2015 ToB Competition Discussion Showing 151-200 of 1,076

[Janet]

For those who have not yet read Redeployment, I recommend skipping to the story called Money as a Weapons System. It is smart and hilarious and not as full of indecipherable acronyms as some of the earlier stories. Reading Money first will hook you for the rest.

[Sherri]

I didn't get much reading time this week, so I'm still on A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall. The pace really picked up just before the half-way mark. This is the kind of book that would be great to discuss chapter by chapter. I didn't realize it was a debut novel, which makes it even more impressive. I wish I could just read for the rest of the day and finish it!

[Mina]

AmberBug wrote: "My thoughts on the Ferrante... do you think the judge will feel the same way as the majority of the posters here and read all three? That seems like a tough pill to swallow, especially if it makes ..."

Just bought All the Birds Singing as an audio book. Wish I had seen your post about Redeployment first. It was my other choice. Glad you are enjoying it as a listen.

[AmberBug]

Mina wrote: "AmberBug wrote: "My thoughts on the Ferrante... do you think the judge will feel the same way as the majority of the posters here and read all three? That seems like a tough pill to swallow, especi..."

Oh funny, I just got "All the Birds Singing" with my other Audible credit... so that one is next on the list. You'll have to let me know how it sounds.

[Jan]

I finished Wittgenstein Jr and Silence Once Begun this week and while they're not favorites and I don't see them advancing that far in the ToB, I'm glad I read them. Also have finished several off the long list--Florence Gordon (liked it a lot), The Fever (Megan Abbott does creepy really well!) and Reunion (weak, glad it didn't make the tournament). I've got to take a break for book group reading, and then will start on Brave Man. Then I just have Adam and the second and third books of Ferrante's trilogy. I really did not like the first one, and am curious to see if I like the others better or am just out of sync with all the 5-star reviews.

For people struggling with A Brief History of Seven Killings, I think the initial confusion is deliberate. Reminded me a bit of reading 100 Years of Solitude, and realizing I'd have a much better time if I surrendered to the confusion and let the river of language carry me along. Eventually things come together. Also, it's outstanding (but still confusing) on audio.

[Katie]

I tried to start A Brief History last night and in my exhausted TGIF stupor I couldn't make heads or tales of it. I am going to have to try again tonight with some rest! I appreciate knowing I can roll just a little with some early confusion and still be ok. Three TOB books arrived from the library yesterday so I am going to have to make headway fast!

[jess]

I finished Adam today. I think I'm too close to the subject matter. I camped at camp trans for 5 summers and dated the woman that Hazel is based on for a couple years. I didn't like the book, but I feel really protective about the culture and community in the book. I don't want to hear discussion about the novel that might pass judgements on my friends and life experiences, if that makes any sense. I feel really really weird about this book.

[Mo]

So, I'm relatively new to ToB, read a few last year, and thanks to the short ones this year am hoping to get thru a bit more. HOWEVER, I just received Annihilation from the library and I am really not enjoying it at all. It is dragging and I feel like it's so removed from any interaction or enticement with the reader.
Anyways, I came on here to see what others thought of it. Will have to check out the article that was posted.
I did enjoy All the Birds, Singing and really enjoyed how it finished.

[Ryan]

I really liked Annihilation, largely because of the dark, mysterious atmosphere. I did not, however, overly enjoy the way the trilogy wrapped up.

[Juniper]

apparently jeff vandermeer's southern reach trilogy is on sale today - each e-book $2.99 at iBooks, amazon, and BN.

[C]

I wonder if those that have read some of Vandermeer's other books are finding this one lacking? Some of his others seem awesome, but of course I haven't had a chance to read them yet.

[Jan]

jess wrote: "I finished Adam today. I think I'm too close to the subject matter. I camped at camp trans for 5 summers and dated the woman that Hazel is based on for a couple years. I didn't like the book, but..."

Jess, I think your feelings are completely understandable. I feel a little that way about An Untamed State, not that I've experienced anything like Mireille has, but the book feels ultra-personal somehow, as if I'm gonna feel bruised if people discuss it critically or without empathy. The power of literature, I guess, especially when it strikes close to our own experiences.

