Tournament of Books discussion
2020 TOB General Topics
>
2020 TOB Bracket Contest
Amy wrote: "Bracket prediction worksheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...Instructions:
Select your prediction in the highlit column from ..."
Thanks for setting this up! I was thinking it would be fun to pair off for the competition, that way half of us are winners. And some pairs might want just a bragging rights prize. :)
Possible dumb question: how exactly does the zombie work? Like, is zombie #1 automatically the higher vote count of the two? Or is it randomly chosen? Or do they compete on what was originally their side of the bracket? Halp!
Bob wrote: "Both sheets say view only...what do I do?""Fill This Out" Tab s/b editable
Aaron wrote: "Possible dumb question: how exactly does the zombie work? Like, is zombie #1 automatically the higher vote count of the two? Or is it randomly chosen? Or do they compete on what was originally thei..."its a bit of a mystery but they seem to treat the final 2 zombies equally (we never know which really got the most votes) - so if possible, they put zombie from left bracket in Zombie #2 position & right bracket in Zombie #1 -- that way it's a new match-up. If that's not possible (both zombies from same side, then they'll try to make sure the match-ups aren't repeats.
Bob wrote: "Both sheets say view only...what do I do?"if we have too many cooks in the kitchen its possible we'll be updating the auto-fill column at the same time. folks are welcome to input their own entries into the columns but I suggest they copy-paste from the Book1 vs. Book 2 line-ups in Opening Rounds (save me formatting issues)... the auto-fill column is really just so no one makes an error while swapping around their predictions (picks one Opening Round person, then changes it without changing later rounds e.g.)
OOPS! originally posted a 'can view' link. it's fixed now to 'can edit' https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Amy wrote: "Bob wrote: "Both sheets say view only...what do I do?"if we have too many cooks in the kitchen its possible we'll be updating the auto-fill column at the same time. folks are welcome to input the..."
I copied the whole workbook to my own google drive and will copy and paste my entries back in, if that helps anyone!
I initially filled mine out and then instantly disagreed with the outcomes so I have to think a little more, ha!
Amy wrote: "OOPS! originally posted a 'can view' link. it's fixed now to 'can edit' https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/..."
OK! I'm just gonna type my winners in the column--is that cool?
EDIT: OK. I think I'm done? Questions, though:
1) Both "Zombie Guesses" lines have drop downs with ALL the books. That's right, right?
2) There aren't any dropdowns for the two "Zombie Round" lines...should there be?
I couldn't figure out how to copy, paste values from the dropdown boxes so I typed mine in too. Sorry, Google Sheets is not my strong suit. I use Excel more.
Bob wrote: "OK! I'm just gonna type my winners in the column--is that cool?..."I added some Data validation to it - either people can ignore the grouching messages & I'll clean them up right before I freeze the sheets OR you can use the drop downs to select the precise titles from the list once you see the little triangle flag.
for zombies, it's a little rough but I made the dropdowns include BOTH semi-finalists & both zombie selections on each.
Amy wrote: "We've done it once where the winner let us know their book preferences & everyone that could sent a book of their choosing to the winner (via DM's & USPS). But I'm open to other suggestions."How about Super Rooster books? This may be selfish, but I only have 1 of the 16 left on my shelves because I always give them away or got them from the library. (Somehow I have 2 copies of Goon Squad)
Although, I did enjoy looking thru the winner's books and ratings and trying to find the perfect book for them.
Amy wrote: "We've done it once where the winner let us know their book preferences & everyone that could sent a book of their choosing to the winner (via DM's & USPS). But I'm open to other suggestions."I also enjoyed looking at Alison's books and trying to figure out what she might like. How'd that work out for you on the whole Alison?
One suggestion might be for the winner give us a list of the TOB longlisted books they are craving? The ones that got away?
Thanks for setting it all up, Amy! It was harder (emotionally) than I thought it would be to fill out my bracket. I decided to vote just how I would if I were a judge, rather than trying to predict anything someone else might say or do... I ended up on the opposite side of average on more than half the opening contests (including being the only person so far not to vote Golden State as the play-in winner). Can’t wait to see what happens!
