Wow, Seattle readers! Those of you who submitted your Book Bingo cards this year read a whopping 10,870 books during our adult summer reading program! We had 668 official entries, and 323 of those were total blackouts.
While 668 may not sound like a huge number, I suspect there are a lot (a LOT!) of readers who may have had a bingo, but were having so much fun with the reading challenges that they’re keeping their Book Bingo card on the fridge and continuing on. When you consider all the conversations about books that Book Bingo inspired at the library, at work, in book stores, with your friends and on social media, it all totals an estimated 5 million Book Bingo conversations in Seattle this summer.
Some interesting trends emerged, too. The most popular category was “Biography/Memoir,” followed by “recommended by a librarian” (YAY!) and “fiction.” Apparently “Published the year one of your parents was born” and “re-read a book you read in school” were among the more challenging squares. Surprisingly, “banned” books — a square that is intended to raise awareness of banned and challenged books — was itself quite a challenge (it had the lowest submission rate).
BOOK BINGO SHEET CAKE!!
The prize drawing was held on Sept. 13, and gift cards to independent book stores are on their way to Becky, Elizabeth, Amy, Ele, Joanna, Beverly, Colleen, Suzie, Brenda and Alexa. The independent book store gift cards include: Ada’s Technical Books, Elliott Bay Book Co., Magnolia’s Book Store, Open Books, Phinney Books, Queen Anne Book Co., Ravenna Third Place Books, Secret Garden Bookshop, Seward Park Third Place Books, and University Bookstore. The #BookBingoNW2017 grand prize winner is Sara, who now is the proud owner of a pair of tickets to the entire Seattle Arts & Lectures 2017-2018 series.
Thank you to our fabulous Book Bingo partner Seattle Arts & Lectures, and the generous support of The Seattle Times. Most of all, THANK YOU, Seattle readers! You’re the best.
~ Linda J.
Shelf Talk 
This was a lot of fun!
This is my favorite of all the library programs. Is it happening in 2018?
It is! Information will be out next week.