| A book by an author you read (or were supposed to read) in school: East of Eden by John Steinbeck | A book about an artist: My Struggle, Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard | An alternate history book: The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead | A book from a used book store | A non-fiction book on a topic that interested you had as a child |
| Have a friend choose a genre for you; read a book in that genre | A book with the name of a city in the title (must be referring to the city) | A book by a Nobel Prize winner: The Melancholy of Resistance by László Krasznahorkai | A book adapted into a stage production (play, musical, opera) | A book on Time’s The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 list |
| A book featuring a lighthouse | A book you learned about from a stranger on the Internet: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson | FREE SPACE (any book) | A book about a vacation | A book with a drink on the cover or in the title |
| A book centered on one or more sibling relationships: Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker | A Hugo Award or Nebula Award winning book | A book translated from Chinese, Japanese, or Korean | A book by an author you’ve never read before, blurbed by an author you love: Fat City by Leonard Gardner | A book a friend wants you to read |
| A debut novel published this year | A book that’s in the public domain | A book set in the last place you traveled to | A book with “murder” or “death” in the title | A book about an off-putting woman: All Fours by Miranda July |