My boyfriend’s family are avid readers, so I fit right in. We talk about books pretty much the whole time we’re together. Many are Sanderson fans, a few have gone through some/all of the Dresden Files, and we like to share good books and rant about bad ones. A few even read the blog from time to time. Hi, April and Renée!
One thing they like to do, in their book clubs or as a family, is do a book bingo. They have a whole jar of book prompts that they will pull from and make a bingo board. Then those participating have 6 months to finish their boards, whether that is just a bingo, a double bingo, or even a blackout. They all took a break from it for the first half of of 2026, but are starting it up again for the latter half. And I’m joining in!
There are a few rules that they follow. Unless specified, the books all need to be new. No rereads. For following the prompts, you can interpret them as you see fit. There is no strict adherence to certain words or literal definitions. A book can only count for one square, even if it could fulfil multiple. The books must be completed within June-December (so technically 7 months for us, but who cares), and you do as much or as little as you want. This is purely for fun and to see what everyone else picks.
I got to help pull the prompts from the jar, and here is the board we wound up with:
I won’t be finishing this until much later on in the year, but I wanted to share my ideas for each category so I can compare how it turned out come December. Being the avid reader that I am, I’m going to aim for a blackout, but will be content with any three columns and any three rows if I can’t get through them all. With that, here are my ideas!
Foreign female author: I asked Ava for her thoughts on this one. One of her suggestions was Hungerstone, by British author Kat Dunn. I know Ava is a big fan of this book, so this will probably be my choice. She also suggested the Dutch author Johanna van Veen and her book My Darling Dreadful Thing.
About a TV show: This prompt can be interpreted in a few ways. I could pick a book like How to Fake it in Hollywood, by Ava Wilder, which looks like a cheesy but fun enemies to lovers romance starring two actors. I could do a book like The Office BFFs, written by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey about their time on the TV show The Office. Or I could do something like Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, which is about a character introduced to the League of Legends universe in the TV show Arcane. I’m still undecided here, but I have some good options.
A classic novel you haven’t read: I think for this one, I will do a Steinbeck novel I haven’t read yet. Likely The Pearl or The Grapes of Wrath. I love Of Mice and Men, and it has a soft spot in my heart since I got to teach it during my term student teaching. Who knows, maybe I’ll read both, since his books are pretty quick reads.
Main character has a disability: This is another category that could go many ways. Physical disability? Mental disability? Chronic illness? Does the disability need to be a main focus, or just a part of the character? There are lots of interpretations. I think for my choice, I’m going to go with Room, by Emma Donoghue. I know that PTSD and anxiety are big themes in the novel, and it’s been on my radar for a while.
Author you want to meet: There are about a million books I could put here, so I’ll just list a few authors that I really like who have some other books I haven’t read yet. Jim Butcher, Heather Fawcett, and Pierce Brown, to name a few. I have many options to pick between these authors and likely will go with whichever one I read first.
Written from a villain POV: I’ve read quite a few books that would fit in here, but since it needs to be new, I think I’m going to go with Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser, which has been on my TBR for a bit. This book is from the perspective of Cinderella’s stepmother, and writes her as complex character who is a product of her times and circumstances, rather than a pure villain. I’m curious to see if it fully justifies and rewrites her, or simply tells her side of the story.
Contemporary fiction (last 10 years): I’m planning on My Friends, by Fredrik Backman, which has been on my Libby holds for months now. I’ve heard great things about it and need to see if it’s worth the hype. This is the perfect excuse to finally get around to it!
A childhood favorite: There are SO many choices I can go for here. There are no rules about double dipping for my personal book club, so I may pick Bluestar’s Prophecy by Erin Hunter when we read it for our Crybabies round of book club later this year.
Animal in the title: I loved the movie Swan Lake as a kid, and have found a few retellings that I have had in mind. I may go with A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek. I’ve read one book by her before and thought it was alright, so I’m curious to see how I find another of her books. Plus, it’s a sapphic retelling? Sign me up.
Author with a name starting with ‘F’: I have wanted to read The Great Gatsby for about a million years now, and since F. Scott Fitzgerald has TWO F names, I think he’s perfect for this one.
