Tournament of Books discussion
2020 TOB General Topics
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2020 TOB Shortlist
I suspect that the commentary on The Testaments will open up the "mainstream" and "readable" cans of worms, i.e. whether a mainstream and readable book can also be literary...Golden State was my zombie pick. I hold firmly to my theory that it has lucked out by having come out on the "cusp" and that the ToB powers-that-be MEANT to include it last year instead of the supremely mediocre THE Golden State and are now just rectifying their error. Those other two play-ins would have to be pretty damned good to beat it out, imho. Incidentally, this was another eminently readable book that was just as much thriller as literary.
I have 6 library books at home, none of which are on the shortlist. I intend to read them by the end of the year and start my ToB reading then. Neither of my library systems had Soudade, so I've ordered it via ILL and am hoping it will come in time. Elizabeth, I may get some friend who's a member of your library system to pick it up if MC has it. I'll have to check.
For the TOB trivia folks, has the play-in choice ever won the Rooster?
I just started Girl, Woman, Other on kindle and am about to start listening to On Earth... since I have a feeling I'll want to make one of those my zombie pick (since my longlist favorites so far - A Girl Returned, Red at the Bone, and Sabrina & Corina - didn't make the cut). I'm in the middle of listening to The Water Dancer which I'm enjoying, and the audio is good (great singing, as others have mentioned) but I might have been able to follow the story more closely if I were reading it in print. For the play-ins I wish The Testaments had been in there instead of We Cast a Shadow (giving it the official shortlist spot instead). I'd like to see a variety of perspectives discussing that one and it sounds like Testaments won't prompt as good of a discussion. I listened to The Handmaids Tale and the audio version didn't work for me at all, so I'll read this one in print. Hopefully that helps.
I enjoyed Golden State and was really looking forward to the discussion if it made it to the short list, but then I made the mistake of reading a negative review on Goodreads and it had some good points... killed my enthusiasm for this one a bit, but I'll see if the play-in judge can revive it through their commentary.
About 50 min into the audio for Optic Nerve and I’m a little lost, think this one warrants a physical copy.
I don't think so, but Life After Life made to the finals from the play-in and coming back to life (ha!) as a zombie.
Theresa wrote: "About 50 min into the audio for Optic Nerve and I’m a little lost, think this one warrants a physical copy."I'm reading this one now Theresa and would agree it lends itself to written format.
Theresa wrote: "About 50 min into the audio for Optic Nerve and I’m a little lost, think this one warrants a physical copy."Yes, I think you should make the switch. I listened to Optic Nerve and was engaged for the parts that were about the narrator, but the historical stuff seemed a bit disjointed and out of place. I'm planning to read it again in print if I have time after finishing the rest of the shortlist.
Theresa wrote: "About 50 min into the audio for Optic Nerve and I’m a little lost, think this one warrants a physical copy."Interesting. I didn't connect with Optic Nerve, and I've been wondering what's wrong with me, since so many people love it. But I listened to it on audio. Maybe that's part of the disconnect. I find that I can love a book more than I expected to when I listen to it on audio, and I can also love it less than I expected to, whether that's because of the narration, pacing, or some other mysterious reason that has to do with not getting my eyes on the page.
BTW, has anyone created a spreadsheet of the shortlist? Not asking anyone to put in the work, just wondering if anyone already has one they could share.
Shari wrote: "BTW, has anyone created a spreadsheet of the shortlist? Not asking anyone to put in the work, just wondering if anyone already has one they could share."There is one linked in the introduction of the shortlist post on TMN!
Shari wrote: "whether that's because of the narration, pacing, or some other mysterious reason that has to do with not getting my eyes on the page."This happened to me with On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I listened to a couple hours of it and could not follow it. I could tell it was beautiful, but the language was passing me by. Now I'm reading it and it's much more enjoyable.
I know most of you have already read it, but Lost Children Archive is an incredible audiobook that is read by the author, but incorporates all this other audio since it is a book about audio projects including kids reading the kids' parts and parts that sound like they were recorded on the road. Very unique.
Jessica wrote: "Shari wrote: "BTW, has anyone created a spreadsheet of the shortlist? Not asking anyone to put in the work, just wondering if anyone already has one they could share."There is one linked in the i..."
Thank you! Somehow, I missed it!
magwi wrote: "I’m loving this list. Can’t wait to talk about it with all of you. I’ll admit that I am most excited to see that Golden State made the play in, because I read Golden State *last year* in place of T..."Magwi, the Newest Literary Fiction group did a group read of of Golden State (Winters) in March. It was a great discussion! Here's a link if you want to check it out.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Lauren wrote: "Also, I’ve DNF’d all 4 of these that I’ve started...All this Could be Yours
Trust Exercise
Fleishman is in Trouble
On Earth
Should I just see myself out?"
I haven't read the first and last, but you are doing yourself a disservice on =Trust Exercise= and =Fleishman is in Trouble= because ... let's say, the first part of each of those books is not characteristic of the experience of the whole of those books.
