2024 Bingo Recommendations List

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.

The way this thread works is that this thread will contain one top level comment for each Bingo square. In order to preserve the organization and readability of this post, please limit recommendations to only replies on those top-level comments. We will be removing comments that don’t follow this rule for for this specific post.

A B C D E
1 Older Than You Are Water, Water Everywhere What’s Yours is Mine Family Drama It Takes Two
2 New Release Plays With Words Independent Author Bookception Disability Representation
3 Eazy, Breazy, Read-zie Stranger in a Strange Land One Less There is Another… LGBTQIA+ Lead
4 Now a Major Motion Picture It’s About Time Award Winner Mashup Local to You
5 Debut Work It’s a Holiday Institutional Minority Author Among the Stars
Alt. Same Author, New Work She Blinded Me With Science Pseudonymous Work Translated A Change in Perspective

You can scroll through the thread or use the links above if your reader supports comment linking directly.

Reminder, Please DO NOT make comments that are not replies to a prepopulated top-level comment. Your comment will just be removed without any additional info.

fievel,

Really a good idea, thanks for such creativity. Also nice to make suggestion in the official thread.

JaymesRS, (edited )

Institutional:

Set at a non-commercial institution or facility, like a school, science lab, or prison. HARD MODE: Not a school.

fievel,

The institute, by Stephen King

JaymesRS,
  • 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
JaymesRS, (edited )

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.

fievel,

The gathering, by C.J. Tudor

JaymesRS, (edited )

Plays With Words:

Written in a stylistically unconventional way. HARD MODE: Fits the definition of Experimental Literature.

Worx,

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 BurgessWhat 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 weirdThe author gets dragged into the story at one point and becomes a character in the book by accident

The Post

JaymesRS,
  • 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
JaymesRS, (edited )

What’s Yours Is Mine:

Theft, piracy, fraud, or espionage is a major topic or plot point. HARD MODE: No MacGuffins.

pancake,

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

JaymesRS,
  • 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
KammicRelief,

The Recognitions by William Gaddis

JaymesRS, (edited )

Older Than You Are

Published before your birthdate. HARD MODE: Published before 1924.

JaymesRS, (edited )

This category is a bit tougher to recommend because the qualification depends on your age, but these are all over 100 years old and I’ve enjoyed all of them.

  • Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
  • Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
  • King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
  • A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
KammicRelief,
  • Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
  • Ulysses by James Joyce
JaymesRS, (edited )

Debut Work:

An author’s first work. HARD MODE: The author is widely regarded as having a profound impact on the genre/topic.

JaymesRS,
  • 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
misericordiae,

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.

JaymesRS,

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.

JaymesRS, (edited )

Mashup:

A combination of two or more genres or non-fiction topics. HARD MODE: Unusual combo, like fantasy thriller.

misericordiae,

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
JaymesRS, (edited )

Award Winner:

Has won a significant literature award. HARD MODE: More than one award.

JaymesRS,
  • 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
misericordiae,

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).

JaymesRS, (edited )

Among the Stars:

Features space, astronomy, or stardom. HARD MODE: The title references the theme, too.

pancake,

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Audalin,

Mr Palomar by Italo Calvino.

Also qualifies for hard mode (the character is named after an observatory).

JaymesRS,
  • Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
  • Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf (movie stars count)
JaymesRS, (edited )

Now a Major Motion Picture:

The work has been adapted into a show or single episode, movie, play, audio drama, or other format. HARD MODE: The adaptation is regarded as better than the original work.

pancake,

The Expanse series by James S A Corey

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

JaymesRS,
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
  • The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
  • Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
  • Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman
  • All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  • Storm Front by Jim Butcher
JaymesRS, (edited )

Family Drama:

Family is important, but sometimes it’s also the cause of problems. Family dynamics are fundamental to the narrative. HARD MODE: Involves three or more generations of family members.

JaymesRS,
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  • The Sandman Graphic Novels by Neil Gaiman
  • The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Frodis_Caper,

“100 Years of Solitude” Gabriel García Márquez (this works for HARD MODE)

pancake,

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

JaymesRS, (edited )

LGBTQIA+ Lead:

A main character identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Includes a significant romance between characters that identify as LGBTQIA+.

JaymesRS, (edited )
  • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
  • The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
  • The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
JowlesMcGee,
JowlesMcGee avatar

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller would fit the hard mode here, for those interested.

JaymesRS, (edited )

It’s About Time:

The passage or manipulation of time is a major theme or plot driver. HARD MODE: Backward in time, not forward.

JaymesRS,
  • 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
JowlesMcGee,
JowlesMcGee avatar

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.

JaymesRS,

Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting

misericordiae,

Just a quick note, Jaymes and I seeded the Storygraph challenge they built with literally hundreds of literary and genre fiction books (some of which they’ve crossposted here), in case you’re looking for ideas and prefer a more visual browse. (No account required!)

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