Have you read something that you really enjoyed and want to give others a reason to try it out because it fits a square? Want to solicit help finding things to read that fit squares? This is a great place to do that.

This thread will contain one top level comment for each Bingo square. In order to preserve the organization and readability of this post, please limit recommendations to only replies on those top-level comments. We will be removing comments that don't follow this rule for for this specific post.

Markdown Card

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

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[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 2 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting...

[–] misericordiae@literature.cafe 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Just like last year, we've pre-seeded the Storygraph challenge with ~500 (mostly fiction) books from various genres, if you're looking for ideas (no account required to browse!).

ETA: The returning categories have different book suggestions from last year, so for even more ideas for those squares, check last year's Storygraph, too.

[–] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I've just seen the Storygraph challenge - that makes it easier to keep track, thanks! However I noticed that the announcement and card link are the ones from 2024 so you're aware :)

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 3 points 4 months ago

Thanks! I knew I was missing some update somewhere. Should be fixed now.

[–] fujiwood@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Why don't I own more books?!

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 2 points 4 months ago

Because you haven't fully embraced your book-dragonhood? Build that hoard! :)

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 1 points 4 months ago (2 children)

2D Short and Sweet: Read a individual piece of work under 170 pages or 40,000 words. HARD MODE: Read a collection of this type of short work.

[–] EyeBeam@literature.cafe 4 points 4 months ago

1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates -- Sellar, Yeatman, and Reynolds.

Worth all of its 116 pages. (Also valid for 1A, but I have other plans for that square.)

[–] Contrariwise@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

Suggestion: any anthology, especially any edited by Ellen Datlow (books span multiple genres)

My card: Ellen Datlow, ed. - Mad Hatters and March Hares

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

2A Independent Author: Read a work self-published by the author. Any work later published though a conventional publishing house doesn't count unless you are reading it before the switch, and its rerelease date is after April 30^th^, 2026. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.

[–] Contrariwise@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

My card: Michelle West - Wild Road (est. releasing this month to Patreon backers)

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 1 points 4 months ago (2 children)

5B Political: Political movements are a major driver of the work. HARD MODE: From the perspective of machinations in the background, outside the typical positions of power or major government.

[–] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 4 points 4 months ago

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa (who passed away a couple of weeks ago)

[–] Contrariwise@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

Suggestion: Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Dart; John Brunner - The Squares of the City

My card: Cassandra Rose Clarke - Our Lady of the Ice

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 1 points 4 months ago (2 children)

4A New Release: New for 2025/2026 (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.

[–] Contrariwise@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

My card: Shalini Abeysekara - This Monster of Mine

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 2 points 4 months ago

The final book of the Fred the Vampire Accountant series by Drew Hayes was supposed to come out last year but was delayed so I'm looking forward to reading that

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