Having a hard time finding a book for a bingo category? Check out our recommendations below!
Remember, you can’t double-dip but, if you’ve already fulfilled a square, feel free to use a recommendation from another category to fulfill a new square! For example, if you already read Annihilation as your one-word title but you want to read Beloved by Toni Morrison, Beloved could count as your book by a woman of color!
If you have your own recommendations, email luclibraries@gmail.com and we’ll share them via our social media channels. Happy Reading!
Recommendations
A book by a South American, African, or Asian author
- The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela get it here!
- The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende get it here!
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan get it here! (can also count for a book made into a movie and part of a series)
A book published ten or more years ago
- Clash of civilizations over an elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous get it here! (also counts as a book written by an African, award winner, told from multiple points of view, made into a movie, recommended by a librarian and translated from another language!)
- Pet Sematary by Stephen King get it here! (also counts for a book made into a movie)
- South of the border, west of the sun by Haruki Murakami get it here! (also counts as a book written by an Asian author)
- Atonement by Ian McEwan get it here! (also counts as a book made into a movie)
A book which has been made into a movie
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan get it here! (also counts as a book written by an Asian author)
- Memoirs of a Geisha: a novel by Arthur Golden get it here!
- Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone by J.K. Rowling get it here! (also counts as a book that’s part of a series)
An audiobook
Check out the Chicago Public Library’s audiobook collection here!
A dystopian novel or a non-fiction book about the end of the world
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood get it here!
- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld get it here!
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro get it here! (also counts as a book written by an Asian author)
A book which is part of a series
- Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling get it here! (also counts as a book made into a movie)
- Divergent by Veronica Roth get it here! (also counts as a book made into a movie and dystopian book)
- China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan get it here!
A book about LGBTQIA+ characters or issues—to celebrate Pride Month (June)!
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde get it here! (also counts for written by a woman of color)
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli get it here! (also counts for a YA book)
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benhamin Alire Saenz get it here!
A bestseller or an award-winning book
- Florida by Lauren Groff get it here!
- An American Marriage: a novel by Tayari Jones get it here! (also written by a woman of color)
- Just Kids by Patti Smith get it here!
A book told from multiple points of view
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie get it here! (also written by a woman of color and African author)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson get it here! (also is a book made into a movie and part of a series)
- The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling get it here!
A book which has been translated from another language
- Flights by Olga Tokarczuk get it here!
- Fog: a novel by Miguel de Unamuno get it here!
- For bread alone by Muhammad Shukri get it here! (also written by an author from Africa)
A book which has been recommended by a friend or a librarian
- Becoming by Michelle Obama and recommended by Susan Wardzala get it here! (also written by a woman of color)
- My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead recommended by Jane Currie get it here!
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo recommended by Abby Annala get it here! (also written by a woman of color)
A book set in Chicago
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the fair that changed America by Erik Larson get it here!
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros get it here!
- Native Son by Richard Wright get it here!
A book with a one-word title:
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer get it here! (also counts as a book that has been made into a movie)
- Beloved by Toni Morrison get it here! (also counts as a book by a woman of color AND a book that has been made into a movie)
- Cod by Mark Kurlansky get it here!
A book about women in sports—to celebrate the Women’s World Cup (June & July!)
- Beyond bend it like Beckham the global phenomenon of women’s soccer by Timothy F. Grainey [ebook!] get it here!
- Extraordinary Women Athletes by Judy L. Hasday get it here! (also counts as a book for young adults)
- The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team an American success story by Clemente A. Lisi [ebook!] get it here!
A book of poetry
- The Carrying: poems by Ada Limon get it here!
- Ghost Fishing: an Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology by Melissa Tuckey get it here! (also counts as a book about a scientific topic)
- American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes get it here!
A book featuring an extinct or magical creature
- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker get it here!
- The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions by David Quammen get it here!
- Nimona by Noelle Stevenson get it here! (also counts as a graphic novel)
A book written by a woman of color
- Sick: a memoir by Porochista Khakpour get it here!
- The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory get it here!
- Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward get it here!
A book about a scientific topic–to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing (July 19-21)!
- Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race by Margot Lee get it here! (also counts as a book which has been made into a movie)
- Moon shot : the inside story of America’s race to the moon by Alan B. Shepard get it here!
- The Martian by Andy Weir get it here!
A book published this year
- The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh get it here!
- Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land get it here!
- Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi get it here! (also counts as a book by a woman of color)
A book set in a library or archive
- Sabriel by Garth Nix get it here! (also counts as a book meant for young adults)
- Hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world by Haruki Murakami get it here! (also counts as a book by an author from Asia)
- The Library Book by Susan Orlean get it here!
A graphic novel or comic book
- Black Panther & the crew : we are the streets by Ta-Nehisi Coates get it here!
- Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt get it here!
- Blankets: a graphic novel by Craig Thompson get it here!
A book or e-book checked out from the Loyola University Chicago Libraries
All books with a “get it here!” link are available for checkout from the LUC libraries! You can find all our holding here, in the library catalog: http://libraries.luc.edu/
A book meant for young adults
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer get it here! (also counts as a dystopian novel)
- We are displaced : my journey and stories from refugee girls around the world by Malala Yousafzai get it here! (also counts as a book published this year)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky get it here! (also counts as a book about LGBTQIA+ characters AND a book which has been made into a movie)
A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
- Restoration by Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson get it here!
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowelle get it here! (also counts as a book meant for young adults AND a book about LGBTQA+ characters)
- At Home: a Short History of a Private Life by Bill Bryson get it here!
