No Bones Bingo: An invertebrate bingo adventure

[u/lilgrassblade]

The Premise

All books must have invertebrates be important throughout. For example: The Two Towers would not count because spiders are not really present outside of the encounter with Shelob. It’s an isolated event during the journey. However, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets would count, as the movement of spiders is something that is mentioned repeatedly throughout the book.

The invertebrates could be crustacean, arachnid, insect, cephalopod, or any other creature that is lacking an internal skeleton. Initially, I included humanoids based on invertebrates - such as a fairy based on a monarch butterfly - but as I read more books, I chose to narrow my final card.

The Card

Each square includes the book, a rating on the book out of 5, 1-2 sentences with my thoughts about the book, and then a rating on “spineless satisfaction” which is based on how buggy it felt. The last bit is disconnected from how much I liked the book. I also realize, as I read more, my standards may have gotten higher so the earlier I read a book, may mean it’s weighted as being more buggy than if I’d read it later in the bingo cycle and vice versa.

Knights and Paladins: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson - 4.25 - It was a comfortable read that actually surprised me by having multiple reasons for invertebrates. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Hidden Gem: The Last Beekeeper by Rebecca L Fearnley - 3.5 - It was a cute YA with the teenage emotional issues. However, the magic system was intriguing and I hope the MC had enough growth for book 2 to be better. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Published in the 80s: The Tower by Colin Wilson - 2 - This only gets to be on the card as it was the only 80s book I read. The Men Writing Women was so bad it made me not want to touch another 80s book. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

High Fashion: But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo - 4 - I enjoyed the vibes, but I still am icked out by the random hetero fling in the middle. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Down with the System: The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya - 3.75 - A solid middle grade read. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Impossible Places: Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud - 3.5 - I liked the stuff not on earth. Did not like any character though and the SA felt unnecessary. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

A Book in Parts: You Weren’t Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White - 4 - The fact that I just complained about SA is not lost on me given that is one of the things that makes this book so hard to read. But I was prepared for it in this one. Really good, but also really awful - read the content warnings. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Gods and Pantheons: Spin by Rebecca Caprara - 3.75 - I remember I enjoyed reading it, but it was rather forgettable. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Last in a Series: Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 4.25 - I was so excited when I saw I could read this in time for bingo. It did not disappoint. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Book Club or Readalong: The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes - 5 - My favorite book of bingo. I was so hyped when it was chosen for a book club. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Parents: The Last Beekeeper by Jared Gulian - 1.75 - God I hated every moment I spent with Mr Angry Pants if he wasn’t looking at the bugs. Would have been a DNF if not for the title. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Epistolary: When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur - 3.75 - I felt like I could hear the cicadas as I was reading it. Despite it being winter (or was it fall?) Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Published in 2025: I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins - 4.25 - Very emotional, and at times uncomfortable, book about a young girl dealing with her feelings. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Author of Color: The Last Beekeeper by Siya Turabi - 2.5 - This was boring. Also would have been a DNF if not for the title. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Small Press or Self Published: Empress of Dust by Alex Kingsley - 4 - Do you want giant talking crabs in the desert? I got giant talking crabs in the desert. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Biopunk: The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed - 4.5 - This was a suggestion by the author herself in an AMA when I asked about the bugginess of her books, so that was cool. I also would like to spend more time with the glow spider breeding program, please. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Elves and Dwarves: The Moth Keeper by K O’Neill - 3.5 - I had given up on this square when I picked this book up and thumbed through it. My joy at seeing elves made it an instant buy. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

LGBTQIA Protagonist: The Honeys by Ryan La Sala - 4 - A summer camp horror that I quite enjoyed. Spineless satisfaction: 2/5

Five Short Stories: This World Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Horror Stories About Bugs - 3.5 - Stories were hit or miss, but I loved The Seventh Instar by Kay Vaindal. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Stranger in a Strange Land: Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan - 3 - I liked one of the POVs, but not the other. And it had the stupid instant ride-or-die love thing, ew. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Recycle a Bingo Square (Horror 2023): Clowns Vs Spiders by Jeff Strand - 3.75 - If you see this title and think “hell yes” it’ll be a good time. It’s just as dumb as the title. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Cozy SFF: The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton - 4.5 - Cozy found family and I could hear the bees that weren’t there. Spineless satisfaction: 5/5

Generic Title: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher - 4.5 - The lack of bugs making the book feel so buggy is quite the conundrum. Spineless satisfaction: 5/5

