Zombies and Final Showdown

[Jesi]

Think of it this way: the longer it takes for the decision to post, the more time we have until the tournament is over!

[Lljones]

They're doing it on purpose! :)

[Tristan]

I'm having a hard time deciding which of these books to root for. I disliked both of them. LITB was over-hyped and overly experimental. It failed to meet my expectations for Saunders. On the other hand Fever Dream was 200 pages of pure nonsense. A story that went nowhere. Under-hyped and overly experimental. Despite being under-hyped, it too failed to meet my expectations.

For me this is like being presented with a box of rotten apples and a bag of rotten oranges and forced to choose which one to eat. Neither, bring back Goodbye, Vitamin, The Animators, Exit West, and Pachinko instead please.

[Tristan]

It's up

[Alex]

It's up!!!

[Amy]

It’s here!!!!! https://themorningnews.org/tob/2018/f...

[Karin]

I read these judgments and I think, what kind of weird human am I that I just could not gather up that much emotion while reading FD? I literally LOLed.

And,
"Five weeks, three recently published memoirs, and the one and only Sarah Hepola, author of the New York Times bestseller Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, hosting the discussion. It’s going to be grand. Thanks to everyone for their book recommendations, and based on your votes we’ll be reading Hunger by Roxane Gay, Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood, and Educated by Tara Westover. "

I'll have to get right on Educated. I've read the other two, and loved them.

[jo]

holy smokio.

[Janet]

I've read Educated: A Memoir, own Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body but have not read it, so I just need to get Priestdaddy: A Memoir. This is the tournament of the one word titles apparently.

[Ace]

That was a strange tournament but it still managed to get me worked up, pissed off and ridiculously happy on alternate days. Can't wait for next year!

[[deleted user]]

Sunita wrote: "This was not what I expected, but it is definitely what I hoped for. My heart was in my mouth the whole time. Thank you judges!

I'll probably be lurking during the nonfiction TOB, but only one of..."

I'm glad you joined in the conversation here, Sunita. All credit for this group goes to Amy, who does all of the work.

[jo]

i am doubtful i want to read any of them. i heard a fresh air interview with tara westover and i had the following one-sided conversationt: dear dark-pockets americana, you have lost me when you elected donald trump. i don't read you in the news and i don't want to read you anywhere else. take care.

[Peebee]

Karin wrote: "I read these judgments and I think, what kind of weird human am I that I just could not gather up that much emotion while reading FD? I literally LOLed."

Here's what I said in my Fever Dream 1-star review: "Not my thing in the slightest. I read it only because of the Tournament of Books, and I was rooting for it because I didn't like Lincoln in the Bardo. But this was considerably worse. This reminded me of a play, unfolding in one place with a small number of characters. But I really never had a grasp on what was happening -- nor did I care."

There's only two other books I read all year that I felt as strongly about as I did both Fever Dream and Lincoln in the Bardo. (And one of those was The Idiot.) I suppose it's good for me to occasionally read something I have such a strong reaction to, although since I mostly read to entertain myself, I definitely try to avoid it if I can.

But I loved being able to participate here and in the Commentariat, and the new friends I'm making, so it's worth it!

[jo]

tara westover, talking about her kiddo self working with hard metals in a dump, paraphrase: "mind you my dad didn't ask us to do anything he didn't do himself."

no. no no nono no nonoonononoono. no.

[Lljones]

Karin wrote: "I'll have to get right on Educated. I've read the other two, and loved them. "

It has 417 holds ahead of me at library!

[Karin]

Peebee wrote: "Karin wrote: "I read these judgments and I think, what kind of weird human am I that I just could not gather up that much emotion while reading FD? I literally LOLed."

Here's what I said in my Fev..."

I didn't dislike FD. I thought it was different, and interesting, but I read it in one sitting, put it down when finished, picked up my next read and it promptly slipped my mind. It had no long term impact on me. I started out on the fence with LITB but ended up really loving it, and I still flip through my favorite passages from it from time to time.

