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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by JaymesRS@lemmy.world to c/books@lemmy.world

Congratulations, and thank you for participating in the 2^nd^ Annual Book Bingo for c/Books@Lemmy.World!

If the existence of this bingo is a surprise to you, or you want to revisit the guide, see this link.

If you would like to join us for 2026 bingo, we'll be posting information on the morning of May 1^st^, US Central Time (UTC -5)!


There are 2 official ways to submit your card and be recognized:

  • Fill out the web form we made using Tally, which will organize the data for us. Completing the form will also give you a Markdown-friendly list to copy and post in this thread if you would like.
  • Or, if you would prefer, comment in this thread with your list of completed squares, including the titles/authors you read. Here is a list of squares for reference/copypaste:
  • Please provide information on all squares you completed a work for, even if it didn't result in a completed bingo for that line.

2025 Bingo Squares (click to expand)

* 1A: Number in the Title - 
* 1B: Author from a Different Continent - 
* 1C: Featured Creature - 
* 1D: Minority Author - 
* 1E: Now a Major Motion Picture - 
* 2A: Independent Author - 
* 2B: Set in War - 
* 2C: Orange Crush - 
* 2D: Short and Sweet - 
* 2E: Banned Book - 
* 3A: Mythology or Legend as Important to Plot - 
* 3B: Title: [X] of [Y] - 
* 3C: FREE SPACE - Off Your TBR Pile - 
* 3D: LGBTQIA+ Lead -  
* 3E: Saddle Up - 
* 4A: New Release - 
* 4B: Alliterative Title - 
* 4C: Judge a Book by Its Cover - 
* 4D: Award Winner - 
* 4E: Gamble, Game, or Contest - 
* 5A: Steppin' Up! - 
* 5B: Political - 
* 5C: Late to the Party - 
* 5D: Cozy Read - 
* 5E: Jerk with a Heart of Gold - 

ADDITIONAL POINTS TO READ BEFORE TURNING IN YOUR CARDS!

Questions? Please ask!

Turn-in Guidance

  • Please make an effort to spell titles and author names correctly! For titles with more than one author, please separate author names with a comma. This will help with data compilation for a bingo stats thread coming later!
  • If you didn't do a square, don't list it. Please leave incomplete squares completely blank on the Tally form.
  • If you did complete a square, even if that one didn;t directly result in a completed bingo, please fill it in. This will help with the bingo statistics page coming soon.
  • You can substitute any square, but please remember: only one substitution per card. On the form, there's a substitution checklist for each square that will trigger a place to fill in the substitution information. If you accidentally choose a substitution for the wrong square, please de-select the substitution to clear it.
  • Please make a note if you did a square on hard mode. On the form, there is a hard mode checkbox for each square.
  • Only turn in your card(s) once you have finished with bingo; do not submit a card still in progress. If you're using the Tally form, there is a review page before submission; please make sure that you click submit after double-checking your entries! You cannot edit your card once submitted, so if you realize you've made a mistake, please post in this thread to notify us. You can also copy and pase the submission review page to place it in the thread to share with other participants.
  • The feedback questions at the end aren't required, but will help us with improving Bingo for all of you in the future.

More than one card?

If you did more than one card, and are submitting via Tally, please differentiate your username for each additional card. For example, I would list my first card under "JaymesRS@literature.cafe" and my second under "JaymesRS@literature.cafe - 2".

Timeline

Submit your finished card(s) by May 1st, 2025! This thread and the Tally submission form will remain open until 12 noon, US Central Time (UTC -5) on May 1^st^ as a courtesy, so please make sure your cards are turned in by then, so they can be counted.

Reward

Any five in a row is considered a win! Your only reward this year (as of the time of posting) is the warm glow of satisfaction and bragging rights. However, our ultimate plan is to recognize bingo participation with a flair-like system in the future, so we plan to calculate completion retroactively whenever that's available.

In Closing

Again... HERE IS THE LINK TO THE TALLY FORM TO TURN IN YOUR CARD (or you can comment in this thread). The form goes live on April 17^th^, 2025, and both it and this thread close around noon on May 1^st^, US Central Time (UTC -5). Be sure to get your card(s) in before then!

Thanks to everyone that participated this year! This was a fun challenge to put together for us. If you are interested in helping to coordinate the bingo challenge or related resources, please reach out to the moderators of !books@lemmy.world and let us know!

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[-] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 4 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

I completed most of the squares! There were some other books I read as part of a book club. So that was somewhat out of my control, and I couldn't find appropriate places for all of them. I'm probably going to finish one more book before the end of May, but again I don't think that will fit anywhere.

Perhaps I could have substituted in some other squares, but I quite liked the challenge of just sticking to the originals.

Books read

  • 1A: Number in the Title - Five Decembers by James Kestrel*
  • 1B: Author from a Different Continent - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch*
  • 1C: Featured Creature - Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • 1D: Minority Author - Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 1E: Now a Major Motion Picture - Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane*
  • 2A: Independent Author - Wolf of Withervale by Joaquín Baldwin (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 2B: Set in War - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez*
  • 2C: Orange Crush - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho*
  • 2D: Short and Sweet - A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr*
  • 2E: Banned Book - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 3A: Based on Folklore - Circe by Madeline Miller
  • 3B: Title: [X] of [Y] - Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
  • 3C: FREE SPACE: One Less - Less by Andrew Sean Greer (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 3D: LGBTQIA+ Lead - Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 3E: Saddle Up - N/A
  • 4A: New Release - Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
  • 4B: Alliterative Title - The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov*
  • 4C: Judge a Book by its Cover - The Wager by David Grann (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 4D: Award Winner - Babel by R.F. Kuang (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 4E: Gamble, Game, or Contest - N/A
  • 5A: Steppin' Up! - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 5B: Political - N/A
  • 5C: Late to the Party - Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (Hard Mode: Yes)*
  • 5D: Cozy Read - The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune*
  • 5E: Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Hard Mode: Yes)

(For books marked with an asterisk, see diversity stats below)

I was also keeping track of this in a spreadsheet, so here's a nice visual representation. Dark green are hard mode:

I have a ton of books I've bought on offer over the last couple of years, so this was a great way of tackling my TBR in fun way. Many thanks for running it!

Edit: I like what other users have done with favourites and diversity, so I'll add those to my post!

Favourites

  • Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - couldn't put this one down! Loved the premise and the fast paced writing. It felt a lot like a Black Mirror episode, with some extremely dark implications to the technology.
  • Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H - I read this as part of my book club. It's about the author's journey through life as a queer Muslim, coming to terms with her sexuality and how it fits with her religion. Each chapter is framed around a story or figure from the Quran. Really beautifully written.
  • Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson - I love the world and magic system in these books, and the second book has really ramped up the pace. So much happened! I can't wait to read the next.
  • Old Man's War by John Scalzi - this was just great fun throughout. Some really fascinating and deeply thought out ideas, without taking itself too seriously.

Diversity stats

  • 2 from series I previously enjoyed (Words of Radiance, Brigands & Breadknives)
  • 1 standalone novel from an author I’ve read other works by (Circe)
  • 2 from a new series from an author I’ve read other works by (Dogs of War, Old Man's War)
  • 17 by authors I had no prior experience with (See above books marked by a *)
this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
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