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Series Bingo 2023 - Finish Your Series! (And Fill Your Dungeon)
Yeah, the new series challenge is here 🥳And I LOVE the idea of adopting the baby monsters and giving them a new home in my dungeon 😍
Thanks for all the work you've put into this, Eva! 😘
Can't wait for 2023 to start!
This looks great, what a fun challenge! I love the little creatures and will definitely try to have them move into my dungeon! Thanks Eva for your efforts and creativity!
will this count for Debut Author = the first book in this series was the author's first full-length book
it fills this one but I'm not sure about the first
by finishing or catching up with one series for each of the bingo prompts
will this count for book 10 in a series where the author just released the 10th book (the only one I haven't read) but the first book was her first published novel?
let me be the first in with my proposals:Science Fiction = Bloodlight Chronicles by Steve Stanton
Trilogy = The Birthgrave Trilogy by Tanith Lee
Genre-Mix = Detective Inspector Chen by Liz Williams (fantasy & Mystery)
4+ = The Legends of the First Empire by Sullivan
Free Space = Codex Alexa by Jim Butcher
Fave = Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs
Debut Author = Deathless Gods by P.C. Hodgell = 1st book in series was debut novel
Prize Winner = A Court of Thorns and Roses: 4 Books in 1 = One book won Goodreads YA Award
Fantasy =
Bonuses:
This is Erwin. Erwin is excited to serve in a dungeon, but he needs a lot of food. Since wings are his favorite, he'll be all yours if you read a book with wings on the cover (or in the title).
Age of Empyre (The Legends of the First Empire #6) by Michael J. Sullivan with a large winged dragon on the cover
This is Bopser. Bopser wants you to know that it's very unfair to think he's dumb, and that he knows what a B looks like because that's the bestest letter of the whole alphabet. Show him a book you've read with a B on the cover so that he knows you're an overlord with good taste.
Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, #1) by Patricia Briggs
This is Esmeralda. She's only a small slime now, but she says if you really believe in her, she could become a gigantic slime, big enough to swallow whole towns! Show your faith in her by reading a big book over 500 pages.
Colors of Chaos (The Saga of Recluce, #9) by Modesitt, L.E. Jr. = 890 pages
Kevin the Green Dragon likes hoarding treasure. Read a book with gold, silver, or jewels on the cover or in the title to win him over to your side.
Silver May Tarnish (Witch World Series 2: High Hallack Cycle #10) by Andre Norton
Meep talks a lot, but nobody understands what she's saying! Read a book in translation or a book with an invented language or words to become able to understand her.
Night Shadows (Forbidden Iceland #3) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir have to go to mysteries for this
Krx is afraid of the dark and your dungeon doesn't look terribly inviting yet! Read a book with a light/light source on the cover or in the title to remedy the situation.
Hunting the White Witch (Birthgrave Trilogy Book 3) by Tanith Lee has candles on the cover
Mirgl is going to turn into a fantastic water monster when fully grown, but she lives far, far away. Read a book with a long journey, or a book written by an author who lives on another continent to encourage her to come all the way to your new home.
The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen Book2 in a series - translated from Finish <<<---- Change
Uhm, we're not quite sure what kind of monster this is. Read a book with a weapon on the cover to crack the egg and find out! (Improvised weapons are acceptable.)
The Birthgrave (Birthgrave Trilogy Book 1) by Tanith Lee has a nice sharp dagger on the cover
This looks really fun! The challenges in the previous two years were already great, but this one is taking it to the whole new level 😻I added the 2023 Series Bingo to my personal challenge thread: right here.
Yay! Love the idea!Thank you for your efforts, Eva!
Now let me just have a quick look through my stack of series and then I'll start adopting monsters :-)
Such a cool challenge! And so much though put into the details!Thanks a bunch, Eva!
I'll do my best to conquer the dungeon and provide little monsters with a new home )))
So glad you guys like this challenge! By the way, I was asked if you can start earning bonus monsters before completing the dungeon with the bingo, and the answer is YES, you can. They’ll move in and help you finish the dungeon properly.
Eva, you are amazing. Thank you for doing this. I am so excited!
New year, new series challenge and what do I do? Instead of continuing/finishing some series I just start 3 new ones all along ... yay me!At least I already finished one of those series as well: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and RisingI count this series for the "debut author" field in my bingo and with book 2 I invite Mirgl into my dungeon and book 3 brings me Erwin.
Haha, “new year, new series” is a perfectly reasonable approach! I hope you’ll love them all!
