Despite superficially claiming my blog as a space to share my thoughts or experiences or even a rant on something that caught my eye, I can be incredibly picky about what I end up actually publishing. I’ve discussed this before in my post about the blogger’s block I experienced a while ago. A block can manifest in different forms. For instance, it can be a (relatively) simple enough matter of being unable to find something to write about. It can also be the more insidious form, wherein your brain reigns as your worst critic and deems 99.9% of the ideas you come up with as sub-par or worse, not original enough. 

In the midst of my typical hours of browsing through random posts on WordPress, hoping desperately for that 0.1% that would satisfy the critic in me, I stumbled upon a 30 Day Blogging Challenge. It was tempting to follow the idea and just go with it. But then, the notion of a challenge jogged something in my memory. 

Schitt’s Creek Bingo. Last year, when my partner and I were on the final episode of Schitt’s Creek, we wanted to make an event of it. We ordered our favourite takeaway, got some beers, and yes, made Bingo Cards. We picked various running gags and mannerisms, like ‘Alexis boops someone’, ‘The Wig Wall is shown’, ‘David rolls his eyes’, ‘Moira says bebe’, and so on. My partner won, quite easily, ten minutes into the episode. I like to think it’s because I chose the items on my Card based on my favourite moments in the show, while he actually played the game like how you’re supposed to and put down moments that were more likely to be shown.

Anyway, tangent aside, the memory brought forth the idea of Book Bingo. April was a slow month in terms of reading, and I had resolved to read more in May. It’s going … just about as well as you would expect it, aka not well at all. A fun Bingo challenge could push me to read at least five books. And fingers crossed, the momentum will continue through the rest of the year. 

I looked through several existing Cards made by amazing bloggers and other content creators, my own bookshelves, and my ever-growing TBR on StoryGraph for inspiration. 

And here it is. 

The rules are straightforward. The middle space is a freebie, so any book counts. The goal is to finish five in a row or column or in the diagonal. You know the rules of Bingo, why am I explaining this? 

I would ideally like to update my progress on the Card at least twice a week, but only time will tell. 

P.S. Please use the Bingo Card if you like the idea, and tag me in your progress.