor with adoptive brother Lucius Verus). He ruled alone from 169, and spent much of his reign in putting down various rebellions, and was a persecutor of Christians. His fame rest, above all, on his Meditations, a series of reflections, strongly influenced by Epictetus, which represent a Stoic outlook on life. He was succeeded by his natural son, thus ending the period of the adoptive emperors.
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Book
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188 Mar
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Bowie's bookshelf : the hundred books that changed David Bowie's life
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Three years before David Bowie died, he shared a list of 100 books that changed his life. His choices span fiction and nonfiction, literary and irreverent, and include timeless classics alongside eyebrow-raising obscurities. In 100 short essays, John O'Connell studies each book on Bowie's list and contextualizes it in the artist's life and work. How did the 100 books on this list influence one of the most influential artists of a generation? Bowie's Bookshelf is one part epic reading guide and one part biography of a music legend.--
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Book
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781.66 Bow
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"Roya is a dreamy, idealistic teenager living in 1953 Tehran who, amidst the political upheaval of the time, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood book and stationery shop. She always feels safe in his dusty store, overflowing with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick pads of soft writing paper. When Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—she loses her heart at once. A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square, but suddenly, violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she resigns herself to never seeing him again. More than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did he leave? Where did he go? How was he able to forget her?" -- Jacket
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Book
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FIC Kam
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"In the city of Enugu in the 1970s, young Nwabulu dreams of becoming a typist as she endures her employers' endless chores. Although a housemaid since the age of ten, she is tall and beautiful and in love with a rich man's son. Educated and privileged, Julie is a modern woman. Living on her own, she is happy to collect the gold jewellery love-struck Eugene brings her, but has no intention of becoming his second wife. When dramatic events straight out of a movie force Nwabulu and Julie into a dank room years later, the two women relate the stories of their lives as they await their fate. Pulsing with vitality and intense human drama, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia's debut is set against four decades of vibrant Nigeria, and celebrates the resilience of women as they navigate and transform what remains a man's world" --
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Book
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FIC Ony
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Buildings that breathe : greening the world's cities
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"Urban planners, architects, and scientists are developing high-rise forests that seek to balance human activity and natural regeneration. Discover how green infrastructure will transform the urban landscape and how we think about our future"--Provided by publisher.
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Book
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YA 628 Cas
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"Generations after leaving earth, a starship draws near to the planet that may serve as a new home world for those on board. But the journey has brought unexpected changes and their best laid plans may not be enough to survive. "--
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Book
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FIC Rob
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Jeffrey Lockhart's father, Ross, is a billionaire with a younger wife, Artis, whose health is failing. Ross is the primary investor in a secret compound where death is controlled until new technologies will offer to return the patients to life. Jeffrey grapples with Artis's choice to enter the compound, instead of embracing the life she has left.
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Book
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LP FIC DeL
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I don't care if we never get back : 30 games in 30 days on the best worst baseball road trip ever
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A pair of friends from Harvard embark on a road trip to see 30 baseball games in 30 different stadiums over 30 days and describe their misadventures in this book about sports fans, loyalty, hot dogs and friendship.
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Book
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796.357 Bla
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"Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics. He can summon butterflies with a song or turn someone's hair pink by snapping his fingers. Though such minor charms don't earn him much respect, anything more elaborate always blows up in his face, and so Leo vowed long ago never to use powerful magic again. That is, until a mishap with a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime rival, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo's complete opposite-respected, exceptionally talented, and absolutely insufferable. The only thing they can agree on is that revealing the curse between them would mean the end of their respective magical careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To break the curse, they will have to uncover the true depths of Leo's magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and-much to their horror-work together. Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them"--
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Book
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FIC Doo
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The alchemist who survived now dreams of quiet city life. 01
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Mariela is the last alchemist alive after waking from a deep sleep that lasted two hundred years. As the sole alchemist in town, she could make a killing by brewing and selling potions, but after two hundred years of suspended animation, allshe wants to do is relax, take things easy, and live at her own pace!
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Book
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FIC Non
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Katy has a rack full of Nirvana and Soundgarden CDs. She's seen Pearl Jam in concert, twice. She never imaged she would be the one behind the microphone.
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Book
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YA FIC Ams
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"It's bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard's workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something. It's a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is...you. Gav isn't really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing -- from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess -- is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he'll have to answer the hardest question of all -- who does he want to be? A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once" --
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Book
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FIC Roz
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How to summon a fairy godmother
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"Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick-her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated herlike a slave. Though Theo knows this isn't exactly true, it seems her life is thoroughly ruined by the rumor. With the Balfour family estate on the verge of bankruptcy, Theo's only path forward is a forced betrothal to the Duke of Snowbell, a foul-tempered geezer who wishes only to use her as a brood mare for spare heirs. Desperate for help, Theo clings to the only thing that might save her: the rumor of a fairy godmother, one that supposedly helped her stepsister secure a prince. After discovering a wayto summon a fairy in Beatrice's old room, Theo thinks her prayers have been answered. But the fairy she meets isn't at all what she imagined. Drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly cunning, and slightly devious, Cecily of the Ash Fairies is much more interested in gathering powerful favors and smoking her pipe than providing charitable magic for humans in a bind. Before she receives magical assistance, Cecily sets Theo to three tasks, seemingly to prove that Theo is a selfless and kind person. Helping her along the way are Cecily's familiars, the flirty human-turned-mockingbird Phineas and the aloof Kasra, a fox shapeshifter who should not be as handsome as he is for someone with such cutting remarks. As Theo works on her tasks, she shockingly finds kinship withthe magical creatures she's helping, and starts to wonder if a continued life among her human peers is what she really wants after all"--
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Book
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