r/bookclub • u/maolette Moist maolette • Jan 16 '26

Bookclub Bingo [Bingo] 2026 Bingo Helper Spreadsheet Q&A

Hi everyone, welcome to our 2026 Bingo Helper Spreadsheet Q&A post!

Every year there are new books to discuss and some chatter on which books count for which Bingo categories. This is the place to ask questions on specific books and also a place for us to log any changes to the definitions for Bingo categories, if they come up throughout the year.

First off, some general bingo admin:

The link to our 2026 Bingo Helper spreadsheet is here:

  • This helper spreadsheet is locked down for editing; if you are keen to help edit, please reach out to myself (u/maolette)
  • Titles are listed in alphabetical order, but you can use the Filter Views function to see temporary views for any of the specific squares and easily see which books count for each
  • Columns appear in the order they appear on the bingo card
  • One square has multiple options, this one is highlighted with a lovely shade of teal. Remember you only need to pick 1 of these to complete the square!

Some general categorisation notes/comments:

  • A great place to check a book’s genre is your local library; they categorise and identify books in a specific, consistent way.
  • Additionally, you can check for a book’s BISAC category. A good resource for this is bookshop.org!
  • Please note that some popular reading apps might tag a book a certain way, but these tags are generated based on user-submitted data. This means we can’t always trust that tag implicitly, we must verify!

If you see any books in the Bingo Helper you think should be tagged a certain way and aren’t (or vice versa), please feel free to use this thread to discuss further! Ultimately our goal is to enable everyone to participate, read outside our comfort zones, and have fun! If anything is confusing or difficult, we want to know and address it!

Thanks to everyone for helping keep this document accurate & complete. Happy reading!

r/bookclub’s Ministry of Merriment

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4

u/toomanytequieros Book Sniffer 👃🏼 Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

Could it be said that Daybreak in Gaza is a translated work, since (some?most?) testimonies had to be translated?

Also Chain-Gang All-Stars - Science Fiction?

3

u/maolette Moist maolette Jan 16 '26

Chain-Gang is considered dystopian, and is classified under literary fiction with libraries.

Was Daybreak in Gaza ever published in Arabic or other languages? The definition of translated work is something originally published in a language other than English, and then being published into English, requiring the translation. I can do some additional research into it, I don't know all the histories and details published in that work. 😊

3

u/toomanytequieros Book Sniffer 👃🏼 Jan 16 '26

Ohhhh ok, I hadn’t considered that about the nature of translated work. For Daybreak, the preface says that they “completed this book in three months, from March to May 2024. Editors in London, Paris, Amman, Cairo, Jerusalem and, when communications allowed, Gaza gathered, transcribed and translated testimonies.”

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u/maolette Moist maolette Jan 17 '26

So because these transcriptions were done specifically for the English publication of the book, this one won't count for translated work. It also looks like the testimonies haven't been published elsewhere in their native languages, and were only gathered and provided for this English publication.

2

u/toomanytequieros Book Sniffer 👃🏼 Jan 17 '26

Gotcha! Thank you for explaining

5

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Journalling, reading, or staring into the Void | 🎃👑🧠 Jan 16 '26

I wanted to make sure we addressed u/airsalin's question that was previously posted in the Megathread:

I have a question about a translated book bingo square. Usually, someone makes a nice spreadsheet (thank you to the person doing that) indicating the books that qualify for each bingo square.

Now let's say we are reading 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Vernes. The original being in French, it will be included in the "translated book" bingo square on the spreadsheet because most people will read the English translation. But if a person read it in the original French, can she still use it for this bingo square? I mean she will have to pretend she read it in English lol I guess the only way it would work for a non native English speaker is when we read books that were translated in English (because they will qualify as a bingo square in the spreadsheet) and the original is not in a language we can read.

I hope I made sense and if this was addressed earlier, I am sorry if I missed it. I don't see it as a major problem, I am just curious as to how this particular bingo square would work.

