Category: Reading

Reading Challenge – Customizable BINGO Board

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If you follow me on Instagram or Threads, you may have seen my reading BINGO board. If you don’t follow me, not to worry. Here I’m sharing the BINGO Board with you, along with my picks for 2026 as well as a link to make your own!

Here’s my blank board:

a 5 by 5 BINGO board where each space is a type of book to read.

I chose these 25 categories for my reading challenge:

  • by a Black author
  • by an Indigenous or Native author
  • by a Latinx author
  • by an AAPI author
  • by a queer author
  • by a neurodivergent author
  • by a disabled author
  • newly published this year
  • an anti-racist read
  • the MC (main character) has an interesting job
  • a pretty cover
  • set in a familiar-to-you setting
  • FREE space or reread
  • set in a place you want to visit
  • a novel about one of your hobbies
  • an interesting title
  • a young adult book
  • a graphic novel
  • a middle grade
  • a book by an author you’ve liked
  • a mystery
  • historical fiction
  • romance
  • nonfiction
  • retelling

Because I’m a planner, I also figured out what all of my books would be ahead of time. I chose mostly from my TBR (my “to-be-read” list), but for some of the categories, I had to do some research to find books that fit. I’ll share my picks for this inaugural challenge at the end.

Once you read the books, you can place the cover over the BINGO board space. As you can see, at the end of April, I had one BINGO! My goal is to have a full blackout by the end of the year. You could set a goal of one BINGO by the end of summer if you don’t think you’ll finish all 25 books by the end of the year.

To create your own BINGO board reading challenge, all you need is a Google account so you can open up my Google Slides version of this board.

Once you open up the Slides, go to File > Make a Copy.

  1. Rename the presentation with your name and save it to your Drive.
  2. Optional: Customize the categories or change the look of your board.
  3. In another tab, search for the images of your book covers.
  4. Copy the picture of your book cover by tapping with two fingers (or right-clicking if you use a mouse).
  5. Go back to your Slides and paste the image (tap with two fingers and select “paste” or use the shortcuts Ctrl + V or Command + V).
  6. Resize the image so that it fits the dimensions of the BINGO space. In Format Options, go to Size and Rotation, select the “Lock aspect ratio” box, and change the width to 1.25 inches.
  7. When you are ready to share your board on social media, go to File > Download > PNG Image. Do this for each slide if you have multiples.
  8. Tag me @larathelark or use the hashtag #LarasBookBINGO when you share! 🙂

Tip: Duplicate your slide twice so you have three versions: a blank one where you can read all the categories, one that shows your current status (how many books you’ve read), and one that shows all of the books you’ve chosen for all the categories. That way, you can copy book covers from the “blackout” version and paste them easily into the right spot on your running BINGO board. Mine look like this:

I’d love to see what you all are reading!

Finally, here are the books that I selected for my twenty-five. Many of these books could fit in more than one category!

  • by a Black author—An Arcane Inheritance by Kamila Cole
  • by an Indigenous or Native author—To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
  • by a Latinx author—Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester
  • by an AAPI author—Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
  • by a queer author—Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black
  • by a neurodivergent author—Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary
  • by a disabled author—True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News by Cindy L. Otis
  • newly published this year—To Drown a Witch by Lindsey Olsson
  • an anti-racist read—How to Raise an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • the MC (main character) has an interesting job—The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton
  • a pretty cover—This Could Be Forever by Ebony LaDelle
  • set in a familiar-to-you setting—Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
  • FREE space or reread—My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • set in a place you want to visit—The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore by Anika Fajardo
  • a novel about one of your hobbies—The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
  • an interesting title—The Shark House by Sara Ackerman
  • a young adult book—Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
  • a graphic novel—Armaveni by Nadine Takvorian
  • a middle grade—All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
  • a book by an author you’ve liked—The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
  • a mystery—Together We See by Ari Tison
  • historical fiction—All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
  • romance—Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz
  • nonfiction—Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • retelling—The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider

Need a recommendation for any of these categories? Let me know in the comments or find me on Threads or BlueSky @Larathelark. Happy reading!

Commercial and Literary Fiction as Paintings

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I’ve written at length about differences between literary and commercial fiction (including different genres and what “mainstream” fiction is), but reading Bone Gap this month while also studying Frida Kahlo has got me thinking in allusions, so I wanted to share another quick observation on the topic.

Commercial fiction is like representational art: whether it’s about something true or not, it’s clear what the subject of the painting or story is.

