CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge Begins

This reading challenge is as much about vibes as definitions. Unless a category description indicates otherwise, you can be a strict constructionist, or vibes only, baby! How easy or challenging you make your reading is up to you. Below are suggested interpretations and some suggestions are stronger than others. But it’s your time, so pick books that appeal to you.

This year’s Bingo reading challenge was inspired by the 1970s. While many of the squares were inspired by the social changes, liberation, and quandaries of the 1970s, the books you choose to read should fit your vibe of summer 2024.

There will be a check-in post every Saturday morning, starting Saturday, July 13 around noon Eastern Time.

Thank you again to yesknopemaybe for another amazing Bingo card.

Official CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge Card

Download Game Card, Descriptions, and Rules

The Squares

Row 1

Bananas: As a vibe, bananas can be funny and unpredictable, but this could also be darker – a Banana republic (not the clothing company) a nation made unstable in service of external, commercial interests.
Bollywood: Stories from India or the Desi diaspora.
Celestial: Of the stars, as observed from a planet, can also be religious, otherworldly, or romantic hyperbole.
Rage: In a rage, all the rage, rage against the machine, or a riot. Any way you look at it, it’s big feelings.
Détante: A lessening of hostilities or a fragile state of peace.

Row 2

Disco: “Disco started as a mixture of music from venues popular among African-Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, gay Americans, and Italian Americans in Philadelphia and New York City during the late 1960s to early 1970s.” Dance, flashy clothes, glitter and bright lights, urban, nightlife, marginalized communities and the arts.
Cult: You’re in a cult, call your dad! About a cult, in a cult, a cult classic.
Games: Sports, spying, board games, athletes, etc.
Fiasco: Someone reached for the stars and utterly failed. A disaster created by human actions.
And also…: Repeat a square on this board that you enjoyed.

Row 3

Part 1: First book in a series, or first 300 pages, or first 75,000 words (for the fanfic readers), or first 9 hours of an audiobook.
Part 2: Second book, or second 300+ pages, or second 75,000+ words, or second 9+ hours. If one long book or fanfic, this can be one review for 2 squares.
Dreams: Dreaming of a new life? Dreaming of revenge? Dreaming up inventions? Writing a song about your breakup that you will have to sing with your ex for 40 years (see: Fleetwood Mac)?
Golden: Is it something truly precious, or a facade? Luxury, status, mythology, shining, excellence.
Scandal: Someone has been caught doing something they were not supposed to do. It could range from a personal scandal to an intergalactic scandal.

Row 4

Dun-Dun: Ominous music, anticipation, dread, suspense, surprise.
Horses: Horses have gone from necessary to everyday human life to more of a luxury. They are well represented in mythology, and the symbolism attached to them ranges from freedom to the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
Smash: Blend two words/concepts together. Some examples: romantasy, bromance, cosplay, internet, mansplain, stash, and listicle.
Earth Day: Environment, climate, saving the Earth fictionally or nonfictionally.
Tech: Anything technology related.

Row 5

Liberate: Granting or struggling for freedom.
Vintage: Of an age – the year in which something was produced, or 40 to 100 years old. A book that is set in or about a particular year, where the year is important, or a book published 40 to 100 years ago.
Pride: The first Pride celebrations were held on June 28, 1970 on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Celebrate LGBTQ+ authors here.
Fanfic: As T.S. Elliot said, “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.” Maybe you want to share your love of AO3, or indulge in some of the many examples of classic literature that could now fall under the fanfic tag. The Bible, Jane Austen, and Star Wars are some popular sources. Some examples: Paradise Lost, The Once and Future King, Virgil’s Aeneid, The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Pride and Protest, or The Love Hypothesis. Or it could be a book with a character who reads or writes fanfiction.
Rings: The Olympics, the Special Olympics, marriage, reaching for the brass ring, rings of power.

Free: Replaces one square that you don’t want to think about.

The Rules

The CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge begins on Friday, July 5, 2024 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, November 8, 2024. Only books that have reviews posted during this time period count towards completing a bingo. You can begin the reading challenge at any time during this period.
Books must have been read during 2024.
You must tag the review on cannonballread.com with cbr16bingo and not any other variation. When using the auto-fill, start typing “c…b…r…16…b…,” and make sure you are selecting cbr16bingo from the dropdown below.. Please do not add the ‘#’ in your tag, just the text cbr16bingo, all one word. Do not add any level-related tags; cbr16bingo is the only bingo-related tag necessary.
All squares can be fiction or non-fiction, graphic novel, audiobook, or any other genre. Fanfiction is also allowable for any square.
Follow the bingo card graphic above to make your book choices.
Once a square is crossed off, it’s crossed off for good! (Feel free to print the bingo card in color, or black and white, to keep track.)
Bingo: Complete a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line. Four corners plus center square counts as a bingo too.
Blackout Card: Complete all 25 squares.
In your review, state which square the book fulfilled, either at the top or the bottom of the review. Please make it easy to find! Please note in the review how the book fulfills the category.
Select your first square carefully. You can only start a new board if you have completed a full bingo board, or blackout (See #8). If you realize you have labeled a review in error after publication, please use the contact form to let us know.
One book fulfills one square, except for the squares Part 1 and Part 2. If a book can fit multiple squares, pick the one that works best for you.
All Cannonball Read rules apply to the CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge.