Welcome to the HCC's Northeast College Libraries' Annual Reading Challenge page for Spring 2025.
Each challenge will be published on the first of each month. Students may opt to receive timely email/calendar reminders of upcoming challenges and deadlines, if they wish, by completing this webform. 
"Ebonrary" Challenge (February)
Read a book, in either print or digital format, (including audiobooks, comics, graphic novels, or novellas) written by a Black author OR centering Black voice(s) or stories.
Tip #1: Students can find qualifying books at our library's Black History Month page, Black Stories/Black Voices page, and Juneteenth page or even review options at our Speed Reads page. Students may enjoy books honored by BCALA Literary Awards, ALA's Coretta Scott King Book Awards, NCSS's Carter G. Woodson Awards, OCM Bocas Prizes for Caribbean Literature, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards, Essence Literary Awards, Phillis Wheatley Awards, Ernest J. Gaines Awards for Literary Excellence, or the NAACP Image Awards for Literature as inspiring possibilities. You can perform a book Title search in our Library Catalog or live chat with an HCC librarian for help!
Respond by identifying a particular passage that you found poignant, inspiring, or challenging and explain in 1-3 sentences why.
Technical Guidelines: [A] Perform direct, block quoting of your selected passage. [B] Use MLA Style, 9th edition formatting for your page, in-text citation, and bibliographic citation under the Work Cited heading at the end. The Work Cited section does not need to be a separate page due to the assignment's brevity. Provide the chapter(s) and page number(s) or chapter(s) and paragraph number(s) you reference for your in-text citation(s). Examples: (Oberlin ch. 3, 42) or (Sanchez et al. ch. 8, par. 6). Use our sample paper available for download to guide your work. Students must use a unique reading selection for each monthly challenge they enter.
Tip #2: Visit the HCC Library’s MLA Style, 9th edition LibGuide for helpful citation guidance or Purdue University's O.W.L. ("How do I cite an audiobook?")
Reward: An HCC swag item or freebie, and one (1) library raffle prize entry for the drawing at the end of the month. Students will be notified of the raffle drawing outcome no later than Friday March 7, 2025 and must claim their freebie (or prize) at an HCC Northeast College library location of their choosing.
Deadline: This challenge must be completed by or on Friday February 28, 2025 at 11:59pm CT.
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Qualifying students who successfully complete all five (5) Spring 2025 Challenges will receive a digital Certificate of Achievement from HCC's Northeast College Libraries at their HCC student email address and will be entered into a bonus raffle prize drawing!
February 1, 2025 to February 28, 2025
March 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025
April 1, 2025 to April 30, 2025
May 1, 2025 to May 31, 2025
Past
Read one (1) essay or short story, in either print or digital format, originally published in the 21st century (i.e. January 1, 2001 or later) available through HCC Libraries or Open Access Open Access icon.
Tip #1: You may find it helpful to email HCC librarians at ask@hccs.libanswers.com to request a short list of options to choose from with your preferences (Example Queries: “I really like fantasy fiction and need help finding a short story in that genre to read.” or “I want to find an inspirational essay to read, can you help me find one?" or "Can you help me find either an essay or short story to read that's related to sports? It needs to be from the 21st century.”), but don't forget to mention the publishing date requirement. Please allow at least 1 business day for a librarian response. You may find good options at our Speed Reads page.
Respond by identifying a particular passage that resonated with you and explain briefly in 1-3 sentences why you chose the passage.
Technical Guidelines: [A] Perform direct, block quoting of your selelcted passage. [B] Use MLA Style, 9th edition formatting for your page, in-text citation, and bibliographic citation under the Work Cited heading at the end. The Work Cited section does not need to be a separate page due to the assignment's brevity. Use our sample paper available for download to guide your work
Tip #2: Visit the HCC Library’s MLA Style, 9th edition LibGuide for helpful citation guidance (on the Citing Books & eBooks page, the guidance for "A chapter, essay, or section of an ebook" may be helpful to many of you relying on those source types; or check Purdue University's O.W.L. (the subsection "A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection" may be helpful to many of you relying on those source types.)
Coming soon
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