Tournament of Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
2016 Books
>
2016 - Possible Contenders
The new T. C. Boyle (The Harder They Come) looks really good. Has there been a Boyle book in the tournament before?
@ rosie -- i own The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet too, but haven't read it yet. :/ so. many. bo..."The perpetual problem of a bookworm!
Gayla wrote: "The new T. C. Boyle (The Harder They Come) looks really good. Has there been a Boyle book in the tournament before?"I don't think so.
Apologies if mentioned before, but since former ToB-ers usually are good fodder to return but just seeing Lauren Groff ("Arcadia") has a September drop of her new one -- "Fates and Furies."And given the frenzy over the release of the book cover this week, does Harper Lee's "Go Set A Watchman" seem the book ToB won't be able to ignore?
Ditto Franzen's "Purity" and both of the above angles.
Ed wrote: "Apologies if mentioned before, but since former ToB-ers usually are good fodder to return but just seeing Lauren Groff ("Arcadia") has a September drop of her new one -- "Fates and Furies."..."i just noticed Fates and Furies this morning and got pretty excited! and i don't think it's been mentioned here yet. i really liked Arcadia a lot.
so i read Outline this week... i am thinking it will be on the ToB's really longlist of considerations for 2016. has anyone else read it yet?
I just finished reading Outline, and I rated it 3 stars. I thought it was average. An interesting premise, but it got a bit boring for me by the end of the book just being told all of these things that happened, instead of getting to actually "experience" anything. That being said.. It's unique enough and well written, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it in next year's tourney.
Jaclyn wrote: "I just finished reading Outline, and I rated it 3 stars. I thought it was average. An interesting premise, but it got a bit boring for me by the end of the book just being told all of these things ..."i also rated it 3-stars, jaclyn and agree that it's attempt at getting away from the traditional idea of a novel is noteworthy, as far as ToB goes. cusk does write some great sentences, but the whole of it was only alright for me.
Jennifer wrote: "so i read Outline this week... i am thinking it will be on the ToB's really longlist of considerations for 2016. has anyone else read it yet?"I'm reading it at the moment. It's reminding me a little bit of 10:04, in that I'm not really following anything happening but I'm enjoying the writing nevertheless. I think it will probably be a 3 star for me too.
Lagullande wrote: "I'm reading it at the moment. It's reminding me a little bit of 10:04..."oh - i have not read 10:04 yet.
Jennifer wrote: "so i read Outline this week... i am thinking it will be on the ToB's really longlist of considerations for 2016. has anyone else read it yet?"I picked up Outline in the store and loved the first few pages I read but put it back down because of the book jacket blurb being unappealing to me---I have to stop reading those!
I'm reading After Birth and loving it. My personal love for a novel, I've learned, is not a great indicator of TOB love, in fact there may be a negative correlation.
Does anyone here know how TOB novels are selected? I'd love a link to that explanation, if they have ever explained themselves online. It seems like the commenters haven't read all the books in the tournament this year, and here I somehow thought those guys were the TOB cabal who selected the short list.
Poingu wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "so i read Outline this week... i am thinking it will be on the ToB's really longlist of considerations for 2016. has anyone else read it yet?"I picked up [book:O..."
I've wondered the same thing! I'm especially interested in how they decided the rankings and which books compete against each other in the initial round. Maybe that's explained somewhere and I've just overlooked it.
the only thing i have ever encountered in the 'how and why' is in the preamble for the tournament each year.http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
oh, and one other comment on it all i have encountered is (and i just found it again on wikipedia (i know):"The inspiration for the Tournament of Books came from the idea that while "arbitrariness is inherent in book awards," the Rooster could at least be transparent"
in the same article is this:
"During the 2009 event, Baldwin and Womack were interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered. In the interview, Baldwin described Tournament contenders as: "books that have received a lot of hype… books that we've had recommended to us by readers, by friends, by family; books that have won awards, books that maybe got unrecognized or are coming from the independent publishing world."