[Peebee]

jo wrote: "i am doubtful i want to read any of them. i heard a fresh air interview with tara westover and i had the following one-sided conversationt: dear dark-pockets americana, you have lost me"

Educated was extremely hard to read, between the physical violence, resistance to necessary medicale care and the extreme emotional abuse/gaslighting/brainwashing. That Tara Westover triumphed over that is truly amazing. I can see some that will either not really believe it or just don't want to read it. But it's one I suggested because I think it really exemplifies what I think a nonfiction ToB book should be. Because she writes the sh*t out of her story.

[Janet]

Peebee wrote: "jo wrote: "i am doubtful i want to read any of them. i heard a fresh air interview with tara westover and i had the following one-sided conversationt: dear dark-pockets americana, you have lost me"..."

I wouldn't say I don't believe her but that her story borders on the fantastical. Here's my review....it's a little spoilery but not much....https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jason]

The ToB is alive and well. For me, this was the toughest and possibly the best tourney ever. Great judges, passionate fans. I love how the head-to-head nature of it allows for so many different outcomes. Like Kevin said, a different judge could have derailed Fever Dream out of the gate, never to be heard from again.

Looking forward to the memoir event. Hunger and Priestdaddy move up the TBR pile, but dang, Educated looks like the book I need to read right now.

[Karin]

Lljones wrote: "Karin wrote: "I'll have to get right on Educated. I've read the other two, and loved them. "

It has 417 holds ahead of me at library!"

Holy moly. I have Scribd, and it's available on there.

[Ace]

Tina wrote: "All credit for this group goes to Amy, who does all of the work...."

Well done to Amy and to you too Tina as I see you are now a moderator, great that you can help Amy out, especially with the busy year ahead.

[Katherine]

Ugh.
"the path to the finals is paved with a bit of luck" - so true. It only took one judge - just one! - somewhere along the way to get this weird little book out, and it was just the luck that it kept getting ones that either fell for it or found flaws in the books it was up against.
Curse you, ToB!
On a related note, my FB memories popped up with this comment from a year ago: "Booooooooooo Tournament of Books. Hmph." It's still relevant! ;)

[Bretnie]

Katherine wrote: "Ugh.
"the path to the finals is paved with a bit of luck" - so true. It only took one judge - just one! - somewhere along the way to get this weird little book out, and it was just the luck that i..."

I read that and laughed - true for the first round, and ok some of the books that FD went up against weren't great, but it did have to beat several books on its road to victory, including the same book twice - a book that no one thought would lose if 17 people were judges instead of just one.

So ok a little bit of luck, but a lotta bit of people thinking it was a great book. :)

[Katherine]

Bretnie wrote: "Katherine wrote: "Ugh.
"the path to the finals is paved with a bit of luck" - so true. It only took one judge - just one! - somewhere along the way to get this weird little book out, and it was ju..."

The "luck of the draw" is pretty true for every book. I wasn't intending any offense to FD specifically - I was just rooting for a couple of different books and thus lamenting the way that the seedings happened to shake out. I would have to go back and look at specific judgements again, but I also didn't get the overwhelming feeling that judges thought FD was a "great" book - just that it stuck with them more than the book they were comparing it against. That's the simultaneous beauty and curse of the ToB, though.
I do think that this particular book had an interesting path to the Finals, and I am curious how the judges would have voted if it was FD against anything else or LitB against anything else.

[Megan]

Yay, Fever Dream! I thought it was a strong field of contenders this year, and so many excellent judgments and surprises. The ridiculous act of pitting one book against another continues to be one of my favorite bookish activities.

Thanks, all of you, for sharing your insights and gripes. :)

[Mina]

TOB does for me what it always does - keeps me out of trouble and away from bad reality TV. The bonus is that it introduces me to so many new and wonderful books. Fever Dream is on my TBR list as I never got to it. And I'm one of those who loved Lincoln in the Bardo. Thanks for the great commentary through the tournament.

