2026 Bingo Recommendations List
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.
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3B: We’re Putting the Band (Back) Together: A group assembles for a common purpose. HARD MODE: The group had previously drifted apart, but is now reunited.
2A: Revisiting an Old Friend: Reread a work that holds a special place in your heart. HARD MODE: Reread it in a modified format (updated reissue, manga or graphic novel adaptation, illustrated or annotated edition, different language or translation, listen to the audiobook, etc.).
Dracula Daily starts tomorrow for a fun way to revisit Dracula
Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting
As always, this year's Storygraph challenge is pre-seeded with over 400 example books from a variety of (99% fiction) genres and subjects! Each square on there has at least 10 works that qualify only for regular mode, plus 10 more that also qualify for hard mode.
Where are the suggestions? I've followed several links and just see the square descriptions.
Clicking on the name of a square on the Storygraph challenge page** should bring you to a page that shows every book that's been added to that square (by me or other participants). For instance, here's the A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words page. They do take a second to load all the way, especially when there's a lot of books in the list. Does that help?
** clarifying edit
Hmm, maybe my app is misbehaving? When I click on the links in the top post it just sends me back here, but when I clicked the link you shared in the comment it sent me to storygraph where I could see all of the recommendations.
I can find the rest of them now by browsing from there, so that does work for me. Ty for helping me find them. I just finished my latest series so I'm floundering for what's next!!
Hmm I think the post links may be messed up; I'll poke Jaymes.
Glad to help--I hope you find something fun to read next!
Ty, so I browsed those lists and found out there's a new Sanderson, and Wells this year, so I've got those two on my list. And I picked up the Twisted Ones from Kingfisher. My first for this author, and more real than I'm used to, but I think this'll be good.
For the Punctuated! prompt... does '&' count as a punctuation mark? From what I can work out, perhaps not?
Sorry for the delay in responding, I’ve had a busy time with work recently.
there are no bingo police, if you think you can make a well reasoned argument why an interpretation is correct, go for it.
I would say the ampersand is a ligature not punctuation, but see 1.
Thanks! Yeah I reckon you're right - and I wouldn't mind the challenge of finding something that fits :)
2B: Author from a Different Continent: The author(s) resides on a different continent than you do. HARD MODE: The work required translation to be published in your native language.
Sacred and Terrible Air, by Robert Kurvitz. It details the story of four girls who got disappeared, and their classmates who never gave up hope of finding them.
Its a book from Estonia!
2D: Great Big Title: The title takes up a lot of real estate on the cover (or cover-analogue). HARD MODE: It’s also six (6) words or longer (articles, conjunctions, and names do count, but subtitles don’t).
3E: Late to the Party: Apparently this is a really popular work, you just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Read something you’ve seen recommended over and over. HARD MODE: Has not been released as a major film or television franchise prior to the end of the challenge.
1B: Supplementary, My Dear Watson: Includes extra material like a map, glossary, introduction, afterword, or author’s note. HARD MODE: The work includes notes that add context or richness, such as footnotes, endnotes, sidenotes, or marginalia. (miskatonic.org/footnotes.html has a long list of qualifying works.)
3D: What’s in a Name?: The title contains the name (or pseudonym) of a figure or collective whose story is central to the work. Examples: Jane Eyre, Dracula, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. HARD MODE: The title is only the name, nothing else. (Multi-name titles with ‘and’, like Romeo and Juliet, as well as basic honorifics like ‘Mr.’/‘Mrs.’, still qualify.)
Dracula Daily starts tomorrow and would qualify for this.
The legend of William Oh: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/92144/the-legend-of-william-oh
Although the first book is only on Amazon.
3A: Punctuated!: The title on the cover (or cover-analogue) includes at least one punctuation symbol. Example: Thud! by Terry Pratchett. HARD MODE: Includes a symbol that is not a comma, apostrophe, or colon (e.g. !, ?, -, or …).