Poingu wrote: "Does anyone here know how TOB novels are selected?"
The TOB staff, not the judges, choose both the long and short lists and set up the brackets. In this year's announcement, "they" (Kevin, John, Rosecrans?) describe their choices for the short list as "representative" of the best fiction of the year, but not "a definitive compilation."
http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
As for how they choose the match-ups, the best explanation I've read was in the inaugural announcement of 2005. They seed the books into tiers based on arbitrary factors including, "hype, best of the year lists, recommendations from friends and family, and those books that ToB staff and editors were passionate about." The most used word in describing the process was/is "arbitrary."
http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
The TOB staff, not the judges, choose both the long and short lists and set up the brackets. In this year's announcement, "they" (Kevin, John, Rosecrans?) describe their choices for the short list as "representative" of the best fiction of the year, but not "a definitive compilation."
http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
As for how they choose the match-ups, the best explanation I've read was in the inaugural announcement of 2005. They seed the books into tiers based on arbitrary factors including, "hype, best of the year lists, recommendations from friends and family, and those books that ToB staff and editors were passionate about." The most used word in describing the process was/is "arbitrary."
http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
thanks for all the feedback about my question. If the TOB staff are identical the people writing the commentaries, then it feels a little weird when they write in those commentaries that they haven't read a book that they themselves selected for the short list. Just another quirk of TOB, I guess--they don't want their own opinions to be part of the process?
I hadn't heard about Fates & Furies, but now I am very eager to read it. I LOVED Arcadia.Poingu, I think that John and Kevin have said before that there is a whole committee of people who select the books for the shortlist and that they personally don't have that much of a role. I will try to find the link to that -- I think it was in the commentary last year.
Here you go: http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/201...
"In the innermost circle of the Tournament of Books are the chairmen, Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack. If anyone could be said to have a final word when it comes to all things Rooster, it would be them. But input comes from many, many different places. In the next orbit would probably be me, John, and Nozlee Samadzadeh, who is the person who pulls all the levers to really make the tourney run (she also designs the levers, builds them, and then paints them in her garage). The next circle would be all TMN contributors, then TMN readers and ToB fans, and then outside of that, general critical consensus.
So we consult all the best-of lists, the grandaddy source, of course, being Largehearted Boy’s amazing list of lists. Then we ask TMN/ToB readers for their input—this year you responded with many hundreds of suggestions. Those of us in the innermost circles have books we lobby for with varying degrees of passion, and then the back-and-forth starts as we try to balance the shortlist with novels that were either popular or acclaimed (in general the tourney attracts more enthusiasm when it includes a critical mass of books people are familiar with and can root for or against) as well as books that, for one reason or another, might have flown under the radar for many people. We’ve never felt that the ToB’s mission is to be entirely about underappreciated books, but at the same time I think discovering at least a few great novels you hadn’t heard of is part of the appeal. I know it is for me."
Gayla wrote: "I hadn't heard about Fates & Furies, but now I am very eager to read it. I LOVED Arcadia.Poingu, I think that John and Kevin have said before that there is a whole committee of people who select ..."
Oh, thanks, Gayla. That makes sense. I think it's nice and in keeping w. the spirit of TOB that the process is deliberately personal and quirky.
I have now preordered Fates & Furies. Maybe my TBR pile will have diminished by September!! I really enjoyed Arcadia but I LOVED Monsters of Templeton
I read The Sellout last week and thought it was very good. I loved the punched-up comic prose (I had to read some sentences twice, just to enjoy the density of the humor--and I wasn't surprised to learn that Beatty's also a poet) and the relentless satire. I hope it makes the longlist, at least.