Images in this post may be copyrighted and are used for educational purposes only.

jose_tapiro_y_baro_-_portrait_of_a_moroccan_man_1913_watercolor_and_pencil_68_5x49cm
utagawa-kuniyoshi-takiyasha-the-witch-and-the-skeleton-spectre-1847-trivium-art-history
alexandre-cabanel-rebecca-et-eliezer-1883-trivium-art-history-1
zinaida-serebriakova-self-portrait-at-the-dressing-table-1909-trivium-art-history

Above: Moroccan Man by José Tapiro y Baro, 1913; Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1847; Self-portrait at the Dressing Table by Zinaida Serebriakova, 1909; Rebecca et Eliézer by Alexandre Cabanel, 1883

Literary fiction can be more like impressionist, expressionist, surrealist, or abstract art—less accessible because the subject isn’t always clear, and the presentation isn’t always appreciated.

Symbolism holds more weight in literary fiction.

Literary fiction holds cultural literacy dear, alluding to classic literature and ancient mythology.

carlo-carra-penelope

Penelope by Carlo Carrà, 1917

Literary fiction is more likely to experiment with mixed media, incorporating poetry, illustrations, comics, letters, or other ephemera.

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Bed by Robert Rauschenberg, 1955

Words in literary fiction are like visible brushstrokes, sometimes drawing attention away from the story and towards the writer as artist. Word choice is important: how can you combine words in a fresh way to create new impressions on the reader? What connotations do the words carry? Literary fiction is imbued with tone created not by line or color but by diction and metaphor.

odilon-redon-the-cyclops-1914-trivium-art-history

The Cyclops by Odilon Redon, 1914

Do you have a favorite modern artist? What is your favorite work of literary fiction?

The Legacy of Dr. King—Dear White People

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The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort or convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge or controversy. -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yesterday my goal was to listen to and share the words of the black folks I follow on social media. I was pretty scatterbrained, and my attention was not as focused as it could or should have been. Forgetting about racism or ignoring it–for even an hour or minute–means that you have racial privilege.

Dr. King has been a hero of mine since I was a little girl, for his courage and wisdom. I’ve learned so much since I first heard his dream speech or read my first picture book biography, and I will always be learning. I cannot stop listening. I cannot stop evaluating my subconscious or conscious thoughts, my actions and words and those of others, for microaggressions or racist behavior.

Don’t think that being called racist is a personal attack. I mean, it might be, but the point isn’t to get defensive. It is a calling-attention-to. It is a call to action. You don’t lash out for someone who tells you you’ve got spinach in your teeth. The racism which has bled through our nation’s history is far more serious than spinach. Say you’re sorry. Fix what you can. Do better. Read and listen and support.

Yesterday I let my mind soak in Dr. King’s words and let them sink deep down … but listening is nothing. Nothing without understanding, nothing without action.

February is Black History Month, and I challenge you to read at least one full-length novel–NOVEL–with a motif of racism written by a black human.* Nonfiction is great too, but it’s easy to filter as happening to someone else. Fiction becomes you. You become the characters. You empathize with them. You understand them and grow with them.

*Throughout the year, actively read books by black authors that are not about racism. During Black History Month, non-black folks have to acknowledge that racism has affected black history and continues to burden our present. But to only read “issue books” by black authors is to pigeonhole them and further reduce the opportunity for black writers to be free to write and have published any type of story. If you’re unsure where to start, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards are for children and young adults, and the NAACP Image Awards have eight literature categories: biography/autobiography, children, debut, instructional, nonfiction, poetry, and youth/teens. Your local library might also have a curated list or display throughout the year.

Places to start:
HOW IT WENT DOWN by Kekla Magoon. This YA came before The Hate You Give and is a multiple-perspective novel that cannot be missed.

THE HATE YOU GIVE by Angie Thomas. Buy this book. If you cannot buy it, put your name on a hold list at the library. Or steal your youth leader’s copy and pass it around your friends 😒😂

DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone, a YA novel written as letters to Martin Luther King, Jr.

CITIZEN by Claudia Rankine, a powerful book of poetry.

THE PARKER INHERITANCE by Varian Johnson, a middle-grade novel.

For audiobooks, Bahni Turpin is my favorite narrator. I listened to two of her performances of novels last year and cannot recommend her enough. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD was one.

Historical books are good, too, but they won’t shed light on the racism happening NOW in your community’s neighborhoods, classrooms, streets, and businesses.

There are so, so many more, but I’m also so, so late to work. There are hundreds of reading lists available online.

Take a careful look at the media you and your friends consume. Are you listening to any black voices? Are you seeing black faces apart from music or sports or the news? I know; many people were taught to “not see color.” But when you are colorblind, you are blind to what you cannot see. You are blind to what is missing or silenced.

I hate that Dr. King had a martyr’s death. But he did, so let’s make him a martyr. Let’s live true to his words and see that his dreams for America come true.

#mlkday #martinlutherkingjr