4B: Rooted & Rising: The natural world is prominent in some aspect of the work, such as setting, theme, or narrative catalyst. HARD MODE: Nature is key to a major figure’s resilience or ability to survive. Example: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
4A: Minority Author: The author belongs to a demographic that is underrepresented or marginalized in publishing where you live (e.g. LGBTQIA+, BIPOC). HARD MODE: Belongs to more than one marginalized group.
2C: Weapon on the Cover: The cover art (or key art, for short works) features a weapon (sword, gun, bow, tank, etc.). HARD MODE: No knives or swords.
5A: Get Off My Lawn: A major figure is middle-aged or older. HARD MODE: They’re considered a senior citizen or elderly.
4D: The Ink Is Still Fresh: New for 2026/2027 (no reprints or new editions). First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: Not a sequel.
4E: Putting the Pieces Together: The premise involves an individual or team solving a puzzle, uncovering a secret, unraveling an ancient mystery, or investigating a crime. HARD MODE: The “detective” is an everyday civilian or an amateur in the field of the investigation, like a cop looking for a lost city on vacation, or an archaeologist trying to solve a murder.
2E: Independent Author: Self-published by the author at the time of reading. This includes works that have been picked up by a conventional publishing house, but are not yet rereleased, as well as those that are no longer conventionally published. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.
5B: The Late, Great…: The author is deceased. HARD MODE: They passed away before January 1, 2000.
5D: Kintsugi: A major figure attempts to navigate a significant personal or systemic struggle, trauma, or loss. HARD MODE: Centered on a healing journey.
1A: LGBTQIA+ Lead: A major figure identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Features a significant, committed relationship (romantic, queerplatonic, or deep primary partnership) between LGBTQIA+ characters.
Locked Tomb Series. I just finished it.
What did you think of it? It’s been on my TBR for a bit.
It was a fun, easy read. Audio book narration is good, and the narrator does a really good job of differentiating the characters voices. I think the prose and narrator together both did their part really well voicing characters in the story that has a lot of body swapping kinds of things going on. It could be really easy to mix up who is saying what -- but I always felt like I had a good handle on it. The characters each have their own .... Attitude(?),voice (?),personality(?) And that came out both in reading and in the narration.
1E: Against the Odds: A person rises against a seemingly insurmountable challenge. HARD MODE: An “unlikely” hero—someone who steps up despite having no special destiny, powers, or prior training.
5E: Double Up, Double Down: Includes two or more points of view that are notably separate from one another (although they may eventually converge), rather than jumping between members of an adventuring party or one person’s past and present. See also epistolary works/letter collections, critique/analysis, sociology-related works, shared worlds, parallel narratives, and nesting narratives. Example: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. HARD MODE: The title includes a pluralized or repeated word.
4C: Free Read: A work you didn’t pay to read (e.g. in the public domain, a gift, from the library or a Little Free Library, an ARC, or borrowed from a friend). Illicit downloads or stolen copies of the work do not qualify. HARD MODE: By an author you’ve never read before.
New life as a max level archmage: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/118891/new-life-as-a-max-level-archmage
This site is called royalroad. Here, web serials get published, which are books that are uploaded chapter by chapter to the internet. Sometimes they stay up there forever, sometimes they are taken off of royalroad in order to get published to Amazon.
This one is free when I read it, but now the first book (arc/set of chapters) got taken off and was published to Amazon.
1C: A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words: Illustrations, photographs, or graphic elements noticeably enhance the work. HARD MODE: Heavily visual, such as a graphic novel, manga, photo essay, picture book, or coffee table book.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199020569-grim-portraits
Might fit since its ABOUT pictures? I enjoyed it. It was a librarian recommendation during Halloween one year.
Manwha: Insanely Talented Player
It's like a satire of all the midslop manhwa I normally read, and it's actually pretty good.
1D: Award Winner: Has won a notable literary award with broad recognition. HARD MODE: Has won two or more distinct awards (e.g., a Hugo and a Locus, or a National Book Critics Circle Award and the Heartland Prize).
5C: Sufficiently Advanced: Technology plays a major role in the narrative or world. HARD MODE: A prominent aspect of this technology attempts to preserve or create life (e.g. robots, AI, cloning, medical advancements, cryogenics, or resurrection machines).