Tournament of Books discussion
2021 TOB General Topics
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TOB 2020 Shortlist
Kyle - The zombie vote needs to be in before midnight (Eastern) on Dec. 30, 2020!The only two I've read - Luster and Sharks are probably tied for favorites right now, so this zombie choice will be hard. Many good books on the list that I will probably equally love!
I'm generally happy about the short list, but would have been really excited if a few of these were switched out with others... *Breasts and Eggs - I have this checked out on audio now actually. Hope it goes well but I have only moderate expectations.
*A Children's Bible - Not thrilled it made the list, even though I didn't dislike it necessarily.
*Deacon King Kong - I enjoyed this on audio, though I'll admit my mind wandered a bit sometimes. It could have just been life circumstances getting in the way though, and I might reread it in print.
*Interior Chinatown - the audio wasn't the ideal format, so I'll probably reread this one in print.
*Leave the World Behind - I have a print copy of this from BOTM. I've seen mediocre reviews/ratings so far, but I'll go in with an open mind.
*Luster - I enjoyed this when I listened to it earlier this year. Don't remember any details though.
*Memorial - I'm a big fan of this author as a person and I loved the ending of this story, but I had mixed feelings about the rest of it.
*Piranesi - Based on the description, this isn't something I'd be interested in, but I know folks here have enjoyed it, so I'll pick up a print copy and do my best.
*Sharks in the Time of Saviors - LOVE this book.
*Shuggie Bain - I listened to it months ago and don't remember details, but it didn't do much for me.
*Telephone - I'm excited this made the list and I already have a copy!
*Tender is the Flesh - I'm not excited about this one. It's hardcore vegan propaganda (I watched the author interview at the Texas Book Festival) and I'm not prepared to get more food issues than I already have by reading this... (I have a digestive disease that may be connected to how I was vegetarian for 17 years and now I can only eat like three things, including meat and cheese, so I'm kinda grumpy about veganism, haha). Sorry for the TMI on that one.
*Transcendent Kingdom - I adored the audio version of this and might reread it in print.
*The Vanishing Half - I'm reading it now and it's wonderful.
*We Ride Upon Sticks - I listened to it earlier this year and it was kind of meh for me.
Play in:
*Down Days - Ah! I started listening to this a few days ago and had to stop. My mind is actively rejecting a story about a pandemic so I wasn't able to follow it at all. Too soon, ToB, too soon.
*Red Pill - I'm intrigued by this one and plan to pick up a print copy.
*The Resisters - I think this has not been going well for folks here, right? Not too excited about it.
Very sad these didn't make the cut:
Apeirogon, A Burning, Clap When You Land, The Death of Vivek Oji, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, The Knockout Queen (please still read this one!!), Real Life, Ring Shout
I'm torn on what to pick for the zombie. I'm thinking either Sharks, The Vanishing Half, or Transcendent Kingdom.
Oh and it's fun that I know one of the judges! I met Gabino Iglesias at the book festival last year and have taken a writing class with him. I think he'll be an excellent judge and choose the "right" book. ;)
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "If you try every book but DNF a couple can you still call yourself a completist?"I absolutely would!
Elizabeth wrote: "Choosing my Libro book for the month...Has anyone listened to the audio of Memorial, Tender is the Flesh, The Down Days or The Resisters?"I did TitF in audio and was riveted. I probably got through it faster in audio than I would have in book format (driving around for presents w/o the fam helps), plus I do dishes and laundry so I knocked it out quick
All the library holds placed! A lot of popular books on the shortlist this year, so lots of long holds, but also some immediately available, woohoo!
Amanda wrote: "For audio recommendations--Piranesi, Leave t..."Thanks Amanda. I've read Piranesi but will try the other two.
lark wrote: "I've never gotten arount to Deacon King Kong -- I keep thinking I should read The Good Lord Bird first!"=The Good Lord Bird= is the better of the two....
I'm astounded to have read (or DNF at least) 11 of these. Of those, Interior Chinatown, Deacon King Kong, Sharks, and Vanishing Half are my faves, I think.
Lauren wrote: "I'm generally happy about the short list, but would have been really excited if a few of these were switched out with others...I too was fairly inclined to think I was not that interested in and wouldn't necessarily like Piranesi, but I listened to it on audio on a multi-day coastal drive and found it riveting. It was not as abstruse as I feared given the description I'd read, and it was easy to sink myself into the strange world of the novel. I ended up liking it a heck of a lot and thought the audiobook narrator did a great job.
I've been pondering whether or not to spend an Audible credit for Piranesi....I usually want more listening time for my $ but this one might be better appreciated in audio format. I read a few pages in print and it didn't compel me to read on.
Bob wrote: "Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "If you try every book but DNF a couple can you still call yourself a completist?"I absolutely would!"
No, no, no, no....lol.
Elizabeth wrote: "Choosing my Libro book for the month...Has anyone listened to the audio of Memorial, Tender is the Flesh, The Down Days or The Resisters?"I listened to Memorial....the narration is decent but I was not a fan of the book.
