Tournament of Books discussion
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2016 alt.TOB - General
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Alt-TOB Longlist
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What a list! I have only read one! But some are on my shelves and many on my TBR list. Reading The Gap of Time right now. For readers of long books, Preparation for the Next Life is amazing.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Judy and Rebecca! :)@ Judy -- which is the one book you have read from the list? #curious (Preparation for the Next Life? Wasn't sure if you meant a different one, separate from the longer books.) I love long books, but for our alt-TOB it was agreed we would stick to books under 400 pages.
Awesome list! I'm eagerly awaiting the final 16!
Great list! I have only read 4 of the 16 but many are on my TBR list. And some are completely new to me.
What a great list! And I've read 8 of them, so if you'll just kindly pick those for the shortlist, I'll be half done. ;) You guys have pulled together a really fun alt. in a short time, and I look forward to following along. Thanks for all your work!
thanks, drew -- i think we have a few more than 16 on our longlist... 62 books. haha!! oh, boy! :) which 4 have you read? @ melanie -- thank you. it will be great having you along for the shenanigans. i am curious - which 8 you have read? :)
Jennifer wrote: "Thank you so much for your feedback, Judy and Rebecca! :)@ Judy -- which is the one book you have read from the list? #curious (Preparation for the Next Life? Wasn't sure if you m..."
This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance, from the list.
Judy wrote: "This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance, from the list."Oh -- cool! Did you like This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!?
Just out of curiosity, how many of these were you and Poingu able to read before putting out the list? Without giving away which one(s) were there any books you didn't really enjoy but thought would bring out good dialogue/opposing views? This was a huge undertaking. Well done!
Jennifer wrote: "Judy wrote: "This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance, from the list."Oh -- cool! Did you like This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!?"
It's complicated. I love Jonathan Evison's books but I had a personal reaction to this one, so personal that I did not even blog about the book. That's all I'm going to say.
I've read (or partially read; gave up on a couple) ten:Attenberg, Beatty, Clegg, Crummey, deWitt, Evision, Haruf, Lane, Taylor, Walbert
Great list!
Judy wrote: "It's complicated. I love Jonathan Evison's books but I had a personal reaction to this one..."I am so sorry if it felt like I was prying, and being intrusive. my apology to you, Judy!
Lljones wrote: "I've read (or partially read; gave up on a couple) ten..."Cool! Thanks, Lljones. :)
Kendra wrote: "Just out of curiosity, how many of these were you and Poingu able to read before putting out the list? Without giving away which one(s) were there any books you didn't really enjoy but thought woul..."I am going to defer to poingu to repsond to this for you, Kendra. :)
Kendra wrote: "Just out of curiosity, how many of these were you and Poingu able to read before putting out the list? Without giving away which one(s) were there any books you didn't really enjoy but thought woul..."Hi Kendra! I've read all the books I added to our longlist except for one, which happens to also be on our SHORTLIST round of 16 tomorrow. There is one book in the final 16 that is new enough that neither Jennifer nor I have read it to the end yet but we're so taken by the narrative voice, based on what we have read, that we wanted to include it anyway. It just seemed to round our list out so nicely.
Also, there are only 2 books on the shortlist to be revealed tomorrow that both Jennifer and I have read. The list was a real collaborative effort, combining what we each read this year into what feels like a very fun, very unique list of books.
Also: Our decision to not insist on us both loving every book means that you can be as cranky about hating a book as you like when we get to our discussions, because even your fearless organizers have disagreed in a few cases.
There is one way that Jennifer and I have consensus in the picks we made, though: Jennifer and I both agree 100% that these books deserve to be read. We have tried to give you as much variety as possible in the reading experience/list of 16 and I'm looking forward to hearing what people think tomorrow!
Judy wrote: "What a list! I have only read one! But some are on my shelves and many on my TBR list. Reading The Gap of Time right now. For readers of long books, Preparation for the Next Life is amazing."Judy, it personally broke my heart to leave Preparation for the Next Life off our list of books to consider for the short list, but it's over our page count commitment and really demands to be read slowly.
I hope it's considered for Real.TOB though. When I look back on my reading for the last year this novel stands out for being the only novel of social realism of the bunch. Lish wrote about poor people in a way that has not a hint of caricature or condescension, something I can't actually say about many other authors who try to write stories about the struggling classes--Steinbeck sentimentalizes and Richard Wright demonizes, for example.
This is so great- thank you for all the work you have put into this!!
Corin wrote: "This is so great- thank you for all the work you have put into this!!"Glad you think so; thanks, Corin! :)
poingu wrote: "Judy wrote: "What a list! I have only read one! But some are on my shelves and many on my TBR list. Reading The Gap of Time right now. For readers of long books, Preparation for the Next Life is am..."I do agree with you on Lish, though I give Steinbeck and Wright a break. They were writing in a whole different era. The Other People podcast has an awesome interview with Atticus Lish. Would be great if the book made the Morning News TOB!
