#batman book bingo 2025
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ansibl-e · 7 days ago
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good morning to the quarter-centennial @batmanisagatewaydrug book bingo!
i was going to make a post about my library books before this, but alas.
i am ringing in the new year in the midst of 4 books, 2 right socks, and one hat.
there are places in the world where rules are less important than kindness (carlo rovelli)
an essay collection by the physicist who wrote 7 brief lessons on physics, which i read and enjoyed in high school (if you get it from the library you probably won't know this, because of the plastic, but it's got a fantastically soft velvety matte finish on the jacket).
i am enjoying this essay collection quite a lot as well, being 206 pages into its 255-page count, and it's introduced me to some new works im quite excited to break into - bruno de finetti's work on probability, lucretius's de rerum natura, and nāgārjuna's mūlamadhyamakakārikā. unfortunately none of the other works he introduced me to appear to be avaliable in english. wish there had been a translator's note so i wouldn't have wasted the reference desk's time, but alas.
as i'm nearly finished with it, this will be considered a 2024 read.
transformer by ezra furman
part of the 33⅓ series, a booklet on an album i have never listened to written by one of my favorite artists. already, it's introduced me to the velvet underground's first album (fantastic) "suffragette city" by david bowie (banger), and inspired me to make listening to ziggy stardust a priority. ezra furman, like john darnielle, is as compelling a prosaist as she is a songwriter, and i highly recommend this book.
i have not yet gotten to the first track on the album (i'm still in "fuck you leave me alone don't read my book") so i'm going to count this as a 2025 read.
the elements of eloquence by mark forsyth
essentially a list of the figures of rhetoric with definitions and examples, but the writer is cracking snarky jokes the entire time. as soneone who read strunk & white for fun, it's fantastic.
i am on page 55 of 235, so as this does not fulfil any specific requirement of the batman book bingo ("how to write good" is not a new interest of mine) i will not be aligning it with either year in specific.
tiger at the gates by jean giraudoux (tr. christopher fry)
i read this play in high school, back when i used to hang out in the 840s during my free periods. tragically, the library made the strange decision to weed this book an many others out several years ago, replacing them with a lot of empty shelves. luckily, i don't live in that library system anymore so this was not a barrier to my reread.
this play has what i consider to be the greatest opening line in theatrical history. it is my favorite play, it holds up fantastically to my memories, and i would travel a great distance to see it performed live. the opening line, which i give you so you will understand and read this play, is:
ANDROMACHE: There's not going to be a Trojan war, Cassandra!
i read act 1 out loud in the car to my mom yesterday, and we'll be covering act 2 tomorrow (it was too dark on the way home). as this is a play in 2 acts, i will consider it a 2024 read.
tl;dr
so i will be beginning my book bingo with transformer, a nonfiction book teaching me something new (i've never listened to any of lou reed's work before, VU or otherwise). and it even has an animal on the cover! ...if you're counting lou reed.
and for my first true read of 2025, once ive finished a few more of these, i will be reading
the garden party by katherine mansfield
a short story collection from 1922 with 2 birds on the cover set in multiple countries i've never visited. and possibly at least one of them is a romance or historical fiction, too.
