I skipped last year’s bingo due to time issues, and while I did keep track of my reading and adding books to prompts I failed to get a black-out bingo. Also because I was super unprepared. I had no idea what to read for certain prompts which made it hard. Mood reading dictated most of my reading books in 2023. Hopefully, I can combine my mood reading with a more targeted reading for the bingo again. It’s only 25 books! How hard can it be?! Apparently, a lot.
The 2024 card seems pretty easy to me. Skimming the prompts, I immediately thought of certain books I could read. Books I already own. I hope I can read more if my owned physical books too, so I’m going to fit as many as I can on the list below. I’ll also add books as recommendations for you if you want to join in. (Yes, I will be recommending my own books)
The prompts, my picks, and my recommendations from books I’ve already read
1. First in a Series: Read the first book in a series. HARD MODE: The series is more than three books long.
My pick: Empire of Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My recommendations: Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan
2. Alliterative Title: Read a book where multiple words in the title begin with the same letter. For example, Legends and Lattes, A Storm of Swords, Children of Blood and Bone. HARD MODE: The title has three words or more that start with the same letter.
My pick: The Reanimator’s Remains by Kara Jorgensen/The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
My recommendations: Devil’s Deal/Beelzebub’s Bargain by Tessa Hastjarjanto, Children of Chaos by Trudie Skies
3. Under the Surface: Read a book where an important setting is either underground or underwater. HARD MODE: At least half the book takes place underground or underwater.
My pick: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall/This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
My recommendations: Undine’s Blessing by Tessa Hastjarjanto
4. Criminals: Read a book in which the main character is a criminal. This could be a thief, assassin, someone who commits mail fraud, etc. HARD MODE: Features a heist.
My pick: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My recommendations: The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
5. Dreams: Read a book where characters experience dreams, magical or otherwise. HARD MODE: The dream is not mystical or unusual, just a normal dream or nightmare.
My pick: Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
My recommendations: Lucifer’s Favour by Tessa Hastjarjanto
6. Entitled Animals: Read a book that has an animal in the title. The animal in the title does not have to appear in the story. Examples: The Raven Tower, Wolfsong, A Feast for Crows. HARD MODE: The animal in the title is a fantasy or sci-fi creature, i.e. The Last Unicorn, Leviathan Wakes, or The Kaiju Preservation Society.
My pick: The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
My recommendations: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, The Blood-born Dragon by J.C. Croft
7. Bards: Read a book in which the primary protagonist is a bard, musician, poet, or storyteller. HARD MODE: The character is explicitly called a bard.
My pick: The Part About The Dragon is (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson
My recommendations: The Stray Spirit/The Spirit Well by R.K. Ashwick, Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley
8. Prologues and Epilogues: Read a book that has either a prologue or an epilogue. HARD MODE: The book must have both.
My pick: What The River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
My recommendations: Devil’s Deal by Tessa Hastjarjanto
9. Self-Published or Indie Publisher: Self-published or published through an indie publisher. HARD MODE: Self-published and has fewer than 100 ratings on Goodreads OR an indie publisher that has done an AMA with r/Fantasy.
My pick: The Heavenly Sword by Alice Poon
My recommendations: All of my books qualify for hard mode. You can also check out my indie gems Goodreads shelf.
10. Romantasy: Read a book that features romance as a main plot. This must be speculative in nature but does not have to be fantasy. HARD MODE: The main character is LGBTQIA+.
My pick: A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske
My recommendations: The Flos Magicae series by Arden Powell. All of Kara Jorgensen’s books.
11. Dark Academia: Read a book that fits the dark academia aesthetic. This includes school and university, secret societies, and dark secrets. Does not have to be fantasy, but must be speculative. HARD MODE: The school itself is entirely mundane.
My pick: The Magicians by Lev Grossman
12. Multi-POV: Read a book with at least three point of view characters. HARD MODE: At least five point of view characters.
My pick: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers/Jade City by Fonda Lee
My recommendations: Children of Chaos by Trudie Skies
13. Published in 2024: A book published for the first time in 2024 (no reprints or new editions) First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: It’s also the author’s first published novel.
My pick: The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin
My recommendations: The End of time by Trudie Skies, Undine’s Blessing by Tessa Hastjarjanto, The Spirit Well by R.K. Ashwick
14. Character with a Disability: Read a book in which an important character has a physical or mental disability. HARD MODE: A main character has a physical or mental disability.
My pick: Paper Forests by Tegan Anderson
My recommendations: The Reanimator’s Heart/The Reanimator’s Soul by Kara Jorgensen, The Spirit Well by R.K. Ashwick
15. Published in the 1990s: Read a book that was published in the 1990s. HARD MODE: The author, or one of the authors, has also published something in the last five years.
My pick: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
My recommendations: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman
16. Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins – Oh My!: Read a book featuring orcs, trolls, or goblins. HARD MODE: As a main character.
My pick: The Orc and her Bride by Lila Gwynn
17. Space Opera: Read a sci-fi book that features a large cast of characters and has a focus on social dynamics which may be political or personal in nature. Set primarily in space or on spaceships. HARD MODE: Written by an author of marginalized gender identity (e.g. women, trans people, non-binary people).
My pick: A Fire Born in Exile by Aliette de Bodard
My recommendations: Seven Devils/Seven Mercies by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May
18. Author of Color: Read a book by an author of color. HARD MODE: Must be a debut novel published in the last five years.
My pick: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
My recommendations: All my books fit hard mode. The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard
19. Survival: Read a book in which the primary goal of the characters and story focuses on survival. Surviving an apocalypse, surviving a war, surviving high school, etc. HARD MODE: No superviruses or pandemics.
My pick: Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan
My recommendations: Beelzebub’s Bargain by Tessa Hastjarjanto, Girls of Paper and Fire/Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan, Abarat by Clive Barker, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
20. Judge A Book By Its Cover: Choose because you like its cover. HARD MODE: Pick the book based only on the information available on the cover. No reading the blurb!
My pick: Ruination by Anthony Reynolds/Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall/Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong/Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
My recommendations: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
21. Set in a Small Town: The primary setting is a small town. HARD MODE: The small town can be real or fictional but the broader setting must be our real world and not a secondary world.
My pick: Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
My recommendations: This Too Shall Burn by Cat Rector
22. Five SFF Short Stories: Any five short stories or novelettes. HARD MODE: Read an entire speculative anthology or collection.
My pick: The Winter Spirits edited by Bridget Collins
My recommendations: A thousand Endings and Beginnings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, We Deserve to Exist edited by Dakota Rayne
23. Eldritch Creatures: Read a book featuring a being that is uncanny, unearthly, and weird. This can be a god or monster from another plane or realm and is usually beyond mortal understanding. HARD MODE: The book is not related to the Cthulhu mythos.
My pick: How to Get a Girlfriend (When You’re a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno
My recommendations: Shattered Spirits by Cal Black
24. Reference Materials: Read a book that features additional material, such as a map, footnotes, glossary, translation guide, dramatis personae etc. HARD MODE: Book contains at least two types of additional materials.
My pick: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
My recommendations: Merchants of Knowledge and Magic by Erika McCorkle, The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
25. Book Club or Readalong Book: Any past or active r/Fantasy book clubs count as well as past or active r/Fantasy readalongs. HARD MODE: Must read a current selection of either a book club or readalong and participate in the discussion.
My pick: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree/Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
My recommendations: The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies, The Sunset Sovereign by Laura Huie, The Blood-born Dragon by J.C. Croft, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett
