Tournament of Books discussion
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2018 TOB - General
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2018 TOB General
Amy wrote: "Ruthiella wrote: "Here is mine: https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...
I have Sing, Unburied Sing in the final too. But not as the champion!"
What a great ide..."
I liked Exit West very much, and was meh about The Animators, but I could see it going either way. As long as Exit West makes it to the zombie round, I'll be satisfied.
I have Sing, Unburied Sing in the final too. But not as the champion!"
What a great ide..."
I liked Exit West very much, and was meh about The Animators, but I could see it going either way. As long as Exit West makes it to the zombie round, I'll be satisfied.
Amy wrote: "I'm going out on a limb and saying that Animators wins Round 8 .."Tina wrote: As long as Exit West makes it to the zombie round.."
I have The Animators facing Sing, Unburied Sing in round 8 AND Exit West zombie-ing.
If Alison wins this contest, however, I am gonna be asking her to pick me some lotto numbers! :D
Ruthiella wrote: "If Alison wins this contest, however, I am gonna be asking her to pick me some lotto numbers! :D ..."Ha! I didn't fill out a prediction. I'm already way too involved in which book wins each round! Even the play-in round is fraught -- I loved The Idiot with the same ungrounded affection Selin held for Ivan and yet admire the way Habash inhabited the not-entirely-pleasant Stephen so fully.
From there it only gets worse.
Alison wrote: " I'm already way too involved in which book wins each round! Even the play-in round is fraught --..."My brain is chanting "Stephen Steven Stephen Steven"
Nadine wrote: "Alison wrote: " I'm already way too involved in which book wins each round! Even the play-in round is fraught --..."My brain is chanting "Stephen Steven Stephen Steven""
Well, one of us (at least) will have her heart broken!
Alison wrote: "Ruthiella wrote: "I loved The Idiot with the same ungrounded affection Selin held for Ivan"That's funny. Upon reading your comment, I realized I loved The idiot with the same dispassionate curiosity Ivan held for Selin--which is to say it intrigued me and admired it, but I could never commit to giving myself over to it.
I say this knowing full well that Ivan was a pretty awful person.
2018 TOB Merchandise now available: https://teespring.com/stores/tmnremember that sustaining members receive 50% discount on everything (requires a link)
Love the 2018 statement, and love that they'll have a non-fiction mini tournament!
Just finished So Much Blue and so finished reading every single book in the Shortlist.I’m glad I did it. But now I’m craving something long and Russian.
Adam wrote: "Just finished So Much Blue and so finished reading every single book in the Shortlist.I’m glad I did it. But now I’m craving something long and Russian."
Congratulations!
FYI, folks: the Man Booker International Prize Longlist has just been announced, Hari Kunzru is one of the judges: http://themanbookerprize.com/internat...
Look at March Madness, copying the Tournament of Books with its upset!
I know we're all feverishly refreshing our browsers, but in the meantime, Colson Whitehead is doing an AMA on Reddit right now: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/commen...
Hi. I'm new to the TOB but have been following it feverishly. I'm only on my fourth book now, LitB, and I wish I would have read more of them. Is there a trick to preparing for next year's TOB (getting ahead of the reading.... anticipating what will make the list)?
Diane wrote: "Hi. I'm new to the TOB but have been following it feverishly. I'm only on my fourth book now, LitB, and I wish I would have read more of them. Is there a trick to preparing for next year's TOB (get..."I think there are a lot of tips and tricks: following websites like The Millions or Book Riot and/or book prize long and short lists, join the "Newest Literary Fiction" group here on goodreads, etc.
You know, read EVERYTHING. No problem, right? :D
But honestly, there is a LOT of luck in it. I have been following the TOB for about 4 years now and I have picked titles from the long list that I am sure will make the short list and am wrong A LOT. For example, I thought Ali Smith was a shoe-in this year.
