Have you really enjoyed reading a work that qualifies and want to recommend it to others? This is the prime spot to help people out with those recommendations.
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Plays With Words:
Written in a stylistically unconventional way. HARD MODE: Fits the definition of Experimental Literature.
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
I asked this question a few months back and had a ton of replies. I’ll leave a link to the thread and highlight my two favourite books so far.
Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky “Evolutionary storytelling”. It tells the story of an entire civilization as it grows and evolves from nothing, whilst simultaneously telling a story that takes place over a much more conventional timescale. Very good book IMO, with two slightly-less-strong sequals
Idaho Winter - Tony Burgess What a bizarre book this was. I don’t know if it’s a good book, but it was weird and kept me entertained so that’s good enough for me.
Spoiler for what made it weird
The author gets dragged into the story at one point and becomes a character in the book by accident
New Release:
New for 2024/2025 (no reprints or new editions). First translations into your language of choice are allowed. HARD MODE: This is the first work you’ve read by this author.
The gathering, by C.J. Tudor
Nuclear war: a scenario, by Annie Jacobsen
Removed by mod
One Less:
A book that’s been on your TBR list for a long time. HARD MODE: Overlaps with at least one other bingo square theme.
Local to You:
The author lives in or writes about a location local to you (city, state, province, territory, etc.). HARD MODE: The author has spent a significant amount of time there, but wasn’t born there.
It’s a Holiday:
Takes place during a specific holiday, which is significant to the plot. HARD MODE: Not Christmas, a fictional variation of Christmas, or other winter festival.
- Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
- Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
- V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
- Walpurgisnacht by Gustav Meyrink, Mike Mitchell
- A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
Bookception:
Features a book-related aspect. HARD MODE: Something other than a book, like an author or library.
- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
- The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Mashup:
A combination of two or more genres or non-fiction topics. HARD MODE: Unusual combo, like fantasy thriller.
Have read and enjoyed:
- Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin - space opera with horror elements
- Leech by Hiron Ennes - gothic sci-fantasy horror, set in some kind of post-apocalypse
- The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison - fantasy of manners mystery
- The Mister Trophy by Frank Tuttle - fantasy mystery
- The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope - historical fantasy
- Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones - fantasy mystery
- Priest of Bones by Peter McLean - fantasy organized crime
- When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger - cyberpunk mystery
Independent Author:
Self-published by the author. Works later published though a conventional publishing house don’t count unless you are reading it before the switch, and it’s republished before April 30th, 2025. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.
- Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- This Quest is Broken! by J.P. Valentine
- Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
- Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike
- Unsouled by Will Wight
It’s About Time:
The passage or manipulation of time is a major theme or plot driver. HARD MODE: Backward in time, not forward.
Won’t fit the hard mode, but Charles Sheffield’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow was an interesting read. The first third wasn’t really my thing, but after that the book goes way far into the future.
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
Award Winner:
Has won a significant literature award. HARD MODE: More than one award.
I would love some suggestions for awards to look up, that you’d consider big for your country or preferred genre. I’ve looked up lists of awards, but they tend to be pretty US-focused, and it’s hard to tell what’s actually significant.
I’m familiar with the Hugos (SFF), Nebula (SFF), Bram Stoker (horror), Edgars (mystery), Pulitzer (lit), Booker (lit), and Newbery (kids).
- Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
- Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
- Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
What’s Yours Is Mine:
Theft, piracy, fraud, or espionage is a major topic or plot point. HARD MODE: No MacGuffins.
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
- The Redemption of Althalus by Leigh Eddings & David Eddings
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
- Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding
- On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Institutional:
Set at a non-commercial institution or facility, like a school, science lab, or prison. HARD MODE: Not a school.
The institute, by Stephen King
- Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
- Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Any of The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik
Debut Work:
An author’s first work. HARD MODE: The author is widely regarded as having a profound impact on the genre/topic.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, with the caveat that her early work is a bit racist. Styles, for example, I recall having an n-word casually dropped into a conversation, along with a couple of antisemitic remarks. If you don’t mind reading around that, however, it’s a nice little Poirot case.
I had a similar experience when I was working through some of the early “The Shadow” pulps and was surprised a couple times at just how blatant the racism was.
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
- Carrie by Stephen King
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
- Neuromancer by William Gibson
ALT - A Change in Perspective
Written in third-person perspective. HARD MODE: Second-person perspective.
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Space Vampire (Choose Your Own Adventure #9) by Edward Packard