Judy wrote: "I do agree with you on Lish, though I give Steinbeck and Wright a break. "yes, they did write tremendous powerful novels that still resonate. I'm really intrigued by novels generally that try to capture stories of the disenfranchised--usually people writing the novels are not part of that class so it's tricky and I think Lish somehow pulled it off.
Hey, I have to add I'm so glad no one yet has said "WHAT? You didn't include THE FIRST BAD MAN on your longlist!?" ... no matter what your thoughts on Miranda July it's a quirky longlist and you guys are being very kind to us.
Haha!! poingu -- I have been thinking the same thing! (Not specifically about Miranda July's book, but just that there hasn't been any 'Where is.....?' I've gotten used to that being a part of the festivities in the official TOB.) :)
Yes Jennifer. And then there is Lydia Yuknavitch's THE SMALL BACKS OF CHILDREN. But the list is great. No complaints.
Well in that case, I was hoping to see The Only Ones, but only because I'm in the middle of it and really enjoying it. But the list is incredible. I'm happy to read all of them.
Wait, no Lauren Groff Fates and Furies? :) Just kidding, partly. I understand how list-making goes! But that one is surely a "big deal" book and a likely contender for the Real.TOBBut I agree with the others -- great list, and I love that it introduces me to some new books.
Jason wrote: "Well in that case, I was hoping to see The Only Ones, but only because I'm in the middle of it and really enjoying it. But the list is incredible. I'm happy to read all of them."it's possible apocalyptic novels had a higher bar for me this year bec. of last year's winner and also bec. Mort[e] is unsurpassable in the apocalyptic genre imo
poingu wrote: "Mort[e] is unsurpassable in the apocalyptic genre"Nice. I've picked up Mort[e] just for the cover in the last two bookstores I went to. Didn't buy it either time though. And other than The Road and Station Eleven I have read no other apocalypse novels.
Rebecca wrote: "Wait, no Lauren Groff Fates and Furies? :) Just kidding, partly. I understand how list-making goes! But that one is surely a "big deal" book and a likely contender for the Real.TOB"Yes along with A Little Life it seems the most likely candidate to make the Real.TOB. That's mostly why we left it off--you all know that already!
I can assure you all that it feels like poingu and I talked about ALL the books! Hahaha. We really wanted to do the best we could, and also surprise you a little bit.The Listopia really was an excellent resource and so many of the 'big books' of 2015 are on there - I am so glad poingu had the foresight to create that this past summer, and that so many people helped populate it, and vote.
We definitely chatted about Fates and Furies and The Small Backs of Children. And The Only Ones was on one of my early lists! (I got a bit excited when I saw you were reading it, Jason - I hope it's going well!)
Early on during the idea-building of this project, there was a comment about how it would be interesting to stay away from books that are likely shoo-ins for the real TOB. (Though nothing is ever a given in the shoo-in department, is it?)
Jason wrote: "other than The Road and Station Eleven I have read no other apocalypse novels. "I love Earth Abides and I was reminded of it a lot when reading Station 11--same story, completely different treatment of it.
Rebecca wrote: "...and I love that it introduces me to some new books...."I love hearing this, Rebecca!!! :)
I count 15 of the longlist books as audiobooks on the TuneIn premium subscription. Hoping a few of them make the brackets.
Oops, yes, there are more than 16 books on the long list! What can I say, I'm a librarian not a mathematician!I have read Sweetland, Delicious Foods, The Fishermen, and Girl Waits With Gun. I enjoyed them all but Sweetland was one of my favorites this year.
I'm really looking forward to participating in this. Excellent long list. I've already read five of the titles, own one other that I haven't read yet, and there are several that are on my "to read" list.
Great list! Sooooo excited for tomorrow!!
Thank you so much, you guys!! I am so happy that the longlist has got you excited and keen!! WOOT! Book nerds unite! :)
Super list you two. I am so pumped for the big reveal of your selections tomorrow and how you pair them up.
poingu wrote: "Kendra wrote: "Just out of curiosity, how many of these were you and Poingu able to read before putting out the list? Without giving away which one(s) were there any books you didn't really enjoy b..."Thanks for the great answer, Poingu. I love this list and look forward to the bracket.
What does everything think about Goodreads scores? I've found comparing books just on score can be problematic if it is cross-genre where a book I would never read scores very high. But with this group of books I think it's reasonable to compare them and trust significant differences in overall scores. That said, the highest score on the is list is The Tsar of Love and Techno and the lowest score is The Sunken Cathedral: A Novel
I also really wondered about that, Jason, and I captured GR ratings for each of our considerations. (For my own curiosity, more than anything - the spreadsheets were vast. Haha!!). In my own use of this site, I generally don't give heavy weight to the GR ratings unless some of my trusted reading friends have read and rated something.
