Ever since I first participated in the Seattle Arts & Lectures/Seattle Public Library Book Bingo in 2020, I’ve been hooked on book bingo challenges… so much so that I’m planning to participate in at least four of them this year, three of which are already in-progress.
I’ve been posting about each book I read for a reading challenge over on my Instagram, but as I was thinking about a book I just finished, and what I wanted to say about how it related to the prompts I chose it for, I realized it wouldn’t all fit in an IG comment. That was the nudge I needed to finally resurrect this blog.
My goal is to review every book that I read for these challenges, and to explain why I chose it for that prompt. As I finish each challenge, I’ll also post my general thoughts about it — how I felt about the variety of the prompts, how difficult it was, etc.
Why Participate in So Many Challenges?
You might be asking yourself why I’d let these challenges dictate so much of what I read in a year. I mean, it’s not like I need the motivation to read. But there are a few reasons why I enjoy book bingo so much and keep looking for new ones to participate in:
- Helps with decision paralysis. Yes, a lot of my reading decisions are made for me based on when library holds become available, but I also have shelves full of non-fiction that I pick up at local bookstores, and they all look so interesting, sometimes I can’t decide what to read so I don’t read any of them.
- Gets me to step out of my comfort zone. While I do read a variety of genres, I do have definite favorites. These challenges convince me to read things I wouldn’t reach for normally, like poetry.
- Encourages creative thinking. While some challenges have very specific prompts related to awards or something, others are more open-ended, and I like seeing how I can interpret them to fit something I wanted to read anyway.
- It’s just plain fun. I’m going to read anyway, I might as well also gamify it a bit and give my brain the satisfaction of filling in boxes.
Planned 2024 Challenges, So Far
So what challenges are on my radar for this year?
1 and 2: Nook & Cranny Books Book Bingo, cards 1 & 2. I did this challenge for the first time last year. I picked up the card when I visited the store during the Indie Bookstore Day crawl in April, and then later found out there were… two cards?!? There are two again this year, and I was going to just pick one, but then I said… “why not both?” While I’m calling this two challenges, I’m also mentally treating it like one giant bingo card, which means I can’t repeat any books across the two cards.
Starts: January 1st, 2024.
Ends: December 31st, 2024.
3: Brick & Mortar Books Winter Reading Challenge. This is my first year doing this challenge, because it’s the first year the bookstore is hosting it. I already knew I was going to do the Nook & Cranny one, and then I saw Brick & Mortar post about theirs, so I decided I wanted to see what prompts they had. I just can’t help myself!
Starts: January 1st, 2024.
Ends: March 19th, 2024.
4: SAL/SPL Summer Reading Book Bingo. I consider this the OG because it was my first challenge. In fact one reason why I’m glad to have some challenges that started in January is because I got into a bad habit of hoarding all of my physical books for the summer, because what if they fit a book bingo prompt? So much wasted reading time in the winter and spring! I’m excited to say that in 2023, I actually won a prize. It was a gift card to a bookstore, so I bought more books. Perfect!
Starts: May 22nd, 2024.
Ends: September 3rd, 2024.
5: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Summer Romance Bingo. This is the blog that got me into romance, and I love that they decided to do a bingo challenge this year! I do end up reading a lot of romance in the summer, and many of those books don’t even count for the SAL/SPL challenge, so it’s good to have them count for something.
Starts: June 20th, 2024.
Ends: September 21st, 2024.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for other challenges, as some of my local libraries and bookshop.org often run challenges in Beanstack, and these often have the benefit of including non-book prompts like “Read with a hot beverage” or “Go to a local bookstore.”
My Personal Book Bingo Rules
Each challenge has its own rules, but they generally boil down to “read books that fit the prompts and you can only use each book once.” They’re of course based on an honor system, because no one has time to review every card and see if the book you chose actually matches the prompt (and they can’t tell if you actually read it). I also have my own personal rules.
- I can have started the book before the challenge started, but I have to finish it during the challenge.
- I have to be able to make a good argument for why the book fits the prompt.
- Items must be novella-length or longer.
- All book formats count: physical, ebook, audiobook, graphic novel.
- Using one book for multiple challenges not only counts, I actively encourage myself to try to find books that will fit categories across different challenges.
Are You With Me?
Are you participating in any of these challenges? Or in one hosted by your own local bookstore or library? Let me know in the comments! And if you need help with any prompts, let me know. I love giving recommendations.