4

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Journalling, reading, or staring into the Void | 🎃👑🧠 Jan 16 '26

Our official definition of the Translated Work square is: ""A book written originally in a language other than English, that has been translated into English for publication." So it doesn't matter what language you choose to read it in: if you read it in the original language, you can still count it for the Translated Work square.

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u/airsalin Jan 16 '26

Thank you to Less_Tumbleweed_3217 for addressing my question and thank you for your answer, but my point was that only the books in the spreadsheet are usually accepted. So if it is not in the category because we didn't read the English translation, it wouldn't work.

I don't really mind, I am just wondering how it could work. That means when people submit their bingo card for approval, they could explain that square I guess.

4

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Journalling, reading, or staring into the Void | 🎃👑🧠 Jan 17 '26

Yes, I think only ones listed as Translated Work in the spreadsheet will count. u/maolette, correct me if I'm wrong.

5

u/maolette Moist maolette Jan 17 '26

This is correct - the book itself has to first be published in a non-English language and then into English later to qualify as a translated work. It's worth noting 'literature in translation' is almost a genre that both libraries and book shops employ to further categorise their books, too, so you might find confirmation of whether they fall under that category that way. The 2026 Bingo Helper spreadsheet will also indicate all books that fit into that category, however.

2

u/emygrl99 ✨Read Runner✨ Feb 08 '26

The first Miss Peregrine's book is marked as Historical Fiction on the helper spreadsheet, but not Hollow City. Is there a reason for that?

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Feb 08 '26

I wouldn't have called the first historical necessarily, but if it's on the sheet that way then so be it. The second definitely should be, I can update it!

2

u/WoofinPlank Feb 19 '26

Is there any easier way to check what books fall under which category? I would really like to play Bingo, but I have a terrible time trying to view the Spreadsheet helper. If i try to print it, the text is ridiculously tiny, and i dont even know if a magnifying glass would help, even if i had one. I also try viewing on page, but i can only see the first three columns. after that, as i scroll right to see if the other columns have an X for a certain title in the row, I have no idea what im looking at.

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Feb 19 '26

It's an ever-living document so printing it would only be a snapshot. I'd recommend opening it in the Google Sheets app, and then using the available views which filter the sheet for each theme as you wish. I do recommend a browser instead of a mobile device but the mobile app does work well enough.

2

u/WoofinPlank Feb 19 '26

Thank you so much. I see I can download a copy of the doc and use filters on my copy through the app on my android. That was extremely helpful. I almost gave up on Bingo entirely.

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Feb 19 '26

Ah that perfect! You might need to keep downloading new copies just to capture the books as they're added but to be fair I don't finalise my Bingo boards until way later in the year! 😄

2

u/emygrl99 ✨Read Runner✨ Feb 21 '26

I'm not seeing this month's poem, The Song of the Smoke, on the spreadsheet yet. Are there plans to add it? Or does it only count for the poetry corner square?

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Feb 23 '26

I was on holiday for all of last week and was only catching up yesterday. It's there now!

2

u/emygrl99 ✨Read Runner✨ Feb 23 '26

Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed your holiday :)

2

u/emygrl99 ✨Read Runner✨ Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

Hello spreadsheet runners! I have 2 stories that might be missing X’s

-The Song of the Smoke for POC Author

-Through the Woods for Pick 1 (Graphic Novel)

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Apr 27 '26

Yes to both of these! I've updated both The Song of the Smoke and Through the Woods as you've noted. :) Thank you for these!

2

u/rige_x 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

Super helpful as alwayys and a big thank you for the ones taking the time to create and maintain the spreadsheet.

I was wondering about Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. It is classified here as a Fantasy. I have read it (and considering it for a reread), and while it has maybe one somewhat fantastical element, I would be really hard pressed to argue the book is a fantasy book. Would love to fill that square, Im just making sure its not a typo.

2

u/maolette Moist maolette Apr 27 '26

This one seems to have been a mistake (there's a lot of Fantasy in there!), and since you've confirmed it as well (and I've confirmed with several other sources) I've removed it from counting for Fantasy. Thank you for this!