Tournament of Books discussion
2022 ToB General
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2022 ToB Contenders
C wrote: "Why am I surprised Klara won? Somehow I was assuming it would have went to 'No One' or 'Everyone'. (oh, I just love how that turned out. haha.) I LOVE the idea of an all debut novel summer ToB! I h..."Thanks so much for mentioning this list! The descriptions of these books are fascinating me!! And I'm so glad books like this, literary by new authors, are still being taken on by publishers, when many likely won't sell all that well. I'm WAY over my book budget this year, and have so many TBR's with spines I haven't cracked, but I feel like this is a good investment in the future.
https://centerforfiction.org/book-rec...
Phyllis wrote: "lark wrote: ""Bob wrote: "...Maybe an all-debut Summer?..." ...Or all-small-press. ..."I'd vote for either of those, or maybe in-translation. I'd really love to see debut novel in translation, pu..."
Yes - I'd even love to see a full shortlist where each book fits one of those three categories!
Bryn wrote: "...my favorites were Peaces and Klara closely followed by Detransition, Baby...."These three were my favorites as well.
"No One or Everyone"....gotta love it.
Bob wrote: "C wrote: "Center for Fiction first novel longlists..."Oh, good. A new longlist for me to obsessively try to read!"
oops, sorry Bob!
Also, it looks like for the last few years, at least a few from the Center For Fiction longlists do make it to the ToB shortlists, so I wonder if the ToB overlords keep an eye on it too.
I do think it has been mentioned before with translations/indie publishers, there is the problem with availability in time for many people to read the books for discussion.
I voted for 'Everyone Knows' but I can get support the 'Klara' win (even if it wasn't even in my top 5). It's all a celebration of good reading.I had a good time at Summer Camp this year. Bring on the Long List.
I just finished Carolina de Robertis's "The President and the Frog" and thought it was a great little book. Hope it's on the longlist, at least. (Also, thanks again for recommending "Cantoras," that was great, too.)
Kyle wrote: "I just finished Carolina de Robertis's "The President and the Frog" and thought it was a great little book. Hope it's on the longlist, at least. (Also, thanks again for recommending "Cantoras," tha..."Yay! She's one of my favorite authors - I go to her events all the time and can't wait to start this new one. So glad you liked it!
Exciting news! I'm happy to share that there are ARCs of Chouette available for members of this group. I was planning to help organize a book discussion with the author (known as "lark" here on Goodreads) after its official publication in November, and I've learned that the publisher has more copies they can provide before then for folks who are interested in the book. I've discussed this with Claire (the author) and she wants to make sure folks don't feel pressured to provide certain feedback or ratings on the book just because you know her through this group and/or were given a free copy of the book. (Also don't feel pressure to request a copy/read it if it doesn't sound like your style.) She appreciates ALL thoughts/reviews on the book for those who do read it, and is just happy to connect with readers in this way.
For those who would like to read CHOUETTE, you can fill out a brief form (*Goodreads is not allowing me to link it here - please send me a message to get the link*) to receive either a print or digital copy. I'll post the details on the discussion when those are finalized, but we're looking at early December right now.
Thanks and enjoy!
Lauren wrote: "Exciting news! I'm happy to share that there are ARCs of Chouette available for members of this group. I was planning to help organize a book discussion with the author (known as "l..."I'm planning to get a copy through my local bookstore to support them. I'm wondering whether to get the paper or audiobook. Lark, if you see this, do you have a preference?
Hi Lauren. I think you can post a link as long as you don't use html--just post the raw link. That has worked for me at least. I'm glad the publisher is making free ARCs available to people in this group. Writing this novel felt like a team sport--a lot of the books we have read together here and argued over in the group ended up being big influences on how I wrote.
Jan, I haven't heard the audio version yet. The narrator is Julia Whelan and she was delightful to work with, though, and I like how she reads other books.
lark wrote: "Hi Lauren. I think you can post a link as long as you don't use html--just post the raw link. That has worked for me at least. I'm glad the publisher is making free ARCs available to people in th..."
Oh, I remembered being able to use html for links before, so I was confused about that no longer working. Let's see if this link works here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...
Thanks Lauren and lark! I was going to hold out to buy it from my local bookstore, but now I'm too curious to wait. :)
I've made note of the title and will preorder the book when I'm downtown tonight. I can resist neither a cover involving a sweet owl, nor an author I can claim to tangentially know.