Long-time ToB junkies may have some ideas, but this year, the list that helped the most was The Millions Most-Anticipated Lists, usually done for each half of the year. That list seems to marry critical buzz with some indies/literary junkies acclaim that catches all the types of books that they consider for the ToB. With that strategy, and also making sure that when the ToB longlist comes out, that I match it up with the year’s end newspaper lists, and the long and shortlist’s for the major literary awards. This year I still had only read 8 of 18 when the shortlist came out, but I ended up reading 7 more by the first consideration of each book. (Just couldn’t do two of the play-ins or Dear Cyborgs.)
Welcome, Diane!
I've been following the ToB since its inception, and I have never managed to predict more than half of the shortlist. I agree with Peebee about the Millions Most Anticipated lists having a close correlation with the ToB longlist.
I've been following the ToB since its inception, and I have never managed to predict more than half of the shortlist. I agree with Peebee about the Millions Most Anticipated lists having a close correlation with the ToB longlist.
I’d say quit your day job as soon as the long list comes out and start reading.
Diane wrote: "Hi. I'm new to the TOB but have been following it feverishly. I'm only on my fourth book now, LitB, and I wish I would have read more of them. Is there a trick to preparing for next year's TOB (get..."Welcome to our merry band!
The only trick I've found is to read new books - the ones with a buzz, the ones by high-profile writers, the ones on awards shortlists, the ones that look off-beat and interesting. I spent last year reading whatever I wanted, but focusing on new books and ended up with seven of the shortlist when it was announced. I read a bunch off of the longlist, but none of them made the shortlist.
And a good bit of the fun for me is the mad rush to read all of the shortlist before play begins.
I can't reply to everyone who responded to me without exploding this thread, but I think the TOB commentariat are awesome, and I appreciate how welcoming you are!! Thank you!I love all your tips & tricks, especially the Millions Most Anticipated list, which I knew nothing about. I'm excited to see many of my TBRs on that list - mostly recommended by Book Riot, which is also (relatively) new to me.
I had so much to say about the three I read this year, I look forward to being more informed next year - maybe I will venture an opinion. :D
I just follow this crowd's curated recs, and also I read fast, which helps get through the list. Oh, and I put as many things on library hold as I can once the long list - and definitely the short list - come out.
Janet wrote: "I’d say quit your day job as soon as the long list comes out and start reading."LOL
There will be a curated “keep your eyes out for” list on the last day of the tourney, usually posted by Andrew Le Nozlee and overlapping heavily with The Millions list. And Melanie’s tip on the longlist is a great one - I usually have around 30 real books + 5-10 more ebooks in a pile from the library in December which plummets once the shortlist is released. It lets me sample books to see which I like and drop or delay the ones I don’t while trying to hit as many potential short-listers. With some, I’ve just given a page to prove their worth.
Amy wrote: "There will be a curated “keep your eyes out for” list on the last day of the tourney, usually posted by Andrew Le Nozlee and overlapping heavily with The Millions list."I can't find anything on the re-designed Millions site - where is the Millions' Most Anticipated List?
Lljones wrote: "where is the Millions' Most Anticipated List?"https://themillions.com/2018/01/most-...
Enjoy!
Daniel wrote: "Lljones wrote: "where is the Millions' Most Anticipated List?"https://themillions.com/2018/01/most-...
Enjoy!"
Thanks! (I'd looked at it before, but couldn't find it again...I'll bookmark it this time!)
OK, I'm writing here because I have no one else to tell, but I'm super excited as my local literary festival has just announced its line-up and it has a notable ToB feel to it.I just booked to hear Samanta Schweblin talk about ToB18 success story, Fever Dream - http://mishkenot.org.il/writersfestiv...
I also have tickets to see Etgar Keret and ToB16 Rooster Paul Beatty in conversation - http://mishkenot.org.il/writersfestiv...
I also have tickets to hear ToB17 fave, Nathan Hill present unseen footage of the upcoming TV adaptation of The Nix. If I stick around the Cinematheque after Mr. Hill, I can see Paul Beatty talk about Kung Fu and introduce Enter the Dragon - http://mishkenot.org.il/writersfestiv...