Megan wrote: "I read The Sellout last week and thought it was very good. I loved the punched-up comic prose (I had to read some sentences twice, just to enjoy the density of the humor--and I wasn..."I'm glad to see this. I finished Delicious Foods last night and my Overdrive copy of The Sellout showed up this morning. I'm turning in my copy of A Little Life without reading it for now because I don't want to carry that big book around on vacation, and The Sellout looks like a more enjoyable vacation read anyway.
posted by nozlee in today's comments' section below the decision: "Alright, get ready ... this year's (non-binding, woefully incomplete, ever-growing) watch list is a collaboration between John and Kevin and Elliott and Laura. Did we forget your favorite? By all means, tell us about it so we can read it too!"
http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/#co...
Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg
Green on Blue by Elliot Ackerman
After Birth by Elisa Albert
A Cure for Suicide by Jesse Ball
There’s Something I Want You to Do by Charles Baxter
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
Outline by Rachel Cusk
The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell
The Infernal by Mark Doten
The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
City On Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
Delicious Foods by James Hannaham
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Tusk That Did the Damage by Tania James
Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
My Struggle: Book Four by Karl Ove Knausgaard
I Am Radar by Reif Larsen
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
The Whites by Richard Price
The Poser by Jacob Rubin
The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard
Making Nice by Matt Summell
The Last Flight of Poxl West by Daniel Torday
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Find Me by Laura van den Berg
Gold, Fame, Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Mislaid by Nell Zink
In the commentariat this morning, Rosescrans Baldwin wrote that the deadline is December 1st. If they stick with that for next year, Preparation for the Next Life and All My Puny Sorrows will not be eligible because they were published in mid-November.
I was happy to see The Tusk That Did the Damage on the 2016 watch list. It approaches the ivory trade from multiple perspectives. I like it very much.
I was happy to see The Tusk That Did the Damage on the 2016 watch list. It approaches the ivory trade from multiple perspectives. I like it very much.
yes - i am the one that brought that up (the deadlines for consideration). so i am glad to see some discussion around it on the ToB site today from rosencrans. :)
Jennifer wrote: "yes - i am the one that brought that up (the deadlines for consideration). so i am glad to see some discussion around it on the ToB site today from rosencrans. :)"
Oh, so you are that Jennifer! I learned Topher's ToB name today, too.
Thanks for asking about the deadlines. I'm sure we will be referring back to your exchange with Rosecrans in 335 days.
Oh, so you are that Jennifer! I learned Topher's ToB name today, too.
Thanks for asking about the deadlines. I'm sure we will be referring back to your exchange with Rosecrans in 335 days.
hi, tina! :)the whole question of cutoff dates has always been really murky to me. rosencrans mentioned their official rules, which i have apparently managed to miss. but there is definitely a bubble of time in which potential great ToB books are lost and not considered. it will be interesting to see if they make a tweak.
Haven't read it, but have read good things about Daniel Torday's Last Flight of Poxl West.
Out of curiosity I looked at last year's list and neither Station Eleven nor All the Light were on the list. And only four of the eventual 16 were on the list. So I guess that means don't get too caught up on the list.
Jason wrote: "Out of curiosity I looked at last year's list and neither Station Eleven nor All the Light were on the list. And only four of the eventual 16 were on the list. So I guess that means don't get too c..."
Interesting and surprising info, Jason. Thanks for doing the research.
Interesting and surprising info, Jason. Thanks for doing the research.
Thought anyone who loved Brief History might be interested in this. And look what James is writing next! I'm there for this!!! http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/s...
Jan- thanks for sharing that! Very interesting. And his new novel- whoa. Can't wait for that one!
Despite my mixed feelings about A Brief History, that description of James's new novel is very intriguing.
I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but After Birth by Elisa Albert is on sale for $2.99 at Amazon.com and iTunes and $3.24 CDN on Amazon.ca. I have no idea how long these price are good for.
I loved After Birth--if you're on the fence about it you may want to read this NYT review to decide whether it's a good book for you--the reviewer calls it a female Red Badge of Courage:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/boo...