Thanks for the audio recs--looks like The Water Dancer is a must-listen; I'm intrigued by the singing part you all referenced. My goal is to get a bit more than halfway through the shortlist by March, and even that is ambitious I think. I'm paying for poor guesswork!
Hello, TOB group! I've been lurking since the end of the last tournament and am excited to end my lurking days today. I've only read two of the shortlist books (On Earth... and Girl, Woman, Other) and really enjoyed both (with GWO being one of my favorites of the year). I'm super excited to try to read the rest before March. This will be my first attempt at The Full Rooster!I wanted to pick a TBR I'm most looking forward to, but I'm pretty jazzed on all of them, with the exception of The Testaments, which I have heard nothing but eye-rolling about.
Looking forward to reading with you!
Theresa wrote: "About 50 min into the audio for Optic Nerve and I’m a little lost, think this one warrants a physical copy."I think so, yes.
Heidi wrote: "Hello, TOB group! I've been lurking since the end of the last tournament and am excited to end my lurking days today. I've only read two of the shortlist books (On Earth... and Girl, Woman, Other) ..."Welcome, Heidi!I loved GWO too! And I have to speak up for Testaments, which I also loved. I had read and been depressed by Handmaid's Tale, didn't watch the TV shows, and almost didn't want to read Testaments because I was afraid it would be more of the same. But I'm so glad I did. The focus is less on the handmaids' experiences and more on the backstory and some second-generation characters. It's not Atwood's most gorgeous or provocative writing, but it totally held my interest and I appreciated the thoughtful exploration of how the revolution occurred and how the resistance began to play out.
jo wrote: "for those who DNF’d Trust Exercise, getting to the second part is kinda essential. The first part was utterly confusing to me. I love Susan Choi for her rigor as a writer and i was ..."HUGE yes to the Trust Exercise recommendation here. PERSEVERE PAST SECTION ONE. Thus far, TE is one of my top reads among books published in 2019. (My top overall read this year was "Cloud Atlas", for which I have members of the ToB commentariat to thank. I can't remember whose idea it was to read the former Rooster winners, but ... it was a great idea.)
Hello everybody. I can't believe that it is already time for the 2020 TOB. I have read four of the shortlist and am just starting Saudade, which is so short it seems like it is a novella.Risa, great choice with "Cloud Atlas", one of my favourites of all time.
This is weird. I read Rules for Visiting and in my review I said that it didn't make the TOB shortlist. The author commented and said "It was not eligible because I have previously contributed to the TOB and have been a staff writer for TMN."
I've asked her for clarification. Selfishly, I'm not happy that I'm spending time reading longlist books that might be ineligible for the shortlist. Anyone have any previous experience of this?
Janet wrote: "This is weird. I read Rules for Visiting and in my review I said that it didn't make the TOB shortlist. The author commented and said "It was not eligible because I have previousl..."
Yeah, I think they just want to include the books on the long list from last year's contributors to acknowledge them, even if they aren't eligible. This would mean 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' wasn't eligible either.
Risa - how can most of us NOT read or even re-read the winners? The TofChampions will be an EVENT. :D
C wrote:Yeah, I think they just want to include the books on the long list from last year's contributors to acknowledge them, even if they aren't eligible. "That seems a poor reason to me. I guess next year I'll be researching the background of the writers before I decide to read them.
Ellen wrote: "I suspect that the commentary on The Testaments will open up the "mainstream" and "readable" cans of worms, i.e. whether a mainstream and readable book can also be literary...Golden State was my ..."
I love this Golden State conspiracy theory! ;-)
C wrote: "Risa - how can most of us NOT read or even re-read the winners? The TofChampions will be an EVENT. :D"Is that really a Thing? Is the Tof Champions really happening, or are we just trying to Speak it Into Existence? This is only my fifth ToB, so I have some work to do reading the "Rooster Backlist".
C wrote: "Yeah, I think they just want to include the books on the long list from last year's contributors to acknowledge them, even if they aren't eligible. This would mean 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' wasn't eligible either..."But I think they broke their own rule when All The Light We Cannot See was included? Because Doerr did write for the TMN prior to the publication of that book, though he might not have been contributor to the TOB.
Janet wrote: "C wrote:Yeah, I think they just want to include the books on the long list from last year's contributors to acknowledge them, even if they aren't eligible. "That seems a poor reason to me. I gues..."
Hmm that is disappointing. I recognized the authors of Rules and Bangkok from the ToB but I assumed that if they were allowed to be on the longlist then they were eligible for the shortlist. I don't regret reading those, but could have switched them for other longlisters this month and waited until after the tournament for those.
Collin wrote: "Hello everybody. I can't believe that it is already time for the 2020 TOB. I have read four of the shortlist and am just starting Saudade, which is so short it seems like it is a novella.Risa, gr..."
Hi Collin, glad you’re back. I’ll always think of you as the person who convinced me to stick with The Dictionary of Animal Languages (and I’m so glad you did!)
Risa wrote: "C wrote: "Risa - how can most of us NOT read or even re-read the winners? The TofChampions will be an EVENT. :D"Is that really a Thing? Is the Tof Champions really happening, or are we just tryin..."
