Last year, I spiced up my annual reading goal by doing something more creative than usual. I made a Book Bingo Card (two actually) to challenge myself not just to read, but to read widely, to read outside my comfort zone, to read some of those things I’d been meaning to get around to but hadn’t yet. I had hoped to get a double blackout on both cards. To see how that turned out, click here.

I’ve decided to play Book Bingo again but do things a little differently this time. Last year, my rules were pretty lax. I made the cards myself and included a free space on each one. I also let books count for multiple squares, meaning that a mystery novel with a green cover and a one-word title could mark off three spaces. Not anymore.

This year, there are no free spaces, and each book can only count once. So… if I read a mystery with a green cover and a one-word title, I have to decide WHICH of those three squares I want check off. Do I think I’ll read more mysteries? Will books with green covers be hard to find? There’s going to have to be some strategy involved this time.

But the biggest difference is I didn’t choose the squares on my bingo card. I entered 50 different criteria into a random generator and used that to select the 25 that would appear on my card. I wrote them down left to right, top to bottom in the order they came up. And the genres it chose for me… let’s just say if I’d made my own card, it would look a little different.

My 2025 Book Bingo Card:

If you want to play with me, it’s super easy. Just make a 5×5 grid. Then take the following list of book descriptions (or make your own) and copy/ paste them into this free randomizer. Then spin the wheel and make your card. You can use my rules or make your own. The point is to read and have fun. As long as you’re doing both, you’re doing it right.

My List of Book Descriptions:

Yellow Cover
One-Word Title
Historical Fiction
From a Little Free Library
Science
Sci-Fi
Translation
5+ Word Title
Pink Cover
Romance
Short Stories
Set in a Place I Want to Travel
LGBTQIA+
Dystopian
Over 500 pages
Middle Grade
Orange Cover
By a Local Author
Published in the Year I was Born
Mystery
Nonfiction
Published in 2025
Made into a Movie
Fantasy
Purple Cover
Red Cover
Black Cover
Classic
Second Book in a Series
Self Help
Picture Book
Essays
Published before 1925
Poetry
Bought in Hardback
Re-Read
Blue Cover
Horror
Chapter Book
Magical Realism
Green Cover
Novel-In-Verse
Thriller
Received as a Gift
Borrowed from a Friend
Memoir
YA
Animal on the Cover
Graphic Novel
White Cover

Let’s Make This More Interesting…

If you decide to play Book Bingo with me, email a picture of your card to me at cariejuettner@gmail.com. Then, when you get your first bingo, send me a picture and tell me what books you read, and I’ll send you a small book-themed prize!