Picture Prompt Book Bingo Challenge for 2025

 This was a new one to me this past year. I will be joining again. 

If you’re new to the Picture Prompt Bingo – it’s a loosey goosey reading challenge in which you match up books that you’ve read with pictures on the bingo card. The key thing being that you can be as creative in your interpretation of the picture as you like. For example, looking at the flint knapped knife blade in the top left corner: this could suggest to you a book that was set in a prehistoric(-like) period, or a story about a character who practises a craft or specialist skill; you may read something that has the word ‘knife’ in the title; or perhaps you’ll read a book about an ancient item being rediscovered. As long as you’re happy with the connection you make between the book and the image, it’s all good.

 

1. A prehistoric flint knapped stone knife:  The Mammoth Hunters--Jean M. Auel

2. A lighthouse: Lalani of the Distant Sea--Erin Entrada Kelly

3. An apple on a leafy branch: The Berry Pickers--Amanda Peters

4. An archery target with three arrows in it: Who Wants to Be a Princess?--Bridget Heos

5. A very large mechanical telescope: The Only Woman in the Room--Eileen Pollack

6. A human skull: The Bone Houses--Emily Lloyd-Jones

7. A stag: Prodigal Summer--Barbara Kingslover

8. The ruins of a temple-like structure: Gods of Jade and Shadow--Silvia Moreno-Garcia

9. A crab: The Little Mermaid--Melissa Lagonegro

10. A sheaf of wheat: East of Eden--John Steinbeck

11. An old mechanical typewriter: The Last Letter--Rebecca Yarros

12. A cluster of four mushrooms: Earth's Wild Music--Kathleen Dean Moore

13. A fringed umbrella/parasol: The Beach House--Jane Green

14. A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes: The Signature of All Things--Elizabeth Gilbert

15. A stylized sun with a human face: The Beach House--Rachel Hanna

16. A Roman helmet: Holes--Louis Sachar

Challenge completed on October 23

2025 Thoughtful Reading Challenge

This is the third year I have done this one. Love the shoutouts to unusual days.

January – read a book published the year of your first birthday. Why? Simply because January is the first month of the year, plus it’s always fun to go back in time and read older books that you might not be familiar with. Wikipedia is a good source to find books published by year: Frog and Toad Together--Arnold Lobel

February – read a book with “ice”, “cold”, or “snow” in the title. We might as well embrace one of the coldest months of the year!: Before the Coffee Gets Cold--Shikazu Kawaguchi

March – read a book about or set in the former USSR. Did you know Stalin died AND Churchill gave his well-known “Iron Curtain” speech during the month of March?: The Master and Margarita--Mikhail Bulgakov

April – read a book set in a US National Park. National Park week is April 19-27, so it’s only fitting to celebrate our beautiful National Parks by learning more about them. I’m really looking forward to this category!: Where the Sky Lives--Margaret Dilloway

May – read a book with a main character who’s a journalist. I thought this would be an appropriate category since May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day: Serendipity--Fern Michaels

June – read a book set in the American South during post-Civil War reconstruction. Juneteenth, of course, is in June and celebrates the end of slavery in the US. The reconstruction era is fascinating to read about as people try to rebuild their lives following such a devastating event: On Agate Hill--Lee Smith

July – read an epistolary or semi-epistolary novel. Since July 1st is National Postal Worker Day, let’s celebrate the lost art of written correspondence. If you need a suggestion, you can’t go wrong with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Don't Read the Comments--Eric Smith

August – read a political thriller. Why? Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974: In This Grave Hour--Jacqueline Winspear

September – read a science fiction book, preferably one that takes place in space. September 8 is National Star Trek Day: Dawn--Octavia E. Butler (Read a month early)

October – read a book with a witch character. Because Halloween: The Witches---Roald Dahl

November – read a book written by a Native American author. I chose this category in honor of Thanksgiving: A Snake Falls to Earth--Darcie Little Badger 

December – read a book with an airplane on the cover. The Wright brothers’ first successful flight was on December 17, 1903: The United States Air Force--John Hamilton

Challenge completed on December 4

Book Riot’s 2025 Read Harder Challenge

Another I always look forward to doing. So glad a new bookstore is coming to my town, so that prompt will be covered! (More on this to come as it happens). It's been a long time since there was a bookstore in my town.

