Book Bingo

  • #BookBingoNW2022: A book about books

    This summer, slow-down from the modern virtual world of the internet and open up the older virtual world of the book. Contemplate this way we humans choose to share and expand those worlds of our joint imaginations, oh and complete your “Book about Books” #BookBingoNW2022 square at the same time! As the saying goes –… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Hobby or skill

    It’s summertime in Seattle! Whether you plan to take your Subaru and hit the trail, set up a hammock by the ship canal, or you’d rather crank your window unit and relax inside with your fur babies, there’s an unending variety of new hobbies or skills you can try out or just read about, from… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Banned or challenged book

    Reading the news lately, it feels like there has been an increase in the challenging and banning of books, particularly around discussions of Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ representation. If you’re looking to fill your “Banned or challenged book” Book Bingo square, consider one of these titles: In China, Unfree Speech:  The Threat to Global… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: The Romance of the Bookshop

    Anyone who spends time in bookstores knows that they are special places where all kinds of magic can happen, including romance. If you want to get your romance reading in while also checking off that ‘books about books’ category in this year’s Book Bingo, here are some charming (and a few steamy) options. In How… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Unreliable narrator

    Unreliable narrators? Who knows what they’re thinking, doing, how they really feel, and if their version of events is the actual version. No matter what the genre, there’s an air of mystery about the narrator who doesn’t seem like someone whose words should be taken to heart. That’s the beauty of unreliable narrators in fiction:… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Non-binary/genderqueer/two-spirit author or character

    Happy Pride and Summer Book Bingo, y’all! Gender can be messy and wonderful and specific and fluid; a source of anxiety for some and self-contentment for others. These authors and their characters, stories, and poems explore the infinite spectrum of human identities and experiences. Maia Kobabe’s cathartic graphic memoir Gender Queer follows eir exploration of… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: First book by an author, most recent book by same author

    This year’s adult book bingo issues one compound challenge, two squares that can be filled by reading the first book by an author, and then the most recent book by the same author. It’s a neat challenge – do you go with an author who has been writing for 40+ years? A newer author still… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Read Outside!

    #BookBingoNW2022: Read Outside!

    Are you ready to get outside? We’re jumping into this Book Bingo square right away, because it is without doubt the easiest one there is. You can literally read anything you feel like, including whatever books you’ve already been planning to read: just read that book outside. Of course the trick around here is that… Continue reading

  • Adult Summer Reading Book Bingo NW 2022 Starts TODAY!

    Adult Summer Reading Book Bingo NW 2022 Starts TODAY!

    Today is the day–Wednesday, May 18th is the start of our 8th Year of Summer Book Bingo with our amazing partner Seattle Arts & Lectures! The bingo card artwork by local artist Jorge Villavicencio highlights the Library’s Year of Wonder theme with vibrant, whimsical balloons, kites, and reading aliens from outer space to help set… Continue reading

  • Finish your #BookBingoNW2021 card with some Peak Picks

    Need to fill a couple of spots on your Book Bingo card, and looking to get a book quickly? The Peak Picks display at your Library may have just what you need to get at least one bingo line or, perhaps, an entire blackout. Although we think all Peak Picks should be on a reading list,… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021: Mystery and Crime under 250 pages

    As Summer Book Bingo 2021 comes down to the wire (deadline: Sept. 7), you may be looking to maximize your remaining reading time. To that end, here are a selection of mysteries that clock in under 250 pages, for rapid reading. Feeling more leisurely? Check out our longer list of suggested mystery/crime novels. Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Sports

    Still struggling to find the right book for your Sports Book Bingo square? Never fear, your intrepid Seattle Public Library sports librarian has some suggestions for you, whether you’re a diehard sports writing fan, or have never picked up a book about sports before in your life. Confession time: despite serving as the Library’s sports… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color) Food Writing

    Need a suggestion for your BIPOC Food Writing Book Bingo square? Expand your reading (and eating) palette with these tasty, filling and thoroughly engrossing memoirs and cookbooks!* Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Noted indie rock musician Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) has penned a heartfelt and captivating memoir about growing up Asian American in a predominantly… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Cli-fi or Environmental Non-fiction

    The Cli-fi/Environmental Non-Fiction square offers lots of good reading options! From visions of how the world might look after a climate apocalypse, to intensely personal stories of connection with the land; from accounts of how we got to this point in time, to examinations of the intersection of capitalism and climate; and much more. Check… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Black Joy

    A short list of good reads that can be applied to the Black Joy 2021 Book Bingo square. These are funny, romantic stories that follow Black characters whose best lives find them. Girl Gurl Grrrl: On womanhood and belonging in the age of Black girl magic by Kenya Hunt, deputy editor of the fashion magazine… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Coming of Age

    Looking to fill your book bingo Coming of Age square? Check out one of these titles, in which characters confront confusing situations and pursue big dreams as they enter adulthood. White Ivy by Susie Yang As a teenager, Chinese-American Ivy is caught between the disapproval and harsh parenting style of her parents, and the love… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Beach Read

    Fellow readers, let’s talk beach reads. Don’t be put off by the name – these can be read at the beach, sure, but also by a lake; in a park or on your lawn; on your couch – anywhere you’re taking some time for yourself. And any book can be a beach read*, so long… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2021 Small Press

    Those who follow the literary world know the agglomeration of mega-publishers that was once termed the “big six” long ago became the “big five,” and through yet another merger/acquisition will soon become the “big four.” It seems just a matter of time before we’re talking about the “big one.” Fortunately, there are many many small… Continue reading