The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Mission: Claim at least one "Bingo!" before March 20 (the first day of spring)!

This is an all new bingo for 2016! The Mods have put our heads together to create some new bingo categories and boards that will change with the seasons. (Fans of Karen's Original Bingo, don't worry... We'll be keeping that one for summer.)

RULES & GUIDELINES

Not too many of these as it is supposed to be fun after all :)

* As with traditional Bingo, you can go for a horizontal, vertical, diagonal, "X" or "around the world" (perimeter). Or aim big and go for a black out (all squares)!

* A book can only be used once on the sheet.

* Interpret the categories as broadly as you like.

* Feel free to copy and paste the template below to record your books:

Winter Bingo Template

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover
I4: > 400 pages
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

And here's the board!

Definitions (Updated as questions arise)...

Middle Grade- also called "Intermediate." Usually a chapter book written for children between the ages of 9-15. Newbury titles would fit here. Also, the Harry Potter books, Beverly Cleary, Rick Riordan, the Magic Treehouse series, Little House series, Anne of Green Gables, The Black Stallion, etc.

Magical Realism- "Matthew Strecher defines magic realism as "what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe." (from Wikipedia)
For example, Beloved or One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Epistolary- written as a series of letters (or diary entries). For example, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Made Into A Movie- does not have to be recently

Based on Mythology- some examples might be The Lightning Thief or Till We Have Faces or Grendel. Use your own judgement.

Color/Lettering blocks refer to the cover of the book. Wintery colors for this one. Spring Bingo will have different colors and categories. ;-)

Winter Bingo is open for business!! :D

Remember: You can set your own level with a single "Bingo!" or as many as you like.

Don't forget to post "Bingo!" when you've completed each one so we can celebrate. ;-)

I have never done a bingo but have always been curious about them. Do you play against the other people and the game is over after someone calls bingo or is it just a challenge against yourself to get your bingo?

It's not competitive. (But the first "Bingo!" always gets kudos.)
Most of us start thinking we'll go for one but end up going for several. It's kinda addictive. ;-)

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover
I4: > 400 pages - The Cuckoo's Calling
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic - Agnes Grey
N2: Made into a Movie - The Scorch Trials
N3: FREE - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
N4: Science Fiction - The 5th Wave
N5: Humor - Yes Please

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year - A Darker Shade of Magic
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering - The Diviners
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

Yay!!! I Love BINGO!! Thanks for such a fun BINGO! :D I already have some books that I will be reading, which fit some categories! :D

Winter Bingo Template

✔ B1: Award Winner - 2666
B2: Graphic Novel - The Complete Maus
B3: Silver Lettering
✔ B4: Mystery or Thriller - Still Life
B5: Current Event Related

✔ I1: Start a Series - The Knife of Never Letting Go
✔ I2: Middle Grade - The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes
✔ I3: Blue Cover - The Light Between Oceans
✔ I4: > 400 pages - Deadhouse Gates
✔ I5: Personal Improvement - Siddhartha

✔ N1: Classic - Anna Karenina
✔ N2: Made into a Movie - Misery
✔ N3: FREE - Em and The Big Hoom
✔ N4: Science Fiction - Cloud Atlas
N5: Humor

✔ G1: Magical Realism - The Prisoner of Heaven
✔ G2: LGBTQ+ - Duty & Devotion
✔ G3: White Cover - The Alloy of Law
G4: Published In Your Birth Year - Last Bus to Woodstock - First published in 1975
✔ G5: Biographical - The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph, and the Vietnam War

✔ O1: Published Last Year - The Nightingale
✔ O2: Epistolary - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
O3: Gold Lettering
✔ O4: Based on Mythology - Yayati: A Classic Tale of Lust
O5: Math/Science - The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Hooray! So glad you guys like it!

BasesLoaded,
That always used to stump me, too. I tell my students to think of the columns outside buildings. Rows go across. Columns are up and down.

Renee wrote: "BasesLoaded,
That always used to stump me, too. I tell my students to think of the columns outside buildings. Rows go across. Columns are up and down."

That is freaking brilliant! Thanks.

Winter Bingo Template

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller-1222 1/5
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover
I4: > 400 pages-Promise of Blood
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+- Almost Straight 1/7
G3: White Cover-Second Chances 1/3
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

Winter Bingo Template

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series -The Sword of Summer
I2: Middle Grade -Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I3: Blue Cover -Ignite Me
I4: > 400 pages -A Discovery of Witches
I5: Personal Improvement -Obična pisma neobičnim ljudima

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

Sounds fun! Count me in.

