Summer Book Bingo: Recommendations from Ridgecrest Books
June 13, 2024
2024 Summer Book Bingo, our free summer reading program with The Seattle Public Library, is in full swing! Download your card here. Start your summer reading now and if you get a bingo or blackout, you can enter for a chance to win fantastic prizes. Connect with other Book Bingo readers by using the hashtag #BookBingoNW2024 on social media.
Are you struggling to come up with books for some of the squares on your bingo board? If you answered yes to that question, Ridgecrest Books has got you covered! The folks over there compiled a fabulous list of wonderful books to add to your board, and we hope that these suggestions give you some inspiration.
We’re Ridgecrest Books, and we’ll keep this brief because you’ve got books to read. We opened on March 9th in the cute little Shoreline neighborhood of Ridgecrest, and we’re so excited to serve this community and hope to become a destination for anyone looking to browse a well curated selection of books and gifts while listening to great music on vinyl.
Becky Merilatt has been involved in the Seattle bookselling scene for over 15 years. Kevin Roberts is a former English teacher with customer service experience in coffee and books. This shop is the culmination of our experiences, and we believe we’ve created a space you’ll want to spend lots of time in. Located next to the historic Crest Theater, we recommend you stop by in the evening, get a drink at the Drumlin, grab a bite to eat from one of the nightly food trucks, and fill out your Summer Book Bingo card with some of these recommendations.
Black Art/Artists (and bonus SAL Speaker): A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
A Little Devil in America should be required reading. I cannot and will not stop talking about it. The book is a series of essays about the history of black performance, but like everything Abdurraqib does, it’s about so much more. He’ll absolutely break your heart apart and carefully build it back up.
-Kevin
In Translation: Greek Lessons by Han Kang, translated by Beborah Smith and Emily Tae Won
Somehow, with language that will make you want to read every sentence aloud, Han Kang brings together two characters who barely exchange a word yet are so believably and magnetically connected. Absolutely stunning.
-Becky
Friendship: The Confessions of Copeland Cane by Keenan Norris
It’s not a proper book bingo if you don’t stretch the boundaries of at least one of the categories. In that spirit, I’m recommending a story that is 1) told from one friend to another and 2) examines the repercussions of a near future far-right backlash against a set of Gen Z friends who already navigated Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. This book is like if Richard Wright updated The Catcher in the Rye for a new generation.
-Kevin
Something That Scares You: This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
Wow. Truly creepy stuff. Haunted smart speakers, grieving widowers, cosmic-dreamscape-diners, and dog monsters. This book has everything you need to lose a night of sleep.
-Kevin
Fantastical: Black Leopard Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James.
The first two books of the Dark Star Trilogy are unlike anything I’ve ever read. Unforgettable work of total genius. The second book of the trilogy continues with James’s amazing world building while also playing with perspective.
-Becky
Nature (and bonus SAL Speaker): “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future” by Elizabeth Kolbert
Kolbert dives into a world of plucky scientists examining the effects of climate change, pioneering methods of combating it, and the unintended consequences of those actions. Excellent readable science writing.
-Kevin