Robin wrote: "The Resisters was good as an audiobook.Anyone's thoughts on listening vs reading Shuggie Bain? I've seen mixed comments."
I listened to Shuggie Bain and thought it was excellent but it would probably be just as good in print.
I've read 9.5 of the shortlist....hoping to be a completist again this year but have doubts that I can get all the books....my libraries have been extraordinarily slow due to Covid restrictions.
Janet wrote: "I've been pondering whether or not to spend an Audible credit for Piranesi....I usually want more listening time for my $ but this one might be better appreciated in audio format. I read a few pages in print and it didn't compel me to read on...."Me too Janet. I just got it from the library and opened it and began to read and thought, whoa, what the heck, and put it "aside for now." Which frequently in my world means not picking it up again, because as we all know there are so many books. I will try though. Maybe as audio, as you say. So many people are telling me it's worth the effort to plunge into this world.
Okay, y'all are freaking me out about Piranesi. Maybe I too will check it out on audio. For now, Luster gets my zombie vote, but I'll wait and get more reading done before I make that final call.
Add me to the pro-Piranesi votes! It doesn’t have my zombie vote, but it was a five-star, delicious, wintry read for me.
Is there anyone who is more familiar w the shortlist and audio to help guide me through my (first ever! It’s happening, do or die!!) completionist tackling of the list? I have read Sharks and Chinatown (both great) and just listened to Luster (really enjoyed, narrator was on point). Is there anything I should avoid doing the audiobook for? Bc I tend to bounce back and forth between audio and text depending on if I’m driving or doing errands around the house that week. Lauren, I know you usually have great insights on this
Aaron, I listen and/or read a lot, too. I’ve only read 7 of the shortlist books so far, but I’ve enjoyed all of their audiobooks, most especially Piranesi, Down Days, Deacon King Kong, and Luster. The only book on the list that doesn’t have an audiobook version is Telephone, so you’ll have to rely on text for that, but at only 263 pages it’s not too long of a read.
Janet and lark, the audiobook for Piranesi is narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor and he does an excellent job. It further enhanced what I found to be an entrancing read. I totally understand the uncertainty about using an Audible credit for such a short book, but if you can get it through your library or some other free or discounted way, I recommend you do so.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "If you try every book but DNF a couple can you still call yourself a completist?"I do. The attempt is what I count.
Aaron wrote: "Is there anyone who is more familiar w the shortlist and audio to help guide me through my (first ever! It’s happening, do or die!!) completionist tackling of the list? I have read Sharks and China..."The only one I've listened to in audio that I would recommend in print instead is We Ride Upon Sticks. Though maybe if you're not from New England it won't bother you as much that a book about a group of girls from Mass is narrated by a woman with a southern accent who mispronounces all the town names.
Besides that I also enjoyed the three you've already read in audio plus A Children's Bible (on Hoopla if your library has it). I've also started listening to Shuggie Bain (on Hoopla) and Piranesi (could only find this on Audible) which both have good narrations so far.
Last year was my first time being a completionist (okay, I DNF'ed Oval and Overthrow, but still). What was most helpful to me was figuring out how many pages a day I needed to complete the list, and trying to meet or exceed that page count each day. This year I need 50 pages. Good luck with your completionist goal this year!
Karissa wrote: "Though maybe if you're not from New England it won't bother you as much that a book about a group of girls from Mass is narrated by a woman with a southern accent who mispronounces all the town names."Gah! Thanks for the warning! That sounds completely intolerable to this New Englander.
Isaac wrote: "Janet and lark, the audiobook for Piranesi is narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor and he does an excellent job. .."That sounds wonderful. I think it would make a big difference to me to have this story read to me by Chiwetel Ejiofor!
Are the brackets up, and I'm just too stoopid to find them?
Aaron wrote: "Is there anyone who is more familiar w the shortlist and audio to help guide me through my (first ever! It’s happening, do or die!!) completionist tackling of the list? I have read Sharks and China..."Happy to chime in on my audiobook experiences!
-Breasts and Eggs - I'm listening to this now and it works well on audio.
-A Children's Bible - I didn't love it, but it worked on audio.
-Deacon King Kong - I enjoyed this on audio, although my mind wandered occasionally (might have been for another reason; the story was generally engaging).
-Interior Chinatown - I lost a lot through listening to this earlier this year, so I'll be reading it again in print soon.
-Leave the World Behind - I have this in print, but put a library hold on the audio version in case I run out of time to get through the print version (I listen to about 4 audiobooks per week but can only read about 1 print book per week, so I get through audio options much faster).
-Luster - This was easy to listen to.
-Memorial - The audio version worked for this one.
-Piranesi - I'm going to try the audio based on comments here, but based on the description I might need to switch to print to stay engaged.
-Sharks... - I read this in print and loved it, but I heard the audio is excellent as well.
-Shuggie Bain - None of this stuck with me, but I don't know that it was just because I listened to the audio version.
-Telephone - I have the print copy of this one.
