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Isaac
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Nov 16, 2021 08:09AM
I'm two chapters into Chouette, lark, and it's fucking amazing. Brava!
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Risa wrote: "About the longlist, I’m very excited — save for the bit of existential despair I felt at the possibility of Rooney Redux. (Dear Lord: must we? Again?!?)On a MUCH happier note - what a thrill to h..."
What a delight to hear that NPR interview, and happy pub day, lark! Can't wait to dig into the book and discuss it with everyone on December 11th.
Here's the link to register for that discussion on Zoom: shorturl.at/gkB04
Amy wrote: "ok, posted a Longlist Thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...with placeholder for the books for now so everyone could get chatting!
(also posted the placeholder fo..."
thank you Amy!
Happy pub day lark! Amazon promises that my copy will be there when I get home from work tonight, and I am very excited!
The Franzen is really good, but if his previous stuff didn't do it for you, I won't try to evangelize. Got about 3 at the library today, excited to get into them (once the Franzen is done)
Isaac wrote: "I'm two chapters into Chouette, lark, and it's fucking amazing. Brava!"My copy came today!
I'm very very overwhelmed by all of the support and excitement about Chouette, and also, I'm a little embarrassed to be taking the conversation away from tob in this thread, so this is just to say that it means a lot to me that you noticed the nyt review, or that you've read the book, or that you plan to read it, or plan to come hang out and talk about it on Dec 11. I'm so looking forward to that conversation! Thanks for setting it up, Lauren.
C wrote: "Kip wrote: "Anita wrote: "I must not have been around for the Rooney drama. Can someone explain to me what the Rooney Redux means?(I know she's a controversial writer; I really liked Normal Peopl..."
I mean: seriously. Nothing more need be said. (Damn it! I promised myself I would say Nothing More. My self-control clearly needs work ....)
I have been following this group and the TOB for years. I just don’t post much….. more of a glorified stalker. I just wanted to give some love to Lark and say that I am also waiting for my copy to arrive. I can not wait to read it!!
Lark, I was in Barnes and Noble today and your book was on the new fiction shelf right next to the Book of Form and Emptiness! In good company with the TOB :)
Martha wrote: "Lark, I was in Barnes and Noble today and your book was on the new fiction shelf right next to the Book of Form and Emptiness! In good company with the TOB :)"Thanks for letting me know, Martha!
I've only been in my local store, Bookshop Santa Cruz. They've ordered 48 copies. That number seemed like quite a vote of confidence to me--48 copies, really?--but they are very supportive of local authors. And they're just a great store all around.
Bookshop Santa Cruz is hosting a talk next week btw me and Rachel Yoder (Author of longlisted novel NIGHTBITCH!!!) It's Nov 30 (next Tues), and I've posted about before, but not since the long list was announced so now there is a TOB-related reason to stop by!
Here is the link again in case anyone is interested--
https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/cla...
lark wrote: "Martha wrote: "Lark, I was in Barnes and Noble today and your book was on the new fiction shelf right next to the Book of Form and Emptiness! In good company with the TOB :)"Thanks for letting me..."
What a great pairing! Are they taping it, by any chance? I have a reader friend who lives in Santa Cruz, so I'll let her know!
What a great pairing! Are they taping it, by any chance? I have a reader friend who lives in Santa Cruz, so I'll let her know! ..."It's a virtual event. I should have mentioned that. Bookshop SCZ isn't doing live events yet and neither is my publisher supporting them. The upside is that Rachel can be part of the event even if she's in Ohio and I'm in California. Bookshop SCZ asked if they can upload the event for later viewing and I said it was all right with me but I'm not sure if they've heard from Rachel yet or how she feels about it.
lark wrote: "What a great pairing! Are they taping it, by any chance? I have a reader friend who lives in Santa Cruz, so I'll let her know! ..."It's a virtual event. I should have mentioned that. Bookshop SCZ..."
Oh yay! I've registered, looking forward to it!
That's great, Elizabeth! It will be nice to have some friends in the crowd!
('crowd' being a bit optimistic a term to choose for a virtual event, that is)
lark wrote: "Martha wrote: "Lark, I was in Barnes and Noble today and your book was on the new fiction shelf right next to the Book of Form and Emptiness! In good company with the TOB :)"Thanks for letting me..."
I'll be there!
Yep, I'm reading 'Chouette' now and then it will directly be followed by 'Nightbitch' which I won from Lithub this year. :D
lark wrote: "Martha wrote: "Lark, I was in Barnes and Noble today and your book was on the new fiction shelf right next to the Book of Form and Emptiness! In good company with the TOB :)"Thanks for letting me..."
