It’s the most wonderful time of the year, which means you are overscheduled, overworked, and stressed to the max—but fear not! Snotty Literati is here to give you a distraction worthy of your time. It might even whet your appetite for book nostalgia and free spaces. So take a deserved break. Grab a cuppa hot cocoa (throw in a splash of Bailey’s or a cinnamon stick) and read about Snotty Literati’s first-ever turn at Book Bingo.

You read that right. It’s Bingo with Books. Here was the card we used:

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And of course we went all nerdy and set up a private Facebook group with six other readers. (Jennifer’s husband to Jennifer: “Dork.” Lara’s BFF to Lara: “But why?”) It allowed us to keep track of one another, encourage each other, and—of course—dish about books!

Jackie

Jackie

In order to win, one had to read books from each category—twenty-four books in all—over the course of the year. We didn’t expect prizes. (Jackie Jae Cowsill threw in her band’s CD, though. She also wrote pretty amazing book reviews of each book. So good that she should have her own site… as long as it doesn’t compete with ours, of course).

We only expected gratification: reading for pleasure, accomplishing our own little—slightly OCD-ish—goal of filling in the card. And if the truth is to be told (and, really, it always should be), we were both a little miffed so happy when Book Bingo Player Deejah filled out her entire card by October 7.

We felt it was only fitting that she should get a bit of a feature in our column, being the winner and all. But let’s get real. This is OUR column and OUR Book Bingo experience. So we will keep it short and sweet:

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Deejah

Deejah’s Favorite Book Bingo Read (It’s a tie!):

  • Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park (A Young Adult Book)
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth (A Book Recommended by Your Local Bookseller)

Deejah’s Least Favorite Book Bingo Read:

  • Pigeon in a Crosswalk by Jack Gray (A Book Recommended by a Celebrity)

Good for Deejah! Moving on to us . . .

Now, here’s what we read. (See the links for reviews.) And keep scrolling to get to our discussion! We promise it’s worth the scroll.

Jennifer’s Bingo Card

A book you chose because of the cover: Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith
A book you saw someone reading: My Only Wife by Jac Jemc
A book that will help with your career: A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
A book you saw on TV: The Tenth of December by George Saunders
A book with an animal on the cover: Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
A book from the library: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
A book outside of your comfort zone: Tampa by Alyssa Nutting
An award-winning book: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A book recommended by your local bookseller: The Alligators of Abraham by Robert Kloss
A Young Adult novel: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (includes reviews of other YA books we read this year)
A book that’s been on your shelf for more than 5 years: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
A book that someone recommends to you: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
A book with a great first line: Ayiti by Roxane Gay
A book written by a celebrity: When It Happens To You by Molly Ringwald
A book with more than 400 pages: Sabbath’s Theater by Philip Roth
A book of poetry: Every Riven Thing by Christian Wiman
A book you heard about on the radio: The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
A book with pictures: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
A book recommended by your barista: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
A book recommended by a celebrity: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A book by a Canadian author: The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel
A book you (should have) read in high school: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
A book you would have picked up as a teenager: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A book “everyone” but you has read: Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin

Lara’s Bingo Card

A book you chose because of the cover: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
A book you saw someone reading: Return to Oakpine by Ron Carlson
A book that will help with your career: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
A book you saw on TV: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A book with an animal on the cover: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
A book from the library: The Tenth of December by George Saunders
A book outside of your comfort zone: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
An award-winning book: The Round House by Louise Erdrich
A book recommended by your local bookseller: Still Life by Louise Penney
A Young Adult novel: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A book that’s been on your shelf for more than 5 years: Blankets by Craig Thompson
A book that someone recommends you: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
A book with a great first line: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
A book written by a celebrity: When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald
A book with more than 400 pages: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A book of poetry: A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
A book you heard about on the radio: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
A book with pictures: A Kiss Before You Go by David Gregory
A book recommended by your barista: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
A book recommended by a celebrity (Gloria Estefan): A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A book by a Canadian author: The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro
A book you (should have) read in high school: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
A book you would have picked up as a teenager: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
A book “everyone” but you has read: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

And now we interview ourselves! Ladies, did you read anything else that you absolutely must mention?

Jennifer: I think I read about 30 or 35 books this year, ranging from these to Classics like Crime and Punishment. There was also some Toni Morrison (A Mercy). And Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings) And the new Bridget Jones. Plus, I’d like some credit for the Norman Rush (Subtle Bodies), thank you very much.  Not to mention The Giver by Lois Lowry. I read a lot. Someone has to.