1. Read a 2025 release by a BIPOC author: Good Dirt--Charmaine Wilkerson
2. Reread a childhood favorite book: The Great Boy Chase--Janet Quin-Harkin
3. Read a queer mystery: Whiskers in the Dark--Rita Mae Brown
4. Read a book about obsession: The Diviners--Libba Bray
5. Read a book about immigration or refugees: The Devil's Highway--Luis Alberto Urrea
6. Read a standalone fantasy book: Cloud Atlas--David Mitchell
7. Read a book about a piece of media you love (a TV show, a movie, a band, etc): The Rom-Commers--Katherine Center
8. Read literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author: Klara and the Sun--Kazuo Ishiguro
9. Read a book based solely on its setting: Sunrise on Half Moon Bay--Robyn Carr
10. Read a romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover: Sunrise Canyon--Janet Dailey
11. Read a work of weird horror: How to Sell a Haunted House--Grady Hendrix
12. Read a staff pick from an indie bookstore. (Preferably, from your local indie bookstore.): Mad Honey--Jodi Picoult
13. Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment: Earth's Wild Music--Kathleen Dean Moore
14. Read a comic in translation: Sue & Tai-chan, Volume 2--Konami Kanata
15. Read a banned book and complete a task on Book Riot’s How to Fight Book Bans guides: Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books--Kirsten Miller
16. Read a genre-blending book: Lalani of the Distant Sea--Erin Entrada Kelly
17. Read a book about little-known history: The Small and the Mighty--Sharon McMahon
18. Read a “cozy” book by a BIPOC author: Blackmail and Bibingka--Mia P. Mananasala
19. Read a queernorm book: Girl, Serpent, Thorn--Melissa Bashardoust
20. Read the first book in a completed young adult or middle grade duology: Openly Straight--Bill Konigsberg
21. Read a book about a moral panic: Coronavirus: COVID 19 Pandemic--Sue Bradford Edwards
22. Read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas: This Time Next Year--Sophie Cousens
23. Read a wordless comic: The Arrival--Shaun Tan
24. Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete (Poetry): Sonnets From the Portuguese--Elizabeth Barrett Browning 

Challenge completed on December 13

2025 Reading Challenge @ Unabridged Podcast

Another favorite is now up!

1. Book that fits into two genres: Lalani of the Distant Sea--Erin Entrada Kelly
2. About someone with neurodivergence: Popcorn--Rob Harrell
3. Graphic novel or comic book: Banned Book Club--Kim Hyun Sook
4. Retelling from a secondary character's perspective: Cold Hearted--Serena Valentino
5. Romance featuring a character with a disability: Cursed--Karol Ruth Silverstein
6. Book you've read before: The Best of Enemies--Jen Lancaster
7. Book that's been on your shelf a long time: The Wednesday Sisters--Meg Waite Clayton
8. About a social justice issue: The Beautiful Struggle--Ta-Nehisi Coates
9. Book by BIPOC author adapted for stage or screen: Klara and the Sun--Kazuo Ishiguro
10. About a culture other than your own: Gods of Jade and Shadow--Silvia Moreno-Garcia
11. By a debut LGBTQ author: Martin McLean, Middle School Queen--Alyssa Zaczek
12. Audiobook read by a new-to-you narrator: Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red--Melanie Cellier

Challenge completed on November 5

2025 Diversify Your Reading

 Doing this one once again. It's now posted on the host's Instagram.

