TOB 2020 Shortlist

[Kyle]

We've got, what, about two weeks?

[jess]

oh wow, I have a lot of reading to finish up in two weeks. (laughs maniacally)

[Ellen]

I'm down to three, The Resisters, Memorial, and Telephone. I have the first two and am still having trouble getting hold of Telephone. I'm afraid that ultimately I'll have to bite the bullet and buy it, which will piss me off.

I just finished Breasts & Eggs, which I liked WAY better than I expected to. It wasn't at all what I expected it to be, and don't ask what I expected, because I had no idea. I'm still not sure what it was saying, exactly, though.

[Care]

Ellen wrote: "I'm down to three, The Resisters, Memorial, and Telephone. I have the first two and am still having trouble getting hold of Telephone. I'm afraid that ultimately I'll have to bite the bullet and bu..."

If you want to risk the slowness of the usps right now, I can ship you Telephone. I should be done with it tomorrow. Direct Msg me.

[Mina]

I've gotten through 6 which is more than last year. I'm counting it as a win on my end.

[Isaac]

Well, my 2021 ToB completist journey is as complete as can be. Overall I quite enjoyed the books in this year’s tournament, with one very singular exception.

5 Stars:
Leave the World Behind
Piranesi
Shuggie Bain

4.5 Stars:
Breasts and Eggs*
Transcendent Kingdom

4 Stars:
Deacon King Kong
The Down Days*
Interior Chinatown
Luster
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
Telephone*
The Vanishing Half

3.5 Stars:
A Children’s Bible
The Resisters
We Ride Upon Sticks

3 Stars:
Memorial
Red Pill

1 Star:
Tender Is the Flesh**

I’d be happy to see any of the 4-5 star books win. The others I just couldn’t get into or didn’t stick the landing, but all, except one, were well worth reading.

*Winners of the “Thank You, ToB!” Award for exposing me to a book I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise.

**Winner of the “F—k You, ToB!” Award for the same reason.

[Lee]

Isaac wrote: "*Winners of the “Thank You, ToB!” Award for exposing me to a book I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise.
**Winner of the “F—k You, ToB!” Award for the same reason.”

Great categories for the non-existent ToB Reader’s Choice Awards (aka, the “Roosties”). My “Thank You” vote so far goes to We Ride Upon Sticks, a great comic novel about a high school field hockey team, who knew. I never would have. My “F—k You” vote so far goes to Down Days. WTF even happened there at the end, I don’t know, and I never will.

[Drew]

Although I’ve been reading along (except for the Super Rooster), I haven’t been following the Tournament or this group since I retired. I’m going to catch up on posts and maybe even comment a little. I’ve read everything but Shuggie Bain and I’m starting that tonight.

[Drew]

Some of my favorite books from past tournaments have been the ones about sports although I have almost no interest in actual sports. The Throwback Special is one I still think about and Stephen Florida — terrific! And now I must add Sticks to the list. I didn’t want to put it down but I didn’t want it to end and when I finished, I just wanted to start over. I actually had to take a couple days off from reading afterwards to get over it.

[Nadine in California]

Drew wrote: "Some of my favorite books from past tournaments have been the ones about sports although I have almost no interest in actual sports. The Throwback Special is one I still think about and Stephen Flo..."

I was so frustrated by Sticks. I started out loving it, but after a while the humor felt too heavy-handed. If it had been shorter, I'd have stayed enchanted.

[Lark]

Nadine wrote: "If it had been shorter, I'd have stayed enchanted. .."

I never know what to do with this feeling when evaluating a book at the end. If there's a perfect 5-star book in there, but then the author mucks it up by not leaving it alone. That happened to me very strongly with The Overstory--the chestnut part was perfect and then it kept getting less perfect.

[Nadine in California]

lark wrote: "Nadine wrote: "If it had been shorter, I'd have stayed enchanted. .."

I never know what to do with this feeling when evaluating a book at the end. If there's a perfect 5-star book in there, but th..."

Checking back on my review, I see that I didn't give it a star rating - something I do if I've read less than 1/2 the book, but liked it enough to get that far, or if the problem is me and not the book. I was surprised to see that I listened to it on audio though - my memory is of a print book. So that is happy news for me!

[Lark]

Nadine wrote: "Checking back on my review, I see that I didn't give it a star rating - something I do if I've read less than 1/2 the book.."

I love a phrase you use in your review of Sticks--"working-too-hard words." It's really an interesting concept. This idea that a writer is working so hard I guess to say something in exactly the right way but ends up setting up a barrier instead.

[Matthew]

lark wrote: "Nadine wrote: "If it had been shorter, I'd have stayed enchanted. .."

I never know what to do with this feeling when evaluating a book at the end. If there's a perfect 5-star book in there, but th..."

So agree with both of you on the length of WRUS. If it had been shorter, 5 stars all day from me! It just kept going when it could have wrapped up in a stronger, less repetitive position.