[Ed]

I am curious to see how Untamed State is going to shake out. I thought the book was "good," but had quibbles with it and did not have the strong/visceral reaction that many have expressed. I pondered in my review if part of the reason may be that I am a white, middle-age-ish male ... think a discussion re: gender both the characters and the reader (and, in ToB, the judge) would/could be a very interesting and provocative one!

[Sherri]

I finished A Brave Man the other day and I remember thinking it was really good, but a bit uneven. I gave it 3 stars. 2 days later I'm still processing it and I bumped up my rating to 4 stars. The things that kind of bugged me while I was reading seem so unimportant now and the story of Professor Burr in particular has really grown on me.

I'm so impressed that this is a debut novel for Will Chancellor. I think I read it took him 11 years to write it and he had some really interesting ways of getting into the story during that time. I reminds me that Smith Henderson took 10 years to write Fourth of July Creek, another outstanding debut novel for the year. It will be interesting to see what these two writers produce going forward when they have the pressure of publishing a second novel to deal with.

[Sam]

Now that some of the library holds have come in, I can start tackling some of these babies in earnest. I chose to dive in with A Brave Man. But oy--it’s been excruciating to get through the 30 pages of the book that I’ve managed to read over *two weeks*. I’ve picked up and put down the book a billion times since I've had it; anything and everything other than this book has seemed like a better alternative to read. The puzzling thing, though, is that I can’t really say why I can’t get along with it. My mind drifts away from the page each time—and it’s not just the strange talk of colors and gods, but even ostensibly mundane/accessible scenes of the father sitting in the car or Owen sleeping on the train aren't finding footholds in my brain. The only thing keeping me going is the hope that it gets more engaging once we get to Europe. Many of the comments here and other Goodreads reviews seem to indicate that it’s worth trying to power through, so I’ll grit my teeth and go back in.

[Janet]

Ed,
Are you the reason I can't get these books from Phoenix Public Library? lol
An Untamed State was my favorite book of the year. I'm a 60 years old female. So gender may be a factor.
On another topic, I listened to everyone's advice and chugged along on The Bone Clocks. About two thirds in now and no turning back.

[Ed]

Hi Janet... didn't realize you were local! Am a Kindle addict here, so not clogging up the library queue! ;-)

[Katie]

I'm trying hard with A Brief History of Seven Killings but I keep falling asleep. It's not boring but it is confusing to read when tired and I'm pretty much always tired.

An Untamed State is probably my favorite of all I've read so far. That book is powerful and raw. I am a 33 year old female with small children so definitely able to identify in some ways I suppose. It was just intense yet the breaks Roxanne Gay gives the reader jumping back in time kept me from falling totally apart while reading it. I don't cry often reading but that book brought me to tears two or three times. I still want to read Bad Feminist just haven't found time yet.

[Amy]

I've been following the ToB since 2006, but this is the first year I'm attempting to read a significant number on the shortlist before the tourney. I've finished All the Light (bleh, but I knew going in it wasn't my kind of book), The Paying Guests (liked, but not as well as The Little Stranger) and Station Eleven (enjoyed a lot--what a page turner!). I've got All the Birds up next and library holds on Everything I Never Told You, Annihilation and Dept. of Speculation. I have the Ferrante, but because it's the third in the series I need to read the second book first. And I'll prob end up buying The Bone Clocks. That's what I'm committing to getting through by March. (I gather Untamed State is the frontrunner, but I honestly don't think I can handle the violence. Ditto for Brief History.) Wish me luck?

[Beth]

My library is not cooperating with movement on my hold of My Brilliant Friend, so I broke down and made an e-book purchase. (with my usual great timing, this will probably be a $1.99 Nook special next week). The last two of the Ferrante trilogy are readily available at the library. Four more to finish pre tourney plus my two book commitment to read the entire Ferrante trio. I'm in such better shape than last year at this time I keep flirting with non TOB books. Just finished an arc of my Sunshine Away (it's good) and The Girl on A Train is calling to me. Better push on over 2,200 pages to go. I assume I'm not the only one who calculates running pages to go on the TOB list. Happy reading everyone.

[Katie]

I haven't heard much from folks on Dept. Of Speculation, anyone have thoughts? It was so short and so quick I feel like I could and maybe should read it again. There were so many thoughts in it I loved and the style was so different. I am eager to read the discussions and wonder what it will be paired against...

