Thursday, June 26, 2025

Last chance: Enter $100 reading contest💰

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Thu Jun 26 2025

Clare Mulroy | Books Reporter

Happy Thursday booklovers! I don't know about you, but these surging high temperatures make me want a whole day of nothing. It's the perfect opportunity to stay inside in the AC and curl up with a good book.

You deserve a little bit of an incentive for that summer reading goal. How about $100? That's right – USA TODAY's Spring Book Challenge is open for just one more week before our summer challenge takes the stage. Once you've read the books to make bingo, fill out this form to submit your entry. One lucky winner will take home a $100 gift card to Bookshop.org.

There's no shame in last-minute cramming, and I have a few new release suggestions to get in before you turn in your bingo card. I recently read (and loved) "The Girls Who Grew Big" by Leila Mottley, an exquisitely written ode to motherhood and girlhood, which works for our "main character is a mom" category. Or, check out the new propulsive Lisa Jewell for our "thriller" category – I guarantee you won't be able to put "Don't Let Him In" down. How about learning more about "Star Trek" actor George Takei for our "memoir" category? "It Rhymes With Takei" is a touching tribute to Takei's career, activism and coming out.

USA TODAY's Spring Book Challenge

Alan Nguyen, Clare Mulroy

What was your favorite category on our Spring Book Challenge? Have a genre you want to see in our next one? Let me know at cmulroy@usatoday.com . Thanks for keeping up with USA TODAY Books this week!