[Karen]

100% agree about Sticks needing to be shorter. I got bored about half way through. Maybe if the author had chosen basketball or even baseball. Too many players on field hockey teams.

[Lee]

Y'all are killing me. That book is perfect, I say. Perfect!

[Drew]

And — done! It’s much easier to be a completist when you’re retired. Also not traveling or doing any volunteer work. This is probably the first time I’ve finished before the Tournament started. And I didn’t hate any of the books although I could have done without some of them.

[Amy]

FYI Luster is one of the Amazon kindle deals today ($3.99)

[Bob]

Um, I just noticed the 2021 Merch is up?!

https://teespring.com/stores/tmn

[Elizabeth]

Bob wrote: "Um, I just noticed the 2021 Merch is up?!

https://teespring.com/stores/tmn"

Ooh, I love the spiral shirts with the titles. So cool!

Any of you who got shirts last year, are they any more comfortable? Is the inside as scratchy?

[Ruthiella]

Bob wrote: "Um, I just noticed the 2021 Merch is up?!

https://teespring.com/stores/tmn"

Ooh! Nice. I like the ones with the book titles. It reminds me of concert tees from back in the day.

[Mindy]

Thanks Bob. I want the spiral one, too, in purple!

[Lauren]

Elizabeth wrote: "Bob wrote: "Um, I just noticed the 2021 Merch is up?!

https://teespring.com/stores/tmn"

Ooh, I love the spiral shirts with the titles. So cool!

Any of you who got shirts last year, are they any ..."

I got a shirt last year and don't remember it being scratchy, but also don't remember it being noticeably softer than standard tees. It is a bit more narrow and long for what I prefer right now, so I might try a "slouchy" option this time.

Bob wrote: "Um, I just noticed the 2021 Merch is up?!

https://teespring.com/stores/tmn"

Exciting! Too many options...

[Lauren]

Just placed my order - in case anyone misses the fine print:

"How long will it take to get my package?
Your order will be printed by Mar 17 and should arrive between Mar 19 - Mar 23"

[Phyllis]

Elizabeth wrote: "... Any of you who got shirts last year, are they any more comfortable? Is the inside as scratchy?"

The women's slouchy shirts are very soft.

[Elizabeth]

Thanks! I’m small, so I’ve been scared slouchy would swallow me, but I’m going to try it. :)

[Peggy]

I'm small too and the slouchy shirts are excellent.
Ahem, I just bought a few...

[Karen]

As a well-endowed woman, I feel that every Tshirt should have a "women's slouchy" option.

[Kyle]

thanks for the heads up on Luster, by the way, Amy. that was one of the few I hadn't gotten to and the library queue is 50 holds long. I may not get to it by the time the tourney starts, but it's good to have on hand if it goes a long way.

[Bretnie]

King County Library (WA) has a virtual author event with Charles Yu (and Ted Chiang) Thursday, March 18th:

https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events...

I assume since it's virtual, it's ok to spread widely!

[Lauren]

I finished the short list! Here's my ranking:

5 stars:
Sharks
Vanishing Half
Transcendent Kingdom
Telephone
Luster
Interior Chinatown

4 stars:
Breasts and Eggs
Leave the World Behind
Deacon King Kong
Red Pill
Piranesi
Memorial
Children's Bible

3 stars:
Resisters
Sticks
Down Days
Shuggie Bain

2 stars:
Tender

This year has a bit higher ratings for me than previous short lists, so overall I'm happy with the books we have in the tournament, with just one major exception.

[Matthew]

I love seeing everyone's rankings! I agree that the shortlist is excellent overall; I had more five star ratings this year than in years past.

I'm a pre-tourney completist for the first time this year, and here are my rankings:

5 Stars:
Deacon King Kong
Transcendent Kingdom
Telephone
Sharks
Red Pill
Shuggie Bain
Interior Chinatown
A Children's Bible

4 Stars:
Piranesi
Luster
The Resisters
The Down Days
Breasts and Eggs
The Vanishing Half

3 Stars:
Memorial
Leave the World Behind
We Ride Upon Sticks

2 Stars:
Tender is the Flesh

[Elizabeth]

Okay, here are mine, actually listed within each rating in order of how well I liked them. I DNF'd some that I ranked 3 stars or above...the ranking because, although I didn't like them or couldn't deal with them at this time in my life (Shuggie), I still thought there was enough inherent goodness to make them decent books.

5 stars:
Deacon King Kong
Piranesi
Leave the World Behind
Luster
Interior Chinatown

4 stars:
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
Telephone
The Vanishing Half
Transcendent Kingdom
Red Pill
Shuggie Bain (DNF)
Breasts and Eggs

3 stars:
A Children's Bible
Down Days (DNF)
Sticks (DNF)

Did Not Read
Tender is the Flesh
The Resisters
Memorial

[Kyle]

I will say, this year and last the tournament happened at a time that was inconvenient. Last year was the beginning of a pandemic and this year is my senior project for grad school.

