Book Bingo 2026: World Cup Country
Here are some suggestions for your 2026 Book Bingo NW category: World Cup Country, selected by library staff at The Seattle Public Library. Book Bingo is our annual adult summer reading program presented in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures and King County Library System.
Note-- there are 5 countries in the World Cup not included on this list as the Library does not have any recent books published by authors from these countries:
Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, Paraguay, and Qatar
-
The End of the Sahara
Algeria. Fiction. In the fall of 1988, shortly before the outbreak of mass youth riots in Algeria over unemployment and a lack of basic goods, a town’s collective anger over the murder of a nightclub singer reflects what’s to come. Marked by dark humor and darker truths, this novel illuminates a lightly documented chapter of Algeria’s past. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The End of the Sahara -
We Are Green and Trembling
Argentina. Fiction. The beautiful latest from … author Cabezón Cámara is based on the real yet extraordinary life of Antonio de Erauso (1592–1650), who was raised as a girl in a Basque convent before escaping out of a desire to see the world. Readers will be riveted by this queer anticolonial picaresque. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
View We Are Green and Trembling -
Last One Out
Australia. Fiction. A woman returns to a deteriorating Australian mining town five years after her son’s disappearance in this satisfying slow-burn from Harper. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
View Last One Out -
The Café With No Name
Austria. Fiction. This is the spirited story of a working-class Viennese cafe and its odd-duck denizens. A gem of a novel, whimsical and bittersweet but never sentimental, with indelible characters and a powerful sense of place. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
View The Café With No Name -
The Emotions
Belgium. Fiction. In this scintillating meditation on existential dread, Toussaint replays the aftermath of the Brexit referendum from the perspective of a European Commission analyst who specializes in forecasting the future. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Emotions -
My Heart
Bosnia. Fiction. In his new autobiographical novel, acclaimed Bosnian poet Mehmedinovic explores the many aspects of his heart. A stunning, thoughtful, and powerful discourse on identity, survival, and memory. (Library Journal)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View My Heart -
The Jaguar's Roar
Brazil. Fiction. A feverish condemnation of normalized Indigenous erasure, and an elegy to two Brazilian children forcibly taken by 19th-century explorers. A potent concoction of research and imagination, encouraging us to reexamine how we construct our own histories. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View The Jaguar's Roar -
Fire Weather
Canada. Nonfiction. Journalist Vaillant (The Tiger) offers a gripping account of the May 2016 fire that engulfed the city of Fort McMurray in the Canadian province of Alberta, destroying thousands of homes and forcing the evacuation of 88,000 people. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Fire Weather -
Aside From My Heart, All Is Well
Columbia. Fiction. Colombian author Abad’s [latest is] a mesmerizing chronicle of Luis Cordóba, an opera-loving priest and film critic, based loosely on the life of Luis Alberto Alvarez (1945--1996). It's an immersive and affecting tale. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: On order
View Aside From My Heart, All Is Well -
Dealing With the Dead
Congo DR. Fiction. A journey back from the dead is illuminated by thrilling, one-of-a-kind encounters. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
View Dealing With the Dead