Tournament of Books discussion
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2016 Books
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2016 - Possible Contenders
Tiffany wrote: "I know Sweetland by Michael Crummey was mentioned several months ago on this thread, but I wanted to bring it up again because I recently finished it, and loved it so.It's been awhile since I've ..."
I just started Sweetland over the weekend and it is a breath of fresh air after two "meh" books (The Girl on the Train and A Little Life)
i am thrilled to hear all the sweetland love going on! :)
Jennifer knows how much I loved Sweetland (finished yesterday). She's the one who recommended Crummey last year. I sent a separate thank you message. Makes me eager to read Galore!
i have ALL the love for Galore. i mean, Sweetland was a standout read for me in 2014, and i certainly didn't shut up about it for months and do really love it... but galore. wow!! i have read it four times now. (and i don't reread very often at all. though two of those time were for different work assignments, two readings were just for me. heh.) i consider galore one of my favourite novels of all time. (not to oversell that one, or overinflated expectations. sorry!) as you can probably tell, Michael Crummey is one of my favourite contemporary authors. :)
I spent the summer of 1971 (or what passed for summer) in Newfoundland so I guess I'm predisposed to like books set there.
Drew wrote: "I spent the summer of 1971 (or what passed for summer) in Newfoundland so I guess I'm predisposed to like books set there."wonderful (and - haha!!)!!! i have not yet been to newfoundland - which is hugely disappointing to me if i sit and think about it. part of my family is from there, and we have many relatives there. we do hope to get out east in the next couple of years. i am definitely predisposed to newfoundland stories and writers too. :)
I have no idea if this is a contender, but I can't wait to read it. Maybe it'll get the quirky book spot.http://houseofanansi.com/products/whe...
Sherri wrote: "I have no idea if this is a contender, but I can't wait to read it. Maybe it'll get the quirky book spot...Where Did You Sleep Last Night is getting great (positive) attention here. i believe the launch was last night. i am super-keen to read it too, sherri!
Jennifer wrote: "Sherri wrote: "I have no idea if this is a contender, but I can't wait to read it. Maybe it'll get the quirky book spot...Where Did You Sleep Last Night is getting great (positive..."
I found out about it because Margaret Atwood mentioned it on Twitter. I started following Lynn Crosbie and so I'm seeing all the launch love she's getting. Twitter is becoming one of my favorite places to find new books.
i have been using twitter for several years now, for bookish purposes - the publishers, and many authors, use it a lot, along with all the book-related newsy stuff. it's definitely a great resource for me too.
Katie wrote: "I'm so behind on adding books on my TBR and catching up on 2015 but I just started (about 50 pages in) to A Little Life and I'm already finding it impossible to put down. ..."I'm with you--I'm about 175 pages into A Little Life and I'm wishing I could take a few vacation days this week just so I could read it all day until I'm done!
Jan wrote: "Just got the audio of The Fishermen after reading The Millions review. Diana, I'm with you on Hausfrau, really liked it, and also Outline--have you read that one? Recently read the Children's Crusa..."Didn't know that Kate Atkinson's new novel was a semi-sequel! So excited... Life After Life was one of my fave books.
Karen Michele wrote: "C wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "Gayla wrote: "The new T. C. Boyle (The Harder They Come) looks really good. Has there been a Boyle book in the tournament before?"T. C. Boyle is on..."
World's End is my favorite Boyle book--not as outrageously comic as his later work. It's more toned down, and the story is fantastic. I think it's his favorite (Boyle's) as well. I really recommend it (have read a lot of Boyle).
Dianah wrote: "Hausfrau by Essbaum is amazing."TOTALLY AGREE! But here in Minnesota they seem to frown on adultery and depression-plagued women. Sometimes I feel as isolated in my favorite books as Anna is in Zurich. sigh.
Here is a Huffpost article about literary books coming soon...I haven't heard anything about any of them! I see Jesse Ball is there, though:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05...