I've finished two of the Bonuses:Meep talks a lot, but nobody understands what she's saying! Read a book in translation or a book with an invented language or words to become able to understand her.
Night Shadows by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir - have to go to mysteries for this
and
Mirgl is going to turn into a fantastic water monster when fully grown, but she lives far, far away. Read a book with a long journey, or a book written by an author who lives on another continent to encourage her to come all the way to your new home.
The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen - Author is from Finland
The other bonuses and the series will be SF&F
This challenge is so motivating!I have already finished 2 sequels (The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy for a book with a long journey and The Consuming Fire for a book with a light source in the title).
I'm also in progress of 3 more sequels (Jade Legacy, Ravnenes hvisken and A Court of Mist and Fury).
AND I have 2 more sequels on hold in my library through Libby (Ocean's Echo and Lost in the Moment and Found).
Woohoo! 🎉
Awesome job, everyone! I think I haven’t read a single sequel yet this year! I usually start new series in January. 🙂
I'll join this one. 🙋♀️ As usual, my goals will be modest:- complete a single row of the bingo
- recruit at least two monsters. I can't possibly leave Esmeralda behind! (My avatar is a "metal slime.")
Yay!! Welcome, Beth! Now I imagine baby slime being united with a new mama slime! 😆🥹
Question: can "prize winner" be the author, rather than the series?
For the last several years, I've been keeping a spreadsheet that includes all the series I've started and intend to finish (or, at least, to finish the volumes I own). The following comes from a quick scan-through of my series workheet. I'm a mood reader, so anything below should be considered "might do" rather than "will do." :)The numbers below are how many volumes I must read to complete the series.
SF: I read very little SF compared to fantasy, but did manage to find a couple.
Earthseed by Octavia Butler: 1
The Red by Linda Nagata: 2
Wayfarers by Becky Chambers: 2
Trilogy, Fantasy: a bunch, we're talking dozens. These are the ones that I would only need to read one book to complete:
Dreamblood by NK Jemisin (would also recruit Krx) (not qualified for trilogy)
Kingdoms by NK Jemisin
Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee (would also recruit Esmeralda)
Genre-mix
Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger (historical fantasy, steampunk, UF): nominally 2, but I'm rereading in audio, so 4.
Locked Tomb by Tasmyn Muir (fantasy, SF) (could also be 4 plus): 2
4 plus
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xang Tong Xiu: 5
Fave: I'm honestly stumped on this one. To be determined, maybe?
Debut author
Arcadia Project by Mishell Baker: 2
Dr. Greta Helsing by Vivian Shaw: 2
Beth wrote: "Question: can "prize winner" be the author, rather than the series?"I went with a book in a series that won a prize:
Prize Winner = A Court of Thorns and Roses: 4 Books in 1
One book won Goodreads YA Award
Yes, it’s enough if the author is a prize-winner!
for fantasy I just finished reading the sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess which was a group read in 2022.
With The Shadowed Sun, I have finished a series: The Dreamblood. I enjoyed both books, and can see some carry-through between them and the series Jemisin wrote later (including The Inheritance Trilogy, which was published first).Bingo space: TBD. Could be fantasy, prize-winner or free space.
Creature recruited: Bopser, for the B in Dreamblood.
(the cover also includes a sun, which is a light source, but I figure that would be easier to come by on a cover than a B.)
For 6, Fave: I read Into the Windwracked Wilds and I have recruited two creatures to my dungeon:
Bopser: B on the cover - White Night, by Jim Butcher.
Erwin: book with wings on the cover (or in the title) - Into the Windwracked Wilds, there's a flock of birds on the cover.
Wow, so many series already finished!Just checking, if in January I read a book that's #15 in the series and the last installment as well (so, all the previous ones were read in 2021 and 2022), does it count to the Bingo card?
It's just that it feels a bit like cheating :)
Olga wrote: "Wow, so many series already finished!Just checking, if in January I read a book that's #15 in the series and the last installment as well (so, all the previous ones were read in 2021 and 2022), d..."
My 'finishes' are often reading just the last book of a series, or the most recent to come out so that I am caught up.
Olga wrote: "Wow, so many series already finished!Just checking, if in January I read a book that's #15 in the series and the last installment as well (so, all the previous ones were read in 2021 and 2022), d..."
yes, it counts
Fill in the whole bingo board by finishing or catching up with one series for each of the bingo prompts (no doubling up), and you get a a castle/dungeon/tower (you decide)
I received an OK for this one from EVA (the challenge poster):
Debut Author = Deathless Gods by P.C. Hodgell = 1st book in series was debut novel
Yes, it counts! :-)Of course, if anyone wants a tougher challenge they can always impose hard mode rules on themselves, but there‘s no need.
