Reading Goal Incentive

Reading Goal Incentive

“Excuse me?”

Ms. Katrine Nexxt, senior librarian, looked up from her work and smiled.

“Why Mr. Kearne Spruce as I live and breathe! I haven’t seen you in years! How can I help you?”

Kearne squinted through his smeared glasses, then grinned.

“If it isn’t Miss Katrine! You’ve come up in the world from page! I would like your new book list. I have been neglecting you people in favor of books on tablet and audio books. The novelty of it has now worn off, and I am back!”

Ms. Nexxt looked at him.

“We have a contest going on, Mr. Spruce, if you think you’re interested,” she told him.

“Both interested and intrigued,” he replied, twinkling.

“It has a prize as well,” the librarian told him.

His eyes lit up.

“What do I have to do?”

“Read as many books as you can for the next month. The person who reads the most, wins a reading light that clips on your book.”

“Sign me up, I’ll start with twenty from the new list!” the older man said briskly.

Ms. Nexxt found twenty books not on loan and checked them out for him.

“Are you sure this won’t be too taxing for you?”

“I should be done in a week. “

Katrina kept her doubts to herself. But true to his word, he was finished in less than a week.

“Make it twenty more, I enjoy mystery, science fiction and biographies mostly,” he told her.

In no time, she’d helped him check out twenty more titles. Until month-end.

“Congratulations, Mr. Spruce, you won!”

“Good, now I can read in bed in case I fall asleep, although I’m a life-long speed-reader,” he said genially as he shook her hand, took the prize and more books and left, whistling.