Have you read something that you really enjoyed and want to give others a reason to try it out because it fits a square? Want to solicit help finding things to read that fit squares? This is a great place to do that.
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Questions, Complaints, Whines, General Commentary, Shitposting…
I’ve just seen the Storygraph challenge - that makes it easier to keep track, thanks! However I noticed that the announcement and card link are the ones from 2024 so you’re aware :)
Thanks! I knew I was missing some update somewhere. Should be fixed now.
Why don’t I own more books?!
Because you haven’t fully embraced your book-dragonhood? Build that hoard! :)
Just like last year, we’ve pre-seeded the Storygraph challenge with ~500 (mostly fiction) books from various genres, if you’re looking for ideas (no account required to browse!).
ETA: The returning categories have different book suggestions from last year, so for even more ideas for those squares, check last year’s Storygraph, too.
4B Alliterative Title: Many books boldly boast alliteration to attract audience attention. HARD MODE: More than 2 alliterative words in the title, excluding definite articles or conjunctions.
For hard mode, I could really only find sequels in series, but here are a few suggestions: Andre Norton - Warlock of the Witch World; Michael Moorcock - The Weird of the White Wolf
My card: Max Gladstone - Full Fathom Five (I’ve been meaning to read the Craft Sequence series anyway.)
2E Banned Book: Read a work from the ALA’s (American Library Association’s) list of the top 100 banned books in the US 2010-2019. If you are a non-American and there is a similar list for your region, that is also a valid source for comparable information. Additionally, you can use the content from the Wikipedia post on banned books. HARD MODE: One of the top 50 (or equivalent).
3A Based on Folklore: The narrative must be based on a real world piece of folklore. Folklore encompasses fairy tales, fables, myths, and legends. HARD MODE: Non-European folklore.
My card: Katherine Arden - The Bear and the Nightingale
3B Title: [X] of [Y] - The title of the book must feature the format described, such as A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. HARD MODE: [X] of [Y] and [Z] (the conjunctions can be flexible).
Suggestion: Nghi Vo - The Empress of Salt and Fortune; Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone
My card: Barry Hughart - The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox (omnibus)
4E Gamble, Game, or Contest: Features an organized gamble, game, or contest (life-and-death or otherwise). HARD MODE: Take a gamble on a style or genre of work you don’t typically read, as well.
Suggestion: Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games; Clive Barker - The Damnation Game
My card: Agatha Christie - The Sittaford Mystery
1A Number in the Title: The work must have a number in the title that’s not a just a volume/version number. Example: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. HARD MODE: Only numbers in the title.
Suggestion: George Orwell - 1984
My card: Kim Stanley Robinson - 2312
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton is a fun murder mystery with a groundhog’s day aspect
My plan for this one is to go hard mode and read 11/22/63 by Steven King. I’ve heard it’s good. It’s also a crossover with Motion Picture.
I like crossovers where I can find them because it lets me reshuffle them.
2B Set in War: The work takes place with an active war in the foreground or background. The characters do not need to be directly involved in combat, but the war’s presence must be a primary driver of the narrative. HARD MODE: There are more than 2 factions in the war.
Suggestion: Joe Haldeman - The Forever War
My card: Poul Anderson - The High Crusade
4D Award Winner: Has won a notable and widely regarded literature award. HARD MODE: More than one award.
Suggestion: Larry Niven - Ringworld
My card: China Mieville - The City & the City
5E Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A significant figure may be rude, gruff, or even insufferable; however, beneath all that, a surprising kindness shows in the right moments. Maybe they are bad at the whole feelings thing, are doing it to hide a deep pain or maintain a position of responsibility, or maybe it’s just all a façade, but their actions ultimately reveal a core of genuine caring. HARD MODE: Not A Man Called Ove/Otto.
Any books in the Slough House series by Mick Herron (the jerk being Jackson Lamb).
Suggestion: Margaret Owen - Little Thieves
My card (I struggled to find something for this square that wasn’t romance, then gave up. I plan to try a couple of books, then the other recommendation here if I make it to this square and don’t have any luck…): Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko - Vita Nostra; Grace Draven - Entreat Me
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik and I have the last one yet to read. The main character definitely qualifies for this.
It’s in the budding wizard goes to wizard school type genre, but is in a world where those budding wizards are exceptionally vulnerable to evil magical creatures that would like to consume them, and as such, the school is incredibly harsh and many don’t make it out Prior to the events of the trilogy.
2A Independent Author: Read a work self-published by the author. Any work later published though a conventional publishing house doesn’t count unless you are reading it before the switch, and its rerelease date is after April 30th, 2026. HARD MODE: Not published via Amazon Kindle Direct.
My card: Michelle West - Wild Road (est. releasing this month to Patreon backers)
2D Short and Sweet: Read a individual piece of work under 170 pages or 40,000 words. HARD MODE: Read a collection of this type of short work.
1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates – Sellar, Yeatman, and Reynolds.
Worth all of its 116 pages. (Also valid for 1A, but I have other plans for that square.)
Suggestion: any anthology, especially any edited by Ellen Datlow (books span multiple genres)
My card: Ellen Datlow, ed. - Mad Hatters and March Hares
3D LGBTQIA+ Lead: A main character identifies as LGBTQIA+. HARD MODE: Includes a significant romantic relationship between characters that identify as LGBTQIA+.
Suggestion: any LGBTQIA+ romance, such as TJ Klune - Under the Whispering Door (or pretty much any other book by this author)
My card: TJ Klune - Wolfsong
3E Saddle Up: The narrative revolves around someone whose identity is tied to being a rider of something, such as a horse, dragon, or motorcycle. HARD MODE: The ridden creature/object is treated as a character in its own right.
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik is a bunch of fun if you’re attracted to the idea of what if they had an air force in the Napoleonic Wars, and oh yeah, they are dragons.
Suggestion: Anne McCaffrey - Dragonriders of Pern; Mercedes Lackey’s Dragon Jousters series or any of the Heralds books from Valdemar; Rebecca Yarros - Fourth Wing
My card: using the first suggestion for this square, Naomi Novik - His Majesty’s Dragon
4C Judge a Book by Its Cover: Chosen because you like its cover (or cover analogue). HARD MODE: Picked using only the information available on the front cover.
Suggestion: John Wiswell - Someone You Can Build a Nest In
My card: Paolo Bacigalupi, Tobias S. Buckell - The Tangled Lands
A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava
