The Lake County Library announced a Winter Reading Challenge that begins Thursday, Jan. 16, and County Librarian Christopher Veach highlighted the novel Orbital by Samantha Harvey and the library system’s shared catalog during the meeting.

The challenge invites participants of all ages to sign up online or at any Lake County branch with an individual goal of reading 1,000 pages or 20 books, whichever comes first. Participants who complete the challenge may check out a newly purchased library book first and sign their name inside the book; Friends of the Lake County Library provide funding for those new titles.

Veach said the library’s collection includes Orbital in print, large type, audiobook and e-book formats. He told meeting attendees that Samantha Harvey told NPR, “I was so overwhelmed by the extraordinary beauty and strangeness of our planet,” and that the novel’s premise — astronauts seeing repeated sunrises and sunsets on an orbital platform — helped persuade the library to feature the title.

Library patrons can request materials for free through the combined online catalog shared by Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino county library systems; requested items are sent to the patron’s local branch for pickup. Veach listed Lakeport, Clear Lake, Middletown and Upper Lake branches and the county bookmobile as available pickup locations.

To encourage participation, children receive a game card to earn stickers and small prizes, while adults receive virtual raffle tickets for a gift basket of new books. The Winter Reading Challenge runs from Jan. 16 through the beginning of spring in March; sign-ups are available anytime online or at library branches.

Information about the challenge and the library’s resources is available at library.lakecountyca.gov or at any Lake County Library branch.