UB Libraries Summer Reading Stampede

Join the UB Libraries for our summer reading challenge!

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2025 1:37 PM

Challenge One: Read a book from the UB Libraries Summer Reading Stampede Recommendation List

View the recommendation list here:

UB Libraries Summer Reading Stampede Recommendation List

We Recommend:

God of the Woods cover; a forest background with pale pink paint dripping

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Mystery and suspense perfectly done with the Adirondacks as the setting. When a teenage vanishes from her summer camp, two worlds collide. This page turner is perfect for the longer nights in summer. Request it using Delivery+ or check your local library!

- Teresa Vadakin, User Services Daytime Supervisor

Challenge Two: Stream a film adapted from a book on one of UB Libraries' streaming platforms

We Recommend:

poster for Holes movie; seven teenagers looking down into hole

Holes, directed by Andrew Davis and written by Louis Sachar

My favorite book to movie adaptation is Holes, based on the book by Louis Sachar (who also wrote the film's screenplay!) Stream it on Swank!.

- Mary Kamela, Student Support and Engagement Librarian

Challenge Three: Listen to a poetry reading from the Hear@Buffalo collection

Access the full Hear@Buffalo Archive here:

Hear@Buffalo - The Poetry Collection's Audio Archive

We Recommend:

black and white photograph of Lucille clifton

[Poetry reading, Allentown Community Center, September 9, 1988] / Lucille Clifton.

Born in Depew and raised in Buffalo, Lucille Clifton was an important twentieth-century poet known for her humorous and incisive poems about Black life, body positivity, and family and community. Clifton’s first book was published in 1969; this recording is from Clifton’s first poetry reading in Buffalo, sponsored by Just Buffalo Literary Center, in 1988. Listen to it here!

- Alison Fraser, Associate Curator, Poetry Collection and Curator, Rare & Special Books

Challenge Four: Read a book from one of the UB Libraries' Spotlight Collections

We Recommend:

annihilation book cover; a green plant and bug on a tan background

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, part of the Go Green Spotlight Collection

Annihilation follows of team of four scientists on a dangerous expedition into the uncharted Area X. Previous expeditions have been mired in mystery, illness, and betrayal. Blending science-fiction, horror, and environmental themes, Annihilation is for anyone interested in thought-provoking, chilling stories. Find it at UB Libraries.

- Ally Wood, Engineering Librarian

UB Libraries Collection Spotlights

Challenge Five: Explore one of the History of Medicine's digital collections

We Recommend:

image of an undated prescription slip from the Ames collection

Dr. Frances Proctor Ames Collection

Dr. Frances Proctor Ames was one of the first female physicans to obtain a medical degree in the United States, graduating from the Universit of Buffalo in 1885. This collection consists of correspondences between Dr. Ames and her patients, classmate, and mentor. Also included are notes and prescriptions from her work as an OBGYN. Access the collection here.

- Laurel Mueller, Medical and Biomedical Sciences Liaison Librarian