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
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Three Stories of Forgetting
Portugal. Fiction. The protagonists of this contemplative triptych … wrestle with the legacy of Portuguese colonialism. The result is a well-crafted depiction of the hidden bonds between individuals and empire. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Ibn Arabi's Small Death
Saudi Arabia. Fiction. Ibn Arabi's Small Death is a sweeping and inventive work of historical fiction that chronicles the life of the great Sufi master and philosopher Ibn Arabi. (Catalog description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Living Mountain
Scotland. Nonfiction. [A]n ode to a mountain range’s mysteries proves timeless. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Beyond the Door of No Return
Senegal. Fiction. In French colonial Senegal, a young, soon-to-be-eminent French botanist becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman sold into slavery who escaped to freedom. A mesmerizing tale. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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We Inherit the Fire
South Africa. Fiction. The incisive latest from Molope finds a Black South African teen and her mother reckoning with their frayed bond in the aftermath of apartheid. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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La Cocina Vasca
Spain. Nonfiction. The book offers an introduction to Basque cooking through 75 recipes… Illuminating essays that shine a light on the most interesting aspects of historical food traditions, as well as the modern scene, are set against a backdrop of the stunning images of the people and surrounding landscape. (Publisher description)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Secret of Snow
Sweden. Fiction. Sámi writer Harnesk makes her English-language debut with the affecting tale of an elderly couple who fear they’ll be separated after they can no longer care for themselves. Fans of Fredrik Backman will take to this touching family drama. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Splintered Justice
Switzerland. Fiction. In Hays’ mystery novel, a woman who died 15 years ago after a fall from the cathedral tower in Bern’s Old City may not have leapt, but been pushed. Exciting enough to be a page-turner, but can also be enjoyed slowly, like a delicious Swiss chocolate. (Kirkus)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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A Calamity of Noble Houses
Tunisia. Fiction. Ghenim offers an enthralling saga of two upper-class families linked by marriage and roiled by an explosive letter in 1935 Tunis. … Ghenim provides a rich backdrop with descriptions of Tunis’s culinary traditions and Tunisia’s fight for independence. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Leyla's House
Turkey. Fiction. Having spent her lifetime on her family’s Istanbul estate along the Bosphorus, the aristocratic Leyla is devastated when bank owner Ömer and his arrogant wife, Necla, purchase the mansion and immediately remove the furniture, demolish the fixtures, and evict her. (Publishers Weekly)
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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