JAN: Depression Self Help 7--Heather Rose

FEB: Tweet Cute--Emma Lord

MARCH: Pieces of Happiness--Anne Ostby

APRIL: Earth's Wild Music--Kathleen Dean Moore

MAY: Fired Up--Jayne Ann Krentz

JUNE: The Devil's Highway--Luis Albert Urrea 

JULY:  Cursed--Karol Ruth Silverstein

AUG: Every Body Yoga--Jessamyn Stanley

SEP: A Child's Garden of Verses--Robert Louis Stevenson

OCT: A Sorceress Comes to Call--T. Kingfisher

NOV: White Teeth--Zadie Smith

DEC: Good Dirt--Charmaine Wilkerson

Challenge completed on December 11

2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge

 This is a new one being offered this year. I like this idea and will get as many books as possible.

I love me a reading challenge and I especially love me a prompt-based challenge, so I decided to take a stab at creating my own. I've enjoyed searching out certain types of book covers this year for various challenges, which is why this challenge is focused on that. Each of the 50 prompts below include an element to look for on the covers of the books you read. 

Level One: 1-10 books

Level Two: 11-20 books

Level Three: 21-30 books

Level Four: 31-40 books

Level Five: 41-50 books

Read a book with a cover that includes:

1. Your favorite color: Girl, Serpent, Thorn--Melissa Bashardoust

2. Headwear of some kind (hat, helmet, yarmulke, hijab, etc.): Martin McLean, Middle School Queen--Alyssa Zaczek (wig)

3. A mode of transportation: Around the World in 80 Days--Jules Verne

4. Bookish elements: The Reading List--Sara Nisha Adams

5. An author that has a common name spelled in an uncommon way (i.e. Stephenie Meyer, Kelley Armstrong, etc.): Fired Up--Jayne Ann Krentz

6. An illustrated scene: The Rom-Commers--Katherine Center

7. A design that is in desperate need of a makeover: The Beach House--Jane Green

8. A wintry scene: Whiteout--Dhonielle Clayton

9. A summery scene: The Summer House--Rachel Hanna

10. Food: Sinister Sprinkles--Jessica Beck

11. A skeleton, bones, or a skull and crossbones: The Bone Houses--Emily Lloyd-Jones

12. Floral elements: The Signature of All Things--Elizabeth Gilbert

13. Sports equipment: Ghost--Jason Reynolds

14. A title and/or scene that makes you laugh: It's the End of the World and I'm in My Bathing Suit--Justin A. Reynolds

15. Something you might see in a hospital (medicine bottles, IV stand, stethoscope, doctor, etc.)

16. Someone wearing period clothing: Dream When You're Feeling Blue--Elizabeth Berg

17. A famous structure or landmark (man-made or natural): The Diviners--Libba Bray

18. A frame-worthy design: Late For the Wedding--Amanda Quick

19. At least one person of color (POC): The Beautiful Struggle--Ta-Nehisi Coates

20. Someone partly or fully submerged in water: The Little Mermaid--Melissa Lagonegro

21. A lighted window: From the Desk of Zoe Washington--Janae Marks

22. A bird: Tweet cute--Emma Lord

23. A futuristic scene: Dawn--Octavia E. Butler

24. A weapon: The Mammoth Hunters--Jean M. Auel

25. The name of and/or a depiction of a famous person: The Light We Carry--Michelle Obama

26. A number in the title or design (numeral or spelled out): Table for Five--Susan Wiggs

27. A backpack or piece of luggage: The Blackbird Girls--Anne Blankman

28. The words "light" and/or "dark" in the title: Whiskers in the Dark--Rita Mae Brown

29. A foggy/stormy scene: Cloud Atlas--David Mitchell

30. A television or movie screen: As Seen on TV--Sarah Mlynowski 

31. No people: Everyone Knows You Go Home--Natalia Sylvester

32. An object that is broken: Before I Let Go--Marieke Nijkamp

33. A silhouette or shadow: Nightcrawling--Leila Mottley

34. A piece of jewelry: The Master and Margarita--Mikhail Bulgakov

35. A sunrise or sunset: Sunrise Canyon--Janet Dailey

36. A cityscape: Eleven--Tom Rogers

37. An aquatic animal: The Diary of a Goose Girl--Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

38. A light source that can be held in the hand (flashlight, torch, lantern, etc.): Where the Sky Lives--Margaret Dilloway