Awesome - thanks for sharing the link!
Reminder: This Saturday we are discussing Chouette with the author (lark, in this group)! It will be a casual conversation starting at 3pm PT/6pm ET.
Link to register for Zoom: shorturl.at/gkB04
Hope to see y'all there!
I won't be able to be there on the Zoom call, but I just want to say again how much I enjoyed your book, lark. "Chouette" isn't one I'll soon forget. Thank you for all the work you put into it, and congratulations on creating such a thought-provoking work of art.
thanks, Isaac. It's been a lot of fun to share the experience here in TOB because I've been reading and talking and arguing about books here in this group for, like, forever.
Not sure if folks will see this here, but it seems like the most appropriate place to post this. If anyone is on Instagram/Bookstagram (I know I've seen some of you on there!) I'll be starting a 2021 book cover contest soon! It will be a bracket contest like the ToB but with votes deciding each matchup, and people can guess which book will win before the voting starts. Winner will get a $25 gift card to my favorite local bookstore (Black Pearl Books - they ship!). I'm accepting nominations for more contenders as well. Feel free to join me on IG (lauren_o_reads) or you can share recommendations of your favorite book covers from 2021 here (any genre).
So far I have:
Lauren wrote: "Not sure if folks will see this here, but it seems like the most appropriate place to post this. If anyone is on Instagram/Bookstagram (I know I've seen some of you on there!) I'll be starting a ..."
How fun! And I love that you included Chouette, that was probably my favorite cover of the year. What about
?
I also want to thank you for sending me into the recesses of my Kindle and bookshelves, to remember the books I bought last year that I've already forgotten I own, ha. I have a problem.
Elizabeth wrote: "Lauren wrote: "Not sure if folks will see this here, but it seems like the most appropriate place to post this. If anyone is on Instagram/Bookstagram (I know I've seen some of you on there!) I'll..."
Oh yes - I love this one! I thought it was 2022, but I see it was December 2021. I definitely plan to add it to the lineup. Thank you!
Lauren, I won't feel bad at all if you don't include these covers--I really can't tell why I like some covers as much as I do--but these were my 2021 favorites (even though I didn't like what was inside some of these books!):
by Percival Everett. Stark and simple, until you see the names--barely there, almost an erasure (sly namecheck of another great everett novel!)
by Zakiya Dalila Harris. Hated the book, loved this cover for its graphic boldness, colors, font, -hair-.
by Jackie Polzin, probably my favorite cover of the year.
by Lucie Elven. I love its colors and its clean-ness, and the mysterious door!
lark wrote: "Lauren, I won't feel bad at all if you don't include these covers--I really can't tell why I like some covers as much as I do--but these were my 2021 favorites (even though I didn't like what was i..."Thanks so much for sharing these! I love The Trees cover but since it takes having the physical copy to fully appreciate it, I fear it wouldn't get votes for those who just see the small image. I'll consider these others though!
Heidi recommended Klara and the Sun in this topic in only the second post.
Jason wrote: "Heidi recommended Klara and the Sun in this topic in only the second post."And a few posts down Lee mentioned No One Is Talking About This! We are prescient.
I scrolled a bit down the page to see what else we were anticipating, and saw a post I’d written about my first trip to a bookstore since pre-Covid, and how, post-vaccine, I felt so much hope. That makes me so sad.
Update: Chouette just won it's second matchup in the book cover contest I'm running on Instagram (lauren_o_reads)! Yay, cheers to lark's wonderful book with a fantastic cover! The other books still in the running include:
How fun, Lauren!This is off-off-topic but I just recently learned that my French cover will feature this work by photographer Alain Laboile, and I'm very excited about it:
https://echofinearts.com/artists/40-a...
lark wrote: "How fun, Lauren!This is off-off-topic but I just recently learned that my French cover will feature this work by photographer Alain Laboile, and I'm very excited about it:
https://echofinearts.c..."
Oh wow, so cool! Thanks for sharing and congrats on your book making it to France. It's been wonderful to see the well-deserved recognition it's getting. :)
lark wrote: "How fun, Lauren!This is off-off-topic but I just recently learned that my French cover will feature this work by photographer Alain Laboile, and I'm very excited about it:
https://echofinearts.c..."
What a completely different and wonderful take on the book! Somehow it seems so quintessentially French to me, and I don't know why..... maybe it's the lighting. Love the slight tilt of the head, the cup in hand.....
lark wrote: "How fun, Lauren!This is off-off-topic but I just recently learned that my French cover will feature this work by photographer Alain Laboile, and I'm very excited about it:
https://echofinearts.c..."
