| A book by an author you read (or were supposed to read) in school: the harvest gypsies by john steinbeck | A book about an artist: here beside the rising tide: jerry garcia, the grateful dead, and an american awakening by jim newton | An alternate history book: black empire by george s. schuyler | A book from a used book store: indelicacy by amina cain | A non-fiction book on a topic that interested you had as a child: sex and rockets: the occult world of jack parsons by john carter |
| 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): london falling: a mysterious death in a gilded city and a family's search for truth by patrick radden keefe | A book by a Nobel Prize winner: nip the buds, shoot the kids by kenzaburō ōe | A book adapted into a stage production (play, musical, opera): father of the bride by edward streeter | A book on Time’s The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 list: the dry season by melissa febos |
| A book featuring a lighthouse : "widow's point" by richard chizmar & w.h. chizmar | A book you learned about from a stranger on the Internet: white malice: the cia and the neocolonisation of africa by susan williams | FREE SPACE (any book) | A book about a vacation: the talented mr. ripley by patricia highsmith | A book with a drink on the cover or in the title: a new new me by helen oyeyemi |
| A book centered on one or more sibling relationships: lost lambs by madeline cash | A Hugo Award or Nebula Award winning book: bloodchild and other stories by octavia e. butler | A book translated from Chinese, Japanese, or Korean: hooked by asako yuzuki | A book by an author you’ve never read before, blurbed by an author you love: hot girls with balls by benedict nguyễn | A book a friend wants you to read : playworld by adam ross |
| A debut novel published this year: how to commit a post-colonial murder by nina mcconigley | A book that’s in the public domain: wuthering heights by emily brontë | A book set in the last place you traveled to | A book with “murder” or “death” in the title: murder on sex island by jo firestone | A book about an off-putting woman: best offer wins by marisa kashino |