[Ellen]

Am I the only one who's read Wittgenstein Jr. as of yet? I finished it Saturday a.m., and am totally puzzled not only by the book and why it exists at all but also why it was included in the ToB. And the thing that puzzled me the most was that it purports to take place in Cambridge in presumably the current day -- yet it portrays a Cambridge that is almost 100% exclusively male. It reads and smells like a novel about Cambridge in the 20s (albeit with much more drug use), which I think is deliberate, i.e. reflecting the Cambridge of the original Wittgenstein, but falls completely flat because of that, in my opinion.

Anyway. Moving along -- I'm about 1/3 of the way through Adam, and while it's a perfectly easy read, I am again puzzled by its inclusion in the tournament.

[Deborah]

Ellen wrote: "Am I the only one who's read Wittgenstein Jr. as of yet? I finished it Saturday a.m., and am totally puzzled not only by the book and why it exists at all but also why it was included in the ToB. ..."

You're not the only one, Ellen. I, too, finished Wittgenstein Jr with a WTF?

[Jan]

There are some interesting discussions going on in other threads here and in The Rooster group. Melanie and Christopher have set up separate threads for 5 or 6 of the 2015 books, including Annihilation. Someone on one thread or another posted a link to wonderful The Millions review of Wittgenstein Jr by Emily St John Mandel. http://www.themillions.com/2014/11/th...

[Ellen]

Thanks, Deborah. I don't feel quite so alone now.

With all respect to Emily St. John Mandel, I do not see in that book what she saw in it.

[Janet]

I have 200 pages left to go in The Bone Clocks and I'm starting to think David Mitchell was dropping acid when he wrote this book.

[Deborah]

Jan wrote: "There are some interesting discussions going on in other threads here and in The Rooster group. Melanie and Christopher have set up separate threads for 5 or 6 of the 2015 books, including Annihila..."

I read St. John Mandel's review, and although I understood what she was saying, it still didn't help me understand or like Wittgenstein Jr any better.

[Deborah]

Ellen, I just finished Edward St. Aubyn's Lost for Words (I had placed library holds based on the long list, and this one was so short that I figured, "Why not?"), and I think this quote is perfect for my, and perhaps your, impression of the shortlist thus far:

"If an artist is good, nobody else can do what he or she does and therefore all comparisons are incoherent. Only the mediocre, pushing forward a commonplace view of life in a commonplace language, can really be compared, but my wife thinks that 'least mediocre of the mediocre' is a discouraging title for a prize[.]"

[C]

Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting them for me? It basically just tells me that they will start deleting some books when there are too many.

[Joy]

Deborah wrote: "Ellen wrote: "Am I the only one who's read Wittgenstein Jr. as of yet? I finished it Saturday a.m., and am totally puzzled not only by the book and why it exists at all but also why it was include..."

I agree but so far many of the books are bewildering to me. When I finished THE SILENCE ONCE BEGUN, I finally got the point, but the book seemed to have too many words (a la AMADEAUS) for the story.

[Deborah]

C wrote: "Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting them for me? It basically just tell..."

I don't know if this is the app you're referring to, but I use the Android Kindle app on my tablet, I currently have over 400 books downloaded to that device, and Amazon hasn't deleted anything.

[Deborah]

Does anyone have an electronic copy of either Silence Once Begun or Adam they could lend to me, either through Kindle or NOOK? These are the only two books on the shortlist that neither I nor my library owns, and I'm a little reluctant to spend $20 for books I may not like.

If so, send me a PM, and I'll give you my e-mail address. Thanks.

[C]

Deborah wrote: "C wrote: "Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting them for me? It basically..."

Not sure if it's the same.. was your app free? I just use mine on a regular old browser on a laptop, so it's probably different by format anyway. I know I shouldn't be reading too many BOOKS on a computer screen anyway.

[AmberBug]

C wrote: "Deborah wrote: "C wrote: "Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting them for m..."

I swear by my paperwhite, the screen doesn't hurt my eyes at all and I find it's the perfect size & price. No bells and whistles though (means no distractions from e-mail, facebook, goodreads... which I am completely fine with).

[Deborah]

C wrote: "Deborah wrote: "C wrote: "Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting them for m..."

Yes, the app I use was free from the Amazon app store.