Yay a new year of the series challenge! I didn't manage to finish the challenge last year, so I've made it a little easier on myself this year and tried to pick series with only a few books to read. (But series that I still really want to finish!) Here's my first update:Sci-Fi - TBD
Trilogy - Lake Witch Trilogy (1/2 completed)
Genre Mix - TBD
Four Plus - Wayward Children Series ✓
Free Space - Bright Falls Series ✓
Favorite - Sweetpea Series ✓
Debut - Patternmaster Series (currently reading book 1/4)
Prize Winner - Hannibal Series (2/4 completed)
Fantasy - Roots of Chaos Series (1/2 completed)
A book with jewels/silver/gold on the cover
A book with a light source on the cover 
A book featuring a long journey I’m slowly rebuilding my castle, and so far I have the help of Kevin, Kryx, and Mirgl!
finished this circle:Debut Author = Deathless Gods by P.C. Hodgell - the 1st book in series was her debut novel
Debut Author = the first book in this series was the author's first full-length book
For February, I made progress on the bingo board: 3/9
8. Prize Winner: Lost in the Moment and Found, latest in the award-winning Wayward Children series.
3. Genre-Mix The World We Make, completes the duology
And for my dungeon, I recruited:
Krx: book with light/light source on cover or in the title - The Fuller Memorandum
and Mirgl: book with a long journey, or written by an author who lives on another continent The World We Make
Hope this year I'd be able to finish this challenge )))My bingo card so far looks like this (but I possibly will change some points along the way, as I have too many series to choose from):
Sci-Fi - Children of Time ✔️
Trilogy - All Souls ✔️
Genre Mix - Whimbrel House ✔️
Four Plus - Harbinger ✔️
Free Space - The Roots of Chaos Series ✔️
Fave - The Wheel of Time ✔️
Debut Author - The Summoner Sisters ✔️
Prize Winner - Red Rising Saga ✔️
Fantasy - The Celestial Kingdom Duology ✔️
I managed to fill in my first bingo column and earned a 🦇.I got the following fields:
✅ Genre-Mix: Montague Siblings series, finishing with The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (historical fiction + fantasy)
✅ Fave: The Green Bone Trilogy, finishing with Jade Legacy
✅ Fantasy: Wilcza Dolina, finishing with Wezwijcie moje dzieci
As usual I've started a completely new series instead of continuing others and this time I've started the Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams. 
But after finishing the German audiobook for the first installment I decided that I don't want to spend any more time on 3 more tomes where only one POV gets me mildly interested.
And now I'm wondering if the definite DNF of a series also counts as finishing one? 🤡😁
It's August and I've only finished one series. Oh dear. :D Because it might be important when the end of the year is looming close, is finishing a series "to date" considered finishing it? i.e. finishing Nona the Ninth when the final book isn't coming out until next year.
Beth wrote: "It's August and I've only finished one series. Oh dear. :D Because it might be important when the end of the year is looming close, is finishing a series "to date" considered finishing it? i.e. fin..."Yes, for sure. I have counted series "complete" where I read up to the most recent release, and I know others have too.
Now that I've read a few posts up the page, I see that Olga already asked the question some time ago.
so far:Science Fiction =
Trilogy =
Genre-Mix =
4+ =
Free Space =
Fave =
Debut Author =
Prize Winner =
Fantasy =
Bonuses:
This is Erwin. Erwin is excited to serve in a dungeon, but he needs a lot of food. Since wings are his favorite, he'll be all yours if you read a book with wings on the cover (or in the title).
This is Bopser. Bopser wants you to know that it's very unfair to think he's dumb, and that he knows what a B looks like because that's the bestest letter of the whole alphabet. Show him a book you've read with a B on the cover so that he knows you're an overlord with good taste.
This is Esmeralda. She's only a small slime now, but she says if you really believe in her, she could become a gigantic slime, big enough to swallow whole towns! Show your faith in her by reading a big book over 500 pages.
Kevin the Green Dragon likes hoarding treasure. Read a book with gold, silver, or jewels on the cover or in the title to win him over to your side.
Meep talks a lot, but nobody understands what she's saying! Read a book in translation or a book with an invented language or words to become able to understand her.
Krx is afraid of the dark and your dungeon doesn't look terribly inviting yet! Read a book with a light/light source on the cover or in the title to remedy the situation.
