December 2022 Bookish Bingo 🎁

[bookishfirst_team]

Are you ready to tackle your TBR pile this month? Join us in December and conquer your TBR!

If you share a completed bingo in the comments below before January 1, you’ll receive 20 bonus points!

Click here to read the rules and download your Bookish bingo card below. Make sure you share your progress with us by using #BookishBingo on social media. Let us know what books you’re reading for each prompt below! When you get a bingo, shout it out here.

Have an idea for a future board? Share it here.

Check out some of our recommended reads for the BookishFirst staff favorite square!

December Bookish Bingo Prompts: Snow on the cover, Set during a winter holiday, Protagonist is Jewish, Under 200 pages, Author you want to read more of in 2023, BookishFirst staff favorite, Published in December, Hockey, Red or green on the cover, Been on your TBR all year, Received as a gift, Blue or white cover, free space, One-word title, Published in 2022, Featured on BookishFirst, Snowed in, Title includes a temperature description, Last in a series, Title begins with D, On a friend’s Best of 2022, Audiobook listened to while wrapping gifts, Last book you read in 2022, Set in a remote location, A mistletoe kiss occurs or is avoided

[briarrose1021]

What is meant by “On a friend’s Best of 2022”? Is there a place to find various people’s lists of their favorite reads from the year? Or is this a more nebulous "any book that a friend read this year and said they liked " kind of square? If the former, does the person from whom we take a book have to be a friend in the social media sense, or can it just be a random person whose list we look over?

Apologies if this seems like an odd question. I’m new to the BookishFirst bingos, with Nov 2022’s board being the first one I’ve completed.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for books (preferably fantasy or ya, but I’ll read a contemporary romance/rom-com if that’s the only way to fill the square) that fit the “Mistletoe Kiss Occurs of Is Avoided,” I could definitely use some!

Thanks in advance for any answers.

[bookishfirst_team]

Thanks for playing! Any recommendation from a friend, virtual or not, will work for the square, it’s up to you

[seast]

Two of my faves from this year are Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg and Gilded by Marissa Meyer. Both are fantasy though Gilded is more YA and a fairy tale retelling. Both are excellently written.

[briarrose1021]

Thank you for the response on the “Friend’s Best of” square. I have a book for that square, so I just need a book for the “Mistletoe Kiss” square. If you know of any books that would fit that square, please pass them along!

[seast]

Blame It on the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod. It’s a cute YA romance. I read it last year.

[beebeeleelee]

Boo for Clytemnestra being on the staff favorites list when it hasn’t even been published yet!

[issabella]

Asking for book recommendations gave always been a great idea ! You exchange your ideas with others and the other person gets to get a good read and is benefitted in large.

[emily.baker224]

[briarrose1021]

If anyone else is looking for suggestions and also loves reading SFF, YA, or MG novels, here’s what I have planned so far. Of course, some of these may change, but this is my starting point.
Snow on the Cover: The Winter Freak Show by Daniel Parsons
Set During Winter Holidays: Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (I’m going ENTIRELY off of book blurb and reviews on this since I somehow escaped childhood without ever having read it. I still don’t know how that happened. If this book ends up not fitting the prompt, I will change it.)
Protagonist is Jewish: Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Under 200 Pages: Oops! I Shrunk My Best Friend by Katrina Kahler and John Zackour (109p.)
Author You Want to Read More of in 2023: Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi
BookishFirst Staff Favorites: (This was a very short list from which to choose from, and of the fantasy, YA, and MG novels provided, there was only one I haven’t yet read, so the winner is…) Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough (Note to the BookishFirst people: I don’t mind a square like this, but there really needs to be more choices provided. 15 may seem like a lot, but when it’s 5 from only 3 people, the 5 each person chooses tend to be the same or similar genres, which limits the choices even further. If there are only 3 workers, perhaps have each worker choose a book from 5 different genres)
Published in December: Spectrum Short Stories of Science Fiction, the Unusual, and the Unpredictable by Michael Duda (Published December 2020)
Hockey: Hockey Meltdown by Jake Maddox
Red or Green Cover: The Crimson Vault by Will Wight
Been on Your TBR All Year: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novak (It’s been on my TBR list since I finished The Last Graduate last year and wanted to hurt to the author for leaving me with the cliffhanger. Not cool, Naomi. Not Cool.)
Received as a Gift: Mother of Learning Arc II by nobody103 aka Domagoj Kurmaic
Blue or White Cover: Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbawa
Free Space: Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stevens & Chris Reddell (because a “free space” means I get to choose any book I want to go there)
One-Word Title: Summerland by Michael Chabon
Published in 2022: The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Featured on BookishFirst: Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa de la Cruz
Snowed In: The Jigsaw Blade by Steve Collier
Title Includes a Temperature Description: Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Last in a Series: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Title Begins with a D: Deadbeat Druid by David R. Slayton
On a Friend’s Best of 2022: Eyrie by K. Vale Nagle
Audiobook Listened to While Wrapping Gifts (category changed to “Audiobook Listened to” because I have no gifts to wrap): Skyborn: Call of the Crow by Jessica Khoury
Last Book You Read in 2022: I have no idea yet, but it will be whatever the last book I read is (or, more likely, a book I finish on December 30th so that I have time to post my Bingo card regardless of whether or not it’s the ACTUAL last book I finish reading for the year.)
Set in a Remote Location: In Shadows of Silver by Ben Green (I’m assuming that dwarf homes underneath the Rocky Mountains counts as a “remote” location…)
A Mistletoe Kiss Occurs or Is Avoided: Blame It On the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod (unless I happen to discover a fantasy or YA/MG non-romance novel that includes such an incident, in which case this will be changed to that book, whatever it is.)