Jason wrote: "Amy wrote: "We've done it once where the winner let us know their book preferences & everyone that could sent a book of their choosing to the winner (via DM's & USPS). But I'm open to other suggest..."I would imagine most people have the superrooster books, so that seems like not the ideal prize. We are all book people here, so if you're looking at the shelf of the winner or just sending a book you like that might have been overlooked by most readers seems like a good plan.
I think someone should make a poster with every tournament book on it with a big rooster silhouette in the background and maybe the Rooster of the Rooster winner supersized in the middle
Filled mine out. EEK! I feel very confident in my two zombie guesses, but that’s about it. Your House vs On Earth is a total toss up. I think having all participants send a book to the overall winner would be so awesome, and I think we are all smart enough to pick out a good book based on the winner’s shelves. And if you get duplicates, give them away and pay it forward.
Soooooo excited for this tournament. Thrilled to be in so deep this year with y’all.
Aaron wrote: "Filled mine out. EEK! I feel very confident in my two zombie guesses, but that’s about it. Your House vs On Earth is a total toss up. I think having all participants send a book to the overall wi..."
I voted for each round how I would have voted as a judge which means I'm guaranteed to have a losing bracket, ha! But if I went with what I think is going to happen I'd be even more wrong!
I'm ready for the madness to begin!
Ruthiella wrote: ""I also enjoyed looking at Alison's books and trying to figure out what she might like. How'd that work out for you on the whole Alison?..."So very, very well. Even the books I ended up not loving were excellent and a few are now favorites. "
there's at least 1 blank (anonymous) bracket entry in the contest (between Gwendolyn and C in case you noticed your neighbors) - claim it quickly by putting you name in there. We know you agonized over guessing what a judge will pick vs. picking your favorite! (a lovely metaphor for "electability" nonsense these days)
I think I weighted the zombie picks too heavily (especially as you'll get the points regardless of which bracket side they end up on), so I'm dropping them down but might have my mind changed. Otherwise the calculations are in and we just get to hack-a-thon the thing once the decisions roll in (I know everyone will check that they have the points they deserve, right?!) - Opening Round guesses are worth (1+upset deltas). Quarterfinals worth (2+upset deltas*2) and so forth. I started with zombies at 10pts but I dropped them to 5 since they are tricky, but not as tricky as guessing judges' decisions. Final Round doesn't get upset points if there is a spread. IF we have a tie at the end, tie-breaker can be whomever is closest to the final judges splits.
You're awesome, Amy! I'm horrible at picking brackets, be it sport sports or book sports, so I'm ready to go down in flames. But this will be fun, and I'm looking forward to choosing a book for the winner!
Yup! Half the fun is crossing out my wrong decisions as they happen and bemoaning my thrashed bracket!
Thanks very much for doing this Amy. I'm envious of your spreadsheet skills!
I have been reading and following since 2012 but first time I actually filled out a bracket ahead of time. It's really hard to balance love for a book with guessing what a judge will do, especially when your insights to some judges are, well, they posted about this in on IG so I clearly understand them.
Something must be messed up in the scoring...Amy, can you check?
Janet wrote: "Something must be messed up in the scoring...Amy, can you check?"you're messing with me, right? (you can't see me twitching over here) :)
only 4 folks picked "We Cast a Shadow" and they are currently tied at 1 point each.
Amy, it looks like the point is going to the players one column to the right of the one who picked Shadow.
OOOH. ok that's an easy one to debug! thanks!
fixed! the good news is that I'm updating the Template sheet I made at the same time so next year we shouldn't run into any of these. y'all are my beta testers!
Teresa P. (couldn't find you in general search to DM ya) - I see I cut you off halfway through when I froze the bracket this morn. If you want to send me the rest of your predictions, I'll add you in since you picked Golden State to win Play-in and Opening Round 8 and you were probably a coupla minutes away from finishing your entries.
