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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!

top 11 comments
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[-] dresden@discuss.online 1 points 3 hours ago

I was reading without specifcally catering to Bingo, and filled the squares naturally, my aim was that I'll target the missing squares when I only have a 2-3 months left and get a Bingo, but life happened and couldn't do it. Still, here's the status:

List of Books

  • 1E: Now a Major Motion Picture - The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

  • 2D: Short and Sweet - Mistborn: Secret Histories by Brandon Sanderson

  • 2E: Banned Book - Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

  • 3A: Mythology or Legend as Important to Plot - Whispers Underground by Ben Aronavench

  • 3B: Title: [X] of [Y] - The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

  • 3C: FREE SPACE - Off Your TBR Pile - Streams of Silver by R. A. Salvatore

  • 4C: Judge a Book by Its Cover - My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

  • 4D: Award Winner - Redshirts by John Scalzi

  • 5C: Late to the Party - Old Man's War by John Scalzi

  • 5E: Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson

And in visual form:

[-] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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 *)
[-] pancake@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

I actually completed my card this year! It meants starting several series without finishing them towards the end, which I generally try not to do, but it was fun to branch out my reading a bit. I wasn't planning to complete it necessarily, but I realized I only needed 7 more squares by the time January rolled around so I pushed myself to plan my reading around it.

Books Read1A: One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence 1B: Hamlet by William Shakespeare 1C: Provenance by Ann Leckie 1D: A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda 1E: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (Hard Mode) 2A: Paternus: Rise of Gods by Dyrk Ashtom (Hard Mode) 2B: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 2C: Hojoki by Komo-no-Chomei (Hard Mode) 2D: Silo Stories by Hugh Howey (Hard Mode) 2E: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (Hard Mode) 3A: Grendel by John Gardner 3B: Title: Blood of Assassins by RJ Barker 3C: Vita Nostra by Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko (Hard Mode) 3D: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (Hard Mode) 3E: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (Hard Mode) 4A: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett 4B: The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor 4C: Lute by Jennifer Thorne 4D: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 4E: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson 5A: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Hard Mode) 5B: The Justice of Kings by Richard Sean 5C: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Hard Mode) 5D: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 5E: Slow Horses by Mick Herron (Hard Mode)

[-] flughoernchen@feddit.org 5 points 5 days ago

I'm still 90 pages from completing the whole card in Hard Mode, still, I already allowed myself to submit. Gonna finish those in the next week, I'm sure.

List

  • 1A: 1984 by George Orwell
  • 1B: (sub for 2024's Water, Water Everywhere): A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
  • 1C: Wiedersehen mit mir selbst zwischen Pizza und Aperol by Melanie Pignitter
  • 1D: Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed
  • 1E: The Complete Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
  • 2A: Wormwood abbey by Christina Baehr
  • 2B: The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
  • 2C: There There by Tommy Orange
  • 2D: *Liebe Jorinde oder Warum wir einen neuen Feminismus des Miteinanders brauchen * by Mareike Fallwickl (+the other Letters to the Future Generations)
  • 2E: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  • 3A: Never Whistle at Night by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
  • 3B: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • 3C: Wolf Gone Wild by Juliette Cross
  • 3D: The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell
  • 3E: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
  • 4A: Lieber Sohn oder So rettest du die Welt by Emilia Roig
  • 4B: Walking in a Witchy Wonderland by Julietty Cross
  • 4C: Soul Eater by Lily Mayne
  • 4D: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
  • 4E: Fluchbrecher by Richard Schwartz
  • 5A: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
  • 5B: He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 2 by Shirtaloon
  • 5C: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  • 5D: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
  • 5E: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Diversity stats

  • 1 from series I previously enjoyed
  • 4 from series I discovered during the bingo
  • 1 standalone novels from authors I’ve read other works by
  • 18 by authors I had no prior experience with
  • 10 I would have missed if not for this bingo
[-] misericordiae@literature.cafe 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Awesome! How hard did you find it?

[-] flughoernchen@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

For me it was fairly easy, as my TBR is huge and there were plenty of options for each theme. I would never have managed to complete the card time-wise without counting audiobooks though.

[-] EyeBeam@literature.cafe 5 points 6 days ago

I'll claim 18 titles for 3 bingos: Row 1, Column B, and the main diagonal.

(This should duplicate what I submitted through the form and should be final. I cracked open a long one that I don't expect to finish this month.)

List

  • 1A: The 47th Samauri by Steven Hunter
  • 1B: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
  • 1C: Meg by Steve Alten
  • 1D: Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan
  • 1E: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
  • 2B: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
  • 3A: Ireland by Frank Delaney
  • 3B: The Ballad of Frankie Silver by Sharyn McCrumb
  • 3C: Burn by Nevada Barr
  • 3D: The Brethren by John Grisham
  • 4B: The Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston and Child
  • 4C: Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot
  • 4D: Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
  • 4E: The Cardturner by Louis Sachar
  • 5A: The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck
  • 5B: The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer
  • 5C: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • 5E: (sub for it takes two): The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass

Favorites

  • Saving fish from Drowning. Dead Bibi Chen's ghost was a charming tour guide through SE Asia, patiently and omnisciently watching unheard as her living charges do everything wrong. I thought it was beautifully written and culturally informative.

