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Friday, November 3, 2017

Giving up!

First of all you should know that I'm a huge fan of reading bingo:  I love finding books that fit each category, and filling in each and every square. And for the past couple of years Stacey at Unruly Reader has created a super fun book bingo card. And I've always gone for blackout. Until this year. With six categories left to fill on my card, I'm officially giving up. No book bingo blackout for me in 2017. I know there's still time before the end of the year, and that I could probably push and get it done, but frankly, I'm running out of steam. And there are other books I'd rather read more.

Here's the card I started off with:


And the books I read that fill the 19 categories I did manage to complete:

POP PSYCHOLOGY:  Aim True by Kathryn Budig
OUTLAW:  Surviving Home by A. American
DOOM AND GLOOM:  Lights Out by Ted Koppel
A BOOK I OWN:  Dance Night by Dawn Powell
WHERE I GREW UP:  Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
CREATIVITY: Good Mail Day: A Primer For Making Eye-Popping Postal Art 
by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee G. Wheeler
GUILTY PLEASURE: The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires by Molly Harper
OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS: The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn
AUTHOR'S NAME BEGINS WITH M: Arrowood by Laura McHugh
BEST IN CLASS: Lost by Michael Robotham
THE OUTDOORS: My Last Continent by Midge Raymond
HOT: The Definition of Wind by Ellen Block

And here are the six categories that will remain unread by me this year:
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE:
(Even though I own Russell Mean's autobiography Where White Men Fear To Tread, 
which has been sitting on my shelf for years and years waiting to be read.)
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FICTION PRIZE:
(Even though I found and bought a copy of Marilynne Robinson's Lila at a library 
book sale just for this bingo category; it now sits in my room also waiting to be read.)
BOOMER LIT:
(I never had a book in mind for this category.)
ASIA:
(This category should've been an easy one for me seeing how much I love 
Haruki Murakami and other Japanese writers, but...)
BAD TITLE:
(This also sounds deceptively easy...but every book I attempted to read 
that fit the category ended up being too bad to finish. So...)
MID-CENTURY MODERN:
(Didn't even try!)

There you have it. My 2017 reading bingo journey. I did enjoy the books I read. And I had fun! And that's all that matters, right? Maybe next year I'll try for blackout again. Until then...

Happy Reading!



21 comments:

  1. I think you did really well with this! I used to do a reading challenge that lasted months with tons of categories. I had fun choosing books to fit each category but I never completed it. There would always be books in some categories that I just didn't want to read or were too big or something!

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    1. I hear you! I always start off these reading challenges with lots of momentum...which I then lose about halfway through the year. :D

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  2. I think you're doing quite well with the challenge. It's always fun choosing the books to fit the categories and most of all you got to read them and enjoyed them. :)

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    1. Very true! That's my favorite part of reading bingo...that and filling in the squares with a smiley-face sticker. ;D

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  3. Thanks for posting about Reader Bingo. I never heard of it before. What a great idea but I also see how it could be very difficult to read a book from each category. I'm drawing a blank on boomer lit as well.

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    1. Right? I don't know what book you read for boomer lit!
      But reading bingo is a lot of fun. Stacey might do another card for 2018. If she does, you should definitely check it out. :)

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  4. What a fun challenge and even though you didn't complete it, it looks like you did a great job! I hardly ever complete my challenges it seems but part of the fun is putting together the possible reads and of course meeting other readers who are also doing the challenge.

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    1. That is the fun of challenges (most of which I never quite complete either).

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  5. I think you did pretty good considering. Not a failure in my opinion.

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  6. Looks like you at least got bingo and read a lot of categories of books. That sounds like a win! Making a decision is a power move, even when it is deciding NOT to complete something. Now go read a book :)

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  7. I love the idea of this challenge and am thinking of doing something like this next year, so am glad you posted this so I know where to look! I think there's someone else who does a seasonal one that looks fun as well.

    You did really well, even if you were unable to finish it. Those are some tough categories! And to go for black out--that's pretty ambitious.

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    1. Bingo is fun, whether you manage to get a blackout or not. :)

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  8. The bad title category and your comment made me laugh! Lights Out was a perfect choice for Doom and Gloom.

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  9. You read some great books in those categories, but a bingo is just a fun way to look at different books. In my idea, it is not something you should finish at every cost. So if you cannot fill in the other categories, it is a good time to stop!

    Kind regards,

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    1. Thank you! And you're right...when it stops being fun is definitely the time to stop. :D

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  10. I wouldn't worry too much; challenges are for fun and to help you read things you might not have otherwise!

    How cool that you read Muller because of this challenge! My dad and I read her book The Appointment earlier this year; he's Romanian and we're both trying to read some more Romanian authors.

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    1. I LOVED The Land of Green Plums! But I had to get it through Interlibrary loan; I'd probably have to do that again to read any other books by her. :)

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  11. Wow, you seriously rocked Book Bingo! Going for blackout is an ambitious project, and I’m so glad you participated up to the point where the fun was maximized (and then stopped!) Our reading time is too precious.

    Your choice for Highbrow (The Remains of the Day) captures the essence of that category in so many ways -- what a perfect match.

    I hope the 2018 Book Bingo card brings reading fun once again!

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    1. I'm looking forward to it! (I'm very excited to see what categories you've picked for 2018.) Thanks again for creating and sharing an awesome bingo card. :)

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