-Tender is the Flesh - I'm really dreading this, so I'll be semi-skimming my print version of it.
-Transcendent Kingdom - I LOVED listening to this (it's narrated by the wonderful Bahni Turpin) but I don't remember too many of the details at this point. I might reread in print.
-The Vanishing Half - I'm reading this in print now, but I've heard the audio version is lovely.
-We Ride Upon Sticks - I listened to it and don't know if I caught the mispronunciations for the setting, but it sounds like print would be better for this one.
-The Down Days - My brain actively rejected listening to this (likely because it's about a pandemic), so I'll try reading it in print, but it sounds like the audio worked for others here.
-Red Pill - I'll be reading this on kindle, but I think the audio version would work as well.
-The Resisters - I plan to listen to this one.
I'm halfway through Transcendent Kingdom in audio and agree with Lauren - Bahni Turpen is always so good but also the book translates well to audio. There have been a few times where I didn't realize the time period had changed but it becomes clear pretty quickly. (The lack of the benefit of line breaks, eh?)
I'm a quarter in on the audio version of The Down Days. I'm a little lost in the multiple characters, but really enjoying the narration, so I'm going to stick with it on audio. I'm fascinated this was written pre-pandemic. The masks, vaccines, conspiracy theories are all so spot on.
For those of you who don’t have a well-stocked digital public library and want more options than one audiobook a month with an Audible or Libro.fm subscription, Scribd offers an unlimited* number of e-book and audiobook downloads with an $8.99 membership. Their library isn’t as big as Audible’s, but they do have A Children’s Bible, Leave the World Behind, Luster, Sharks in the Time of Saviors, Shuggie Bain, Tender is the Flesh, and The Down Days. It’s not my favorite audiobook platform, because it has a tendency to crash and the narration speed doesn’t go above 2x, but it beats having to wait for weeks or months in a hold line or give Amazon more money. *There’s no set number of downloads, but they’ll make some books temporarily unavailable for you if you’re getting too many too fast.
(I had that exact same reaction to The Down Days, Bretnie.)
Amy wrote: "Lauren this is so great! Thank you!"Sure! I'll update the list with the three Aaron had already read in case it's helpful as a reference for others.
Sharks is a GREAT audio. It's great to hear Hawaiian pronounced correctly.I've finished 8 and I'm working on 9 and 10 now. Good thing I'm starting grad school (!!!) in Jan so I want to knock out as much as I can now.
Audra wrote: "Sharks is a GREAT audio. It's great to hear Hawaiian pronounced correctly."That was my thought as well....I especially enjoy audio when language, dialects or accents add to the experience.
Isaac wrote: "For those of you who don’t have a well-stocked digital public library and want more options than one audiobook a month with an Audible or Libro.fm subscription, Scribd offers an unlimited* number o..."This is great to know, thanks Isaac.
Thanks all for this wonderful info! I just finished A Children's Bible and it was read quite well (even though I did not care for the bludgeon of the book itself)!
Can't wait for the pandemonium when we all start comparing our experiences reading Telephone.
Lauren wrote: "*A Children's Bible - Not thrilled it made the list, even though I didn't dislike it necessarily."This is the one I'm least excited about because I really didn't like Sweet Lamb of Heaven. What'd you think of it, if you read that one? I do see that A Children's Bible has a considerably higher average rating on here so that's at least a good sign.
Zachary wrote: "Can't wait for the pandemonium when we all start comparing our experiences reading Telephone."Oh goodness, I forgot about that. I guess it mostly depends on which version the judge gets...
Lee wrote: "Lauren wrote: "*A Children's Bible - Not thrilled it made the list, even though I didn't dislike it necessarily."
This is the one I'm least excited about because I really didn't like [book:Sweet L..."
I haven't read Sweet Lamb of Heaven - sorry! Maybe others here have though.
Lee wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I really didn't like Sweet Lamb of Heaven. What'd you think of it, if you read that one?..."I loved both Sweet Lamb of Heaven and A Children's Bible. There's something about Millet's writing that hits me in all the right ways.
The only Lydia Millet I've read is How the Dead Dream about eight years ago and about halfway in it took such a depressing turn into loneliness and loss I couldn't bear to try another one.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm halfway through Transcendent Kingdom in audio and agree with Lauren - Bahni Turpen is always so good but also the book translates well to audio. There have been a few times where I didn't reali..."I'm listening to Transcendent Kingdom, also! Just started. LOVE Bahni Turpen.
I haven’t read it yet, but shortlister The Vanishing Half won the Book of the Month Club’s Book of the Year. Other finalists were The Girl With the Louding Voice (which I voted for and recommend), The Guest List, Anxious People, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Listening to the Resisters now. Enjoying the book and the audio production. So if you can grab it on Libby or Audible I would recommend it.
Michelle wrote: "Listening to the Resisters now. Enjoying the book and the audio production. So if you can grab it on Libby or Audible I would recommend it."I'm also listening to it.
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I loved Piranesi and Luster on audio. The acting for both was fantastic, and it made Piranesi even more atmospheric.