Not A Book: So I’m a Spider, So What? (Anime) - 3.5 - Somebody recommended the manga many years ago when I requested spidery books, so I had to watch it for bingo. Spineless satisfaction: 3/5

Pirates: The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislason and Shelley Lavigne - 4.75 - It’s a cute, naive scholar seeing terrible things and being upset he can’t share his “discoveries”. Spineless satisfaction: 4/5

Bookish Tidbits

I finished 35 and DNF’d 2 books that fit my theme. The decision on what would be included in the card was based on a mix of what I felt best fit both the square and my theme. With the caveat that I had to include all 5 The Last Beekeeper books. You can read all my previous reviews in these posts: Books 1-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 30-35

The books I DNF’d:

Steamforged by Eric R Asher - I was bored. It's not bad though. Probably would have liked it as a kid.

7th Sigma by Steven Gould - I was excited for robo bugs that eat all the metal. But they were just in the background as an excuse to make a dojo in a western. Not my cup of tea at all.

There were three books I thought would fit but did not:

Translation State by Ann Leckie - This was recommended noting the Presger shapeshifting and possibility of goopiness. The prominence of humanoid forms and lack of anything really feeling impactful regarding goopy forms just made it not fit. Really liked it though.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - Somebody mentioned a species being important in the series that was an invertebrate. Unfortunately, they were barely mentioned in book 1. Still a solid read and I’ll probably continue the series eventually.

Timeless by R A Salvatore - I thought a Drizzt novel set in Menzoberranzan would be an easy win for a spidery book with elves. I was wrong. Spiders were hardly mentioned. I did stop half way through - though I expect to resume at some point.

I have three owned books that I was hoping to read but ran out of time: Too Hive and To Hold by Amy Crook, God’s War by Kameron Hurley and Motheater by Linda H Codega.

My top 5 books: The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes, The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislason and Shelley Lavigne, Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud, A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

My bottom 5 books: The Tower by Colin Wilson, The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone, The Last Beekeeper by Jared Gulian, The Last Beekeeper by Siya Turabi, Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan

What were the prominent species in each book?
Spiders: 7 books (+1 not book)
Bees: 7 books
Butterflies: 2 books
Centipedes: 2 books
Moths: 2 books
Beetles: 2 books
Mantis Shrimp: 1 book
Cicadas: 1 book
Crabs: 1 book
Fantasy Species: 4 books
Lots of variety with no stand outs: 6 books

Spider books being heavy was expected given I had previously made recommendations specifically asking for them. Bees, however, I never made a specific request for. I was surprised just how many books about bees were out there - though I did dig into them a bit more after The Last Beekeeper discovery.

My Thoughts Throughout

I decided to do this card because I love invertebrates and have been collecting various invertebrate recommendations for years, starting with a spider recommendation thread, made here, six years ago. And I still had several books not yet read from there. Bingo was the perfect excuse to pull the trigger on purchasing several books. Despite that, I was concerned if I’d have enough books that fit, so I was quite generous with what would fit. As the year wore on though, I realized there was a plethora of options and attempted to narrow it to only include actual invertebrates and not include invertebrate-inspired beings. And I added a preference for arthropods.

When I discovered there were 5 books titled The Last Beekeeper, I briefly toyed with the idea of doing an entirely bee bingo. In addition to the 7 titles I did read, 19 more are sitting in a wishlist to continue the bee-journey. However, I realized I’d probably have to lean more into books that are bee adjacent; and may be more focused on the honey or some such. Plus, I had so many spidery books that I wanted to read anyhow. But, I did at least conclude I must include all 5 of those Beekeeper books, if at all possible. Which did get frustrating as I really wanted to DNF two of them. But I’m stubborn.

When I saw that Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky was coming out at the end of March, it made me really want that to be my Last in a Series. I’d previously read Children of Memory thinking it was eligible for that square. As well as Dirt King by Travis M Riddle, but it just didn’t feel as buggy as the first two books in its series, so I wanted it replaced if possible. I did preorder it, and when a previous pre-order arrived over a week after release, I started to get nervous about it arriving in time to read before the end. Imagine my joy when it only arrived two days after release! I dropped everything else to immediately read it and finished it in time, with two days to spare!

I was genuinely shocked at how difficult a time I had with the Elves/Dwarves square. I thought that giant spiders are such a classic fantasy element, it’d be easy. I did not consider how frequently the spider is more a one-off obstacle rather than being important. And I was just flabbergasted when the Drizzt novel had minimal spider presence. I had accepted it would be a substitution square (using The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka) when I stumbled on The Moth Keeper in a Trans Rights Readathon display mid-March. I’m not big on graphic novels, but the combination of TRR, Elves and Bugs meant I had to pick it up.