I'm obsessed, what a wonderful find! I seriously can't stop looking at this, it's both disturbing and entrancing...rather like Chouette, really!
(I have so many photos of my daughter dressed similarly...For example, all she wanted for her birthday a couple of weeks ago was faux fur, it was the only thing she asked for, so she could make a wolf mask, which she wore throughout her party with a skirt.)
Elizabeth wrote: "(I have so many photos of my daughter dressed similarly...For example, all she wanted for her birthday a couple of weeks ago was faux fur, it was the only thing she asked for, so she could make a wolf mask, which she wore throughout her party with a skirt.).."What a wonderfully creative kid! I wish I was little again so we could be friends ;)
Nadine in California wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "(I have so many photos of my daughter dressed similarly...For example, all she wanted for her birthday a couple of weeks ago was faux fur, it was the only thing she asked for, so ..."Haha! I think this is what comes from my having filled her life with fantasy novels, with anthropomorphic animals. She's a handful but hilarious, her imagination is through the roof, and I think even if she wasn't mine she'd be my favorite person in the world. (As I speak, she's at a nearby park with my husband and a large magnet, to detect underground metal, because she's certain this car-sized hill we found there is actually a buried spaceship.)
Elizabeth wrote: "Nadine in California wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "(I have so many photos of my daughter dressed similarly...For example, all she wanted for her birthday a couple of weeks ago was faux fur, it was the ..."LOL so cute and awesome!
Thanks for sharing that story about your daughter, Elizabeth! What a free spirit you have in your family!Nadine, I thought the same thing--'oh, how French!' I've always thought my novel was very French, too, in the same vague way, just a feeling I have about it.
This isn’t the right place to ask this question, but I couldn’t find a better place. Will there be a Summer TOB this year (2022)? If so, do we know when that will get started? I feel like we should hear about the books soon so we can get ready to read in June/July/August.
Gwendolyn wrote: "This isn’t the right place to ask this question, but I couldn’t find a better place. Will there be a Summer TOB this year (2022)? If so, do we know when that will get started? I feel like we should..."I was just thinking about this this weekend.
I’m concerned it’s not happening since the list to vote came out early or mid April last year. We already had the final list of summer books by late April. I wonder if some of our complaints about the summer books taking over the main tournament led them to decide to skip it. I doubt that’s what any of us wanted! :/
Lauren wrote: "I’m concerned it’s not happening since the list to vote came out early or mid April last year. We already had the final list of summer books by late April. I wonder if some of our complaints about ..."Oh no! Should we ask Andrew? Definitely not what people were trying to say!
I don't know if they are still doing the Discord chat, but I just posted the question there!
Bretnie wrote: "I don't know if they are still doing the Discord chat, but I just posted the question there!"Update: Andrew said in the Discord that an email is coming this week!
Bretnie wrote: "Bretnie wrote: "I don't know if they are still doing the Discord chat, but I just posted the question there!"Update: Andrew said in the Discord that an email is coming this week!"
YAYYY
Bretnie wrote: "Bretnie wrote: "I don't know if they are still doing the Discord chat, but I just posted the question there!"Update: Andrew said in the Discord that an email is coming this week!"
Glad to hear this! Thanks for asking him, Bretnie. (Now to decide whether to get started on a new book, or wait for the list...)
Elizabeth wrote: "Now to decide whether to get started on a new book, or wait for the list...)"Always new books!
Kip wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "Now to decide whether to get started on a new book, or wait for the list...)"Always new books!"
Ha, yes. I was hesitating because the next book I'd been planning was Tomb of Sand, which is over 700 pages. (I've been wanting to read it since I found out it existed.) But I'm a slow reader, so Lord knows how long that'll take. So I was going to wait, but yeah I last night I needed something so I started Elena Knows, which is short enough I'll finish it by tomorrow. :)
(Ugh, and while I was typing this I got a message saying The Swimmers is waiting for me on Libby, so I'll probably read that as well before any TOB books.)
Welp, I guess it's good I didn't wait for their list...I'm glad they agreed there was overexposure of summer books, but isn't their idea just going to give us more Sally Rooneys and Jonathan Franzens?I also hate that it's all on Discord, which feels so scattered to me and will make people less likely to click over and comment. Whine, whine, whine, complain, complain...
(Alison's comment in a different thread made me wonder if we could all get together to nominate Chouette. Is it eligible?)
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