Happy New Year! I mean, I’d be lying if I said I was excited about 2025. I just had to revise the title and image for this post, because if I followed last year’s convention of calling it “Book Bingo Project 202X”, I’d be evoking the nauseating “Project 2025”. The idea of another Trump presidency has filled me with dread, and really, my only hope at this point is that the various conservative factions will waste a lot of their time fighting each other and not actually manage to enact too many policies that will make life more dangerous for the people I love.
But here we are. It’s January 1, 2025, and it’s not like the fascists are going to stop me from reading, so I’m doing another book bingo meta challenge. Last year I got Blackouts on four different bingo challenges, and completed a couple rows on another one. Will I exceed that this year?
What Am I Doing?
I’m participating in every Book Bingo or other reading challenge that catches my eye. Then I’m reviewing every book I read as part of that challenge, to share both my thoughts about the book and why I chose it for the specific prompt(s) on each card.
Why Am I Doing This?
This is a question I ask myself when I’m slogging through something terrible like Ascendance of a Bookworm. But really, despite the fact that I end up reading some real dudes to fill some squares, I really enjoy Book Bingo challenges. In a world full of awesome books, they help me narrow down what I’m going to read. They encourage me to step out of my comfort zone and try different genres. And they get me to comb my bookshelves to see what I already own that could fit some prompts.
I also enjoy the social experience of chatting with other people who are doing challenges, swapping recommendations, and sharing our thoughts on what we’ve read.
Plus, sometimes there are prizes!
And the blogging part is because I really like writing book reviews, and last year I wasn’t using any reading apps so I needed someplace to record my thoughts.
What Am I Doing Differently This Year?
For some reason, last year I said I would write a recap of each challenge as I finished it. Why did I do that? I found those posts a real slog to write and didn’t find any real value in them. I didn’t even do one for the Nook & Cranny cards that I finished at the end of the year. So I’m not doing that in 2025.
I also want to change up how I do the images for my reviews (which I also post on Instagram). Having one simple template made it quick and easy to put together images, but it also made my blog and IG feeds look too homogenous. I need to come up with something a little more catchy, while still keeping it easy for myself. I know from experience that if I make the graphic element too complicated, it will make me procrastinate on finalizing my posts. So over the next few days I’ll be brainstorming ideas, and you may see me try a few different formats on my early reviews this year.
OK, So What Challenges Am I Doing?
Here are the Book Bingo and similar challenges I plan to do this year:
Read 12 books that have been on my physical TBR since before January 1, 2025. This is my personal challenge. I did it last year, and was successful. Keep an eye out for a post specifically about this challenge, as I also tie it to charitable giving.
Starts: January 1, 2025.
Ends: December 31, 2025.
Nook & Cranny Book Bingo 2025, Cards 1 & 2. My third year doing Nook & Cranny, although in the first year, I didn’t realize there were two cards. I really enjoy these cards because the prompts are open-ended and thus encourage creative thinking. I’m usually able to tie most of these prompts to something I was planning to read anyway, and then there are always a few where I have to go searching for something interesting. I also like that completing these challenges gives me a coupon to buy more books. Usually I turn my card in near the end of the year and buy books to get me started on the next year’s challenge.
Starts: January 1, 2025.
Ends: December 31, 2025.
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. This is a new one for me! It’s not a bingo card, but rather a series of 25 challenges. This challenge seems designed to get you to read more diversely, and about important topics, while also having some fun prompts, too. I don’t think there’s any prize for it, but I liked a lot of the prompts so I decided to add it to the mix. NGL, might skip that “Reread a childhood favorite book” one.
Starts: January 1, 2025.
Ends: December 31, 2025.
Brick and Mortar Books Winter Reading Challenge. This is my second year of doing this one. I’m glad they’re doing it again. This year they added some squares that are activities instead of books, so that’s fun. There’s no additional/better prize for doing a Blackout on this challenge, but I’ll probably go for a Blackout anyway, because I’m me.
Starts: January 1, 2025.
Ends: March 20, 2025.
World of Whimm Book Bingo Card. World of Whimm is a local artist whose stickers often adorn my planners. I saw she posted a book bingo card on Bluesky and a lot of the prompts overlapped with other cards or the sort of stuff I like to read anyway, so I decided to add it to the list and that way I can give her a shout-out.
Starts: January 1, 2025.
Ends: December 31, 2025.
SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading Book Bingo. The one that started it all for me! This always has great prompts and is the one I’m most likely to actually be able to convince friends to join me on.
Starts: Usually right before Memorial Day.
Ends: Usually on or around Labor Day.
As with last year, I’ll keep an eye out for additional challenges. I’d definite be into doing another Smart Bitches, Trashy Books all-romance bingo.
Are You In?
Are you participating in any of these reading challenges? Or perhaps a different one, hosted by a local-to-you bookstore or library? Maybe you set your own personal reading goal to get through your TBR or try some new genres. Let me know!