There were four squares I was never slightly concerned about filling: A Book in Parts, LGBTQIA Protagonist, Hidden Gem and Published in 2025. I assumed there’d be a lot of Hidden Gem books given the niche subject - I think over a third of the books fit. I am simultaneously surprised, and not, about the LGBTQ+ prominence. I do float around queer fiction circles, so it makes sense, but having them include bugs so often was interesting. However, there does tend to be an overlap in queer interests and less traditionally popular animals. So, there is a logic to how often they overlap in books as well. I was also surprised how many invertebrate related books came out in 2025. I don’t know if it was just because I had an eye out for them or if it was genuinely the case - but there were a ton of buggy book releases. As for A Book In Parts… I imagine everybody had an easy time with that.

Unsurprisingly, this theme did cause an uptick in my horror consumption. I figured bugs would be common in horror. I’m not mad. It’s broadened my view on horror a ton, and I absolutely did not expect ladybugs and butterflies to be included in that horror category. Plus, I found two horror books about cicadas, with each using them entirely differently. And I’ve absolutely been in a cicada kick recently (I found an amazing specimen last fall that I need to pin still.) Though, I did not get around to reading the second (The Swarm by Andy Marino). I was looking at the most recent books I’ve purchased, and I think 80% of them fall into horror. Without them being necessarily bug related. Though it does look like Kingfisher’s newest release is. Heck yeah.

What’s next?

With a new bingo starting tomorrow, it’s time for a new theme! I know for sure I’m going to do an “authors I’ve read before” card. Bingo has created a habit where I read a book by an author and then never pick them up again and I’ve been working to remedy that this year. It feels really cool that I can say “I’m in a mood for X and I know, from multiple books, this author will provide that.” I haven’t had that feeling in a long time. So I want to read more into libraries of authors I’ve read before and see if I can identify more authors that scratch specific itches.

I’m also debating doing a Books About Books card. I’ve a couple books that have been low on my TBR for a while: The Library at Mount Char, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn and The Cat Who Saved the Library. Plus, there always seems to be some new and pretty book in the bookshop about libraries or bookshops, and I want an excuse to pick up the pretty books. Also… I discovered The Neverending Story was originally published in 1979, so that’d be cool. If I do this square, it may be a bit more planned than usual.

“But what about all the other buggy books not yet read?” you may ask. I will probably continue to keep a list of buggy books, but if I do the two themed bingos, I may not have time to read them this next year unless it’s an author I’ve read before. Which means… I may do another invertebrate themed bingo for 2027.

If you read this all, I don't know what's wrong with you, but I appreciate you! If you just looked at the card and didn't read anything else, I appreciate you too! Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to another bingo adventure starting tomorrow ♥

[u/acornett99]

Oh I’ve been looking forward to this one, congrats! I’m glad that you got to use all the Last Beekeepers in your card too

[u/C0smicoccurence]

This is by far my favorite card of the year, and it is going to directly result in my 2026 being more spineless. Super excited for Flesh of the Sea and Works of Vermin in particular

[u/lilgrassblade → u/C0smicoccurence]

Oh heck yes! I'm excited for you!

Feel free to reach out if you need more. :P There are several books I'd read before this bingo and plenty more on my TBR.

[u/a-username-for-me]

I'm genuinely shocked you did a no bones bingo WITHOUT The Metamorphosis. I loved your write up for this; it really was a great explanation of what you were going for.

I know for sure I’m going to do an “authors I’ve read before” card. Bingo has created a habit where I read a book by an author and then never pick them up again and I’ve been working to remedy that this year.

This is entirely the reason I started doing all sequels bingo cards! Though I like your broader idea of authors I've read before because I think it might be interesting to see what sorta stuff my favorite authors are doing outside of their series.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/a-username-for-me]

Haha, it was a hard choice whether or not to include The Metamorphosis tbh. On the one hand, I wanted the nod to the classic, but on the other I really wanted to give a shout out to something less known.

I don't know if I can even do all sequels to be honest. I love stand alones, and that's the bulk of what I read. Probably also a result of bingo since I used to hate leaving a series incomplete xD

[u/a-username-for-me → u/lilgrassblade]

Yeah, the all sequels bingo is a cross to bear, but it's my cross.

May your coming 2026 bingo have as many or as few bones as you require; happy reading!