[Bretnie]

Katherine wrote: "The "luck of the draw" is pretty true for every book. I wasn't intending any offense to FD specifically - I was just rooting for a couple of different books and thus lamenting the way that the seedings happened to shake out. I would have to go back and look at specific judgements again, but I also didn't get the overwhelming feeling that judges thought FD was a "great" book - just that it stuck with them more than the book they were comparing it against. That's the simultaneous beauty and curse of the ToB, though.
I do think that this particular book had an interesting path to the Finals, and I am curious how the judges would have voted if it was FD against anything else or LitB against anything else."

No offense to FD taken! I agree - The original statement is still true - if FD had had any of the 7 judges who voted against it as the first judge, it would have been a totally different tournament! Or if you picked up all the brackets and threw them on the floor with different judges! Which is what makes it so interesting!

Thank you all for helping me appreciate a lot of books in a very short amount of time. :)

[Lauren]

Jason wrote: "The ToB is alive and well. For me, this was the toughest and possibly the best tourney ever. Great judges, passionate fans. I love how the head-to-head nature of it allows for so many different out..."

Thank you all for holding my hand as the Reader Judge! I had so much fun and have a new appreciation for the ToB community.

I truly disliked LitB and FD equally and I'm relived it wasn't 8-8 without me because my vote could have gone either way. Until next year!

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Peebee wrote: "jo wrote: "i am doubtful i want to read any of them. i heard a fresh air interview with tara westover and i had the following one-sided conversationt: dear dark-pockets americana, you have lost me"..."

I've read Hunger and Priestdaddy but had to bail on Educated. My father passed away in June and he is just too similar. I just couldn't do it. But that isn't to say others might not still enjoy it, i think it takes a good writer to communicate the awful but... Strange to already be done with an upcoming challenge!

[Amy]

Thanks everyone for a great month! I missed out on the commentary today because I was recruiting for my IRL job but it’s always wonderful to see all the good vibes!
I’ll be setting up folders for the announced non-fiction books as well as extra early summer-TOB folder(s).

As a reminder, The Newest Literary Fiction Group hosted by Lark (fka poingu) and Jenny (Reading Envy) always have great buddy and group reads that hit the TOB contenders pretty hard.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Amy wrote: "Thanks everyone for a great month! I missed out on the commentary today because I was recruiting for my IRL job but it’s always wonderful to see all the good vibes!
I’ll be setting up folders for t..."

Yah we read Fever Dream before it was nominated for any awards! ;)

Shameless link to Newest Literary Fiction for those craving more discussion of new titles.

[Jan]

Amy, Jenny, Lark, thanks for all you do. You guys are awesome!!!

[Diane]

This was my first TOB year. Thank you for all you do. It is such a commitment! You made me a better reader. :D

[Lark]

We're a nice little haven for the days between the TOB final and the day when the TOB long list is published for next year's tournament.

Tomorrow we're starting Happiness by Aminatta Forna and also in April we're planning to read Heartland by Ana Simo. But come on over and start a discussion of any 2018 book you want.

[jo]

carissa wrote: "jo wrote: "i am doubtful i want to read any of them. i heard a fresh air interview with tara westover and i had the following one-sided conversationt: dear dark-pockets americana, you have lost me ..."

yes, lost lost lost.

if i liked Happiness any more i'd have to tattoo it on my body (not-so-obscure reference to The Book of Joan. just like Exit West, it is a map out of the dark woods.

[Amy]

Wow! That is quite an endorsement Jo! I’ll check it out! (Really liked Grief Cottage, one of your hearty endorsements pre-shortlist)

[jo]

I do get quite enthusiastic about good books, I must say :)

[Erin]

Thank you fabulous moderators for introducing me to ToB’s. It was infuriating and fun. It never crossed my mind Fever had a chance. And I was so certain White Tears would win. LitB is excellent. I’m looking forward to the long list.

I just finished Happiness. It was a pleasant stroll through the park on a rainy day.

Good night from snowy Colorado.

[[deleted user]]

I'm in for Happiness. The recs here were convincing, and that gorgeous cover and the opening line of the description made me smile and sealed the deal: "London. A fox makes its way across Waterloo Bridge." : )

[jo]

Darn, that cover. So right Tina.