Want to read more, but need motivation or direction? Want to gamify or expand your reading? Try book bingo! Our hope with this challenge is to provide a fun way for you to keep up with your reading goals throughout the next 12 months.
How does it work?
The goal is to read something that fits the theme for each bingo square in any single row, column, or corner diagonal of your choice (one work per theme/square). If you would like to, you’re welcome to complete the entire card (or multiple cards). But to clarify, normal bingo rules apply, you only need 5 in a row for a bingo.
Since this is about helping you along in your reading journey, there’s no requirement to read any particular kind of work. Prefer a different format, like graphic novels or audio books? Go for it. Want to read in a different language? Cool. Only have time or energy for single short stories. That’s fine, too. You can read fiction of any genre, nonfiction of any topic, books of poetry, or whatever else interests you, as long as it works for the square. We wanted this to be as open and flexible as possible, to be welcoming to as many people as possible.
We hope you’ll participate in the community throughout the year by sharing how you’re doing with bingo, helping others with suggestions, and posting your feelings about what you’re reading in dedicated threads or the weekly “What are you reading?” thread.
In mid-April, 2025, we’ll put up a turn-in post to collect what everyone’s been reading; we’ll be using that thread to put together a summary, once the bingo period ends. Additionally, if there’s a way to provide community flair or some other recognition to participants, that’s how we’ll determine eligibility. So, if you want to be counted and/or recognized, please make sure to contribute to that post, even if you’ve made other bingo posts or comments during the year!
Rules
- You must read a different work for every square you complete, even across multiple cards. There is no conflict, however, with overlapping other reading challenges that aren’t associated with c/Books.
- Repeating authors on the same card isn’t forbidden (especially for the “There Is Another…” and “Same Author, New Work” squares), but we encourage you to read as new to you or different authors for every square on a card.
- Likewise, we encourage you to primarily read things you haven’t read before.
- If you’re having trouble filling a certain square, we’ve provided a few alternates you can substitute in (see below). Please limit your substitutions to one per card.
- The 2024 Bingo period lasts May 1st, 2024 – April 30th, 2025. Anything you finish during that time period is eligible, as long as you were no more than halfway through on May 1st.
Upping the Difficulty
Want an additional challenge? Try one of these, or come up with a variation of your own (and share them!).
- Hard Mode: Each square description includes an optional extra restriction to the theme, which you can do or ignore on a square-by-square basis. It’s up to you!
- Genre Mode: Read only one genre.
- Review Mode: Write a review (ratings alone don’t count) for the books you read for bingo, either here on c/Books, a personal blog, Bookwyrm, The Storygraph, Hardcover.app, or elsewhere.
The Card
The Squares
Row 1
- 1A - Older Than You Are: Published before your birthdate. HARD MODE: Published before 1924.
- 1B - Water, Water Everywhere: The title refers to some form or body of water. HARD MODE: Not liquid water.
- 1C - What’s Yours Is Mine: Theft, piracy, fraud, or espionage is a major topic or plot point. HARD MODE: No MacGuffins.
- 1D - Family Drama: Family is important, but sometimes it’s also the cause of problems. Family dynamics are fundamental to the narrative. HARD MODE: Involves three or more generations of family members.
- 1E - It Takes Two: Written by two or more authors. HARD MODE: Written by three or more authors.
Row 2
- 2A - New Release: New for 2024/2025 (no reprints or new editions). First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: This is the first work you’ve read by this author.
- 2B - Plays With Words: Written in a stylistically unconventional way. HARD MODE: Fits the definition of Experimental Literature.
- 2C - Independent Author: Self-published by the author. Works later published though a conventional publishing house don’t count unless you are reading it before the switch, and it’s republished before April 30th, 2025. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.
- 2D - Bookception: Features a book-related aspect. HARD MODE: Something other than a book, like an author or library.
- 2E - Disability Representation: A main character has or gains a disability to which they must adapt. This disability must be grounded in reality: if a 4,000 year old Prince of the Shokan lost an arm, that would count; if he became a werewolf, it would not. HARD MODE: The piece is at least partially from their perspective.
Row 3
- 3A - Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie: A light, popcorn-worthy read that’s not real deep (see also “beach read” and “airport novel”). HARD MODE: You actually read it while on a vacation/staycation.
- 3B - Stranger in a Strange Land: The primary PoV is dropped into a completely unfamiliar situation or location. HARD MODE: Not portal fiction or isekai.
- 3C - One Less: A book that’s been on your TBR list for a long time. HARD MODE: Overlaps with at least one other bingo square theme.
- 3D - There Is Another…: Not the first in a series. HARD MODE: Series has 5 or more entries.
- 3E - LGBTQIA+ Lead: A main character identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Includes a significant romance between characters that identify as LGBTQIA+.
Row 4
- 4A - Now a Major Motion Picture: The work has been adapted into a show or single episode, movie, play, audio drama, or other format. HARD MODE: The adaptation is regarded as better than the original work.
