Adults

Do the whole challenge online with the Beanstack app (downloaded from your app store) or via your web browser.  (Playing online is even easier with Beanstack’s improved Bingo capabilities!)

OR

1. Download and print the Reading Record Package or pick one up at your branch.
2. Complete your BINGO squares, lines, and even your whole card!  Did you read something that qualifies for more than one square?  Mark it down for each one it applies to!
3. Make sure you check out our the bonus activity sheets in your Reading Record Package for more summer fun.
4. Draw slips and prizes work like this:
   • Find downloadable draw slips below. Participants can visit their branch to fill out them out.
   • Each BINGO square = one draw slip
   • Each BINGO line = a bonus draw slip
   • Each Puzzle sheet = a bonus draw slip
   • Each completed whole BINGO card = an entry for a system wide prize of your choosing

• Grand Prize options: Beats Earbuds, Kobo eReader, Singer Heavy Duty Sewing Machine, or Local Bookstore gift card!
• Branch Prizes: a book to keep!
• And other cool stuff!

• Reading Record Package, including bonus activities
• Draw slips -regular for completed BINGO squares & bonus puzzles
• Draw slips – BINGO version for completed BINGO lines
• Printable posters if you see a spot in your community that could use one!

Bingo square helper resources:

1. Read a comic book or graphic novel
   • Find some great recent titles here, or check out the Graphic Novel section at your branch.
2. Read a small book
   • This is a perfect browsing challenge!
   • Or grab a Rapid Read series title with a single storyline suitable for reading over a languid cup of tea.
3. Read a book with soil, earth, or fossil in the title
   • Take a look at this selection of books that are currently checked in at a branch. Or just see the fiction titles here!
4. Read a non-fiction book
   • Do some quality browsing at your local branch, or try one off one of our booklists like these:
     • 2SLGBTQ+ Non-Fiction
     • Asian Canadian Non-Fiction
     • Black Canadian Non-Fiction
     • Climate Optimism
     • Gardening
     • Non-Fiction and Poetry Award Winners 2023
     • Recent Memoirs & Biographies (2024)
     • Recent Travel Memoirs (2024)
     • Thought-Provoking Non-Fiction

5. Read a book in a new genre
   • Go for a good book browse, or try something off of one of our booklists:

• Afrofuturism
• Climate Fiction
• Canadian Mysteries
• Contemporary & Historical Westerns
• Dystopian Fiction
• Fantasy
• Historical Romance
• Horror
• Memoirs and Biographies
• Travel Memoirs

6. Read a botanical book
   • Botanical means “something relating to plants”.
   • Hints:
     • See anything that looks “botanical” enough for you when browsing based on the cover?
     • Try a random catalogue search for a plant of choice, or related word. “herb”, “rose”, “daisy”, “thyme”, “apothecary”, etc.
     • Witchy books often have a lot of botanical content.

7. Read an art book, or do an online library art course
   • Find a book in our collection here.
   • Try our crafting project portal CreativeBug with your library card.
   • Or dive into LinkedIn Learning to peruse their art offerings with your library card. (They also have lots of photography, computer, and business offerings that you might be interested in!)
8. Read a book with an intriguing cover
   • This is a pure browsing experience. Enjoy!
9. Start a creative project with library help!
   • Browse the 700s in the Adult Non-Fiction section to get inspired! Or if you have a specific creative project in mind, do a catalogue search.
   • Try our crafting project portal CreativeBug with your library card.
   • If art or photography are your thing, dive into LinkedIn Learning with your library card.
10. Read a book recommended to you
    • Family, friends, CBC, library staff… these are all good sources of recommendations!  People love to share the books that moved them.
    • Check out any of the other booklists printed either in branch or from here.
11. Read a scary book
    • Find a horror book that is available here or on our Horror Booklist.
    • If you’re a bit more sensitive, you might find a thriller to be sufficiently scary.
12. Read a book with a non-human character
    • Take a look at this list of books with animal characters checked in at any branch!
    • Wanted to read a book that features unique main characters that aren’t animals? Give the Science Fiction or Fantasy section a browse, or read a book like All Systems Red by Martha Wells or Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, or try a fiction book like Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.
13. Read a library book
    • You’ve got this one, no problem-o!
14. Read a book that has been translated
    • Find a classic or new-to-you translated book here.
15. Read a book with magic in it
    • Check out some magical books here.
16. Read a book from one of our booklists
    • Find a master list of all our booklists here!
17. Read a book about your ancestors
    • Search our catalogue by putting in the nationality of an ancestor or ancestors.
      • You can try a subject or keyword search for a search term like “Icelandic”/ “Iceland”, “Korean”/ “Korea”, or “Cree”.
      • You might also pick an angle like “war brides”, “vikings”, “apartheid”, “united empire loyalist”, etc.
    • Feel free to read either non-fiction or fiction that makes you feel connected to your ancestors!
18. Listen to a Freegal playlist
    • You can download the Freegal music app on your device, or click here to start streaming and/or downloading. There are tons of fun playlists for every taste!
19. Read a book about a topic that makes you wonder
    • Try something off of our Thought-Provoking Non-Fiction list.
    • Browse our book displays or find a book on a topic that sparks your curiosity in our catalogue.
20. Read a book dealing with colonization
    • Take a look at this selection of books or this selection of books checked in at any branch!
    • Fiction books are rich in colonization themes. Many Indigenous and Black authors’ work will explore the effects of colonization over the mechanics of it.
    • Hint: There is a very good chance that this Bingo Square will intersect with any title chosen for the challenge to “read a book about your ancestors”.
21. Read a book with a rock or mineral title
    • Become a rockhound with these titles or enjoy the stories in this selection of titles.
22. Tell your favourite houseplant a poem
    • Try this list or this list for inspiration!
23. Read a book about a collector or a collection
    • See this search for items checked in at any branch, or try this booklist!
24. Read a book set in another world
    • See these available books that are set in imaginary places. Or find a specific title on our special booklist of books set in another world here.
25. Read some light entertainment
    • Try one from one of our booklists:
      • Cozy Mysteries
      • Lots of Laughs
      • Feel-Good Fiction
      • Contemporary Romances
      • Rainbow Romances