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loveolafblrart · 2 days ago
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Never thought I’d see the day that Batman is so cunty in a comic book, did not have that on my 2025 bingo card
why is he so sassy here
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Batman: Shaman #4
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thebisexualwreckoning · 1 month ago
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Took over 24 hours to decide on every single book I am going to be reading but I have finally come back from a visit to my local indie bookseller and have the final prompt done so without further ado I present my reading list for the 2025 book bingo
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First a hard copy of the bingo that I have managed to attach to my bookshelves using leftover stickers
Next, the actual reading list:
1. Literary Fiction: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori
I’ve been meaning to read sayaka murata’s books for quite some time now so this was a lovely little excuse to do so and I wanted to read some litfic that wasn’t the usual ‘female rage’ unhinged mid 20s white woman dark academia English major I kill people that has saturated the market recently
2. Short Story Collection: Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century by Kim Fu
I’ve been seeing this recced a lot and when mr batman decided to rec it as well for the short story prompt I thought what the hell why not? and decided to read it, no other special reason really
3. Sequel: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
I was planning on reading this either way and when I saw ms batman was also using it to fill the prompt I once again thought why not, there really isn’t much else you have been waiting to read
4. Reread a childhood favourite: Malory Towers by Enid Blyton
I haven’t decided which of the Malory towers books I’m going to be rereading but I loved this as a child and I wanted to see how it stands up now that I’m not 6-8 years old anymore
5. 20th century speculative fiction: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
I wanted to read a Shirley Jackson book but I thought haunting of hill house was too popular and I already read we have always lived in the castle for a gothic lit Unit I did this year, so the sundial it was
6. Fantasy: Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas
Ngl I just happen to prefer ya fantasy over adult fantasy because it just makes me happy and I wanted one with a brown trans boy in it because duh, I’m a brown trans boy (though I’m Indian, not Latine)
7. Published before 1950: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
This is my palate cleanser because I love Louisa may alcott and I love Amy March with all my stunted little Little Sister heart and I need to read about her and Laurie again because they bring me so much joy
8. Independent Publisher: Rifqa by Mohammad El-Kurd
I had to involve a poetry collection and a Palestinian work and well, it’s easier to find poetry in indie pub and also easier to find Palestinian books in indie pub so it really was the obvious choice
9. Graphic Novel: Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh
Once again a recommendation from mx batman and well, I’m trans, I love mermaids, trans allegory of all time
10. Animal on the Cover: The Spider and Her Demons by Sydney Khoo
Another ya fantasy, this time aroace style and it has a spider on the cover. Also I have a copy of the book on my bookshelf and it was one of the few books I had with an animal on the cover. I was going to read the starless sea but that’s usually a fall read for me so I decided on this one
11. Set in a country you have never visited: Ekkatorer Dinguli by Jahanara Imam
So, this is embarrassing for me but despite being Bengali, I have never actually been to Bangladesh, mostly because of complicated family feelings on the matter due to my dad’s side of the family being one of the refugees from Bangladesh who fled to India. However, I wanted to read one Bengali book for the bingo at least so I decided on this memoir on the Bangladeshi liberation war. Also I hate myself right, we all know I hate myself. But this is the crowning feather in my cap of stupidity. Yes, I, person who takes 2 minutes to sound out Bengali words and then understand what the sentence is trying to say using context clues, am going to attempt to read it in the original Bangla instead of the translated version because I am trying to learn how to read and write in Bengali, which I somehow don’t know despite having spoken it my entire life
12. Science Fiction: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
It’s not yet released so I can’t say whether it’s sci-fi but wiki says it is and also it’s hunger games, obviously it’s sci-fi we know it’s sci-fi haymitch’s games involved technology not yet invented we know this obviously it’s sci-fi
13. 2025 Debut author: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours
Found this book on a list of debut authors online and I love supporting debut authors of colour, especially black authors since it’s harder in the industry for them and tragically now that I’m thinking about it I don’t have too many black authors on this list
14. Memoir: Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom
Is this cheating? Probably. It’s more of a biomythography à la Audre Lord than a proper memoir but as Thom herself says, I think trans girls deserve a memoir not marketed to cis people to explain trans issues. So, I’m going to make an exception just this once for the trans girls. It’s in the spirit of the prompt at least
15. Read a zine, make a zine: I haven’t yet decided on what zine I’ll read but I’m planning to make one involving 6 entirely new poetry pieces I’ll write for it
16. Essay collection: Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
In this spirit of diverse reading, I’ve decided that I needed at least one book talking about and/or involving disabled characters and I’d already read one of the essays in this book so it only seemed like the logical choice
17. 2024 Award Winner: Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H.
