| A book by an author you read (or were supposed to read) in school | A book about an artist: The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar | An alternate history book | 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: This is How You Lose the Time War by El-Mohtar/Gladstone | A book with the name of a city in the title (must be referring to the city): The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon | A book by a Nobel Prize winner | A book adapted into a stage production (play, musical, opera) | A book on Time’s The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 list: A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst |
| A book featuring a lighthouse | A book you learned about from a stranger on the Internet | FREE SPACE (any book) | A book about a vacation: Sandwich by Catherine Newman | A book with a drink on the cover or in the title: Bottle Grove by Daniel Handler |
| A book centered on one or more sibling relationships: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth | A Hugo Award or Nebula Award winning book: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury | A book translated from Chinese, Japanese, or Korean | A book by an author you’ve never read before, blurbed by an author you love: So Far Gone by Jess Walter | A book a friend wants you to read : Evensong by Steward O'Nan |
| A debut novel published this year: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi | A book that’s in the public domain: A Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie | A book set in the last place you traveled to: The Florios of Sicily by Stefania Augi | A book with “murder” or “death” in the title: Murder Book by Thomas Perry | A book about an off-putting woman: My Friends by Fredrik Backman |