I have to wonder though how any author is making money from Kindle! When I read a book I love from the library I go buy the hardcover so the author gets at least that already-tiny royalty payment.
have i already (or has someone else) mentioned When the Doves Disappeared: A novel, by Sofi Oksanen as a potential contender? i own it, along with Purge (both not yet read) and have heard really great things about oksanen's writing.i have been thinking it would be cool if 2016's official TOB list of 16 was a little more international.
Jennifer wrote: "have i already (or has someone else) mentioned When the Doves Disappeared: A novel, by Sofi Oksanen as a potential contender? i own it, along with [book:Purge|70296..."This book looks really interesting to me--I had it in my hand at the bookstore today but put it back (I'm trying to buy fewer books; if you saw my house you'd understand). Is there a Best Novel in English Translation prize? I would love to be reading more and frankly would love to just know more about what is being written and translated.
Poingu wrote: "This book looks really interesting to me--I had it in my hand at the bookstore today but put it back (I'm trying to buy fewer books; if you saw my house you'd understand). "oh, i understand, poingu. i understand. :)
janet has linked 3 of the translation prizes i am most familiar with - the PEN one and the best translated book award from u. rochester, and the IFFP. there's one other and i am blanking on it right now... but it will come to me, and i will share it when i figure it out.
I have just finished Get in Trouble by Kelly Link . As with most short story collections, I found it a very mixed bag - I only enjoyed about half of them. I much preferred, and enjoyed much more/most of, the Neil Gaiman short story collection, Trigger Warning.
Thanks everyone for the links to books-in-translation awards. I was sad to discover how few of them I've even heard of.
C wrote: "Does anyone know if there is a site that lists upcoming indie published books for the next year? I know there is one that lists the best indie books of the previous year (but I lost that link, if ..."so i just came across this new prize: the firecracker awards. (give for creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novel, poetry, YA, and magazines.)they "seek to celebrate and promote great literary works from independent literary publishers and self-published authors. We're looking for language that smolders, crackles or explodes on the page. We're looking for voices we've never heard and will never forget. The Firecrackers will spotlight books that make a permanent contribution to our literary culture and introduce them to readers far and wide."
http://www.clmp.org/firecracker/
so since we had a bit of chat about independent publishers, i thought i would share this here. (though not so much help for advanced notice. sorry!) i had not heard of these awards before but i quite like the look of their nominees and judges.
Jennifer wrote: "C wrote: "Does anyone know if there is a site that lists upcoming indie published books for the next year? I know there is one that lists the best indie books of the previous year (but I lost that..."Which of the nominees have you read and liked?
Janet wrote: "Which of the nominees have you read and liked?"sadly, i have only read one of the non-fiction book nominees - The Empathy Exams: Essays. i though it was fantastic and it was a highlight of my reading in 2014.
i own a number of the shotlisted novels, though and this award may guide my reading a little bit over the next while. i think we had noted several of them as ToB contenders too, so it seems like a good list in that regard too.
certainly, as a good canadian, i have to move Us Conductors (which won canada's biggest literary award, the giller prize, last november), and The Search for Heinrich Schlögel: A Novel.
Jennifer wrote: "as a good canadian, i have to move Us Conductors (which won canada's biggest literary award, the giller prize, last november), and The Search for Heinrich Schlögel: A Novel."
Both of these sound great. I added them to be TBR. Thanks!
Both of these sound great. I added them to be TBR. Thanks!
Have read both Delicious Foods and The Sellout and both are Rooster worthy. I can already imagine the kerfuffle next year when The Sellout is paired with a judge who doesn't understand satire.
Tina wrote: "Both of these sound great. I added them to be TBR. Thanks! "great! i hope they work for you, and i hope i get to them soon. :)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Signs Preceding the End of the World (other topics)Aurora (other topics)
Get in Trouble (other topics)
The Sympathizer (other topics)
Radiance (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Eka Kurniawan (other topics)Vendela Vida (other topics)
Sandra Newman (other topics)
André Alexis (other topics)
André Alexis (other topics)
More...
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jameshannaham...