I did have another post planned for today, but it can wait – indeed, it might be better written if it waited – because I’d like to tell you about a special sub-challenge in this year’s Australian Women Writers (AWW) Challenge. A Reading Bingo.
If, like me, you are not really up on blogger challenge culture, you may not know what a Reading Bingo is. You may not want to know, either, but I figure it never hurts to share knowledge about what’s going on in the lit-blogosphere. The AWW Challenge’s Bingo was created by Kelly of Orange Pekoe Reviews, who has done them before. Her idea was to inject a little fun into the Challenge, and perhaps encourage a different set of readers to join in. So, here is how it works … You
- Choose one (or both) of the two Bingo Cards created for challenge. (Each card contains 9 boxes suggesting different topics or categories of books – written on course by Australian women writers – that you might like to read.)
- Read a book in each of the categories on the card (or cards) you’ve chosen, until you complete the card – between 1 January 2016 and 31 October 2016.
- Review each book you read on a blog or GoodReads or other reviewing site.
- Write a wrap up post on your blog and post a link to it – or post links to your GoodReads (or other) reviews – on the Bingo post on the AWW Challenge site.
There will be prizes. Currently, we have prizes for Australian residents, but we are hoping to organise prizes for overseas readers as well.
You can find all the details about the Bingo challenge online here, but here are the categories to get you thinking:
Bingo Card One:
- A book with a mystery
- A book by someone under thirty
- A book that’s more than 10 years old
- A book by an indigenous author
- FREE SQUARE
- A bestseller
- A book set in the outback
- A short story collection
- A book published this year.
Bingo Card Two:
- A book set in your favourite town or city
- A forgotten classic
- A book you heard about online
- A funny book
- FREE SQUARE
- A book by someone of a different ethnicity to you
- The first book by a favourite author
- A book with poems
- A book of non-fiction
So, if you are taking part in the challenge now, or would like to take part, this might be a way of helping you mix up your reading and explore some areas of writing that you don’t usually read. Or, it could encourage you to get to some books on your TBR that you just need that little bit of extra impetus to pick up. I have just the book for the Forgotten Classic box, one that I’ve picked up and put down may times over the last decade. This might very well be its time!
I guess this is all a bit whimsical. I’m not sure it will change my reading practices much, except for that classic, because I’m pretty confident that I read enough variety that books will naturally fill the spots! It will be interesting to see.
Do any of these categories speak to your TBR? (You can answer with non-Aussie women’s books if you like!)
Whispering Gums 
Well that puts a fun twist on your annual challenge! I’ve seen other reading bingos for classics challenges and I could be imagining it but I think I’ve seen one for mysteries/crime too.
I can see how they would appeal to people who wonder what they are going to read next, Stefanie. Like you, I never have to wonder long!
I’m tempted. But as I’m never going to read a book of poems it would have to be card one. I might have to a JD Robb audio book for my ‘mystery’ but van Nerven’s Heat and Light covers a lot of the other bases.
She does, Bill, but you can’t have the same book in multiple spots!! Though we don’t say that do we! Re poems, we worded it so that it just had to have some poems in it (so, for example, if it were a fantasy challenge you could use Lord of the Rings. Emily Rodda’s Rowan of Rin – Australian woman writer – has poems in it too, though I guess you and I are not going to read.) Anyhow, it would be lovely if you gave it a go.
It sounds wonderful, but I don’t need to add to my TBR list, and books sitting on my shelves waiting to be read. I know if I attempted the challenge, more books would be added to my list. Your and Lisa’s blogs and weekend papers, keep me on my toes looking for more books.
Fair enough Meg, though I bet if you looked at the end of October at what you’d read you’d complete the challenge without even trying! Still, it’s great to hear that our blogs help your choice of books. It’s great for authors to know that I think.
I would struggle to find anything in my TBR that fits the description of funny.
Hmmm .. I think you need to add balance to your TBR Karen! Though, actually, that will be a challenge for me too. Hopefully by the end of October I’ll have found at least a satire that will raise a few smiles.