I'm delighted this book sounds interesting, and I hear pre-orders are important to authors, but it also will feel very affirming to me and very supportive if people instead decide to sign up to get a print ARC for free. The story hasn't changed at all since the ARCs were printed and I imagine my publisher will be delighted if people here are interested in getting one in the mail. It matters to me that people here understand how detached I am from reviews and opinions about this book. I feel like just another reader at this stage, albeit with extra insight into the author's intentions fwiw. As with any other book discussion on goodreads I'm finding the negative reviews at least as interesting as the positive ones.
Yay! This is so exciting. Thanks for making this available!
lark wrote: "I'm delighted this book sounds interesting, and I hear pre-orders are important to authors, but it also will feel very affirming to me and very supportive if people instead decide to sign up to get..."Ordered my print copy yesterday! Thanks for this!
To inspire terror and/or superpowered reading... just an alert that the ToB long list should be out in about two months! (Usually second or third week of November.) :D
This was my year of catching up on TBR, and I think I've read maybe five 2021 books so far. Oops.
I'm with you, Elizabeth. My reading of 2021 books has been spotty at best. I'm always playing catch up, I feel. But I did get to last year's longlist entry Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line and it was great, so no regrets!
They just released the NBA Longlist for Fiction: https://archive.is/AQBYY Somehow, I haven't read ANY of them.
This is the longlist for Translated Fiction: https://archive.is/CDCDu
Read one of those--got lots of reading to do!
Bob wrote: "They just released the NBA Longlist for Fiction: https://archive.is/AQBYY Somehow, I haven't read ANY of them.
This is the longlist for Translated Fiction: https://archive.is/CDCDu
Read one of ..."
I'd just gotten a notification from The New Yorker and was waiting for you to come on and announce, Bob. :)
I've only read the McCracken stories and loved them. I think other than The Giant's House, she does so much better in short story form than novels.
I have The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois as number 1 on my TBR, and The Prophets, Hell of a Book and Bewilderments are there as well, so I'm excited to have another excuse to read them.
Good list, if mostly predictable.
Glad to see that one of my favorite authors, Luis Alberto Urrea is judging.
Elizabeth wrote: "I've only read the McCracken stories and loved them. I think other than The Giant's House, she does so much better in short story form than novels...."
There is one McCracken boo k that I really loved - Niagara Falls All Over Again. So far I haven't felt compelled to read any of her other novels, but I am interested in her short stories.
Bob wrote: "They just released the NBA Longlist for Fiction: https://archive.is/AQBYY Somehow, I haven't read ANY of them.
This is the longlist for Translated Fiction: https://archive.is/CDCDu
Read one of ..."
Thanks for sharing these lists!
I have copies of Abundance, Intimacies, and The Prophets so I hope to get to at least one of those soon.
I loved Hell of a Book. My review:
What a ride! This book reminded me of so many other powerful reads (The Sellout, Kindred, Speak No Evil, All American Boys, and a few others came to mind) and the end felt more like an essay, reminding me of folks like Kiese Laymon and Michael Eric Dyson. And yet, it was also completely unique. The format might be difficult for some to follow, but it's worth it to stay until the end and let the weight of it all sink in. It's the least we can do.
For the translated works, I only have The Twilight Zone so far, but will be looking into the others.
Oh boy I haven't read any either. Ugh.
I’ve only read two, The Prophets and Matrix, but they were both 5-star reads for me. I’m excited to read more, probably starting with Intimacies and Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.
I already wanted to read most of that lovely NBA list, so that helps. I'm especially excited for 'Hell of a Good Book' to get some recognition. I haven't read it yet, but I've been looking forward to it since last year! Did no one mention the final six of the Booker Prize? Announcing the winner Nov 3:
https://thebookerprizes.com/the-final...
