I spotted Book Bingo posts from the fabulous bloggers Cleo over at CleopatraLovesBooks and Marina at Finding Time to Write last year and  I thought it seemed like a fun way of looking at the books I had read over the year. I gave it a go last year and thought I’d try my hand at it again this year.

Book with more than 500 pages

I’ve not read one single book that was over 500 pages long but I have read Persuasion with about 244 pages (depending on your edition) three times – does that count? No? Alright then, more weighty tomes for me next year.

A forgotten classic

Perhaps not so forgotten now thanks to the resurgence of a market for older literature but this year I read Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor for the first time.

A Book that Became a Movie

Another forgotten classic perhaps but one made into a film featuring Frances McDormand was Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day  by Winifred Watson.

A book published this year

Bit of an easy one in that most of the books I’ve read were published this year. The hard part is choosing just one. I’ll go with Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland.

A book with a number in the title

Only a couple that could fall under this square so I’ll go for Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson.

A book written by someone under thirty

I don’t normally know the age of an author but in Me Life Story: Sofa So Good by Scarlett Moffatt, Scarlett mentioned how old she was.

A book with a non human character

Cheating perhaps but I have had to read it many times this year, it’s a good job it’s brilliant. It has to be Oi Dog! by Kes Gray and Jim Field. The first book Oi Frog! and the latest Oi Cat! are also firm favourites in our house.

A funny book

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – I had to stifle giggles whilst I read this in public.

A book by a female author

Again lots to choose from here, though again I don’t tend to look to see if the author is male or female. For this square I’ll pick the short but impacting Tin Man by Sarah Winman.

A book with a mystery

Turns out the majority of my reading is in the crime/thriller category so lots of titles could fit this square on the board. I’ll go for Rocco and the Nightingale by Adrian Magson for this one, a new to me series, with this one being the latest.

A book with a one word title

Again quite a few that could fit under this square but I’ve gone with Purged by Peter Laws.

A book of short stories

I read a couple of short story collections this year. The one I’ll use for this square is Innocence by Roald Dahl.

Free square

For my free square I thoght it only proper to include a book by a favourite author, without which my reading year wouldn’t be complete. I’ve chosen Earthly Remains by Donna Leon.

A book set on a different continent

A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys, set on a liner headed for Austrialia this book encompasses half of the globe.

A book of non fiction

There were a few books I could have used for this square, much to my surprise. Two of them both increased my TBR dramatically but the one which sparked a desire to read more forgotten classics next year is The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler.

The first book by a favourite author

This would  have to be A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee, I’m looking forward to reading A Necessary Evil, the next in the series, soon.

A book you heard about online

As literally 100% of my reads now come from online recommendations this is list could basically be all of the books I’ve read this year. I’ve picked Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey, another series I only found by reading the latest one, but which means I’ve others to read whilst I wait for the next in the series.

A best selling book

I don’t really follow the best seller charts, so unless a book sells so many it is all over the media then I’ve not really a clue. In fact, I tried to do an internet search to find a list of bestsellers this year, to no avail.  I do know that Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon is listed as a bestseller on the British Library site.

A book based on a true story

Based on the infamous story of Lizzie Borden, who inspired a children’s playground rhyme, is See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt.

A book at the bottom of your to read pile

Not quite at the bottom of the TBR but one of the books I’d had outstanding for longer than others I have read this year is Perfect Remains by Helen Fields.

A book your friend loves

Lots of bloggers I connect with online are huge fans of Ragnar Jonasson and so I have to use Rupture for this square.

A book that scares you

I don’t really read scary books, or I should say that books rarely scare me however Six Stories has tales that reminded me of ghost stories I had heard as a child.

A book that is more than 10 years old

Mansfield Park, another of my Austen re-reads and perhaps my second favourite of her books.

The second book in a series

Death of a Nobody by Derek Farrell is the second out for Danny Bird, his aristocratic best friend Lady Caroline and the staff of the Marquis Of Queensbury pub.

A book with a blue cover

I have a couple that could have fallen under this square but I’ve gone with Siren by Annemarie Neary, a novel based around the troubles in Ireland.

So I managed to fill 25 /25 squares (ok 24 if I’m not allowed the first one). How many would you fill?