Tournament of Books discussion
2021 TOB General Topics
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TOB 2020 Shortlist
Aaron wrote: "Another rec for the audio of Piranesi. Chiwetel Ejiofor continues to be marvelous. Less enthused about the book itself, but it is mildly compelling.And I'm pretty biased since I grew up in a fund..."
I'm really torn on my zombie vote. I like to put my votes where they could potentially make a difference for the author, as I'm always hoping that a lesser-known writer will win the ToB and the win will increase their exposure/ability to write for a living (I was thrilled about My Sister, the Serial Killer's win). So far my favorites of the short list are Transcendent Kingdom, The Vanishing Half, and Sharks. For the first one, the author has already won the ToB before, so maybe give other authors a chance? For the second one, that author has won a ton of awards this year, though not necessarily the top literary prizes. I thinking Bennett has gained significant exposure this year, so I'm not sure the ToB would be needed. For Sharks, it did win the summer contest already, but I feel like that one has a much smaller following, so I'm tempted to want to give it a boost for the full tournament. But based on the conversation about Luster in that book's thread, I'm considering rereading it to see if it should get my zombie vote instead of these other three. Tough decision!
I’m pulling hard for Luster, definitely my favorite so far (out of... eleven?). But (for me) the magic of it really is in the word-by-word writing, so reading it again in print sounds like a great way to see if it’s for you!
Kyle wrote: "When does the Zombie vote go up?"The zombie vote is on the bottom of the page for the shortlist announcement! Up until before midnight Eastern Dec 30.
Zachary wrote: "Can't wait for the pandemonium when we all start comparing our experiences reading Telephone."Yes! I'm very excited about this.
Lauren, if it makes a difference to you, Yaa Gyasi didn't actually win for Homegoing - it was runner up to Underground Railroad. Although I think it should have won!
Bretnie wrote: "Lauren, if it makes a difference to you, Yaa Gyasi didn't actually win for Homegoing - it was runner up to Underground Railroad. Although I think it should have won!"Oh, of course! My mistake. I'm hoping Homegoing will do well in our Tournament of Favorites later... Can't wait to read that one again.
Heidi wrote: "I’m pulling hard for Luster, definitely my favorite so far (out of... eleven?). But (for me) the magic of it really is in the word-by-word writing, so reading it again in print sounds like a great ..."You talked me into it! ;) I picked up Luster from my local indie yesterday. I read the first chapter last night, and while the subject matter isn't my preferred reading (sex and the complications of romantic relationships), I can already see the exceptional writing folks have been talking about. I've marked about 10 passages in just that first chapter. So impressive! (Oh and for those concerned that "marked" might mean with pen/pencil, no to worry! I use those little sticky bookmark things that keep the books in excellent condition.)
Also, does anyone else have hard copies of Luster and Piranesi? The covers are gorgeous in person! I love when metallic ink is incorporated into book covers.
I've just started Sharks, and I'm in love with its sentences.
I really do not see the magic of Luster.
Does anyone remember about when we get the brackets?
Loved Deacon King Kong - gets my zombie vote - it’s the feel good book you need this year
Michelle wrote: "Does anyone remember about when we get the brackets?"Michelle - I looked and brackets last year were posted Feb 13.
Kyle wrote: "I've just started Sharks, and I'm in love with its sentences."That book will stay with me for a long time, especially the ending - enjoy!
Kyle wrote: "When does the Zombie vote go up?"Midnight (eastern) December 30.
Phyllis wrote: "Kyle wrote: "When does the Zombie vote go up?"Midnight (eastern) December 30."
Dec 30th is when the zombie vote CLOSES. It's up now at the bottom of the shortlist announcement!
