BookSpin is a fun, loosey-goosey monthly challenge that can be as involved or laidback as you prefer!! This challenge is one that I host over on Litsy, although if anyone on WordPress is interested in participating, just let me know!
Please note: I tend to over-explain things and also use an excessive number of exclamation points!!! I’m always here for questions if you have them. Comment here, comment on any of my Litsy posts, or send me an email at itsthegoodlife15@gmail.com
How to Sign Up:
- Comment on literally any of my Litsy posts (even if they aren’t BookSpin related haha) and let me know that you want to be added to the tag list!!! You can also post your BookSpin list and let me know, when you post it, that you want to be added to the list. Please specify that you are a new participant and want to be added so that I know you aren’t already on my list.
- Literally anyone can join this challenge, so if you request to be added and then I don’t remember to tag you, it definitely isn’t personal!! Please just let me know!! (Sometimes I just mess up the spelling on peoples’ usernames!)
BookSpin Rules:
- Make a list of 20 books you’ve been meaning to read. Post the list on Litsy and tag me (@TheAromaofBooks) when you do!
- On the 2nd of every month I draw two numbers at random (BookSpin & DoubleSpin). Throughout the month, try to read the two books from your list that match those numbers.
- Feel free to only read one of the numbers instead of both!!
- Every month, all 20 numbers are in play, so if you decide to participate for more than one month, you’ll want to replace the read books on your list, either with new books or you can double up the books that are left. (For instance, if I have Little Women as number 10 and Anne of Green Gables as number 11 and number 11 is drawn, I can either replace Anne with an entirely different book, or have Little Women fill in both slots 10 and 11, increasing the chances that it will be the book I end up reading!)
- The original idea behind the challenge was to make the list focused on books you’ve been putting off, but I’m incredibly flexible about what everyone’s lists look like! Many people choose to put in categories instead of specific titles (like “library book,” “nonfiction,” “ARC,” “BOTM backlist,” etc.) because they are mood readers and this gives them more flexibility. I have one participant who makes two lists every month – one is physical books and she reads the BookSpin number from this list; the other is audiobooks and she reads the DoubleSpin number from that list. If you have a really big and/or challenging book, feel free to spread it across several spaces, especially if you are participating in BookSpinBingo. Make this challenge work for you!!!
- Remember: NO PRESSURE! If you need to take some time off, just let me know that you want to be taken off the of the tag list until further notice. If this challenge stresses you out, just stop participating – no hard feelings!!! The goal here is having fun while reading down the TBR, not adding another chore to the to-do list.
BookSpinBingo Rules:
- After several months of the original BookSpin/DoubleSpin challenge, many participants expressed interest in reading more books from their list. I experimented with a few different ways to accomplish this, and eventually BookSpinBingo was born!!! It’s a piggyback challenge to BookSpin for those interested in reading more than 1-2 books from their list each month.
- You still make your list of 20 books, but if you want you can increase the list to include 25, as there will be 25 spaces on the bingo board.
- After drawing out the month’s BookSpin & DoubleSpin numbers, I put them all back in the bowl and then draw out all 25 numbers, filling them into a bingo board as I go.
- To score a bingo, read the books from your list that match the numbers on the bingo board!!
- Numbers 21-25 are always listed both by their numbers and as free spaces. If your list only had 20 books, you can fill in 21-25 with any book not already on your list!!
- As with the original challenge, all numbers are in play each month, and there is a fresh bingo board for each month. Since there isn’t a giveaway or tracking system associated with this aspect of the challenge, though, I am (unsurprisingly) also flexible about this!! Some people prefer to work off of the same board for more than a month because they are slower readers – totally fine!! Some people don’t want to wait until the 2nd each month for a bingo board, so they just make their own – also perfectly fine!! Do what works best for you!!
Giveaway + Tracking:
- Every BookSpin and DoubleSpin book you read throughout the year counts as entry for my end-of-the-year giveaway!!!
- You do not have to read a book in the month it was drawn to qualify – you just have to read it by the end of the year!! So if you read your February book in July, it still counts!
- DNFs/bails also count!!! The goal is to get books off the TBR. If the way that happens is because a book sucks so much you don’t even want to finish it, you still get credit!
- In the past, I’ve tracked everyone’s reviews to see how many entries they get, and it has become quite arduous! For 2022, I started a new system, having everyone track their own entries via a Google Form. I am carrying that on into 2023!! The form can be found here: https://forms.gle/tc6U17AuVw4ssG2v8
- You can either use this form throughout the year, editing it as you go, OR fill in all the information once at the end of the year – whichever works for you!! However, if you decide to edit it as you go, please note that after you initially fill in information you will be emailed a copy of your form including your OWN PERSONAL LINK to get back to that form. I cannot access that link, so you are responsible for saving it yourself!! Clicking on the link above will take you to a fresh, new, empty Google Form!!!
- Remember, BookSpinBingo is a “bonus” challenge – there isn’t a giveaway associated with it. Only each month’s official BookSpin and DoubleSpin numbers count as entries!!!
- If you are new to the challenge, I definitely recommend checking out the form even if you aren’t ready to fill it in (you can just close it without submitting it) as it kind of helps clarify what is happening with this challenge lol
Additional Randomness:
- I always fill in the bingo board in the order that I pull the numbers. If you really want to challenge yourself, you can read left to right, top to bottom, in order!
- After several months of the bingo board, I’ve realized that my BookSpin list as really turned into my monthly TBR, which is fine, but doesn’t really fulfill my original goal of getting old weird books off my list. For 2023, I’m working with two BookSpin lists. The first list is all those lingering books I’ve been putting off, and I’ll be using that list and reading the official BookSpin and DoubleSpin numbers from it. The second list will be used to fill in my monthly bingo board, and it will be my regular monthly TBR like I’ve been doing. Feel free to do any combination like this that works for you. I love the creativity I see with the way people utilize this challenge – make it work for you!!
- Once again, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. There is also additional information on the Google Form page because I overexplain everything!!!
Thank you so much to all of you, who have made this challenge so fun and entertaining. I absolutely love seeing everyone’s lists and book reviews. I’m so excited about the new tracking system, which will allow me to just enjoy everyone’s posts without trying to figure out if I need to be checking things off a list!! Here’s a a fabulous 2023 and reading down the TBR!!!
The Aroma of Books 