  • Alice in Sunderland is a non-fiction comic book with a bibliography. My only complaint is that it should have had an index too. But mainly, I recommend it because it's clearly not the sort of thing you write just to fulfill a publisher's contract. Talbot must have strongly believed that such a book should exist, and that nobody else was going to make it. Moreover, it's a better fit for the category than I initially expected because in the middle of the book, he writes about the cover art, thus making it integral to the content.

Both of these have re-read potential.

ClassicsThree of these, I think are old enough to be considered classics. Steinbeck's wasn't nearly as funny as the cover blurbs said it was. Maybe political satire has a shorter half-life and it hit harder when it was fresh. While Bradbury uses some dated tropes typical of SF from that era, they don't detract from a central plot that is still disturbingly relevant today. Tey's was both old and British, and assumes the reader knows British history better than I do. It's still rather informative, but harder for me to properly appreciate.

Diversity Stats

  • 5 from series I've enjoyed previously
  • 2 standalone novels from authors I've read other works by
  • 11 by authors I had no prior experience with.
[-] JaymesRS@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Way to go! Thanks for taking part!

[-] misericordiae@literature.cafe 5 points 1 week ago

I did two cards this year: one was fully hard mode, and the other was fully regular mode (meaning the books couldn't count for hard mode). It was fun (and valuable playtesting), but also a lot. Prolly not gonna do that again.

Hard Mode Card

  • 1A: Number in the Title HM - Thirteenth by C.M. Rosens
  • 1B: Author from a Different Continent HM - Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
  • 1C: Featured Creature HM - A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
  • 1D: Minority Author HM - Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo
  • 1E: Now a Major Motion Picture HM - The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
  • 2A: Independent Author HM - A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
  • 2B: Set in War HM - Old Man's War by John Scalzi
  • 2C: Orange Crush HM - Orange World and Other Stories by Karen Russell
  • 2D: Short and Sweet HM - The Ways of Khrem by D. Nathan Hilliard
  • 2E: Banned Book HM - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
  • 3A: Based on Folklore HM - Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
  • 3B: Title: [X] of [Y] HM - The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
  • 3C: FREE SPACE HM - Off Your TBR Pile - The Fisherman by John Langan
  • 3D: LGBTQIA+ Lead HM - Golden Terrace, vol. 1 by Cang Wu Bin Bai
  • 3E: Saddle Up HM - River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
  • 4A: New Release HM - DuMort by Michelle Tang
  • 4B: Alliterative Title HM - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
  • 4C: Judge a Book by Its Cover HM - Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm
  • 4D: Award Winner HM - Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko
  • 4E: Gamble, Game, or Contest HM - Liar Game (Volume 1 by Shinobu Kaitani
  • 5A: Steppin' Up! HM - The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
  • 5B: Political HM - The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
  • 5C: Late to the Party HM - All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • 5D: Cozy Read - A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith
  • 5E: Jerk with a Heart of Gold HM - Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Regular Mode Card

  • 1A: Number in the Title - Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir
  • 1B: Author from a Different Continent - The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey
  • 1C: Featured Creature - Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
  • 1D: Minority Author - Days by Moonlight by André Alexis
  • 1E: Now a Major Motion Picture - The Dry by Jane Harper
  • 2A: Independent Author - Teacup Magic: The First Collection by Tansy Rayner Roberts
  • 2B: Set in War - Call for the Dead by John le Carre
  • 2C: Orange Crush - Shutter by Ramona Emerson
  • 2D: Short and Sweet - The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
  • 2E: Banned Book - 1984 by George Orwell
  • 3A: Based on Folklore - Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
  • 3B: Title: [X] of [Y] - Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Balingrud
  • 3C: FREE SPACE - Off Your TBR Pile - Obscura by Joe Hart
  • 3D: LGBTQIA+ Lead - Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
  • 3E: Saddle Up - Dead Cert by Dick Francis
  • 4A: New Release - The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
  • 4B: Alliterative Title - No One Will Come Back for Us by Premee Mohamed
  • 4C: Judge a Book by Its Cover - The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy
  • 4D: Award Winner - The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
  • 4E: Gamble, Game, or Contest - The Thief by Claire North
  • 5A: Steppin' Up! - Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
  • 5B: Political - The Secret Servant by Gavin Lyall
  • 5C: (substituted 2024 square 'There Is Another...') A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith
  • 5D: Cozy Read - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
  • 5E: Jerk with a Heart of Gold - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

If you did bingo this year, thank you! We enjoy putting it together, and we hope you enjoy playing it.

[-] JaymesRS@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Wow, nice job!

this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
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