Lauren wrote: "Heidi wrote: "I’m pulling hard for Luster, definitely my favorite so far (out of... eleven?). But (for me) the magic of it really is in the word-by-word writing, so reading it again in print sounds..."Lauren, it's so funny you should interject your comment about only using post-its to mark up your books. I felt that way for decades -- that to actually write in the pages of the book was somehow to deface it. In the last many years, though, I have freely marked up, with an actual pen, and annotated my owned books. Then when I read 84, Charing Cross Road earlier this year, it talked about the notion of a shared reading experience when we come across another reader's annotations in a book; the conversation it causes about what affects us and what affected them. Ever since, the idea of seeing another reader's markings in a used book has seemed downright romantic to me.
Phyllis wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Heidi wrote: "I’m pulling hard for Luster, definitely my favorite so far (out of... eleven?). But (for me) the magic of it really is in the word-by-word writing, so reading it again ..."Ha, I'm sure this is a divisive subject among readers! I used to dog-ear pages many years ago, and when I come across those older books when I rearrange my shelves I wonder what I was thinking, haha.
A friend of mine owned a mobile bookshop and she won't even read signed copies of books; she keeps those literally untouched and picks up a second "reading copy." I have tons of signed books from author events and book festivals, and can't imagine stopping myself from reading those.
But I picked up a copy of Beloved earlier this year from Half Price Books without checking the inside of it and was pretty frustrated by the frequent highlighting (in dark blue, not something more reasonable like yellow...), underlining, and occasional note written in the margins. I could tell the notes were based on this book being read for a school assignment, and not for the enjoyment (awkward word for that story, I know) of the book. If I were to come across notes from a reader like you, I could probably appreciate them more, but for now I remain in the camp of keeping my books free of marks. ;)
I don't write in books and hate seeing it - except for one time, when I checked out a library copy of an anthology of short stories and someone had written a one word review in very faint pencil at the end of most of the stories ('Great', 'OK', etc.). I agreed with every review and wrote my own faint one word review of the unreviewed stories. But I've never again written in a book - maybe because I so rarely read story anthologies.
I highly recommend Billy Collins' poem "Marginalia" on this very topic. It's made all note writing romantic to me!And agreed @Lauren — the hardcover editions of Piranesi and Luster are stunning!
Heidi wrote: "I highly recommend Billy Collins' poem "Marginalia" on this very topic. It's made all note writing romantic to me!That is lovely, Heidi. Thank you! I'd not read this poem before.
Heidi wrote: "I highly recommend Billy Collins' poem "Marginalia" on this very topic. It's made all note writing romantic to me!"I'll admit; that is an excellent poem.
Nadine wrote: "I don't write in books and hate seeing it - except for one time, when I checked out a library copy of an anthology of short stories and someone had written a one word review in very faint pencil at..."
That's hilarious - thanks for sharing! :)
Nadine wrote: "I don't write in books and hate seeing it - except for one time, when I checked out a library copy of an anthology of short stories and someone had written a one word review in very faint pencil at..."Both you and the earlier reader, whispering to future readers. Lovely.
Phyllis wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I don't write in books and hate seeing it - except for one time, when I checked out a library copy of an anthology of short stories and someone had written a one word review in very ..."Both you and the earlier reader, whispering to future readers. Lovely.
That's what I thought. I appreciated that the 'review' was at the end of the story, not on the first page as warning, but at the end, giving the story the respect of a reading.
Are people still reading? I managed to keep reading and read more thru this whole pandemic and four-year nightmare, but, man, these past two weeks have tested my capacity to get into any fictional world for more than about 10 mins. I hope we get some peace and brain space to get back to it.
Jason wrote: "Are people still reading? . . . man, these past two weeks ..."I've been literally forcing myself to read every single day, as a sort of medicine to take my head out of events over which I have seemingly no control. Today (in the wee hours), I finished up the ToB shortlist, with the caveat that I DNF'd Piranesi; may try to go back to it before the March tourney.
I'm believing that, as of today, I'll be able to breathe more freely and once again truly enjoy reading. I hope that for all of us.
