Summer Reading Starts Now: Adult Book Bingo Launches Today With The Seattle Public Library and Seattle Arts & Lectures
release date: May 18, 2022
Ready, set, read! Summer may be a month away, but summer reading seasons starts now, with today’s launch of Book Bingo, the adult summer reading program presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures and The Seattle Public Library. Read books in five categories for bingo, or in all 25 squares for blackout, and enter to win big prizes.
Get started by downloading your bingo card, designed by artist Jorge Villavicencio, in English at www.spl.org/BookBingo or www.lectures.org/book-bingo, or in Spanish at www.spl.org/BingoDeLibros. You can also pick up a card at any Library location. Start filling in the card with titles and authors of the books you read and turn in your card by Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022.
Now in its eighth year, Summer Book Bingo is a fun way for Seattle readers to stretch their summer reading. Each square on the bingo card presents a reading challenge in a certain category, including “Outside Your Comfort Zone,” “Banned or Challenged Book,” “Blue Cover,” and “Sci-fi or Fantasy by a BIPOC Author.” You can also fill in squares for “Read Outside,” “Set Somewhere You’d Like to Visit,” “Set South of the Equator” and much more.
“Summer Book Bingo is about reading for discovery, joy and inclusion,” said Misha Stone, Reader Services librarian at The Seattle Public Library. “We invite readers across the city to try new authors and genres, explore new ideas, and above all, have fun. We’re grateful to our passionate, engaged reading community for sharing their category ideas and playing along!”
Summer Book Bingo is also supported by The Friends of The Seattle Public Library.
FIND BOOKS, FILL IN THE SQUARES
Need book ideas for squares such as “Health or Healthcare Workers” or “Books About Books”? Librarians have prepared reading lists for many bingo squares, which you can access at www.spl.org/BookBingo. For more reading recommendations, ask a librarian at your neighborhood branch! You can also call the Library at 206-386-4636, find staff picks and book lists at spl.org, or fill out a brief form at www.spl.org/YourNext5.
Peak Picks, the Library’s no-holds, no-wait collection of popular titles that you can check out immediately, is another great source of book ideas, and is also a category on the card. Peak Picks celebrates its fifth anniversary this year; just look for the blue and green display at your library.
You can also check the hashtag #BookBingoNW2022 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to get ideas from fellow readers.
When you’ve filled the front and back of your bingo card for either bingo (filling out five squares in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line) or blackout (filling out all 25 squares), you can submit the card to enter drawings for prizes in the following ways:
- Drop off your card (or a copy) at any branch of The Seattle Public Library.
- Email an image of the front and back of your card to bookbingo@spl.org.
- Post a photo of the front of your card to Twitter (@SeaArtsLectures, @SPLBuzz) or Instagram (@seattleartsandlectures, @SeattlePublicLibrary). Be sure to tag #BookBingoNW2022.
Entries must be received by 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. This contest is for readers ages 18 and up, and you are only allowed to enter once. Blackout card entrants will be entered in the drawing for one of three grand prizes, including a subscription to the 2022/23 SAL series of your choice. Both blackout card and bingo entrants will be entered to win a gift card from one of Seattle’s independent bookstores.
ABOUT BOOK BINGO ARTIST JORGE VILLAVICENCIO
Jorge Villavicencio (he/him) grew up in Washington state for the majority of his life and is a first-generation American with familial roots in Oaxaca, Mexico. He draws his inspirations from his relationships with people and places that he’s had the privilege to get to know. You can find Jorge’s murals in San Diego and Everett, Washington. Villavicencio is a Year of Wonder artist with The Seattle Public Library in 2022.
ABOUT THE SEATLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Seattle Public Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community.
For more information about Summer Book Bingo, visit www.spl.org/BookBingo, call The Seattle Public Library at 206-386-4636 or Ask Us. For ADA accommodations, please contact: leap@spl.org.
ABOUT SEATTLE ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1987, Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL) cultivates transformative experiences through story and language with readers and writers of all generations. SAL's programs include the Literary Arts Series, Ijeoma Oluo Presents: Our Existence Beyond Trauma Series, Poetry Series, Women You Need to Know (WYNK), Journalism Series, SAL Presents, Local Voices, Summer Book Bingo, the Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) program, and Writers in the Schools (WITS).
ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Friends of The Seattle Public Library is a non-profit, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the Library as an essential institution of society and supporting its mission and vision. Its volunteer members advocate for, educate about, and raise funds on behalf of the Library.