Book Bingo is back for summer 2026, and this reader is already behind. Shame.
This year’s veggie-garden-themed cards, designed by artist Vivian Li, have been available at 77 Seattle Public Library and King County Public Library System locations since May 22; readers can also download cards online at the Seattle Arts and Lectures and libraries’ websites.
Yes, we’re already six days in at the time of publication, but there’s still time to hit all 24 categories. Readers have until 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 to submit a card with bingo (a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line across the card) or blackout (with all squares completed).
Drop off cards at any Seattle or King County library branch to be entered to win prizes. Readers who submit a blackout card will be entered in a drawing for one of three grand prizes per library system, including a Seattle Arts and Lectures subscription for four events in the upcoming season.
“Book Bingo is a chance to pick up something you might not normally choose and see where it takes you,” KCLS Executive Director Heidi Daniel said in a press release. “In its second year for KCLS, we’re excited to see our community explore new stories, new voices, and new ideas together.”
So, what’s on this year’s card?
Some of the categories are perfectly suited to KUOW Book Club members.
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If you read Sonora Jha’s “Intemperance” with us this month, consider checking off “Myth & Legend.” Jha’s novel about a woman who invites men to compete for her love is full of Hindu mythology, after all.
Our June pick, “The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird” by Maria Mudd Ruth, is an easy win on the “Animal” square. Plus, readers may get some ideas for getting outside this summer.
And in July, the “Meet Me Here” crew just so happens to have a month of episodes planned around “Water,” including a conversation with Maria Dolan and Kathryn True, the authors of “Seattle Field Guide: Explore Nature in the City.” Many of the locations in the guide take readers to or around the water.
RELATED: Get more literary conversations on ‘Meet Me Here,’ KUOW’s arts and culture podcast
No spoilers, but we also have picks coming up this summer that will satisfy other categories, including “PNW Black, Indigenous, or POC Author,” “Unplug,” “Soothing,” and, of course, “Horror” (that is my specialty after all).
That’s at least seven squares covered for KUOW Book Club members!
The Seattle Public Library also has recommendations posted for each category, and readers are always encouraged to use the “Your Next 5 Books” tool to get personalized ideas straight from librarians.
Young readers can participate, too, with the youth card designed for ages 17 and under.
Get your cards, plot your picks, and get reading.