Lara: I read into the thirties too, but of course I am not done yet. I mean, it’s not the end of they year. But a few people/sites/crazies have already posted their lists for the year and you, Jennifer, have gotten all caught up in it. Since you are forcing me to provide answers when I am not even done, I will say that outside of Book Bingo, Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple and The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer were big faves. I should get college credit for Richard Yate’s Revolutionary Road or at least credit for not spiraling into the deepest of depressions.

Jennifer, how is Eggers really going to help you with your career?

Jennifer: Yeah, I’m pushing it a little. My reasoning was this: I’m a writer. Any book I read probably helps a little. And I really wanted to read Eggers.

Lara, weren’t you an English major? How did you not read Moby Dick before this year?

Lara: Let’s get things straight. I WAS an English major UNTIL Moby Dick. That whale harpooned me, I dropped my major to a minor and it’s still really painful to discuss.

Did you guys “cheat” in some way?

Jennifer: Okay, I totally cheated on the barista bit. Deejah’s Starbucks barista recommended Maria Semple, and I really wanted to read Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (despite the disturbing lack of a question mark)—so I stalked the barista with Deejah and made the barista recommend it to me. Deejah told the Starbucks friend. “Repeat After Me. I Recommend Where’d You Go, Bernadette.” And I dutifully stood by, listening.

For my “local bookseller,” I got a recommendation from Miss Liberty—the celebrated book goddess of Book Riot and New Hampshire. But I don’t really feel guilty about this, because she is like my local bookseller.

And I’d really read James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain before, but I was a kid and I had forgotten that IT’S FREAKIN’ BRILLIANT!

Lara: Well, because we are doing this column before the end of the year, I am not done with my card. But I only have two books to go, Sarah’s Key (recommended by a barista) and The Love of a Good Woman by a Canadian author. I did shop around with baristas until I found a book I liked.

Jennifer: Mine only recommended Fifty Shades. And, once, Jodi Picoult. I wasn’t in the mood.

Lara:  Okay. Okay. I never finished Wild. Not only was I supposed to have read it for Book Bingo, but I was also supposed to have read it for my Book Club. I am counting it, though. I read over 80 percent. I had to move on. The Bingo card, my Book Club, and other commitments were calling.

What were your favorites?

Jennifer:  I read a lot of good stuff. James Baldwin stands out, as does Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son. I had heard him interviewed by Diane Rehm on NPR when the book first came out. I immediately wanted to read it, but it looked big and daunting. It was my last bingo read, and it’s amazing. I feel privileged to have read such a beautifully crafted work about a mystery (North Korea).

Lara: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt were my favorites and must reads for anyone who considers themselves a reader.

What were your least favorites?

Lara:  Moby Dick by Herman Melville and The Tenth of December by George Saunders. Sorry, Jennifer. Sorry, George. Not Sorry, Herman.

Jennifer: Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Lara: You just hated Tampa because you’re a prude.

Jennifer: True. But you hated George, which is not right.

What book do you think the other one must read in order to be complete?

Jennifer: The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. You must.

Lara: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I notice neither of us have written reviews of our musts. Hmmm…

And these books out of your comfort zone? Discuss?

Jennifer: Well, I couldn’t bring myself to read Fifty Shades of Grey. I thought about a cheesy romance with a sweaty guy on the cover, but ugh. Some friends gave me their favorite sci-fi book, and I made it to the second page. The Hunger Games was a possibility, but I read it for something else. So, I decided to choose a book about a pedophile (Tampa). The book is not good. I’m sorry if you’ve heard otherwise.

Lara: I don’t know that I heard good or bad, I just heard. It got publicity. My Out-of-Comfort-Zone book was The Hunger Games. I have trouble suspending my disbelief and that dystopian, children-engaging-in-televised-warfare-against-one-another wasn’t my cup of tea. Or so I thought. I ate it up, every juicy page.

Jennifer: I know! This snob loved it. Here’s the thing. I learned a lot from this Bingo Endeavor. I discovered that there’s something to be said for a downright fun read. The snob in me wants to devote myself to the books on the secret A-list, but I broke out this year. I’ll be honest: I loved The Hunger Games. Snotty Literati is doing Catching Fire this year. I do suspect it’ll suck—but I know there’s often something super valuable in the “fun” books. My heart still hankers after the “good” ones (Marilynne Robinson has a new novel coming out!), but I think I won’t be so dismissive of the “fun” stuff. Only a little dismissive. Still not reading Fifty Shades.

Lara: You never have to read Fifty Shades. You do, however, have to read more of what I want to read.

Jennifer: (Ignoring Lara) We are, by the way, putting out a “Best of 2013” list soon, if we can stop arguing about it.

Lara: Yeah, stay tuned for that.

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Want to read more from Jennifer? Check her out at www.jenniferspiegel.com

Want to see what Lara is up to? Go to www.onelitchick.com