Winner of the 2024 Stonewall awards, hijab butch blues deals with a topic very close to me heart, the reconciling of religion with queerness. I’m Hindu, not Muslim like the author but I too struggle with what god will think of my being queer so I thought why not turn to the community, to other people who struggle with the same problem so here I am now
18. Nonfiction: Learn something New: The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel
I love fashion, but most of my knowledge revolves around the styles and trends and patterns of clothing throughout the centuries, not how the fabric actually got made, so this seemed like a fun way to incorporate a personal hobby into the prompt while also learning about something I’d never before learned about
19. Social Justice: Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith
The last recommendation on this list taken from captain batman, I know a bit about social justice, especially involving queerness and indigeneinity and being poc so I wanted to learn social justice from an angle I have never really viewed it from before and that was sex work, so this seemed like a good choice
20. Romance Novel: Outdrawn by Deanna Grey
They’re sapphic, they’re black, they’re competing/rival webtoon artists and the cover’s cute, what more do you need
21. Read and make a recipe: Cinnamon Rolls
I love cinnamon rolls, they bring joy to my life, so I thought I might as well as learn to bake them so I don’t spend a fortune buying them from my local bakery. I don’t have a recipe yet but that is what I’ll be making. I wanted to chocolate lava cake at first but then I remembered I had all the ingredients at home already and that i had to use them before I left for India later this month.
22. Horror: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Anybody who knows me knows that a. Gothic horror is my favourite type of horror and b. I hate Jane eyre and love Rebecca. Well, to be fair I hate the parts with Mr Rochester in them and loved the parts without him so highs and lows. But back on track, I love Daphne du maurier, I love Rebecca, I’m reading this book
23. Published in the aughts: Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi
Honestly no other reason than the fact I wanted another graphic novel on the list because I know that my brain will have turned to mush after reading so many words and my eyes will be straining
24. Historical Fiction: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
I just wanted historical lesbian butches and also the naked women on the cover convinced me because I’m a freak and a pervert
25. Bookseller or librarian recommendation: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, trans. Lucia Graves
I asked the bookseller what would she recommend I read, regardless of genre or any other boundaries and she recommend this to me which just so happens to be a translated text which works out great because one of my reading goals for next year has been to read more books written by mainlander poc instead of white or diaspora representation so that worked out pretty well
Anyway, that’s it for me. Barring anything truly egregious about any of the books I’m planning to read which causes a dnf and a replacement, I will be following this list in this order starting the first of jan and will report back periodically.
I also made a little physical checklist so that I can just carry it around and receive the joy of ticking things off
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2025 book bingo time 📚
want a completely arbitrary set of reading goals for 2025? want to try something new in your literary diet but don't know where to start? just like a challenge for the sake of a challenge? just love a good game of bingo?
boy do I have something for you!
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for anyone planning to participate, please know that I LOVE attention and talking about books, so I would be STOKED to be tagged on any and all updates about what you're reading or planning to read. I'm so, so excited to see all the different ways these prompts get filled, especially if and when they bring people away from the kinds of things they normally read. not to mention snag some new reading recs myself, hopefully!
and of course, I want to know whenever somebody gets a bingo - and ESPECIALLY if somebody fills the whole board! I don't have any prizes for you, but I can offer a sense of accomplishment :)
note that this is designed to be played as 1 book = 1 space, so even if you read, say, a fantasy graphic novel published in 1923 from an indie publisher that has a bat on the cover, you'd only cross off one space. I'm not a cop and I'm not in charge of what you read, so if it sparks more joy to check off multiple spaces per book then go nuts, but I am throwing that disclaimer out there.
EDIT: the 2025 book bingo challenge is now also on storygraph, thanks to @obi-wann-cannoli!
wondering what some of these spaces mean? seeking a couple recommendations to get you started? no idea what a zine even is, let alone how to make one? worry not! I have a guide to all 25 prompts, including recommendations + an example of what I'll be reading throughout the year to fulfill each space. read on beneath the cut!
Literary Fiction: I find that a lot of people are reluctant to check out literary fiction, as it’s often written off as not being about anything but adultery and divorce. If this is you, I implore you to take a chance, acknowledge that adultery and divorce are compelling sometimes, and also remember that lit fic has a lot more to offer than that. At Writer’s Digest, Michael Woodson describes literary fiction as “less of a genre than a category,” which “focuses on style, character, and theme over plot.” My recommendations include Raven Leilani’s Luster, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed. 
I’ll be reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
2. Short Story Collection: You know, a bunch of short stories together in one book? It doesn’t get much more self-explanatory than that. Could be a collection of stories by a single author or an anthology—it’s up to you! I recommend checking out Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (translated by Megan McDowell), Nalo Hopkinson’s Falling in Love With Hominids, and Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century. 
