Tewksbury Library Tops Wilmington Library In Reading Rivals Challenge

TEWKSBURY AND WILMINGTON — Based on results last week, Tewksbury now has bragging rights over Wilmington in two areas ... at least for a year.

On Thanksgiving Day, Tewksbury Memorial High defeated Wilmington High 27-2 in the annual football game between the rivals.

A day earlier, the 2nd annual Reading Rivals challenge between the Tewksbury Public Library and Wilmington Memorial Library concluded, and Tewksbury was victorious.

In an event in which patrons of each library logged their reading minutes over the course of nearly two months, Tewksbury avenged last year's defeat, logging 1,614,802 minutes to Wilmington's 1,338,218 minutes.

The winner of the event actually was announced during halftime of the Tewksbury/Wilmington football game.

The year's Reading Rivals lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 23, two weeks longer than the inaugural event in 2021.

Though Tewksbury was victorious, library patrons from both communities obviously benefitted intellectually from a combined total of 2.95 million minutes of reading time.

"While we didn't win the trophy, we are so proud of how much reading Team Wilmington logged in this year's Reading Rivals competition. We nearly doubled last year's total (reading minutes)," said Danielle Masterson, assistant director of the Wilmington Memorial Library.

Masterson added: "Tewksbury was a fierce competitor and we look forward to facing off again next year."

According to Tewksbury Public Library, a Reading Rivals challenge patron appreciation event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 10.

Patrons also are invited to stop by the Tewksbury Library's lobby this week to grab a snack as a "thank you" for participating in the challenge, said the Tewksbury Library, which said the offer is good while supplies last.

The Tewksbury Library said it also will reveal details on social media about a scheduled trophy unveiling.

What were people reading during this year's challenge?

According to Masterson, popular fiction was common, including books by authors Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reid. The book "I'm Glad My Mom Died," a memoir by former child star Jennette McCurdy also was read by many participants.

All ages were eligible to participate in the contest and books, audiobooks, graphic novels, newspapers and magazines all counted toward the reading total.

In 2021, Wilmington Library won the inaugural challenge, its readers logging 769,931 minutes to Tewksbury's 761,399 minutes.