Jason wrote: "Are people still reading? I managed to keep reading and read more thru this whole pandemic and four-year nightmare, but, man, these past two weeks have tested my capacity to get into any fictional ..."I'm still able to read at this time, but I'm switching between formats more than I usually need to. I started The Down Days on audio, couldn't follow any of it, switched to print to get to the halfway mark, but it felt like it was taking me too long. Now that I'm familiar with the characters I'll be finishing the second half on audio because I'm impatient with that one.
I tried Piranesi on audio and couldn't follow it. I read it in print, but it took a (relatively) long time.
I think I'm generally reading slower than usual these days...
Jason wrote: "Are people still reading?"Yeah! New year's resolution--at least 50 pages a day no matter what! So far so good, but my current book is testing me quiet a bit. Panorama can be a bit of a runon sentence slog but I'm doing it!
Jason wrote: "Are people still reading? I managed to keep reading and read more thru this whole pandemic and four-year nightmare, but, man, these past two weeks have tested my capacity to get into any fictional ..."Heck yeah! I just have a few left on the shortlist (Shuggie Bain, Telephone, currently halfway through A Children's Bible) and two from the play-in round (The Resisters, Down Days.) I've been reading from the long list when I can. I might be a completist plus a few DNFs this year!
I've made my way through a decent bit of the shortlist by now - and am working on Telephone and Vanishing Half - but I am going to take it easy on myself and not strive to finish every one of them. Hopefully, none of the ones I decide to leave out turn out to be an Optic Nerve and go all the way to the finals...
Still reading, but have been a slower and less frequent reader throughout the pandemic. I seem to want to hoard and pore over magazines these days. I've finished 5 from the shortlist and working on Down Days now.
Jason wrote: "Are people still reading? I managed to keep reading and read more thru this whole pandemic and four-year nightmare, but, man, these past two weeks have tested my capacity to get into any fictional ..."Not hardly; I'm with you, these last 2 weeks have thrown me out of fiction almost entirely. However watching the inauguration felt a bit like pushing a reset button and getting back to a working normal, so hopefully I can start focusing on fiction once again! I've been trying to read Deacon King Kong these last 2 weeks and am about 80% done, it's not going to be a favorite and I'm wondering if I'd read it in "normal" times, how I might or might not feel differently about it, given that I've been reading it during about the worst time for me to be reading any novel.
I have three days to read one more book before my life is going to get really busy. I have copies of Shuggie Bain (paperback), Memorial (ebook), We Ride Upon Sticks (ebook), and Leave the World Behind (ebook). My only 5-star so far is Interior Chinatown and Luster was just short of 5 stars for me. What should I read?
Janet wrote: "Shuggie"That's my feeling too. Feels like it's going to go far in the tourney. And, the depressing subject may not be as bad now that the world doesn't feel like it's caving in on me from every direction.
Jason wrote: "I have three days to read one more book before my life is going to get really busy. I have copies of Shuggie Bain (paperback), Memorial (ebook), We Ride Upon Sticks (ebook), and Leave the World Beh..."I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve. I agree that, of those four, Shuggie Bain seems likely to go the furthest in the ToB. But it is a slow & painful read. My bet is that you could read all of the others in your available three days, because they all read a lot faster. If you are wishing for something fun, I'd say We Ride Upon Sticks.
Thanks. 3 books in 3 days? Unlikely but maybe I do need something fun and then see where I’m at.
I second the vote for We Ride Upon Sticks, if you’re hoping for fun. Shuggie is (in my opinion) the best of the books on your list, but it is so deeply sad.
What if...Leave the World Behind and A Children's Bible are in the same universe?
(I'm not finished with Lydia yet so this might not actually make sense.)
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "What if...Leave the World Behind and A Children's Bible are in the same universe?I think you're on to something, Jenny. I definitely felt like I had been in the same place with both of them, though I liked LTWB more than ACB.
Oh, I didn’t realize We Ride is a witch story. I just took a semester long class about witches in literature. Thanks for the push.
Jason wrote: "Oh, I didn’t realize We Ride is a witch story. I just took a semester long class about witches in literature. Thanks for the push."The literary stars are conspiring in your favor! It should be double fun for you now.