Poingu wrote: "Here is a Huffpost article about literary books coming soon...I haven't heard anything about any of them! I see Jesse Ball is there, though:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05......"
Just what I need - a bunch more books on my to-read list :). I'm excited to see the short story collection from Rebecca Makai.
Also, I loved Call Me Home by Megan Kruse.
Amy wrote: "Katie wrote: "I'm so behind on adding books on my TBR and catching up on 2015 but I just started (about 50 pages in) to A Little Life and I'm already finding it impossible to put down. ..."I'm w..."
I finished today. It never lost it for me, all 700+ pages I was madly in love with that book. I don't really read reviews before I read a book, sometimes (like in this case) when I know the author I don't even read what it's about. I went back and read reviews and I get why the Sunday Times found issues, I don't disagree with them, I also don't care even a little. I'm unapologetically in love with that book right now in a way I haven't been with a book in a good long time.
I have been in a rather extended reading slump where I've liked books even given some 4 or 5 stars because I enjoyed them but haven't felt sucked in. I haven't stayed up late and anticipated the next free minute where I could get back to the book. Have it on my phone and read it any time I could fit a page in. That was this book for me and it was so nice to feel that way again!
It has also excited me to add all these great books you all have been chatting away about to my TBR lists! Now to pick the next one....I know I need to pick something very different. Both because that book was heavy and as much as I loved it you can only take so much heavy and because I tend to compare and it's better if they aren't anything alike. So I'm sifting through all the great books you all have mentioned and lists you've posted!
Book of Numbers: A Novel looks like it might be much buzzed about book this year. Anyone heard anything?
Jason, I saw Book of Numbers in a Summer Book Preview in the latest Entertainment Weekly magazine (don't judge
My comment was cut off! Blurb states book is being compared to David Foster Wallace
I saw the same thing in EW. No shame in that.
Good. I actually think they (EW) have decent book coverage and their year end best lists are pretty good!
The Buried Giant -- I had to come on here and say how much I loved this book. What a beautiful, thought-provoking story. I just finished the audio and will be buying the hardcover so I can read it as many times as I want. I know it's not getting a great reception, but has anyone else on here fallen in love with it, or was it written just for me? :).
Sherri wrote: "The Buried Giant -- I had to come on here and say how much I loved this book. What a beautiful, thought-provoking story. I just finished the audio and will be buying the hardcover so I can read it ..."I also enjoyed it and the characters are still wandering around in my brain which I think is a sign of a good book! It's been a while since I finished it and it was a library copy, so I can't be more specific, but I am getting a signed copy soon! I participated in Independent Bookstore Day in Seattle and won a signed book from one of the stores I visited. Ishiguro was in Seattle, but I missed getting to go see him (it's about an hour away from where I live), so I'm excited to still get a signed book. I want to go read some more reviews and think more about this book. Some reviewers are talking about the book like he set out to write a fantasy and failed, but I didn't read it that way. To me, it was more a book about the journey of aging - a realistic story that just happened to have elements of fantasy and quest. I am not ordinarily a re-reader, but this may be one I revisit someday.
Karen Michele wrote: "Sherri wrote: "The Buried Giant -- I had to come on here and say how much I loved this book. What a beautiful, thought-provoking story. I just finished the audio and will be buying the hardcover so..."Thanks Karen and Sherri. I'm one of the haters but even so I love hearing what you loved about this book, the things I was too dense or too cranky to see when I read it.
I loved this novel for the first three chapters but it's because I misunderstood the book's intention. I thought it was about human dignity in the face of profound memory loss--a metaphor for Alzheimers. But then the story veered off into something I didn't understand. I didn't mind that it wasn't good fantasy. It just felt muddled to me.