Hunting the White Witch (Birthgrave Trilogy Book 3) by Tanith Lee has candles on the cover
Mirgl is going to turn into a fantastic water monster when fully grown, but she lives far, far away. Read a book with a long journey, or a book written by an author who lives on another continent to encourage her to come all the way to your new home.
Uhm, we're not quite sure what kind of monster this is. Read a book with a weapon on the cover to crack the egg and find out! (Improvised weapons are acceptable.)
so I just need to finish these two:Prize Winner = The Nsibidi Scripts Series - Akata by Nnedi Okorafor = won Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2018)
Fantasy = The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron
I've finished the Bingo Board and got to meet 7 of the 8 dungeon creatures. I'm just waiting for something to come across my plate that matches Meep (translation or made up language).1. Science fiction - Chaos on CatNet, finished the duology
2. Trilogy - Travel by Bullet, up to date in trilogy
3. Genre-Mix - The World We Make , finished duology
4. 4+ books in series The Twist of a Knife, up to date, 4 books so far
5. Free Space - Have Spirit, Will Duchess, fun series of fantasy novellas
6. Fave - Into the Windwracked Wilds, a pseudonym of Seanan McGuire
7. Debut Author- Stormsong & Soulstar, finished Kingston Trilogy by CL Polk
8. Prize Winner - Lost in the Moment and Found, Wayward Children series has won awards
9. Fantasy - Backpacking Through Bedlam, up to date on Incryptid
Dungeon creatures
Erwin: book with wings on the cover (or in the title) -
Bopser: B on the cover -
Esmerelda: big book over 500 pages Small Favor
Kevin: gold, silver, or jewels on cover or in the title
Meep: book in translation or a book with an invented language or words
Krx: book with light/light source on cover or in the title -
Mirgl: book with a long journey, or written by an author who lives on another continent The World We Make
Mystery monster egg: book with a weapon on the cover
Meredith wrote: "I've finished the Bingo Board and got to meet 7 of the 8 dungeon creatures. I'm just waiting for something to come across my plate that matches Meep (translation or made up language).1. Science f..."
the Jo Nesbo book you're currently reading was translated
Jo Nesbø, Don Bartlett (translator)
I really like the Harry Hole series
CBRetriever wrote: "Meredith wrote: "I've finished the Bingo Board and got to meet 7 of the 8 dungeon creatures. I'm just waiting for something to come across my plate that matches Meep (translation or made up languag... the Jo Nesbo book you're currently reading was translated "
Oh, good point! I wasn't thinking of it since it's the start of the series. I have wanted to try the Harry Hole series for a while. This one is extra interesting with the setting in Australia.
Meredith wrote: "Oh, good point! I wasn't thinking of it since it's the start of the series. I have wanted to try the Harry Hole series for a while. This one is extra interesting with the setting in Australia."the bonuses this time don't mention which book in a series (most of the prior ones specified, not the first one), so it will work for this one
I finished The Heart of Betrayal (book 2 in The Remnant Chronicles) and thus collected Bopser. I'm now at 7/8 monsters in my dungeon! I'm only missing Erwin. I'm still missing 3 fields to fill the bingo board, but I should be able to get there by the end of the year. This challenge is really motivating for a series slacker like me :)
I filled my second row and got my first octopus 🐙Four Plus - Harbinger ✔️
Free Space - The Roots of Chaos Series ✔️
Fave - The Wheel of Time ✔️
I also have one diagonal and a frog 🐸
Sci-Fi - Expeditionary Force ✔️
Free Space - The Roots of Chaos Series ✔️
Fantasy - The Celestial Kingdom Duology ✔️
And my dungeon is now fully populated, well fed and taken care of :)
Erwin
Bopser
Esmeralda
Kevin
Meep
Krx
Mirgl
Uhm
Done - finished all rows and columns as well as the Bonuses:Science Fiction =
Trilogy =
Genre-Mix =
4+ =
Free Space =
Fave =
Debut Author =
Prize Winner =
Fantasy =
Bonuses:
This is Erwin. Erwin is excited to serve in a dungeon, but he needs a lot of food. Since wings are his favorite, he'll be all yours if you read a book with wings on the cover (or in the title).
This is Bopser. Bopser wants you to know that it's very unfair to think he's dumb, and that he knows what a B looks like because that's the bestest letter of the whole alphabet. Show him a book you've read with a B on the cover so that he knows you're an overlord with good taste.
This is Esmeralda. She's only a small slime now, but she says if you really believe in her, she could become a gigantic slime, big enough to swallow whole towns! Show your faith in her by reading a big book over 500 pages.
Kevin the Green Dragon likes hoarding treasure. Read a book with gold, silver, or jewels on the cover or in the title to win him over to your side.