B1: Award Winner - Bossypants by Tina Fey - Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year (2012), Goodreads Choice Award for Best Humor (2011)
B2: Graphic Novel - The Pretenders
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related - Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

I1: Start a Series - Oryx and Crake
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover - - Vinyl Cafe Turns the Page
I4: > 400 pages - And the Mountains Echoed
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic Lord of the Flies
N2: Made into a Movie - Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction - The Fall of Five
N5: Humor - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+ - Boy Meets Boy
G3: White Cover -
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical - Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls-- One Flying Disc at a Time

O1: Published Last Year - The Girl on the Train
O2: Epistolary - The Winter People
O3: Gold Lettering - At the Water's Edge
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

this might be a stupid question but what are the gold and silver lettering and the blue and white cover categories? I'm trying to plan my reading and I'm getting a little confused, Tia, roxi

What a fantastic idea!! Looking forward to giving this a go :-)

WINTER BINGO
Goal: 4 Bingos
Progress: 0/4

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade - Little House in the Big Woods ★★★★★
I3: Blue Cover - The Girl You Left Behind ★★★★
I4: > 400 pages - Demelza ★★★★★
I5: Personal Improvement - Work for Money, Design for Love ★★★★

N1: Classic - Villette currently reading
N2: Made into a Movie - The Book Thief ★★★★★
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor - Why Not Me? ★★★★

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering - The Lost Symbol ★★
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover
I4: > 400 pages
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

Roxanne,
It's not a stupid question at all. I expected that some things might need clarification. The blue cover/white cover/silver lettering/etc. are exactly what they say. Look for books with silver lettering on the cover or have a blue cover, etc.

We tried to create a mix of categories so there would be lots of options. So some blocks are genre specific, some speak to writing style, some to era of publication, and some are simply about judging a book by its cover. :)

Thanks Renee. Making a start already :)

B1: Award Winner The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
B2: Graphic Novel-Introducing Linguistics: A Graphic Guide
B3: Silver Lettering- Flowers for the Dead
B4: Mystery or Thriller- Girl on a Train
B5: Current Event RelatedThe Flood

I1: Start a Series - Clockwork Angel
I2: Middle Grade Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
I3: Blue Cover Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
I4: > 400 pages A Game of Thrones
I5: Personal Improvement Sleep: Discover How To Fall Asleep Easier, Get A Better Nights Rest & Wake Up Feeling Energized

N1: Classic Lady Audley's Secret
N2: Made into a Movie The Vampire's Assistant
N3: FREE Mr Mercedes
N4: Science Fiction A Quest of Undoing: A Tale from the Land of Ononokin
N5: Humor Toil and Trouble

G1: Magical RealismWith Silent Screams
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover- The Amber Keeper
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last YearFollow Me
O2: Epistolary We Need to Talk About Kevin
O3: Gold Lettering Prison of Hope
O4: Based on Mythology Born of Hatred
O5: Math/Science

Going for a single Bingo, but last time it turned into a cover all.

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering The Fifth Knight
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover The Truth that Sets Free by: Samuel Faith-Laye Ngafeeson
I4: > 400 pages Hollywood Warts 'N' All
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic The Call of the Wild
N2: Made into a Movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
N3: FREE Gone with the Wind
N4: Science Fiction The Martian
N5: Humor Love, Lies & High Heels

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover: White Ghost: And the Poison Arrow
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical Heart to Heart: A Gift of Unconditional Love

O1: Published Last Year Blood Kiss
O2: Epistolary One Lavender Ribbon
O3: Gold Lettering: The Long Road to Heaven
O4: Based on Mythology Dead Radiance
O5: Math/Science 25 Spooky Deep Sea Creatures - Extraordinary Animal Photos & Facinating Fun Facts For Kids

Danielle's Bingo - I think I will go for the 2nd or 3rd row for my first bingo.

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series - Throne of Glass
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover - Starry Night completed 1/18
I4: > 400 pages
I5: Personal Improvement -The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - completed

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

♫ ♬ ♪ Leslie (aka Basesloaded32) wrote: "I have never done a bingo but have always been curious about them. Do you play against the other people and the game is over after someone calls bingo or is it just a challenge against yourself to ..."

I have to be real with myself and let this one go. I will hopefully be in a better position to do a Spring bingo. I have this disease called "read-too-many-books-at-one-timeitis" and I sign up for things I should not.