Shuggie. We Ride Upon Sticks isn’t really a witch story. I was disappointed!
I've got 5 books to go, but I took a break to read other things for a bit. (The Liar's Dictionary is GOOD y'all!).I think I've told myself I won't read Tender is the Flesh or The Resisters. Maybe if they get past round 1. Memorial is next, then my slow library holds (if they make it in time), Shuggie Bain and Breasts and Eggs.
Just finished Tender is the Flesh....ughh....now that I'm getting closer to finishing the shortlist I'm struck by how many of the stories are about future dystopias. I'm wondering if we manage to settle into an era of relative peace and calm. if fewer of these novels will be written and published.
Janet wrote: "Just finished Tender is the Flesh....ughh....now that I'm getting closer to finishing the shortlist I'm struck by how many of the stories are about future dystopias. I'm wondering if we manage to s..."Yeah I'm really dreading Tender is the Flesh and wish we had less dystopian reading this year, since we also had it last year, and we've been... living it.
Are we in a place yet where we can talk about the overall atmosphere of the total 18 shortlist books? Several people have mentioned this in individual book discussions, but seriously . . . are the ToB organizers trying to kill us all with sad, depressing, terrifying books this year?The only three I found to be light-hearted are Deacon King Kong, We Ride Upon Sticks, and to some extent Interior Chinatown. Then Breasts and Eggs wasn't really depressing, but it was such a slow read; and The Vanishing Half and Transcendent Kingdom both had tough subject matter at the center, but didn't leave me wallowing in sadness. So that's six out of the 18. But the other 12 . . .
I can't figure whether their thinking was to reflect the horrible mind- & soul-space we've been in during this past year. I could have used a little literary uplift from that.
Phyllis wrote: "Are we in a place yet where we can talk about the overall atmosphere of the total 18 shortlist books? Several people have mentioned this in individual book discussions, but seriously . . . are the ..."I found Piranesi, well, not exactly cheery, but quirky and mysterious, which is at least not depressing, but yeah I think you're on to something for sure.
I wonder how much of it can be attributed to the ToB organizers versus the larger culture of literary fiction they're drawing from. Is it the fish or the sea? I've head many such mutterings about that sea over the years. I remembered a JoJo Moyes quote in a 2020 Guardian article, in which she wrote "I’ve just judged two literary prizes and reading for both numbed my brain with bleakness. Like the misconception that comedic acting is somehow easier than Ibsen, so has “happy” literature somehow become equated with lightweight."
Looking at the field this year, I think you can definitely see her point! It's what is being produced, you probably have to look harder for those "uplifting" lit fic books. I haven't read Jack by Marilynne Robinson yet, but I would guess including that one on the shortlist would have provided such a contrast. It didn't get much love in our shortlist prediction contest, of course.
Lee wrote: "Phyllis wrote: "Are we in a place yet where we can talk about the overall atmosphere of the total 18 shortlist books? Several people have mentioned this in individual book discussions, but seriousl..."Yeah, that could be. I do wonder how well those books are selling now. The issue is that they were acquired and scheduled well before we knew what 2020 would bring. So for the past 4 years many of us have been in a mild depression, and maybe those books were meant as an interesting mirror helping us reflect it, or see it through a different lens. But deeply mired in 2020, I wonder how many people could stomach it.
There was some litfic last year that was much easier to swallow, though. I don't blame the organizers, they chose some fantastic books, but personally, and selfishly, I wish they'd taken that concerted effort to make our reading lives easier, even if it meant leaving more worthy books out.
Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The House in the Cerulean Sea (other topics)My Dark Vanessa (other topics)
The Down Days (other topics)
Piranesi (other topics)
The Down Days (other topics)
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And I'm pretty biased since I grew up in a fundamentalist christian household, but Transcendent Kingdom is my favorite 2020 book I've read. I think it's masterful so far and it will almost certainly be my zombie vote. Now I have to find some time somewhere to squeeze Homegoing into my overflowing reading schedule!