Set/written in the 1920s: I’ve had The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door in my periphery for a long time now. It seems right up my alley. Fae, scholars, a secret magical academy. I’m eager to read this one.
Short story collection: I haven’t ready anything by Susanna Clarke, but when I was looking for collections for this category, her book The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories caught my eye as something to consider checking out. Sanderson’s Tailored Realities is also in my list, as are a myriad of different King collections. I’ll decide eventually.
FREE CHOICE: Any ol’ book I please! Probably a random book club book.
Sun or moon on cover: If you read my article about cover art, you probably know that I love books with celestial imagery. I have about a million books I could choose here, but The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches has been on my Libby holds for a super long time and may wind up being my pick. But don’t be surprised if it’s something else!
Involves a sport: I am not a big sports person, but I know the world is raving over Heated Rivalry, so I might as well give it a read and maybe watch the show while I’m at it!
An author’s debut book: Kings of the Wyld won Nicholas Eames an award for best debut novel, so I think I have to read it! I just read The Devils, and this book seems to be in a similar vein, so I’m eager to get to it soon.
Set in New England: Too bad I’ve read most of the King classics, or they would have been perfect! Ava told me that his Bachman Book Thinner will work well, and it gets bonus points for including multiple NE states. If I were crazier I’d pick It, but I have no idea if/when I’ll get around to that beast of a book.
POV of an animal: I know I mentioned Warriors already, but there are over a dozen of these books that I haven’t read yet and I think it would be fun to revisit the series. There are a lot of Super Editions (mostly standalone books) that I’ve read, but many that I haven’t. A lot of the Super Editions involve characters that I’m unfamiliar with, but Leopardstar’s Honor involves purely characters and events that I’ve read before. I could also be crazy and read Watership Down.
A teenager recommendation: I have a few teenage cousins and siblings that I asked. One sibling said he has no idea what books to suggest. One said Warriors, which are already on the list, and my last sibling reminded me that I have yet to read The Lost Metal, so it may finally be time. They made the great point that every book they’ve read is one that I’ve read, other than the last Wax and Wayne book, so maybe I do need to bridge that gap.
Translated from another language: Ava has been a fan of Sayaka Murata for a long time, so I knew immediately she was the author to pick here. I think I will go with Convenience Store Woman as my choice, but I could pick from a few others as well.
Plant on cover: Same with the sun/moon on the cover, I have about a million books I could pick here. I may use this as my excuse to finally read Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. Or maybe I’ll just happen upon a book with a pretty plant on the cover. We shall see!
By multiple authors: Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson have done a few collaborative books now, most notably Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians and the Skyward Flight collection, neither of which I have read yet. Stephen King also has a book written with his son, Owen, called Sleeping Beauties, which I started in high school but never gave a fair chance.
Set/written in the 1960s: Since I have quite a few classics on here already, let’s add another one! Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Written in 1969, it barely counts, but should be a fascinating read that seems to have very polarized reviews. I’m excited.
From a country you want to visit: Considering the fact that the only time I’ve left the country was an accidental border cross into Mexico as a child (it’s easier than you think), I’ve never left the country. There are lots of places that I’d like to visit, but one of the main ones is Spain. I took three years of Spanish and gained an appreciation for the language and culture there. Looking for books set in Spain brought me to The Shadow of the Wind, written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and translated to English by Lucia Graves.
A book set in Russia: Ava also gave me the book Among the Red Stars for this category. I like the idea of a WWII female-POV of a Russian pilot-turned-bomber. This one I think I shall enjoy. I also am toying with the idea of books centered on Russian fairy tales and folklore, such as the The Wnternight trilogy by Katherine Arden.
And there we go! All my most prominent ideas. I’m really excited to see what my finished bingo card winds up looking like. I’m not going to hold super strictly to this list, since part of the fun is discovering books to read. Hopefully I can get through all 25! Stay tuned through the end of the year to see my results. I may give updates as I get bingos, but I have about 7 months to see where this journey takes me.
Feel free to tag along, dear readers!
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