[C]

Deborah wrote: "C wrote: "Deborah wrote: "C wrote: "Question for anyone that uses the free read.amazon.com app: Do you know around how many books can be stored before Amazon starts doing me the favor of deleting ..."

Oh nice, was hoping the app would keep more than 10. :D

[Jack]

Isn't Wittgenstein Jr. this year's Hill William? Except that I liked Hill William.

[Ellen]

I remember liking Hill William when I read it -- and then 2 weeks later not remembering one thing about it.

[Mainon]

Jack wrote: "Isn't Wittgenstein Jr. this year's Hill William? Except that I liked Hill William."

Exactly my feeling.

Except that I think WJ is just like everything else that that author has written, whereas (if I recall correctly) HW was a first novel? Or first adult novel? Or something? Somehow that makes a difference to me.

[Ryan]

I think there was one before Hill William- Crapalachia! (sp?).

[Ryan]

I think there was one before Hill William- Crapalachia! (sp?).

[Janet]

I read Crapalachia but not Hill William.

[Jack]

Just to refresh your memory of Hill William. Our protagonist at the end had relations with that thar Hill. I won't soon forget that. In unrelated news, I finished Bone Clocks -mostly meh - and am about halfway through Everything I Never Told You, which I so far am surprised at how much I am liking it.

[Anne]

I finished Station Twelve in a short two days. I enjoyed it more than several who have posted here, I think. I don't really see it going far in the tournament though.

Started Adam this morning and feel like it is everything that Eleanor and Park wasn't. But it's early going and my thoughts might change.

Next up: Silence Once Begun then Annihilation for the finish. That leaves WJ unread for this year's tournament because I refuse to buy it, especially after what's been said here.

[Ellen]

"Our protagonist at the end had relations with that thar Hill."
Um...what? I don't remember this at all. Like I said -- I remembered nothing of the book two weeks later, and certainly not anything resembling this comment!

I finished Adam, and again, had that kind of WTF? response to it; it struck me as middling YA with a lot more sex added, and the whole premise kind of annoyed me. If it had been funnier and less... queasy, I might have liked it more. I do think there's a way to make the same premise funny without ridicule. And I still just can't help feeling that there were dozens of more worthy books on the longlist and/or published last year. I ... just don't get it, like with Wittgenstein Jr.

Anyway. Started An Untamed State yesterday. I've been resisting it for a year, ever since it was published and people here started reading it and commenting favorably, mostly because the whole horrible happenings in a chaotic and/or war-torn 3rd world country theme is not one I gravitate to -- but I have to say, the first fifth of the book has me totally hooked. Her writing is fabulous. The violence is, indeed, hard to stomach, though.

[Allyson]

I started Brave Man but had to set aside. I just didn't care, even a tad, about the characters. I'll go back to it later. Am currently reading the first in the Ferrante trilogy. I'm about 50% in and 100% bored numb. I doubt if I'll read the rest of this series. Oh, reading mojo, this is a bad time for you to abandon me!!

[Juniper]

Allyson wrote: "... Am currently reading the first in the Ferrante trilogy. I'm about 50% in and..."

oh, that's such a shame, allyson! i finished My Brilliant Friend the other day and quite liked it. i jumped right into reading the 2nd book, The Story of a New Name, and i'm liking it more than MBF.

[Jennifer]

Allyson - A Brave Man really does pick up. I had my doubts initially as well.

[Sherri]

Allyson wrote: "I started Brave Man but had to set aside. I just didn't care, even a tad, about the characters. I'll go back to it later. Am currently reading the first in the Ferrante trilogy. I'm about 50% in an..."

I agree with Jennifer - A Brave Man takes a while to get into, but it gets much better - for me it was around the 40% mark. Have you already read Station Eleven and All the Light we Cannot See? If not, I'd say go with one of those for a better chance of enjoying what you're reading.

[Allyson]

Sherri wrote: "Allyson wrote: "I started Brave Man but had to set aside. I just didn't care, even a tad, about the characters. I'll go back to it later. Am currently reading the first in the Ferrante trilogy. I'm..."

Thanks - I'm going to push on through. I have read Station 11 and All the Light. I've been crazy busy and my reading has been in fits and spurts. I'm dedicating this evening to getting back into the groove!