Ready for Lift Off: Outer Space Summer Book Bingo Picks
April 21, 2026
By Alison Stagner, Director of Events & Outreach
Every summer, we look forward to bringing back Summer Book Bingo—our beloved annual reading program co-presented with The Seattle Public Library and King County Library System. It’s one of my favorite programs because it brings our community together around the joy of reading and discovery, reminding us all—especially us busy adults—to carve out time for books.
In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, we’re thrilled to reveal our first category teaser: Outer Space. With NASA’s Artemis II mission capturing our collective imagination and astronauts returning with fresh perspectives on our fragile planet, this category release feels perfectly timed.
Luckily, you don’t need a launch pad and helmet to join us for Summer Book Bingo—just a willingness to explore new-to-you genres and storytellers. These five book recommendations span the spectrum of space opera to nonfiction, and from the quietly thoughtful to the truly bizarre.
I hope they will transport you beyond our atmosphere and into your Summer Book Bingo brainstorming for the months ahead!
Orbital by Samatha Harvey
This beautiful debut novel unfolds across a single day aboard the International Space Station, seen through the eyes of astronauts witnessing our planet from a foreign vantage point. Harvey’s prose is pure poetry—philosophical and luminous—and her reflections on humanity and wonder will stay with you long after you finish. Perfect for readers who: favor lyrical writing and quiet meditations.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
If you devoured Station Eleven like I did, you already know Mandel’s genius for weaving intricate, time-bending narratives across impossible distances. Here, she connects a lunar colony with a pandemic-ravaged Earth across the centuries, asking: How do humans build meaning when the world falls apart? The answer unfolds in a way that’s devastating and deeply hopeful—as is the tradition in Mandel’s body of work. Perfect for readers who: love plot twists that recontextualize everything.
The Proposal by Bae Myung-hoon (translated by Stella Kim)
What does physical and emotional distance do to our relationships? This is a love story unfolding across the vast emptiness of space between a space-born pilot and an Earth-bound partner, interrupted by bureaucracy, time delays, and an enemy that may never arrive. This surprisingly funny novella weaves together longing and hilariously surreal administrative tangles, creating something wild, lovely, and short if you need a quick read. Perfect for readers who: appreciate aliens, dark humor, and romance.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Finally, some nonfiction! Before astronauts first reached the moon, a group of Black women worked as “Human Computers” at NASA, using pencil and paper to calculate the flight paths that made space exploration possible. Segregated from their white colleagues, they navigated both rocket science and the brutal realities of segregation. I couldn’t put this down when I read it a few years ago. Shetterly weaves together intimate portraits of five courageous women whose brilliance fundamentally changed space exploration. Perfect for readers who: admire overlooked trailblazers and historical deep dives.
Circular Motion by Alex Foster
Like Orbital, this is another imaginative debut novel which follows two strangers whose lives collide as our planet mysteriously begins to spin faster—days shrinking from twenty-four hours to twenty to three—unleashing catastrophic storms, political chaos, and a desperate search for answers. Tanner, an ambitious young man working for a global transportation company, and Winnie, a teen activist convinced CWC caused the crisis, are on collision courses that spiral closer together as the world literally accelerates toward catastrophe. Perfect for readers who: love high-stakes explorations of tech and capitalism.
Pick up any of these titles from your favorite bookstore or library, and start charting your course through the outer space category. More categories are coming soon, and our full board will launch on Memorial Day, when you can download it from SAL, KCLS, or SPL’s sites, or pick up a paper copy from your nearest library branch.
Have your own recommendations? We want to hear from you! What would be on your outer space reading list? Share your picks with us on social media, and you might just inspire your fellow readers to take off on a journey of their own.
Happy reading!
Posted in Summer Book Bingo