Karen Michele wrote: "Sherri wrote: "The Buried Giant -- I had to come on here and say how much I loved this book. What a beautiful, thought-provoking story. I just finished the audio and will be buying the hardcover so..."Off topic, Karen, but I'm a Seattle girl too (living in Colorado now), and I followed the fun of independent bookstore day on Twitter through Elliot Bay Books. I'm so jealous you got to participate. How many stores did you make it to?
Poingu wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "Sherri wrote: "The Buried Giant -- I had to come on here and say how much I loved this book. What a beautiful, thought-provoking story. I just finished the audio and will be b..."Poingu, if I remember right, you read it when it first came out, right? I had the benefit of having low expectations and then finding so much to love about it. I was going to go into my thoughts in more detail, but remembered this isn't a Buried Giant discussion thread. I have my doubts, but I hope to see it make it into the tournament next year so we can really has it out :).
Sherri wrote: "Poingu, if I remember right, you read it when it first came out, right? I had the benefit of having low expectations and then finding so much to love about it. "Sherri, I was one of the early haters. It's true.
OTOH the only 2015 fiction I've given 5 stars to haven't made much of an impression with other readers here. So I think I'm an outlier. (My 5 star reads so far this year are Satin Island by Tom McCarthy, Gutshot by Amelia Gray, After Birth by Elisa Albert and Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis)
Poingu wrote: "Sherri wrote: "Poingu, if I remember right, you read it when it first came out, right? I had the benefit of having low expectations and then finding so much to love about it. "Sherri, I was one o..."
I've got Satin Island checked out from the library, but I'm not sure I'll get to it before it's due back. I'm glad to hear you loved it, and I'm going to try harder to get to it.
I have a copy of Gutshot: Stories...it was a pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Must get to it.
I just started the audiobook of Delicious Foods and the narrator is excellent. The drug "talking" chapter really gets the point across on audio. I would recommend that one as a listen (although I just started it).
Lljones wrote: "Anyone else looking forward to this one?Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick DeWitt"
I am -- I loved The Sisters Brothers!
A new book from the author of The Sisters Brothers? I can hardly wait, LJones! AmberBug, Delicious Foods is one of my favorite books this year, and I agree with your recommendation to experience this book on audio. Did you know the narrator is actually the author?! James Hannaham is an actor as well as a writer, and he really brings it to the narration.
And somewhat off topic, but have any of you read The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber? I got it when it was on the 2015 long list and just got around to reading it. Oh man, I wish it had made the cut--it's not for everyone and it's not perfect, but it would have led to great discussions and found a lot of admirers. It is literary fiction with big themes and some speculative elements...very much in The Bone Clocks territory, except that it left me feeling much sadder and more unsettled than TBC. TBoSNT was well reviewed but didn't have the breakout success of TBC. I almost wonder if Mitchell's book didn't suck up some of the energy and attention that would otherwise have gone to Faber. (Faber's previous big book was The Crimson Petal and the White.) In any case, I wanted to offer you guys my recommendation. :-)
Yes, I loved The Book of Strange New Things.
Jan wrote: "A new book from the author of The Sisters Brothers? I can hardly wait, LJones! AmberBug, Delicious Foods is one of my favorite books this year, and I agree with your recommendation to experience ..."
Okay, that makes it EVEN better, I had no idea!
Jan wrote: "A new book from the author of The Sisters Brothers? I can hardly wait, LJones! AmberBug, Delicious Foods is one of my favorite books this year, and I agree with your recommendation to experience ..."
I was also surprised "The Book of Strange New Things" didn't make it. The discussion would have been amazing.
Agreed! Most remarkable book I've read in ages.Poingu wrote: "Do books published very late in 2014 ever get considered for the following year's TOB competition? What is the cutoff date--calendar year?
I'm asking because it's inconceivable to me that [book:P..."
Speaking of TOB surprises, I think the one area that they are not transparent about is how the final 16 are chosen and why some of our favorites over the years have been left out. I'd like to hear the stories of how they make those final decisions and why a book like Tenth of December or The Book of Strange New Things didn't make the list.