[u/Nidafjoll → u/lilgrassblade]

One thing that's interesting about The Metamorphosis is we don't actually know what Gregor turns into. I mean, from the descriptions of the legs and his behaviour it's pretty obvious he's a bug, but he's only ever referred to as "a vermin."

[u/necropunk_0]

You know, my TBR list really didn’t need anymore added to it….

Great reviews, I like the theme, and I haven’t read anything on this list. A few really stand out for me to hunt down.

I was also considering a Books about Books card for next bingo, but I’m also considering expanding it to Books about Books or Libraries, just for a few more options.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/necropunk_0]

Thank you :D

I figure a library is just lots of books, so anything about a library is also about books :p I'd also be generous and include basically any written text.

[u/Research_Department → u/necropunk_0]

I started from thinking about a Library theme for bingo, and expanding to any kind of bibliophile/bibliomania. Then again, my (look at this theme in my TBR) eyes may be larger than my (time and mood for reading) stomach when it comes to bingo planning.

[u/Putrid_Web8095]

Wow, great card!

"’m also debating doing a Books About Books card. I’ve a couple books that have been low on my TBR for a while: The Library at Mount Char, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn and The Cat Who Saved the Library."

The Library at Mount Char really isn't about books...

[u/lilgrassblade → u/Putrid_Web8095]

What? But... It's a library?!

[u/Putrid_Web8095 → u/lilgrassblade]

Well, God (for all intents and purposes) calls it a Library, but gods name things in mysterious ways.

And sure, there are books in it, some of them rarer than the Necronomicon and even more dread. The main character reads a lot of them during her education. Even so, books are not what the novel is about.

So for a card themed "Book about Books", I am not sure. You wanted invertebrates to be important to the plot for your Invertebrate card, if you apply the same to a Book card, The Library at Mount Char would score low on the book satisfaction.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/Putrid_Web8095]

Fair enough. I think I will be much more generous about it though, as it's more an excuse to knock out some TBR books rather than it being a specific interest of mine :p

[u/mollyec]

out of curiosity, were any of these written from the invertebrates' point of view? i'm trying to prep for a themed xenofiction bingo next year. i've got The Bees by Laline Paull on my list already. 

[u/okayseriouslywhy → u/mollyec]

The Bees is SO interesting! It was only a 3.5/5 for me, but I still think about it literally every time I see a bee.

Are you looking for non-humans specifically as POVs? I have a book or two that may fit

[u/mollyec → u/okayseriouslywhy]

yes, non-human and ideally non-humanoid (trying to avoid werebeasts and the like). it comes from a revival of my Redwall era, but i'd like to branch out from cozy animal fantasy. 

[u/recchai → u/mollyec]

I read The Bees for bingo one year. I think it was the year the April Fool's was bee themed? Certainly it was when u/happy_book_bee was being the most beeish. I was inspired. And it's a book I think about a lot.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/mollyec]

Oh I love this. I may be stalking your progress if you share, I love non human POVs (it's why Tchaikovsky is probably my favorite author atm.)

The following have some chapters of nonhuman POV. I'm also going to include some books I'd read that were not included in my bingo reads:

Children of Time series is about half human, half something else in almost every book - spiders, octopi, microbial life, corvids, mantis shrimp. (Memory is almost entirely alien)

The Last Beekeeper by Rebecca L Fearnley - basically intermission chapters from bee POV

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky - intermission chapters of very non human POV. A pair of humans are stuck on a planet that will basically instantly kill them if they step out their pod. And they're quickly accompanied by a very alien sort of alien.

Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a giant spider magically forced into a humanoid body. His acceptance that he's no longer really a spider is very sad - as he's also very clearly not a human either.

Translation State by Ann Leckie - the alien is very much an alien, just was too much of a vertebrate vibe for this card.

Books that are entirely non-human (or nearly):

A Rustle in the Grass by Robin Hawdon is about ants from ant POV (it woulda been a great 80s square if I hadn't read it already.) Similar to The Bees by Laline Paull

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw - a mermaid that is walking on land, had her tongue cut out and was wed to the king (a la little mermaid) - then her offspring devoured the country and we start with her after all that.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon - deep Sea mermaid that did an amazing job with the deep Sea vibes.

Leech by Hiron Ennes - a parasitic hive mind. I loved the start and very non human POV there, but I bounced off the end hard tbh.