I’ll be reading: Your Utopia by Bora Chung and translated by Anton Hur 
3. A Sequel: It could be one that you’ve been meaning to get around to, one that’s not releasing until 2025, or the sequel to something you read to cross off another space on this very bingo sheet!
I’ll be reading: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao, sequel to 2021’s Iron Widow 
4. Childhood Favorite: Go back and read a book you loved as a child, tween, or teen! There’s no wrong answer here; anything from a YA novel to a picture book would be just lovely, and I can’t wait to see what people pick for this option! I’m not sure which of my old favorites I’ll be revisiting yet—should I go for the warm and fuzzy Casson Family series, or straight towards the mindfucky sci-fi of Interstellar Piggy? Or maybe I’ll go see how Artemis Fowl holds up...
5. 20th Century Speculative Fiction: For those not familiar with the term, speculative fiction can encapsulate science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that falls into the unreal. You’re spoiled for iconic choices here: the 20th century gave us Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Kindred, L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, the beginning of Pratchett’s Discworld series, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howls’ Moving Castle, and countless others.
I’ll be reading: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, love of my literary life 💜
6. Fantasy: Fantasy comes in a thousand different shades, from contemporary urban wizards with day jobs at the office to high fantasy spellslingers chasing dragons away from castles. Some examples I’ve adored are N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon, C.L. Polk’s Witchmark, Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and Nghi Vo’s Empress of Salt and Fortune.
I’ll be reading: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty  
7. Published Before 1950: This one could not be more straightforward if I tried. You have all of human history (or at least, all the parts that have surviving literature), just not the last 75 years. Dig deep! 
I’ll be reading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938 
8. Independent Publisher: Did you guys know that just five publishing companies (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Book Group) are responsible for 80% of books published in the US each year, and 25% of books globally? Break away from the big five and see what some small presses are putting out! If you need some ideas about where to start, check out this list of nearly 300 independent publishers with notes on what kind of books they put out!
I’ll be reading: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and translated by Lin King, from Graywolf Press
9. Graphic Novel/Comic Book/Manga: Despite my personal obsession with Batman, the world of comic books is sooo much wider than Gotham City—or anything else that DC and Marvel have to offer. If superheroes aren’t your speed, check out the Southern gothic of Carmen Maria Machado and Dani Strips’ comic The Low, Low Woods, splash around in Kat Leyh’s graphic novel Thirsty Mermaids, or stop waiting for a new season of Dungeon Meshi and go read Ryoko Kui’s manga, translated to English by Taylor Engel. 
I’ll be reading: The Fade, by Aabria Iyengar and Mari Costa
10. Animal on the Cover: Yes, yes, don’t judge a book by its cover—but do go find one with a critter on the cover and give it a read! Absolutely no other requirements here, get silly with it.
I’ll be reading: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
11. Set in a Country You Have Never Visited: Fiction or nonfiction, doesn’t matter so long as it gives you a little glimpse of a country you’ve never visited in real life. If you’ve somehow visited every country currently recognized in the world, then I guess you get to go read something set in space.
I’ll be reading: A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon and Kim Sanho, translated by Anton Hur 
12. Science Fiction: A genre just as diverse as fantasy, with a little something for everybody! I recommend Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for those who want to kiss an alien in the stars and Jessamine Chan’s The School for Good Mothers for those who want a surveillance state dystopia that hits much closer to home.  
I’ll be reading: Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
13. 2025 Debut Author: Read a book by someone who’s releasing their first book in 2025. Fic or nonfic, any genre, no further requirements. Not quite a free space, but pretty close!
I’ll be reading: Liquid: A Love Story by Mariam Rahmani, coming out March 11
14. Memoir: Per Wikipedia, a memoir is “any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author’s personal memories.” Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are both! I recommend Carman Maria Machado’s In the Dream House and Roxane Gay’s Hunger, because I tend to lean heartbreaking! 
I’ll be reading: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Again, I like heartbreaking!
15. Read a Zine, Make a Zine: Not familiar with zines? No problem! Check out some of these digital archives for inspiration, and then craft your own zine with this simple guide (or do it your own way, I’m not in charge of you). 