39. The name of one of the four seasons in the title, design, or author's name: It Happened One Summer--Tessa Bailey

40. A depiction of something that has been spilled (milk, paint, blood, etc.): More Happy Than Not--Adam Silvera

41. Eyewear of some kind (sunglasses, goggles, eyepatch, etc.): Popcorn--Rob Harrell

42. A spooky scene: Beautiful Creatures--Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

43. Something you might find in a child's bedroom (teddy bear, nightlight, crib, etc.): Karen's Ghost--Ann M. Martin

44. A key and/or a keyhole: Yellow Wife--Sadeqa Johnson

45. A real, historical photograph: The United States Air Force--John Hamilton

46. A proper noun in the title or design: The Wednesday Sisters--Meg Waite Clayton

47. Something that is plaid: A Child's Garden of Verses--Robert Louis Stevenson

48. Outdated technology (typewriter, film camera, rotary telephone, etc.)

49. The name of a month in the title, design, or author's name: Three Junes--Julia Glass

50. A flag, pennant, or banner

Calling challenge complete on December 29

2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

For their reading challenge this year, the Build Your Library site has chosen "Reading Banned Books" as the theme.

1. Written by a woman: Hello Beautiful--Ann Napolitano
2. With an LGBTQ+ protagonist: Openly Straight--Bill Konigsberg
3. Sapphic romance: Fingersmith--Sarah Waters
4. Banned in your state: More Happy Than Not--Adam Silvera
5. About immigration: The Devil's Highway--Luis Alberto Urrea
6. About racism: The Blackbird Girls--Anne Blankman
7. About climate change: The Mammoth Hunters--Jean M. Auel
8. Fantasy: The Master and Margarita--Mikhail Bulgakov
9. By a trans author: Mad Honey--Jodi Picoult
10. A memoir: Be Ready When the Luck Happens--Ina Garten
11. By an Indigenous author: A Snake Falls to Earth--Darcie Little Badger
12. About civil rights: A Spark of Light--Jodi Picoult
13. Graphic novel: Banned Book Club--Kim Hyun Sook
14. About suffrage: The Girls With No Names--Serena Burdick
15. About a topic that is important to you: The Music of What Happens--Bill Konigsberg
16. About banned books: Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books--Kirsten Miller
17. Non-fiction: Tiny Beautiful Things--Cheryl Strayed
18. With a disabled protagonist: Cursed--Karol Ruth Silverstein
19. With chronic illness rep: The Last Letter--Rebecca Yarros
20. By a woman of color: From the Desk of Zoe Washington--Janae Marks
21. About reproductive rights: The Fountains of Silence--Ruta Sepetys
22. Set in the 1960s: The Berry Pickers--Amanda Peters
23. Written before 1960: East of Eden--John Steinbeck
24. About resistance: True Biz--Sara Novic
25. Dystopian: Beautiful Creatures--Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
26. About a lesser-known history: The Small and the Mighty--Sharon McMahon
27. About an inspiring person: The Light We Carry--Michelle Obama
28. Apocalyptic: Cloud Atlas--David Mitchell
29. About refugees: In Order to Live--Yeonmi Park
30. By a Latin American author: Cantoras--Carolina de Robertis
31. Won a award: This One Summer--Jillian Tamaki
32. YA or Middle Grade: Eleven--Tom Rogers
33. About witches: The Witches--Roald Dahl
34. About a woman ruler: The Queen's Fool--Philippa Gregory
35. About or set in a library: The Reading List--Sara Nisha Adams
36. By a black author: New Kid--Jerry Craft
37. In translation: Before the Coffee Gets Cold--Shikazu Kawaguchi
38. Debunks a historical myth: The Women--Kristin Hannah
39. Released in the last 5 years: Summer Island--Kristin Hannah
40. On the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of the last year: Tricks--Ellen Hopkins

Challenge completed on December 7