Today I would like to talk about combining 3 of my favourite things: literature, games, and lists.

Let’s start with lists.

I realised recently that I am addicted to colouring in the little squares next to tasks on a list. It started when I made a table for watching all the past seasons of Survivor. In my free time I felt an urgency to watch that show more than any other in my free time, in part due to my compulsion to make that blank little box bright orange. So. Satisfying.

The extent of my addiction was revealed when I found myself walking a mile out of my way to find a golf supply store just because it was listed in the Wallpaper* City Guide to Edinburgh. No, I do not play golf. But I will go to every venue on that list. Because…lists.

And so, I must admit. Lists are my kryptonite. Just as you can get Marty McFly to do anything by calling him chicken, you can get me to do anything by putting it on a list.

But wait a minute – thought I – this can be a good thing. I can get myself to do anything by putting it on a list! So I made myself a chart, for working through the steps required for my Leading Lady course, and bam. Productivity doubled.

Why am I such a geek about lists?

For me, lists are like a game. I work my way through the Wallpaper* guide like it’s my treasure map. Filling in those boxes is like completing a puzzle. Oh wait, there is actually a game dedicated to filling in boxes. And those boxes can contain things like…books!

Time for literary Bingo!

When I went to the bookstore as a kid, I would look for a new series to start. Falling in love with a series is ideal, because once you find a first book that captures you, your path is set. Just fly through the rest of the books. No thought process, no indecision, no plaguing question: What on earth do I read next?

Orrrrr. You can play Literary Bingo. Check this out:

So if you find reading lists too rigid, fashion them into a grid instead, and start to play! Let me know in the comments if you’ve scored Bingo this year [and maybe I’ll even send you a prize ;)]!

I’m also accepting recommendations for books with blue spines.

P.S. If traditional reading lists are more your jam, here are my favourite books of 2015 :)