adult summer reading 2017

  • The summer of 10,000 books: #BookBingoNW2017!

    Wow, Seattle readers! Those of you who submitted your Book Bingo cards this year read a whopping 10,870 books during our adult summer reading program! We had 668 official entries, and 323 of those were total blackouts. Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Science Nonfiction or Science Fiction

    Book Bingo 2017 is nearly at its end, with just two weeks left to get your bingo or blackout and turn in your card. Have you been puzzling over the Science Nonfiction/Science Fiction category? Enjoy these ideas for avenues to explore. Science Nonfiction Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Reread a Book You Read in School

    Although we are hard pressed to think of a single drawback to Book Bingo, it is true that for some readers it calls forth unwelcome memories of required reading. Yet the popularity of bingo and similar reading challenges and groups suggests that something appeals to us about being stretched beyond our habitual reading appetites. Might those same… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Finish in a day

    As much as I enjoy being immersed in a great book for days on end, there is something particularly satisfying about finishing a book quickly. This year’s Summer Book Bingo again features the category “Finish in a Day.” For the sake of consistency, I have chosen to limit this list to books that average about… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Genre That Is New To You

    Figuring out what to read for this square is different for everybody and may take a little self-reflection. A tricky part is not launching yourself into The Land of Titles That Would Be Horribly Painful And I Would Never Finish, defeating the whole point of actually reading something.  I do recommend spending a few moments… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Read a book by a SAL speaker

    Perhaps that fourth row middle square – to read a book by “A SAL speaker (past or upcoming)” — gave you pause this year. It’s a delightful challenge because you have dozens and DOZENS of incredible authors to choose from. SAL stands for Seattle Arts & Lectures, our partner in the adult summer reading program Book… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Young adult

    Need a book for that Young Adult square but aren’t quite sure where to start? Young adult fiction has come a long way since Sweet Valley High, with captivating, well-written titles that cross and blend just about every genre out there.  There is, of course, an abundance of teen romance,  but there is also excellent… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Art and Artists

    What is art, anyway? Merriam-Webster defines it as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” With such a broad definition, there are many different directions readers can go with this particular Book Bingo square. Here are a few strategies for filling this square: Fiction A few authors,… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Poetry

    Bingo is a game of chance. Take a chance on poetry. Reading a poem, for some, is akin to entering a country where everybody speaks a language, except the one you know. Poetry can be daunting.  It can, also, be a journey unlike any other.  Take, Josephine Yu’s Prayer Book of the Anxious, for instance.… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Set in another country

    Hopefully by now you’re well on your way to completing a Summer Book Bingo Card, but if not, we’re here to help. For the “Set in another country,” square there is a super-secret librarian trick to browsing fiction by country in the library catalog. To bring up a list of fiction set in a particular… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Read a book adapted into a movie

    Not to be overly critical of a billion dollar industry or anything, but I think Hollywood has an originality problem. Books with any kind of following are immediately optioned for films – think Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, and The Martian. In other words, we’re not lacking for books that will satisfy the “Adapted… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Maximize your Blackout strategy with comic books

    Comic books are one of your greatest strategic resources in scoring a blackout on your Summer Book Bingo card. Don’t feel like you should limit comics to the Graphic novel square. There’s a comic for any square, many of which are quick reads (helpful for that Finish in a day square). Here are comic book… Continue reading

  • Book Bingo: Published the Year One of Your Parents Was Born

    Listen: when I saw the Book Bingo category “published the year one of your parents was born” the first thing I did was Google “books published in 1950.” I was prepared to tell you of more labyrinthine research processes to help you find a book for this category, but it turns out Google is a… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2017: Washington State Authors

    Not to brag too much about the Evergreen state (clearly bragging here), but it’s not actually much of a challenge to ask someone to read a local author. If you’re playing Summer Book Bingo with us, you have hundreds — seriously hundreds — of excellent choices for books to read to fill your “Washington state… Continue reading

  • Summer Book Bingo Returns!

    Polish your library card, clean your reading glasses, dust off your Kindle — whatever you need to do — because today Seattle Arts & Lectures and Seattle Public Library launch Summer Book Bingo, the 2017 edition! Pick up a bingo card at any of our Libraries, or print the pdf here. Here’s a brief rundown… Continue reading