YES. They will definitely be doing a Champion Rooster! (Ooooo... I think that is a good name for it.) The ToB overlords have spoke of it a few times. 2020!
FYI - My library also didn't have Saudade, but I found the ebook on Hoopla.
Daniel wrote: "I didn't hate The Testaments at all, but I'm not looking forward to having to break it down and explain to others why it's a page-turning YA throwaway."This is exactly my sentiment.
Risa wrote: "jo wrote: "for those who DNF’d Trust Exercise, getting to the second part is kinda essential. The first part was utterly confusing to me. I love Susan Choi for her rigor as a writer..."I actually thought the second half made it worse! I was kind of digging the writing about the drama kids in the first half, although I'm not sure I'd put that on any award lists. I either needed more or less from the entire thing.
C wrote: "Risa wrote: "C wrote: "Risa - how can most of us NOT read or even re-read the winners? The TofChampions will be an EVENT. :D"Is that really a Thing? Is the Tof Champions really happening, or are ..."
That is the best news of the day, for sure! It will get me off the dime when it comes to reading some past Roosters that I meant to read but never did.
I've read 10 so far, and plan to read the others. I chose Mary Toft for my Zombie pick. I am so glad I was introduced to Dexter Palmer's books through the ToB. I'm reading his first book, The Dream of Perpetual Motion, right now.I loved The Testaments, but also wish I could swap it to the play in and move We Cast a Shadow to the official shortlist.
Jan wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Hello, TOB group! I've been lurking since the end of the last tournament and am excited to end my lurking days today. I've only read two of the shortlist books (On Earth... and Girl, ..."Thanks, Jan! It's good to hear a positive review. Thankfully, I already had it on my holds list, otherwise I don't want to think how long it would take to get from my library!
My system (like others here) didn't have a copy of Saudade, but I've requested a purchase, so I hope they will soon!
Anyone have a dark-horse contender they think could surprise us with a win or long run in the tournament? There are 7 books on the shortlist that I'd never even heard of before the longlist came out. Do any of them have a chance to win?
I can't believe Night Boat to Tangier didn't make the cut. That gets my early vote for Ghost Rooster.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Risa wrote: "jo wrote: "for those who DNF’d Trust Exercise, getting to the second part is kinda essential. The first part was utterly confusing to me. I love Susan Choi for her rigo..."Wow. Funny, that.
Nicholas wrote: "I can't believe Night Boat to Tangier didn't make the cut. That gets my early vote for Ghost Rooster."It's on the NYT top ten for the year. I didn't notice it on the longlist.
I was bummed about Olive, Again not making it! I know it's a sequel but I thought it was great
Nicholas wrote: "I can't believe Night Boat to Tangier didn't make the cut. That gets my early vote for Ghost Rooster."What's a Ghost Rooster?
Elizabeth wrote: "Collin wrote: "Hello everybody. I can't believe that it is already time for the 2020 TOB. I have read four of the shortlist and am just starting Saudade, which is so short it seems like it is a nov..."Thankyou kindly Elizabeth, love this time of the year. Let's hope there is another "Dictionary" in this list somewhere. :-)
Dang we only have til the 20th to vote on the zombie?! I haven't read enough of the books! (my annual complaint)
Also, Heather, you won on Jeopardy?! That's amazing!
December 30th according to the website
Irene wrote: "December 30th according to the website"Whew, thanks for pointing that out Irene, I totally misread! I can finish at least one more book by then! :)
Jason wrote: "Anyone have a dark-horse contender they think could surprise us with a win or long run in the tournament? There are 7 books on the shortlist that I'd never even heard of before the longlist came ou..."Hmm maybe Saudade since it's the least well-known? I asked for a copy for Christmas since it sounds really good, but I haven't heard anything about it. I see it only has 11 reviews, but I'm not going to read them before I get to the book, since doing that in the past has tainted my reading experience. There was a negative and spoilerish review of An Orchestra of Minorities that affected my reading experience, and if I had read the really negative review (that had good points) of Golden State beforehand, it would have ruined it.
Or maybe Mary Toft, which only has 29 reviews? Honestly the description doesn't appeal to me but it sounds like people are loving it, so I got the audio version on libro.fm. Hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised by this one!
I do have high hopes that a great (and maybe less-than-the-most-popular) book will end up winning the Rooster, even if it gets knocked out early, as we experienced this year with My Sister, the Serial Killer. I was so glad it won!
Any suggestions for zombie round for someone who has only read 2 of the books so far?
Gaby wrote: "Any suggestions for zombie round for someone who has only read 2 of the books so far?"I'm currently planning on one of these three, trying to finish them all by the 30th: Girl, Woman, Other - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - The Water Dancer.
If A Girl Returned were on the shortlist, that would have been my zombie pick. Oh well.
Tournament of Books
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damn, I should have done that, I dumped all 14 books on my TBR but it doesn't sound very realistic to read all of them before March and I still have to read most of Wolf Hall this week. for my book club.
I agree with you about The Testaments, I enjoyed reading it but I found it much more YA than literary...