ACK! I just realized I screwed up my ACCI-ATLAS pick — I knew excel would baffle and defeat me once again. I mistakenly put LCA as the winner of that, even though I previously (correctly) said that GWO would defeat it in the previous round. It is supposed to be my zombie #2 pick, though.
End of the first week and Heidi & Aaron have established themselves as the ones to beat - so far 6 for 6 correct guesses and half of those were 'upsets'.Looking forward to seeing how the next week goes!
Rankings so far (we're 1/3rd of the way through decisions with zombie picks as an extra potential bonus):
1st - Heidi and Aaron tied
3rd - Susan S & Elizabth tied
5th - Bretnie
6th - Jayme & Jen P tied
8th - C & Carissa tied
10th - Amy S, Lauren O, Tim P three-way tie
also, no one has ZERO points :) so that's something.
I am deeply shook right now. I simply did not expect!!
Amy wrote: "also, no one has ZERO points :) so that's something."I am pretty sure I come close! LOL I should have done like George in that Seinfeld episode and made every choice the opposite from my normal instinct. :D
Ruthiella wrote: "Amy wrote: "also, no one has ZERO points :) so that's something."I am pretty sure I come close! LOL I should have done like George in that Seinfeld episode and made every choice the opposite from..."
yeah, I thought I was being clever but my pick to take the Rooster just went down with very little fanfare. I won the March Madness pool at work a couple years ago by picking the name of the school I liked better (based on a very personal preference) and I'm thinking something equally arbitrary might have improved my standing for TOB. :)
Oof. So what position am I in? Not even top 10--how far I've fallen...
Bob wrote: "Oof. So what position am I in? Not even top 10--how far I've fallen..."Bob, your current standings don't look great, BUT all four of your quarterfinal picks are still in! Even though my 12-point total puts me in good standing, 3 of my 4 quarterfinal picks are already out.
Still a lot of time!
I'm pretty sure I'm mathematically eliminated. If All This wins tomorrow, I may move up a couple slots, but I see no path to victory (as they say).
Ugh! My bracket. What a dismal performance. About as well as I do in that other, less interesting, tournament.Time to change allegiances! All in on Fleishman.
Good luck everybody!
hasn't been updated yet, but it looks like we have a new leader after the Saudade win.
I was a little slow this morning, but indeed, it seems someone predicted the unexpected rise of Saudade!
I’m not sure how that happened? My choices were guided with a combination of my preferences and what I thought the judges would choose. The TOB has been a greater than normal distraction this year!
well only a tiny handful picked today's winner and NONE of them picked yesterday's winner so our overall Leaderboard didn't change much from the middle to the end of the week.... that being said, we have a new leader at the end of Week2: Susan S, who predicted Saudade would make it through to the 3rd round before going down. Rest of top crew:
#1 - Susan S
#2 - tie: Heidi & Aaron
#4 - Karissa
#5 - Lauren O
# 6 - tie: Jen P & Elizabeth
#8 - 4-way tie for Bretnie, Jayme, C, & Michelle
ok folks - today is the day I need the most quality checking --- in Semi-Finals, you get 3pts for a correct outcome + 3*Seed Difference for an upset kicker. Both of the semi-finals were upsets. If you guessed a zombie correctly (doesn't have to be on the correct side of the bracket) you get 5 points for each zombie. Check my work for your predictions! (I've got a template I'm updating at the same time so next year should be out of rehearsal and into Production!)
Amy, do you mind updating columns D and F so that the books that actually competed in those rounds are correct?
Instructions:
Select your prediction in the highlit column from the dropdown list. List only works if you work in order from top to bottom (errors will be notated though)
Copy- paste "values" in a column of your own to the right.
I'm still working on the scoring but I can finish that up while people are putting in their predictions.
I like the book prize idea - from my perspective, needs to be a prize instead of an 'office-pool' $ win or I'll be breaking state laws. :) We've done it once where the winner let us know their book preferences & everyone that could sent a book of their choosing to the winner (via DM's & USPS). But I'm open to other suggestions.