- 4B - It’s About Time: The passage or manipulation of time is a major theme or plot driver. HARD MODE: Backward in time, not forward.
- 4C - Award Winner: Has won a significant literature award. HARD MODE: More than one award.
- 4D - Mashup: A combination of two or more genres or non-fiction topics. HARD MODE: Unusual combo, like fantasy thriller.
- 4E - Local to You: The author lives in or writes about a location local to you (city, state, province, territory, etc.). HARD MODE: The author has spent a significant amount of time there, but wasn’t born there.
Row 5
- 5A - Debut Work: An author’s first work. HARD MODE: The author is widely regarded as having a profound impact on the genre/topic.
- 5B - It’s a Holiday: Takes place during a specific holiday, which is significant to the plot. HARD MODE: Not Christmas, a fictional variation of Christmas, or other winter festival.
- 5C - Institutional: Set at a non-commercial institution or facility, like a school, science lab, or prison. HARD MODE: Not a school.
- 5D - Minority Author: Minority or LGBTQIA+ author. A minority can be any member of a generally underrepresented population where you live. HARD MODE: Minority and LGBTQIA+.
- 5E - Among the Stars: Features space, astronomy, or stardom. HARD MODE: The title references the theme, too.
Alternates
These are available as swaps if one of the categories is difficult for your chosen genre, or if it fits better with your reading preferences. There is no obligation to do these otherwise.
- Same Author, New Work: An author you’ve read before, but a series (or standalone) you haven’t. HARD MODE: Give an author you didn’t like a second chance.
- She Blinded Me With Science: The author has a background and degree in a hard science. HARD MODE: More than one post graduate degree.
- Pseudonymous Work: Published under a pen name. HARD MODE: The author generally never writes under their own name.
- Translated: Not originally in your native tongue. HARD MODE: Has been translated into at least ten other languages. This Wikipedia page is a good place to start for widely translated works.
- A Change in Perspective: Written in third-person perspective. HARD MODE: Second-person perspective.
Resources
If you make or find any bingo-related resources, ping or DM me so I can add them here. Thanks!
- 2024 Bingo Recommendations List
- The Storygraph Reading Challenge - You don’t need to use The Storygraph or any other reading tracker to do this challenge, this is just an additional support tool for those interested.
Appreciation
- This challenge is inspired by, but totally separate from, the one run by r/Fantasy on Reddit. We deeply appreciate the past organizers and the work they did that we are now benefitting from.
- Thank you for so much to misericordiae for the design and production of the card.
- 2024 bingo card font credits: Bungee Shade, by David Jonathan Ross; Roboto Condensed, by Christian Robertson.
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Very excited for this! I just migrated fully from Reddit and other platforms. I’ve been hoping to participate in community stuff that excites me, and this does just the trick!
That’s awesome. A couple of us were looking for something similar when we left a year ago, and I’m glad you’re looking forward to it.
This seems really fun, thanks for organizing this! I don’t know if I read fast enough to fill in more than a few squares, but should be a fun challenge all the same.
Normal rules apply, feel free to do a blackout, but you only need 5 for a bingo. That said, you are welcome to do as much or as little as you want of any length of work. We wanted this to be fun and not a stressor.
Here is a simple list of the squares:
Older Than You Are
Water, Water Everywhere
What’s Yours is Mine
Family Drama
It Takes Two
New Release
Plays With Words
Independent Author
Bookception
Disability Representation
Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie
Stranger in a Strange Land
One Less
There is Another…
LGBTQIA+ Lead
Now a Major Motion Picture
It’s About Time
Award Winner
Mashup
Local to You
Debut Work
It’s a Holiday
Institutional
Minority Author
Among the Stars
Alt.
Same Author, New Work
She Blinded Me With Science
Pseudonymous Work
Translated
A Change in Perspective
This actually seen fun. Lets roll.
Does “One Less” hard mode include alternate squares, or just the base card?
One other square as it exists on your card. If you swap a square to an alternate, that square now exists on your card, otherwise they do not.
Excellent, ty!
About 2E, if that 4,000 year old Prince of the Shokan lost an arm, but got tele-kinetic power, which may or may not be the reason or linked to losing his arm, would that count? It’s a disability, but he got powers that makes it less of a disability.
That’s a good question, and if you’re referring to the book I think you are that was a tough one for me when I was thinking about it.
Where I came down ultimately was whether or not the disability required some level of adaptation in day to day tasks for a non insignificant passage of time.
The D&D artifacts The Eye of Vecna and The Hand of Vecna are good comparisons. Both require removing the corresponding body part to use, but if you replace your original one with the artifact immediately after removing the corresponding body part and you have similar functionality as you did before but now with extra abilities; the you never really need to learn to adapt to the loss. Now if a character had been born blind and later gained the Eye of Vecna, they would gain sight, but would have had a significant experience of managing without it.
Makes sense. I think it should count then, but let me finish the book first 😀