Bewilderment - Richard Powers
Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead
The Fortune Men - Nadifa Mohamed
No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood
A Passage North - Anuk Arudpragasam
The Promise - Damon Galgut
Hi everyone, claire (lark, on Goodreads) and I are looking at dates for the ToB Goodreads Group discussion of her book Chouette in December. She'll be joining us as a Reader more than the Author, and we can discuss/ask questions about the book, the writing process, etc. It's open and casual! We're looking at these dates and need to narrow them down. If anyone would like to participate and one or more of these days/times does NOT work for you, let me know and we'll go with the one that seems to work for the majority. Thanks! :)Dec. 1st 6pm PST
Dec. 8th 6pm PST
Dec. 11th anytime between 10am PT and 3pm PST
Dec. 12th 11am or 12pm PST
Lauren wrote: "Hi everyone, claire (lark, on Goodreads) and I are looking at dates for the ToB Goodreads Group discussion of her book Chouette in December. She'll be joining us as a Reader more th..."Any of these work for me - looking forward to it!
These times should work for me. I’ve preordered a copy from a small local bookstore and am hoping they’ll have it for me on the day of publication. Whee!
I preordered too! Can’t wait to read it...honestly, I preordered it before I even knew it was Lark’s...word of mouth in another GR group
We're getting close to the 2022 Long List announcement! Here's my wrap up of books I think would be good contenders since my last post in July (and my top 12 of the year - couldn't narrow it down to 10). I may have posted this on Instagram tagging the Tournament of Books... ;)Gold Diggers While I didn't always love the protagonist, the story was unique and held my attention.
The Startup Wife I wasn't sure about this in the beginning, but ended up enjoying it by the end.
Things We Lost to the Water Loved this moving tale of an immigrant family in NOLA during Katrina.
Something New Under the Sun I feel like we'll need at least one climate change-related novel to discuss...
Sparks Like Stars Great story set in Kabul 1978.
Hell of a Book I think I already posted my full review of this above...
We Play Ourselves Teen girls fight club - what could go wrong?
The Removed This ended up being a quick read and managed to not get too depressing considering the subject.
Edge Case This felt like something fresh and new - I enjoyed it!
Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer Some heavy stuff, but I appreciated the themes explored here.
Butter Honey Pig Bread Excellent Nigerian novel about a mother and her twin daughters.
Of Women and Salt I loved how this incorporated fascinating themes related to Cuba.
The President and the Frog Cantoras will probably always be my favorite by this author, but this story about the former President of Uruguay was also excellent.
Intimacies Fascinating premise that left me thinking about a few things...
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Yes it's very long, but also beautiful.
The Five Wounds Fun stuff, and I love books set in New Mexico since I'm getting to know that state through my job.
Top 12 of the year I hope to see on the Long List:
What Strange Paradise
How to Order the Universe
Infinite Country: A Novel
Hell of a Book
Bolla
Things We Lost to the Water
The Five Wounds
Of Women and Salt
The President and the Frog
Intimacies
Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer
The Removed
What does everyone else hope to see on the list??
I really want to see The Actual Star on the list! A few others, maybe
You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked.
Nightbitch
Brood
Bewilderment
(I don't actually know the date parameters so I may be way off!)
Think I have 6 books I hope to see above all others (4 translated!)When We Cease to Understand the World
Strange Beasts of China
Civilizations
The Slaughterman’s Daughter
My Year Abroad
Hades, Argentina
Kip wrote: "Think I have 6 books I hope to see above all others (4 translated!)When We Cease to Understand the World
Strange Beasts of China
Civilizations
[boo..."
Ooh I have a copy of Strange Beasts of China but haven't cracked it. I'll take that as a recommendation!
Going through my books, turns out I haven't read that many US 2021 titles, or least, not as many as I thought. Oops. Anyway, my favorite 2021s: The Liar's Dictionary
When We Cease to Understand the World
Burnt Sugar
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
A Passage North
The Twilight Zone
Bewilderment
Heaven
Bob wrote: "Going through my books, turns out I haven't read that many US 2021 titles...Twilight Zone and A Passage North are towards the top of my TBR. I did Liar's Dictionary in audio and it was mostly good, I have since acquired a physical copy so I would likely reread.
Jenny wrote: "Ooh I have a copy of Strange Beasts of China but haven't cracked it. I'll take that as a recommendation!"
It had a really ethereal and pleasant weirdness to it. Really enjoyed the beasts that were conjured.
Kip wrote: "Think I have 6 books I hope to see above all others (4 translated!)When We Cease to Understand the World
Strange Beasts of China
Civilizations
[boo..."
