The concept of reading bingo was new-to-me when I heard about the Random House event last year.
Ultimately I only completed one column (“G”) and one row (the second), but I came close on several others and had a lot of fun.
This year, the Bingo designers have created two versions of the challenge: one for adult reading and one for teen reading. Why choose?
Card for Adult Fiction
Under-the-B
A book with more than 500 pages: Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries (2013)
A book written by someone under thirty: Chad Pelley’s [born 1980] Away from Everywhere (2009)
A book with a one-word title: Ian Williams’ Personals (2012)
The first book by a favourite author: Richard van Camp’s The Lesser Blessed (1996)
A book your friend loves: Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half (2013)
Under-the-I
A forgotten classic: Dennis Lee’s Civil Elegies and Other Poems (1972)
A book with non-human characters: Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer’s All the Broken Things (2014)
A book of short stories:Andrew Atkinson and Mark Harris, eds. Running the Whale’s Back (2013)
A book you heard about online: Cecil Foster’s Independence (2014)
A book that scares you: Colson Whitehead’s Zone One (2011)
Under-the-N
A book that became a movie: L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1901)
A funny book: Greg Kearney’s The Desperates (2013)
*FREE SQUARE*
A best-selling book: jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland (2013)
A book that is more than 10 years old: Michelle Cliff’s Free Enterprise (1993)
Under-the-G
A book published this year: Nick Cutter’s The Troop (2014)
A book by a female author: Blanche Howard’s Penelope’s Way (2001)
A book set on a different continent: Brigid Pasulka’s The Sun and Other Stars (2014)
A book based on a true story: Elizabeth Renzetti’s Based on a True Story (2014)
The second book in a series: Kelley Armstrong’s Visions (2014)
Under-the-O
A book with a number in the title: B.J. Novak’s One More Thing (2014)
A book with a mystery: Ian Weir’s Will Starling (2014)
A book of non-fiction: Elspeth Cameron’s Aunt Winnie (2013)
A book at the bottom of your TBR pile: Gabrielle Roy’s The Tin Flute (1945)
A book with a blue cover: Nancy Lee’s The Age (2014)
Card for YA Fiction
Under-the-B
A book with a female heroine: –
A book set in the future: –
A book set in the past: Jennifer Donnelly’s A Northern Light (2003)
A book that made you cry: Susin Nielsen’s The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (2012)
A book with an incredible fight scene: Veronica Roth’s Divergent (2011)
Under-the-I
A book set in a high school: Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park (2013)
A book with a break up: –
A book with magic: –
A graphic novel: Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods (2014)
A book you heard about online: Lucy Knisley’s Relish (2013)
Under-the-N
The last book of a trilogy: –
A book without a love triangle: Martine Leavitt’s My Book of Life by Angel (2013)
*FREE SQUARE*
A book based on a myth: –
A book set in another world: –
Under-the-G
A book with a colour in the title: Elizabeth Stewart’s Blue Gold (2014)
A book that became a movie: –
A book set in the summer: Mariko and Jillian Tamaki’s This One Summer (2014)
A “classic” YA book: –
A book with an epic love story: –
Under-the-O
The first book in a series: –
A book set in Paris: –
A book with a dragon: –
A book with a lion, a witch or a wardrobe: –
A book with music: Suzanne Sutherland’s When We Were Good (2013)
As though I began at the top of the page and worked my way down, it’s clear that I filled my card (and then some) for the adult reading challenge, but I didn’t read as much YA as I expected to read in 2014. The challenge did encourage me to think a little differently about my reading choices. (For instance, it was not easy to locate a book in my YA TBR stacks which did not include a love triangle, and there aren’t as many books about wardrobes as one might guess.) But ultimately my goal to read more YA remains has yet to be achieved, even in the vaguest terms. Maybe 2015 will be the year of YA!