Internet Archives: https://archive.org/details/zines
Gay Zine Archive Project: https://gittings.qzap.org/ 
POC Zine Project: https://poczineproject.tumblr.com/ 
Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/collections/zine-web-archive/ 
16. Essay Collection: Like a short story collection, but it’s nonfiction now. Some of my favorites include Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now, Aimee Nezhukhumatathil’s World of Wonders, and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings.
I’ll be reading: A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib 
17. 2024 Award Winner: What award? Any award you like! And boy, there are tons to pick from. Any book that won any award in the year 2024 is free game. If you need some places to start looking, check out some of these:
Lambda Literary Awards, for excellence in LGBT literature: https://lambdaliterary.org/awards__trashed/2024-winners/ 
The Alex Awards, for adult books with crossover appeal for teen readers: https://www.ala.org/yalsa/alex-awards 
Ignyte Awards, celebrating diversity in speculative fiction: https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2024-results/  
Women's Prize for Fiction (self explanatory) https://womensprize.com/prizes/womens-prize-for-fiction/
Others: https://www.bookbrowse.com/awards/ 
I’ll be reading: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey, winner of the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction
18. Nonfiction: Learn Something New: I know very little about archaeology, anthropology, or any other fields that involve studying ancient cities, but Annalee Newitz’s Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age was some of the most fun I had with nonfiction in 2024, because every page brought a brand new discovery. For 2025, find a nonfiction book about a topic you don’t know ANYTHING about, and learn something new!
I’ll be reading: Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment by Hi’ilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart
19. Social Justice & Activism: Read a book about a social issue, the history of an activist movement, or brush up on a guiding philosophy or ideology. Arm yourself with knowledge, besties, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it! if you need a good place to start, why not try Angela Davis' Race, Women & Class, Mariame Kaba's We Do This 'Til We Free Us, or Molly Smith and Juno Mac's Revolting Prostitutes?
I’ll be reading: White Feminism: From Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck
20. Romance Novel: Listen to me. Fucking listen to me. I mean a ROMANCE. NOVEL. Not a novel that incidentally has a romance in it. Romance novel, motherfucker. Go check out the romance section and have some whimsy as two people fall in love through the most contrived series of events ever conceived. If you really need a romance that makes you feel smart (that’s still sexy and messy as hell), try Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty.
I’ll be reading: Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasche  
21. Read and Make a Recipe: Could be a cookbook, could be a recipe you yoinked from the New York Times, could be something your grandparents lovingly wrote down by hand. Could be as complex or as simple as you like, just make something tasty! Some cookbooks I’ve enjoyed are Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, Dan Pashman’s Mission Impastable, and John Wang and Storm Garner’s The World Eats Here.
22. Horror: Slashers, zombies, haunted houses, creeping paranoia, you name it! It’s time to get spooky and scary with all kinds of things going bump in the night. Maybe this is the year to finally keep up with Dracula Daily? Not for me, I'm not doing that, but you could!
I’ll be reading: I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
23. Published in the Aughts: A throwback, but not too far back. Read something published between 2000 and 2009. Maybe it’s time to finally get into Twilight? (For legal reasons, that’s a joke.)
I’ll be reading: The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, published in 2004
24. Historical Fiction: You know, fiction that takes place in a bygone era! Please remember, this isn’t just about reading a book that’s old; we have a separate prompt for that! This is about reading something that takes place in the past relative to the time it was written. Pride and Prejudice is historical to us, but was contemporary when Austen wrote it. Think of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, or history + a bit of fantasy in book's like R.F. Kuang's Babel.
I’ll be reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Bookseller or Librarian Recommendation: This one is fun, and something I always like to do when I’m travelling and visiting a new bookstore. Ask a bookseller or librarian to recommend something they’ve liked, and check it out! If going in person isn’t feasible, many bookstores and libraries have staff picks on their websites, and the Indie Next List is a monthly list of independent booksellers’ favorite new releases. 
I’ll be reading: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich, which I bought at Erdrich’s bookstore, Birchbark Books, this summer :)
lastly: tagging people who asked to be tagged to make sure they didn't miss this! @thebisexualwreckoning @perfunctoryperfusions @reallyinkyhands come get your bingo sheet!
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