Book Bingo Blackout! with Jess Stone-Weaver

September 8, 2023

As we wrap up 2023 Summer Book Bingo, we’d like to introduce you to one of our SAL Super Fan social media influencers, Jess Stone-Weaver, who is an active and avid Book Bingo participant!

Jess Stone-Weaver is a reader and a graphic designer from Redmond, WA. Eventually, she realized she could combine these two passions to create infographics and visualizations about books and the reading life. Through four rounds of the 100 Day Project and beyond, Jessica has shared her bookish graphics with a growing community on Bookstagram. She was thrilled to join the SAL Super Fan team in 2022 and help celebrate the exciting and inspiring events of the past two seasons.

We asked Jess how long she’s been playing Summer Book Bingo and to tell us about a book she discovered this year on her way to getting a Blackout on the board:

I’ve done Bingo every summer since 2017—and somehow managed to get blackout every year! The thing I love most about Bingo is how it brings readers together.

I first started because my boss printed out a card and handed it to me (in July—we got a late start that year!!). She knew I liked to read, but we had never discussed it much before. That summer, we ended up talking about books most days—sharing about the books we were reading and recommending each other books that could fit the categories on that year’s board.

Since then, I’ve introduced Bingo to many of my friends, and I love having so many people to talk about it with! This year, a big group of us had a shared spreadsheet where everyone planned out their boards and tracked their progress. We were leaving comments for each other with recommendations and encouragement.

I also love how the Bingo categories help me read outside my comfort zone. The “Workers’ Rights” square this year introduced me to so many books that are now on my TBR, and the book I picked (On the Line, by Daisy Pitkin) will be one of my top reads of the year. The book was so inventively structured and weaved so many threads together with beautiful writing.

This time of year is bittersweet; I’m proud of my Bingo blackout, but I’m sad I have to wait nine months to get next year’s board! 

Here are some of the wonderful graphics that Jess has put together over the years, showcasing her love of graphic design and reading:

A Bingo board layout

A completed blackout!

Visual mapping of Bernadine Evaristo’s “Girl, Woman, Other”

Visual mapping of Sequoia Nagamatsu’s “How High We Go in the Dark”

Be sure to check out our Instagram @seattleartsandlectures where we will also share a cool video that Jess shared about her Book Bingo Blackout. And, please follow her Instagram page @bookographic for more wonderful bookish content!

Thank you, Jess!