Meep talks a lot, but nobody understands what she's saying! Read a book in translation or a book with an invented language or words to become able to understand her.
Krx is afraid of the dark and your dungeon doesn't look terribly inviting yet! Read a book with a light/light source on the cover or in the title to remedy the situation.
Hunting the White Witch (Birthgrave Trilogy Book 3) by Tanith Lee has candles on the cover
Mirgl is going to turn into a fantastic water monster when fully grown, but she lives far, far away. Read a book with a long journey, or a book written by an author who lives on another continent to encourage her to come all the way to your new home.
Uhm, we're not quite sure what kind of monster this is. Read a book with a weapon on the cover to crack the egg and find out! (Improvised weapons are acceptable.)
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Age of Assassins (other topics)Middlegame (other topics)
Priest of Crowns (other topics)
The Empty Grave (other topics)
Record of a Spaceborn Few (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Seanan McGuire (other topics)P.C. Hodgell (other topics)
Eva Björg Ægisdóttir (other topics)
Antti Tuomainen (other topics)
It's finally here: the thread for your (unofficial, I'm not a mod!) 2023 series challenge, which is all about helping you make progress with and finish more series.
A) The 2023 Series Bingo
https://i.postimg.cc/brx4qvM5/Series-...
Explanations:
*Fave = written by one of your favorite authors, or a series you'd now consider one of your faves
*4+ = the series contains 4 or more books
*Debut Author = the first book in this series was the author's first full-length book
*Free Space = can be filled with any series or duology you like
*Genre-Mix = this can be anything, e.g. SF with fantasy elements, historical fantasy, magical realism, fantasy romance, SF with mystery elements, horror elements, etc.
Each filled-in bingo row gives you an octopus 🐙
Each filled-in column gives you a bat 🦇
Each diagonal gives you a frog 🐸
Fill in the whole bingo board by finishing or catching up with one series for each of the bingo prompts (no doubling up), and you get a a castle/dungeon/tower (you decide): 🏰
B) Bonus challenges
Okay, here's the thing: it turns out our heroic participants of past challenges vanquished evil overlords a little too successfully. Now their dungeons are empty, baby monsters are orphaned, and the surrounding villages have lost their biggest buyer! Everyone's complaining. What to do? The most practical solution seems to be to just... take over the position. Give the baby monsters a lair, a job, and a purpose in life! Fill up your new dungeon with great stuff instead of letting it fall to ruin! Give new people a chance to be heroes by providing them with a true challenge!
*If one of the books in a series you're reading fulfills one of the following prompts, you can earn new recruits to fill your dungeon/lair/dark tower/death star. This time, even the first book in a series counts for this, but each book can only count for one bonus.
This is Erwin. Erwin is excited to serve in a dungeon, but he needs a lot of food. Since wings are his favorite, he'll be all yours if you read a book with wings on the cover (or in the title).
This is Bopser. Bopser wants you to know that it's very unfair to think he's dumb, and that he knows what a B looks like because that's the bestest letter of the whole alphabet. Show him a book you've read with a B in the title or on the cover so that he knows you're an overlord with good taste.
This is Esmeralda. She's only a small slime now, but she says if you really believe in her, she could become a gigantic slime, big enough to swallow whole towns! Show your faith in her by reading a big book over 500 pages.
Kevin the Green Dragon likes hoarding treasure. Read a book with gold, silver, or jewels on the cover or in the title to win him over to your side.
Meep talks a lot, but nobody understands what she's saying! Read a book in translation or a book with an invented language or words to become able to understand her.
Krx is afraid of the dark and your dungeon doesn't look terribly inviting yet! Read a book with a light/light source on the cover or in the title to remedy the situation.
Mirgl is going to turn into a fantastic water monster when fully grown, but she lives far, far away. Read a book with a long journey, or a book written by an author who lives on another continent to encourage her to come all the way to your new home.
Uhm, we're not quite sure what kind of monster this is. Read a book with a weapon on the cover to crack the egg and find out! (Improvised weapons are acceptable.)
If you collect all 8 monsters, they will throw you a special We Love Our Overlord party with balloons and everything: 🎈
(They will even try to bake a cake 🎂 if you used only sequels for fulfilling this challenge.)
Participants who complete both the bingo board and all 8 bonus challenges by the end of 2023 get a white bunny to keep on your lap while coming up with evil stratagems: 🐇
Please feel free to post your thoughts, the series you plan to read, and how it's going throughout the year. I hope you'll have a wonderful and successful reading year in 2023 and that many long and short series will see some progress!