Jason wrote: "I'd like to hear the stories of how they make those final decisions and why a book like Tenth of December or The Book of Strange New Things didn't make the list. "One reason you may never hear but I personally believe is a very important consideration, one that deserves the attention of people choosing 16 books for the tournament: they don't want to run into a situation like 2015 Academy Awards where absolutely every nominee was white and male, except for the "female" award categories, in which the nominees were white and female. That is just outrageous. Or I should say, I happen to believe it's because of systemic bias rather than that white people were all qualitatively better actors last year.
If it takes someone at TOB looking at 16 potential slots and thinking hmm, "there might be overwhiteness and overmaleness at work in our literary culture" and doing something positive to counteract these biases, I'm all for it, even if it means that there was an unofficial comparison of Book of Strange New Things vs Bone Clocks for the Big Weird Novel by a White Guy slot before the tournament officially began, or an unofficial comparison of Tenth of December with Redeployment for the Amazing Short Story Collection by a White Guy slot.
I don't think it's introducing bias so much as correcting bias. I dont' think it's just coincidence for example that the gender of TOB authors has worked out to be exactly 50-50 over the years.
I can accept that, but why not talk about it? They pride themselves on being the irreverent book award with full transparency on judges and process, but this is the one area we all scratch our heads about each year. We have a 294 message thread 9 months before the tourney to talk about it. I think for many of us it's not clear which is a more important day: the day the Rooster is decided or the day the 16 books are announced. I'm not wanting it so that I can complain about the choices, but I'd just love to have even more of the curtain pulled back and more TOB content to read.
i would love to know more about the process and choices too, jason. i do agree with your assessment, poingu. i guess i am like jason, though, in thinking there is nothing to be lost by being even more transparent - and especially at this time, when diversity in publishing is such a big issue and being talked about withe regularity.of course, i would also love to be a fly on the wall during award juries' deliberations... so maybe i am just
Jennifer wrote: "i would love to know more about the process and choices too, jason. i do agree with your assessment, poingu. i guess i am like jason, though, in thinking there is nothing to be lost by being even ..."It would be in line with the entirely fun delightful nature of the rest of the tournament if they had the "Round of 16" be chosen by one designated judge, who also would be tasked with writing an essay to explain his/her choices. I would love that. Especially if they picked a musician to do it. Just joking on that last part.
i agree - it would be right in line with the tournament to be completely transparent.
Poingu wrote: "...if they had the "Round of 16" be chosen by one designated judge, who also would be tasked with writing an essay to explain his/her choices. I would love that."
Oh no, Poingu, that would be awful! No one person should have so much power! : )
I agree that it would be good to know how they arrive at the short list. Since the committee members are coworkers who seem to know each other well, I'm guessing they have many spirited discussions as they whittle the list down to 16. Being privy to the committee's reasoning might satisfy my curiosity, but it would not make me feel any better about my favorites being overlooked.
Oh no, Poingu, that would be awful! No one person should have so much power! : )
I agree that it would be good to know how they arrive at the short list. Since the committee members are coworkers who seem to know each other well, I'm guessing they have many spirited discussions as they whittle the list down to 16. Being privy to the committee's reasoning might satisfy my curiosity, but it would not make me feel any better about my favorites being overlooked.
Tina wrote: "Being privy to the committee's reasoning might satisfy my curiosity, but it would not make me feel any better about my favorites being overlooked."now i am imagining a scenario where the final 16 is created based on some sort of community input/voting. (though how this could be accomplished fairly, without inappropriate manipulations... i have no idea. damn internet! haha!)
Tina wrote: "Oh no, Poingu, that would be awful! No one person should have so much power! : ) "I guess, but personally I think they should ask ME because I would do a Mary Poppins job of it (practically perfect in every way)
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Tournament of Books
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It's been awhile since I've read a book with such strong character development. The subtle revelations were stunning.
The Sellout and The Infernal are up next for me.