What will you read in September? Work on your reading goals this month with a new round of Bookish Bingo!
If you share a completed bingo in the comments below before October 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.
September Bookish Bingo prompts: A classic, Apple on the cover, Published in September, Color in the title, Follow BookishFirst on Facebook, Librarian character, Set in Montana, TItle begins with S, Set at a school, Afro-Latinx author, Set in the fall, On your TBR for 1+ years, Free space, Last in a series, Read in one day, Title begins with R, Latinx protagonist, Backlist book, Leaves on the cover, By an author you discovered in 2023, Brown cover, Author’s name begins with S, Library book, Characters go camping, Read for the hype
I think any book that is still in print, but an older work of an author would be a backlist book. So an author’s older publications, not their most recent.
A backlist is a publisher’s books that are still in print but have been on the market for at least a year . This is opposed to newly-published titles, which are known as the frontlist.
Bingo! (This might have been the easiest board for me haha)
Published in September: Suddenly a Murder
Title begins with S: Small Mercies
Free space
Backlist book: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Library book: Just Another Missing Person
\ \ DIAGONAL BINGO \ \ A classic - Northanger Abbey / Jane Austen Set in Montana - Celine / Peter Heller (would also work for “set in the fall” or “characters go camping”) Free space Leaves on the cover - Unearthing / Kyo Maclear Read for the hype - Amazing Grace Adams / Fran Littlewood
also finished: Published in September - Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System / M. Chris Fabricant (paperback release) Color in the title - Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong’s Rendezvous with American History / Yunte Huang (“Wong” means “yellow” in Cantonese ) Read in one day - The Breakaway / Jennifer Weiner Backlist book - Perfect Little World / Kevin Wilson Library book - Midnight’s Furies / Nisid Hajari
not finished yet but liking so far:
Title begins with S (or Set at a school) - Sitting Pretty / Rebekah Taussig By an author you discovered in 2023 - Country of the Blind / Andrew Leland
How is everyone done with their bingo card already? Lol Is listening to audiobooks the secret? Im listening to one book and reading another just to try to get this bingo card filled faster. Any other tips you can share?
Following on FB!: 9-1-23
Afro-Latinx Author: Inheritance (Elizabeth Acevedo)
Read in 1 Day: The Scholarly Banana (Karley West)
Discovered in 2023: Undelivered (Jeff Nussbaum)
Read for the Hype: Chlorine (Jade Song)
i would consider it backlist if it’s more than a few years old (pick something that works for you, ~2-5), or out of print/not available for purchase in it’s original format.
I am so excited because this is my first bingo! It also pushed me to finally finish Kingdom of Ash. I am going to keep working on the other squares if anyone has any good recs!
Sometimes any time you can spare for reading is a win; I definitely give props to folks who find the time when they are also busy with all the other things in life!
For my part it helps to be somewhat of an insomniac (not always but becoming more frequent as I float through this awkward period of middleage). I’ve always been a heavy library user so there is rarely a shortage of books and TBR ideas around, and I like to listen to e-audiobooks while doing other things, so I can sometimes get quite a bit of reading done in a day. I knew a coworker that would get tons of reading done during his daily lightrail/bus commute.
Bingo! I kind of surprised myself by knocking this one out by accident. I was checking in to see if I needed to direct my reading in a particular direction to achieve a bingo this month & I realized I was already there!
Title begins with R: Really Good Actually - Monica Heisey
Latinx protagonist: Olga Dies Dreaming - Xochitl Gonzalez
Backlist book: The Idiot - Elif Batuman
Leaves on the cover: Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail - Andrea Lankford
By an author you discovered in 2023: All’s Well - Mona Awad (I hadn’t read any of her books before this year, but now I’m all caught up on her backlist & #6 on hold at my library for her newest book)
I have some great book recommendations for you! “The River We Remember” by William Kent Krueger was just released in September and is a fantastic read. If you’re looking for a book that starts with the letter S, “Still Waters” by Sara Driscoll is a great choice. “Chocolate Wars” by Deborah Cadbury is currently available for free, so don’t miss out on that opportunity. For a backlist book that’s worth checking out, I highly recommend “The Night Swim” by Megan Goldin. And if you’re looking for a cozy mystery to curl up with, “Wine and Punishment” by Sarah Fox can be found at your local library. Happy reading!
Bingo! I got 2, I could have had one more but I’m not on Facebook unfortunately.
Brown cover: The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
Author’s name begins with S: MARS Vol. 9 by Fuyumi Soryo
Library book: Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Down Town by Jim Butcher
Characters go camping: Me, Antman and Fleabag by Gayle Kennedy
Read for the hype: The Witcher, Volume 4: Of Flesh and Flame by Aleksandra Motyka, Marianna Strychoska
And another bingo using the Free Space square.
Published in September: Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie
Title begins with S: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Free space: any of the other books I’ve read, say Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
Backlist book: How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal
Library book: Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Down Town by Jim Butcher
\ \ DIAGONAL BINGO \ \ 
Leaves on the cover - Unearthing / Kyo Maclear