I'm in! Reserved for updates.

Going to give this a go - looks interesting. Probably aiming for just one bingo.

B1: Award Winner
B2: Graphic Novel
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series
I2: Middle Grade
I3: Blue Cover
I4: > 400 pages
I5: Personal Improvement

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie
N3: FREE
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor

G1: Magical Realism
G2: LGBTQ+
G3: White Cover
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

I'm tempted by this but I don't know how it fully works, Like I know how bingo works but this seems confusing

Beth, I'm new at this too. The way I understand it is this: You can either look at the categories and choose a book to read that might fit into that category as I did with WHITE GHOST and the POISON ARROW--The category was a book with a white cover and that one fit the bill.... OR, you can read a book of your choice and then try to fit it into one the categories as I did with BLOOD KISS. I REALLY REALLY wanted to read that book and was just lucky that it fit into the category of "Published last year".

What I did was make a pencil sketch of what the bingo card looks like...then, as I go, I will plug in the books I've read and hope to get a bingo.

Hope this helps!

Oh that's a great way of doing it, I'm going to try incorporate the books I'm already reading into some of these categories and see where that gets me...

That's what I did with that WHITE GHOST & THE POISON ARROW. I was already reading it and when I realized it would fit the white cover category, I jumped all over it! LOL

Thanks for sharing this idea, Angela! It's a very clever way of keeping track.

I'm so in!! (A little late as I haven't been checking Goodreads super frequently lately, but no matter!!)

BINGOS 1 & 2 COMPLETED!!
Bingo 1: I1-I5
Bingo 2: B2-O2


B1: Award Winner - The Complete Persepolis
B2: Graphic Novel - In Real Life
B3: Silver Lettering
B4: Mystery or Thriller
B5: Current Event Related

I1: Start a Series - Aya
I2: Middle Grade Santa's Newest Reindeer
I3: Blue Cover - The Secrets Come Out
I4: > 400 pages Winter
I5: Personal Improvement Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?: Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles, and Other Devious Interviewing Techniques You Need to Know to Get a Job Anywhere in the New Economy

N1: Classic
N2: Made into a Movie - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
N3: FREE How Mirka Got Her Sword
N4: Science Fiction
N5: Humor Bossypants

G1: Magical Realism Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
G2: LGBTQ+: It
G3: White Cover - Astonish Me
G4: Published In Your Birth Year
G5: Biographical

O1: Published Last Year
O2: Epistolary Ella Minnow Pea
O3: Gold Lettering
O4: Based on Mythology
O5: Math/Science

Great to have you along for this, Dana!

I'm attempting a diagonal from top left to bottom right.

0/5 books read

B1: Award Winner - Hugo Awards winner American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I2: Middle Grade -
N3: FREE -
G4: Published In Your Birth Year - first published 1993 Glory Season by David Brin
O5: Math/Science - Science > Physics/Popular Science/Astronomy A Brief History of Time

Cool. A very focused plan. :) Good Luck, Bouchra!

Renee, I have what may be a stupid question...but I'm going to ask it anyway. I just RE-read a book I read a few months ago. I already own it--in paperback--it fits into the "Gold Letters" category and it's a GREAT book so, I didn't mind reading it again. However...when I went to Amazon to get the link so I could post it to my bingo list above...the cover has been changed since it was published in June. Should I read another book?

Angela, I'd say if you have the copy that's got gold lettering, go for it!

Great! Thank you, Holly!

Angela, you can search through different editions of each book using the "add book/author" feature right above the comment box here on Goodreads. Type in the book, then click on "other editions" and go through each page until you find the cover you're looking for. Hope this helps!

Okay...I've made my first Bingo! Yay!
B: Silver Lettering (The Fifth Knight)
I: Blue Cover (The Truth That Sets Free)
N: Free
G: White Cover (White Ghost and the Poison Arrow)
O: Gold Lettering (The Long Road to Heaven)

I've decided I'm going to try for a cover-all! This is fun!

Congrats!!

Thanks Stacey!

Great Going, Angela! Kudos for getting the first Bingo!

Thanks Renee!
Decided I'm going for a cover-all!

Good for you, Angela! You're off to a good start!

Congrats Lasa!
I don't know about you, but I'm having a blast!

Woohoo! You guys are speed readers! The Bingos are a lot of fun. So glad you're enjoying.

There! Got my bingo. Probably won't go for the black out though because of the squirreling.

Yeah. The squirrels would probably chew o boards anyway.