Excellent - love books in translation! I have a copy of Hades, My Year Abroad didn't quite work for me (can't remember why), but I have my eye on the others.
Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I really want to see [book:The Actual Star|56304414] on the list!
A few others, maybe
You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked.
Nightbitch
Brood
[bo..."
Thanks - I hadn't heard of that Orange one yet!
Bob wrote: "Going through my books, turns out I haven't read that many US 2021 titles, or least, not as many as I thought. Oops. Anyway, my favorite 2021s: The Liar's Dictionary
[book:When We..."
Thanks for sharing! I have Burnt Sugar, Heaven, Twilight Zone, and One-Armed Sister on my shelves. Knowing they worked for helps move them up my TBR. :)
My TBR list of books published during 2021 (or for ToB purposes, I'm arbitrarily using a cut-off date of November 1, 2020) is ginormous, and I've only been able to read a tiny percentage of them. But from those I've read, the ones that knocked my socks off and that I'd like to see make it into the 2022 ToB are:The Trees, by Percival Everett
The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga, by Mohamedou Ould Slahi
At Night All Blood is Black, by David Diop (published in English in 2021, originally in French in 2018)
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishigiro (which already has a seat due to winning the ToB summer camp)
Ennemonde, by Jean Giono (okay, this was published in English in 2021, but originally in French in 1968, and there might have even been a 1970 English translation but I'm not sure)
There are many books I loved a lot published in 2021 but if The Man Who Lived Underground
doesn't make the shortlist then I'll need to have a serious cry
I just finished Hell of a Book this morning and oh my gosh, I'm still reeling. I hope so much that it makes the shortlist. So unique and powerful. (I tried to start The Trees this afternoon, but the two together were just too much to read back to back. I can tell it'll also be stunning, though.)Also unique and (not quite as but still) powerful, I just finished little scratch. Different from anything I've ever read, I'd love to discuss it.
I'm tickled that a couple have mentioned When We Cease to Understand the World! I requested it from my library last month and it just came in today...I'm a former chemist, so it seems right up my alley, and I'm so fascinated that non-scientists are also rating it highly.
I'd like to see The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois there. I started it on audio, since it's all my library had available, and loved what I was hearing but there were so many characters I found myself drifting...so I'd love to have the motivation to pick up a paper copy.
I think The Liar's Dictionary could be a cult favorite. Definitely recommend the paper copy, Kip, the language was so perfectly chosen, I don't think it can be fully appreciated on audio.
I also really liked The Book of Form and Emptiness: Ruth Ozeki, such an interesting read.
This has been such an amazing year for fiction, I've loved almost everything I've picked up and have a tremendous backlog I'm dying to read!
Kip wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Ooh I have a copy of Strange Beasts of China but haven't cracked it. I'll take that as a recommendation!"It had a really ethereal and pleasant weirdness to it. Really enjoyed the beasts that were conjured."
I feel a strong need to read Strange Beasts asap - thanks for the introduction!
I'll just say there are so many 2021 books I would like to get around to, that I'm sure whatever the ToB overlords come up with, I'm sure I will not be disappointed. Unless they pick the handful I DON'T want to read...
Elizabeth wrote: "I I'm tickled that a couple have mentioned When We Cease to Understand the World! I requested it from my library last month and it just came in today...I'm a former chemist, so it seems right up my alley, and I'm so fascinated that non-scientists are also rating it highly” I am an oncology pharmacist so science is my world, that being said, I do not think interest in science is needed for that gem.
Trees and Hell of a Book will both be very soon.
Oh, man, I just got two ARCs for books coming out in 2022 in the US--The Books of Jacob and Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart. That's about 1500 pages I really really wanna read! TOB 2023 here we come!
Bob wrote: "Oh, man, I just got two ARCs for books coming out in 2022 in the US--The Books of Jacob and Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart. That's about 1500 pages I really really wa..."Oh man, love Olga and that book sounds awesome.
I've been making my way through the major releases of September/October so far, and the only one that's really knocked me down so far is Lauren Groff's Matrix. Which surprised me, as I hadn't really liked Fates and Furies!I'm still working on the new Doerr, and Franzen waits in the wings. By the time I'm done with those, hopefully the list will be out - and I'll have 8 more books out from the library...
Tournament of Books
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Oh, good. A new longlist for me to obsessively try to read!