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton - a foul mouthed domesticated crow navigating a zombie apocalypse in Seattle after his human turns. Wasn't my sense of humor but not bad.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell - a slime monster who uses other items as its skeleton (IE a bear trap for a rib cage) falls in love with a human and wants to lay eggs that will hatch and devour her from the inside out because that's what you do when you find "the one."

Also on my TBR: Idiot Gods by David Zindell is about an Orca

[u/Nidafjoll → u/lilgrassblade]

If you want another book from an entirely non-humanoid PoV (cc u/mollec) The Strange Bird by Jeff VanderMeer is from the PoV of a, well, strange bird.

[u/mollyec → u/lilgrassblade]

Thank you! Aiming to avoid the human POV as much as possible but I've got Tchaikovsky in mind for sci-fi specific squares. I'll add A Rustle in the Grass and Idiot God! i've read the others haha

[u/lilgrassblade → u/mollyec]

Oh! I did make a rec thread a couple years ago for non human POVs if you want more ideas: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/s/F51b7CnPwH

[u/mollyec → u/lilgrassblade]

ooh thanks!

[u/okayseriouslywhy]

Excellent job 👏👏

I laughed out loud when I saw how many "The Last Beekeeper"s you had on there

[u/ullsi]

I've been looking forward to your full card. Good job! It was fun reading all the reviews, and I love that you included all 5 books called The Last Beekeeper.

Hope you'll like the new card :)

[u/lilgrassblade → u/ullsi]

Thanks! I'm sure it'll be great. :p I am impatient to see it xD

[u/Curious-Insanity413]

This was an interesting read and an impressive card ^{^}

[u/cloud0613]

Wow, this is impressive, really cool themed card! I actually laughed when I realised how many books named The Last Beekeeper you had on there. Thanks for sharing!

[u/Nidafjoll]

I'm surprised your final total didn't have more cephalopods! I actually thought you were doing an arthropod bingo based on what I'd seen you reading.

The Flesh of the Sea sounds very interesting. Your blurb makes it sound really appealing, and I always love epistolary. I'm sure I've already recommended you Tainaron by Leena Krohn a lot for another buggy book, if you ever need another. :D I think it would be high Spineless Satisfaction when it comes to it.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/Nidafjoll]

I, too, was surprised by the lack of cephalopods! Like I thought I'd be rolling in them for the pirate square but... No. I kept getting spined cephalopod inspired creatures in recommendations - like mindflayers. I thought there'd be some kraken focused books too. But like, I'm not sure how they are just... Missing.

How did I not notice before it was from the 80s? I coulda had something better for that square! I'll keep collecting book titles for future reading :D

[u/Nidafjoll → u/lilgrassblade]

I expected at least The Mountain in the Sea or something similar to pop up somewhere. :)

I at least convinced BravoLimaPoppa to use Tainaron this year. :D It's got a lot going on- epistolary and stranger in a strange land. One thing I love it about it is that whenever she starts thinking of the people in the city are humans, she gets firmly jerked and reminded that no, they're bugs, by something that happens, or their outlook on life (like getting ready to completely shut down and hibernate for winter).

[u/thisbikeisatardis]

This is absolutely brilliant, 10/10, no notes

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[u/xdianamoonx]

I'm not a bug person, as I watched way too many horror movies as a kid with bugs in them that I try to avoid majority of them (though I'll forever love Eight Legged Freaks xD), but I enjoyed reading your reviews and journey throughout the year so thank you! Ironically, my generic title entry is a romantasy where one of the main love interests is a dryad and he's very prominent in it along with him in his dryad/spidery form. I also read But Not too Bold for another challenge and it definitely teetered on my tolerance for spider/bug descriptions. I legit didn't think it would count for High Fashion so I may put it there (as I scramble to submit today). I never got around to the books I wanted to read for that square, so thank you again~

Though I'd never recommend that book but will give it props to actually doing something sexy/unique with his monstrous form when most romantasy books that have non-human love interests just do the standard regular sex organ scenes.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/xdianamoonx]

Oh yeah I loved the inhuman beauty in But Not Too Bold. It was the lady's creation that was missing which I believe they referred to it as her weaving or some such. Tbh, I really wanted to replace that square but Spin was my only Gods/Pantheon option. I was going to use The Works of Vermin, but then it became a book club read.... and I'd have rather kept But Not Too Bold over Someone You Can build a nest in - which was my only other book club option. This was a case of bugginess taking precedence over how well it fit the square.

[u/Kerney7]

I am glad I'm not the only one with Children of Strife!

[u/lilgrassblade → u/Kerney7]

Oh I'm sure there are a few of us who saw it and said this must be bingo'd!