Bauder Adult Battle of the Books

Howard County's first ever Bauder Adult Battle of the Books, coming this October to Howard County!

REGISTRATION HAS FILLED.  Thank you for the amazing response to this event!
​
What Is It?
Bauder Adult Battle of the Books is a new Friends & Foundation of HCLS fundraiser event launching as part of the library's 85th birthday celebration. It’s an adults-only reading competition where teams of 3–5 people will read six preselected books and compete in a trivia challenge held at local restaurant venues. Proceeds will go to support some of your favorite Friends' sponsored initiatives, such as author events, Summer Reading, Project Literacy graduation, and the youth Battle of the Books. 

How does It work?

• Form a team of 3-5 adults ($85 fee to register)
• ​Read fabulous books
• Compete against other teams to win prizes and - more importantly - bragging rights!
• Guidelines & Rules -  FAQs!

What books are the teams reading?

1. All Systems Red (Murderbot #1) by Martha Wells 
2. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel - virtual author talk on September 17th -from 7-8 pm. HCLS will be interviewing Michael Finkel. 
   More info : https://bit.ly/Author-Finkel  Michael Finkel's event will be recorded and available on our Youtube channel after a week.
3. The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb - author talk on September 16th - from 6:30-7:30 pm This event will be IN-PERSON at the ECO 50+Center. 
   Queen Takes Book - will be managing onsite book sales. More info can be found here - https://bit.ly/Author-Slocumb
4. Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
5. The Mountains Sing by Phan Que Mai Nguyen
6. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Interested in participating?
Click here to sign-up for updates!
Please note: At this time, registration for Bauder Adult Battle of the Books 2025 is closed. Completion of this form is for updates only.

Team Registration
Registration is closed. Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response! 

Team Details
If you have already registered a team for the Friends of HCLS Bauder Adult Battle of the Books Fundraiser but you have not yet provided your team details, the form is here:

•  July 31st end of day is the deadline for final team names and list of team participant names. We have a significant waitlist and if we do not receive this information from you by July 31st, we will reach out to you to see if you want to cancel registration and offer your space to others who have expressed interest.

• If this information needs to be updated after completing and submitting the form, please email:  [email protected] with any changes by July 31st.
• As we get closer to the event dates in October, further communications with the battle night programs and other information will be provided to all team members who have provided emails.

Battle Locations & Dates
​DOORS OPEN AT 5:15 PM

• October 15:  Oscar's Ale House in Woodstock
• October 21: Oscar's Ale House in Woodstock
• October 27: GameOn bar + arcade in Columbia, 6000 Merriweather Dr.  ​

Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Click here to learn more about Sponsorship Levels and Benefits.
Click here to become a Sponsor.
Email us directly with any questions. 
Deadline to commit to a sponsorship is September 1, 2025.

THANK YOU to our SPONSORS

GOLD

• Dr. Lillian Bauder
• Harkins Foundation

SILVER

• The Wendy Slaughter Team of VYBE Realty 
  
• ​AARP Maryland

INDIVIDUAL

• Maquel Ricketts-Uy
• Carmela Ricketts-Uy

Thank you to our Partner Bookstores!

PARTNER BOOKSTORES
Backwater Books in Ellicott City
Queen Takes Book in Columbia
The Last Word in Mt. Airy