...okay, last year was worse.

[Phyllis]

Kyle wrote: "... Last year was the beginning of a pandemic and this year is my senior project for grad school. ...okay, last year was worse."
That is incredibly charitable of you, Kyle, 'cause there's still a pandemic and it sure sounds like this year is double worse timing for you. Good luck on finishing up that project!

[Gwendolyn]

Interesting to see the last few posters rate We Ride Upon Sticks pretty low. I’ve seen so much praise for that book on this page that I was starting to worry about myself. I’m struggling to read it now, and I can’t seem to get through more than 5 pages before finding something else to do each time.

[Kyle]

Hey, at least there's a vaccine this time around.

PS - I do think Sticks was a lot of fun - maybe a little lightweight compared to some of the others, but that's not bad when most of the entries are so dark and depressing.

[Zachary]

FWIW, I loved Sticks, but it felt like a throw right over the plate for me, to use a metaphor from another sport/book. It was the cilantro for me in this heavy stew of dark, depressing themes this year - not to everyone's taste, but added a zing for me that I appreciated.

It was, however, my favorite list of books in year for the Tournament. I'm on number 17/18, and many of them are 4 and 5-star reads for me. The books whose fates I'm most invested in are:

The Vanishing Half
Memorial
Transcendent Kingdom

My unsolicited take on hot-button Tender is the Flesh is that I found the concept and world building interesting, the execution underwhelming, and the ending fantastic.

[Bryn]

I did it! I finished The Tournament of Books shortlist the night before it starts.

5 plus
Red Pill
Leave the World Behind
Telephone

5
Shuggie Bain
The Vanishing Half

4
Deacon King Kong
Piranesi
The Resisters
Transcendent Kingdom

3
Breasts and Eggs
A Childrens Bible
Interior Chinatown
Luster
Memorial
Sharks in the Time of Saviours
We Ride Upon Sticks

2
The Down Days

1
Tender is the Flesh

[Lark]

Bryn wrote: "I did it! I

That's great Bryn!

[Heather]

Happy opening tournament day! I have about 100 pages to go in Shuggie (which I'm really enjoying, much more so than I thought I would) and then I too will be a completist for the first time...and probably the last time until I retire from teaching in 4 years, since it took a global pandemic for me to have this much free time!

[Care]

Heather wrote: "...and then I too will be a completist for the first time...and p..."

Congrats! I have about 80% to go in my last book: The Red Pill. So exciting to be at this point on day 1. Happy TOB!

[Isaac]

Care wrote: Congrats! I have about 80% to go in my last book: The Red Pill. So exciting to be at this point on day 1. Happ..."

Happy ToB Opening Day, everyone! Care picked a good book to be on today, apparently. So excited to be getting this started!

[Amy]

We started the thread on Opening Round decisions here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Happy to 'see' everyone again, hoping this is the last time we're home-bound for TOB!

[Lauren]

My shirt arrived today - much sooner than expected!

[Ellen]

I...am... officially...a.... completist. Hooray! And my last book, Telephone, was a doozy. Totally devastating. I think I may actually read the second version I have at some point, just to see what the differences are. Thanks to Care for my second copy!!!

My rankings, in order:


Deacon King Kong
Piranesi
Telephone

We Ride Upon Sticks
Breasts and Eggs

Transcendent Kingdom
Leave the World Behind
The Down Days

Interior Chinatown
The Vanishing Half
Memorial
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
A Children's Bible
Tender is the Flesh
The Resisters
Shuggie Bain

Red Pill
Luster


I think a play-in might have been ... intense families that consist of parents and one girl: Red Pill, Telephone, and The Resisters.

[Care]

Ellen wrote: "I...am... officially...a.... completist. Hooray! And my last book, Telephone, was a doozy. Totally devastating. I think I may actually read the second version I have at some point, just to see what..."

Congrats Ellen! and you are most welcome - glad you enjoyed Telephone. Isn't it so fun/interesting that my top three would include Luster? Mine are DKK, Piranesi and Luster. Probably Sharks and Telephone in the top 5, too. My last place book would be Leave the World Behind. And I'm almost half way through Red Pill and THEN I can put the completist sticker on my car.

[Janet]

Congrats Ellen!

[Mina]

I made it through (15) of the shortlist plus two that may be done before the quarter finals - Huge shout out to all of you for the great reviews/rankings and audio recommends. This lurker appreciates it!

Read - In no particular order

Deacon King Kong
Piranesi
Transcendent Kingdom
Leave the World Behind
Transcendent Kingdom
Leave the World Behind
Interior Chinatown
The Vanishing Half
Memorial
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
A Children's Bible
Shuggie Bain
Luster

Currently Reading -
Telephone
We Ride Upon Sticks

Maybe - If they advance.
Breasts and Eggs
The Resisters
Red Pill

[Ellen]

Of the three you haven't read yet, Mina, I strongly recommend Breasts and Eggs. The other two -- meh, at least for me.