I may have to leave work a little early each day to make it to Jerusalem in time, but it's going to be an amazing week!
TV ADAPTATION OF THE NIX? *scurries off to look it up*
Ellen wrote: "Wow. With Meryl Streep, no less."
I picture Kathy Bates as the mom, but Meryl will be great.
I picture Kathy Bates as the mom, but Meryl will be great.
Daniel, That does sound like an exciting week. I hope you will allow us to experience it vicariously through a few updates here.
Interesting. No, I definitely pictured a Meryl Streep type.
Amy wrote: "There will be a curated “keep your eyes out for” list on the last day of the tourney, usually posted by Andrew Le Nozlee and overlapping heavily with The Millions list. And Melanie’s tip on the l..."
Yes to what Amy said. Look for that list in the comments on the last day of the tournament. In year's past, I have made a spreadsheet of that list and then read the ones that most interest me off of it. Inevitably, that list ends up containing at least 1/2 of next year's shortlist.
I'm a big TofB fan but I don't have many (or any, really) friends who follow it as avidly as I do. I'm wondering if anyone in the Oakland area would like to form a reading group for the upcoming Non-fiction challenge. I guess you can message me if you are interested!
Daniel wrote: "Lljones wrote: "where is the Millions' Most Anticipated List?"https://themillions.com/2018/01/most-...
Enjoy!"
Ooh, I've finished 7 of those, and I own 3 more. Getting a good head start!
Ellen wrote: "TV ADAPTATION OF THE NIX? *scurries off to look it up*"I don't know if I can even handle this. It's in my top five favorite books of all time, might even be #1. It's so vivid in my head I am afraid this will ruin it for me!
A lot of people raved about In the Distance but I haven’t heard that much love for the others.
Jason wrote: "Pulitzer seems out of left field, no?http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/andre..."
No kidding! A comic novel about a 50 year old white guy seems a bit...uh...counterintuitive. :-)
Well, it does count as queer fiction, no?
So happy for In the Distance receiving more recognition. I still think about that book a lot.I remember Less was getting some love and recommendations in the comment section during the tournament (though who knows which day, it's alllll a blur to me now); I think it was recommended as not utterly depressing.
A love story takes the Pulitzer? I liked Less as a light summer read, but not as a potential award winner. That's a wonderful surprise.
Tina wrote: "A love story takes the Pulitzer? I liked Less as a light summer read, but not as a potential award winner. That's a wonderful surprise."I just finished this a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. I would not have picked it as an award winner. I am happy for Greer.
Nozlee posted the spreadsheets!http://disq.us/p/1rstcgd
nzle Mod
Hey all, we're back after a bit of a nap with some Google docs to share.
Here we have our (unofficial, super incomplete, etc) long, long list for the 2019 Tournament, compiled in large part from all the recommendations in this comment thread. (Thanks to urging from y'all, I've noted translators where relevant.)
https://docs.google.com/spr...
And we also got some requests for the full list of nonfiction contenders for next month's nonfiction popup with Sarah Hepola:
https://docs.google.com/spr...
Happy reading, and see you soon for our month of nonfiction!
I’ve had Less on my TBR for months, and have an ebook of it now. Will finally read it, as I’ve heard many good things, and I do like to read all the books that win the major awards.
Thanks for sharing Melanie!The “unofficial, super incomplete long, long list” cracks me up a little :)
Reminds me of basically my to-read list - everything that everyone has ever recommended to me but it’s definitely missing some stuff, and I’ll probably double it by the end of the year.
It must come out of left field for a lot of folks - there wasn’t a line for the ebook! The first time I paid attention to Less was in the last 2 days of the tourney. Nice job commentariat!
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Tournament of Books
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I have Sing, Unburied Sing in the final too. But not as the champion!"
What a great idea to use your goodreads photos folder! Stole it! :)
Here's my prediction... I'm going out on a limb and saying that Animators wins Round 8 and Exit West is the one to zombie instead of the other way around like so many of you. Note to the wise: I am terrible at predicting this stuff!