[beebeeleelee]

Ok, seven days in and not quite a bingo yet, but one of the books I’m reading right now is a cheesy Christmas Romance that should fulfill the open box on the top row. I’m trying to get a little bit ahead as I’m hoping to finish out the Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) which should fulfill my “Last in a series” and “Set in a remote location” boxes to finish off the second to last column and they are on the longer side. I’ve got a couple of options for my “Been on your TBR all year box” but right now I’m leaning towards “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York” which is on the long side as well.

I’ve been really enjoying the challenges! It’s helped encourage me to read some books that have been on my TBR lists for a very long time and has had me picking up and reading lots of books that I otherwise never would have read.

[christine_queenofboo]

An early bingo this month! I read these:
Received as a gift: The Light Pirate
Blue or white cover: Blackmail and Bibingka
Free
One-word title: Hysterical
Published in 2022: Now is Not the Time to Panic

[briarrose1021]

Well, ten days in and ten books read. I don’t have a bingo yet, but I am relatively close on two of them, and I’m currently in the middle of my book with a red cover. I’m definitely curious to see what book will end up being the last book I read for the year, since I can’t really plan that one out.

[ladyace74]

I got a few bingos! First time it has happened but, I been trying to make an active effort to get rid of my backlog of books. I haven’t come across any Hockey or Mistletoe book just yet.

[pearlandminnieslibra]

Bingo!
Received as a gift (Stalking jack the ripper, gifted from my mom)
Blue or white on cover (Song of Achilles)
Free (Ember of Ashes)
One word title (Kaikeyi)
Published in 2022 (Cursed)

[bookreader09]

received as a gift - Together (UNC BBall 2021-22 Recap, various artists)
blue or white cover - The Wish (Nicholas Sparks)
Free
one word title - Rivals (Katharine McGee)
Someday, Maybe (Onyi Nwabineli)

[briarrose1021]

Ooh! I have Send Her Back on my TBR. How did you like it?

A Mistletoe book that I’ve had recommended to me is Blame It On the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod. I’m also eyeing Blame It On the Mistletoe by Eli Easton, but I’m not sure if it has an actual mistletoe kiss in it.

[carireadsbooksandtar]

Bingo!
Under 200 pages- I Choose Darkness by Jenny Lawson
Red or green cover- The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
One-word title- Babel by RF Kuang
Last in a series- Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen
Set in a remote location- A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

[libmuffin]

Bookish First December 2022 Bingo

Snow on the cover	Set During a Winter Holiday	Protagonist is Jewish	Under 200 Pages	Author You Want to Read More of in 2023
Bookish First Staff Favorite	Published in December	Hockey	Red or Green Cover	Been on Your TBR List All Year
Received as a Gift	Blue or White Cover	Free

Space|One-Word Title|Published in 2022|
|Featured on Bookish First|Snowed In|Title Includes a Temperature Description|Last in a Series|Title Begins with a Day|
|On a Friend’s Best of 2022|Audiobook Listened to While Wrapping Gifts|Last Book You Read In 2022|Set in a Remote Location|A Mistletoe Kiss Occurs or Avoided|