Jennifer, where is the Listopia you refer to in message 31?
Jason wrote: "What does everything think about Goodreads scores? I've found comparing books just on score can be problematic if it is cross-genre where a book I would never read scores very high. But with this g..."It seems I like 3 star books on Goodreads but they are books that no one ever actually gives 3 stars to--instead there will be a lot of 1 star reviews and a lot of 5 star reviews, and comments like "this book is so beautiful!" and "this book revolted me!" in about the same frequency.
April wrote: "Jennifer, where is the Listopia you refer to in message 31?"Hi April--there is a goodreads Listopia list for this year's TOB contenders, here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
I totally missed this yesterday. Oh well, at least we have the shortlist to work with now. I love the selections, great job you two!
AmberBug wrote: "I totally missed this yesterday. Oh well, at least we have the shortlist to work with now. I love the selections, great job you two!"Oops!! Well -- you had a fun double-whammy this morning! :)
Jennifer wrote: "@ melanie -- thank you. it will be great having you along for the shenani..."• After Birth, by Elisa Albert
• Saint Mazie, by Jami Attenberg
• The Sellout, by Paul Beatty
• Sweetland, by Michael Crummey
• This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, by Jonathan Evison
• Delicious Foods, by James Hannaham
• Satin Island, by Tom McCarthy
• The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma
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Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tsar of Love and Techno (other topics)The Sunken Cathedral (other topics)
Earth Abides (other topics)
The Only Ones (other topics)
The Only Ones (other topics)
More...
The Final 16 books and brackets will be revealed tomorrow. We will also introduce our wonderful volunteer judges, and provide an overview of of the alt-TOB activities.
We hope our alternative tournament of books will be an excellent way to to bridge the gap as we wait for the official TOB to get underway. We hope many of you will join in on the reading fun, and we look forward to some wonderful and lively discussions!
So, without further ado, and presented alphabetically:
2016 alt-TOB longlist
• Green on Blue, by Elliot Ackerman
• After Birth, by Elisa Albert
• Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis
• In the Country: Stories, by Mia Alvar
• Saint Mazie, by Jami Attenberg
• The Sellout, by Paul Beatty
• Scrapper, by Matt Bell
• Did You Ever Have a Family, by Bill Clegg
• Sweetland, by Michael Crummey
• Undermajordomo Minor, by Patrick deWitt
• Ghost Summer: Stories, by Tananarive Due
• This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, by Jonathan Evison
• Best Boy, by Eli Gottlieb
• Speak, by Louisa Hall
• Delicious Foods, by James Hannaham
• Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf
• Black River, by S.M. Hulse
• A Robot In The Garden, by Deborah Install
• Mr. and Mrs. Doctor, by Julie Iromuanya
• The Star Side of Bird Hill, by Naomi Jackson
• Welcome to Braggsville, by T. Geronimo Johnson
• Esperanza Street, by Niyati Keni
• Imperium: A Fiction of the South Seas, by Christian Kracht
• The Last Word, by Hanif Kureishi
• Man Tiger: A Novel, by Eka Kurniawan
• Her, by Harriet Lane
• The Mountain Story, by Lori Lansens
• Let Me Explain You, by Annie Liontas
• The Story of My Teeth, by Valeria Luiselli
• The Tsar of Love and Techno, by Anthony Marra
• Satin Island, by Tom McCarthy
• Tram 83, by Fiston Mwanza Mujila
• The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Girl at War, by Sara Nović
• The Fishermen, by Chigozie Obioma
• Under the Udala Trees, by Chinelo Okparanta
• After the Parade, by Lori Ostlund
• Mort e , by Robert Repine
• The Hundred-Year Flood, by Matthew Salesses
• Disgruntled, by Asali Solomon
• The Pinch, by Steve Stern
• Girl Waits with Gun, by Amy Stuart
• The Shore, by Sara Taylor
• Aquarium, by David Vann
• Life #6, by Diana Wagman
• The Sunken Cathedral: A Novel, by Kate Walbert
• Landfalls, by Naomi J. Williams
• The Gap of Time, by Jeanette Winterson
Honourable mentions
(page count limits kept these books out of contention)
• Broken Sleep, by Bruce Bauman
• The Fair Fight, by Anna Freeman
• The Mare, by Mary Gaitskill
• City on Fire, by Garth Risk Hallberg
• Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise, by Oscar Hijuelos
• Language Arts, by Stephanie Kallos
• Beauty Is a Wound, by Eka Kurniawan
• Preparation for the Next Life, by Atticus Lish
• Galápagos Regained, by James K. Morrow
• The Country of Ice Cream Star, by Sandra Newman
• The Big Green Tent, by Lyudmila Ulitskaya
• A Little Life, by Hanya Yanigahara
• The Visiting Privilege: New and Collected Stories, by Joy Williams
• The Ecliptic, by Benjamin Wood
Best regards,
poingu and Jennifer