Tournament of Books discussion
2024 ToB
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2024 TOB Shortlist
Lauren wrote: "Oh and I finally posted my books on Pango since I’m always running out of room on my shelves. I have Boys Weekend on there is anyone wants to grab a new copy for 50% off. :)https://pangobooks.com..."
Just ordered one, Lauren! You have a great selection, I may be back for more. This is my first time using Pango, I need to list some of my books to sell!
Thanks so much, Kim! And yes, you should. I’ve already sold about 15 books in two days. It’s going better than expected.
I feel like I read a comment somewhere in this group about how interesting it would be to discuss American Mermaid alongside Monstrilio. At the time, I had not yet read either book, so the comment went right past me. Now that I’ve read both of them, though, I 100% agree! I would love to discuss the resonances between these two books—e.g. raising unusual children, trying to fit in, trying to stifle natural desires, etc.
Hi everyone! My name is Katie, and I’ve been following the TOB for almost ten years now, but just lurking up until today. I am the closest I’ve ever been to completing the list this year, with 13 read and a month left to finish the remaining books. I wanted to see if anyone recommended any of the novels I have left:Cold People
Monstrilio
Brainwyrms
The Shamshine Blind
The Lost Journals of Sacajawea
I was having a hard time stomaching violent and gory books this time around, but I managed to get through Chain-Gang All-Stars and ended up loving it. It sounds as though Brainwyrms and Sacajawea both have some disturbing content, but I might brave them to try to be a completist for the first time this year. I’d love to tackle any of the others first though, if they are a good break from difficult content. (As a mom, I am also dreading Monstrilio quite a bit).
Good luck with everyone’s reading!
I thought Shamshine was a pretty good lil speculative fiction mystery.
Katie wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Katie, and I’ve been following the TOB for almost ten years now, but just lurking up until today. I am the closest I’ve ever been to completing the list this year, with 13 r..."Hi Katie! Of the books you listed, I heartily recommend Monstrilio, gave it 5 stars. I 2 starred Cold People, and DNF'd Brainwyrms and Shamshine.
Hi Katie: I absolutely loved Monstrilio (5⭐️!) I didn't expect it to touch me the way it did, so that was just a bonus! I also loved Sacajewea (4⭐️) but I totally get why people aren't loving it.
Katie wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Katie, and I’ve been following the TOB for almost ten years now, but just lurking up until today. I am the closest I’ve ever been to completing the list this year, with 13 r..."I LOVED Shamshine and I really enjoyed Cold People, but that's an unpopular opinion. Give them a try and DNF immediately if it doesn't seem like your thing?
Katie, welcome! And congratulations on being an almost-completist. It’s very fun to go into the March tournament as a completist, so I’d recommend it if you’re inclined to push through (though I understand if you’d also rather avoid the tough content). Given what you have left, I’d strongly recommend Monstrilio. It’s lovely. A complete surprise for me because I don’t like books with fantastical elements, but it’s really a family story. One of my favorites this year.
I also thought Cold People was an entertaining and quick read. Yes, it has problems (as many here will be quick to tell you), but the premise was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages.
I didn’t enjoy Shamshine. It was very tedious for me, but others here have quite liked it.
I’m midway through Sacajawea. My respect for the book is growing as I learn how to read it (and understand the new words), but it’s tough going. I’ll finish it, and I think I’ll admire it, but I doubt I’ll enjoy the experience.
I’m about 25% in to Brainwyrms, and it’s holding my interest so far. I’m actually finding it fascinating, but I’m worried about what might be coming based on what others have said.
Katie wrote: "Hi everyone! My name is Katie, and I’ve been following the TOB for almost ten years now, but just lurking up until today. I am the closest I’ve ever been to completing the list this year, with 13 r..."Welcome Katie! But AHEM it's really more a month and half to the ToB and not just a month. :D No rushing!
Welcome, Katie, glad you stopped lurking and jumped in! And congrats on having read so many of these. I, on the other hand, have only read one (yes ONE!) of the books I hadn’t already when the shortlist came out. I got mired in The Bee Sting (too many doorstoppers in a row, I think, and nothing else intrigued me enough to pick it up.) It’s been a bad year for me. But y’all are convincing me to try Monstrilio again…I stopped at around 40 pages last summer because the writing wasn’t doing much for me, but obviously I didn’t give it enough of a chance.
I haven't loved anything yet this year, but I was unexpectedly charmed by Monstrilio, and also liked Shamshine Blind much more than I expected to after reading much of what other people thought. I have 3 more to go -- Chain-Gang, Brainwyrms, and Bee Sting (which I thought I wouldn't get until February, but I just heard from one of my library systems that it's in for me!). I'm surprisingly ahead of the game this year, considering that I'd only read 3 when the list came out.
Anyway, I WOULD recommend Monstrilio and Shamshine.
Hi Katie and so glad you are here. Regarding the five books you have listed, the order in which I would recommend them is: Monstrilio - which I really enjoyed;
The Shamshine Blind and Cold People - both of which entertained me and were at least somewhat conceptually interesting, even though I would not consider them great literature;
distantly, followed by Sacajawea, and then Brainwyrms. In full disclosure, I’ve read all of these all except Brainwyrms, so I am placing it last only because I have not yet read it and I’m not looking forward to it.
This is maybe unkind of me when we're all trying to beat the clock and be ready for the tournament by reading as many of the books as we can, but I'm going to recommend another book (!) for people who loved Monstrillo. It's Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi.
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback on those five books! Based on the all of the love for Monstrilio, I’m going to give that a try next, as well as The Shamshine Blind. It’s nice to hear all of the books have people who appreciated them, though - makes me determined to try to be open-minded and attempt them all, even if some end up as DNFs.
Lark wrote: "I'm going to recommend another book (!) for people who loved Monstrillo. It's Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi."Yes, yes! I really liked that book, it was so multilayered. (Maybe Monstrilio is too, but I didn't see it in the fraction I read.) It just felt important, and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
Lark wrote: "...but I'm going to recommend another book (!) for people who loved Monstrillo. It's Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi. ..."I second the recommendation and you've just made me even more eager to read Monstrillo. I have it and Shamshine Blind sitting ready to go.
I can’t seem to find the tournament start date on the website... Does anyone know when the first judgment will come out? I can’t remember if it follows the basketball timeline or starts earlier.
Gwendolyn wrote: "I feel like I read a comment somewhere in this group about how interesting it would be to discuss American Mermaid alongside Monstrilio. At the time, I had not yet read either book, so the comment ..."Yes! I read Monstrilio and then soon after started American Mermaid, which I will finish soon. There's a potent connection between the two in all the ways you list, and I find them both great reading in different ways. Will be interesting to see them go up against each other early in the tournament!
Thank you, C! I need to make sure I finish Blackouts and The Bee Sting in time, which I just noticed are up first.
I just finished The Bee Sting. I'm gonna need a minute.
11 down, 2 on my nightstand, one audio on deck.
The Librarianist is $2.99 on kindle today, if anyone needs it!
'The Guest' is currently $1.99 ebook price from Random House, so it's available at a few retailers for that price.
I love that the mascots are back for another year. I put my old guy in the summer tournament and he's no longer around. I'll look forward to seeing what fabulous companion animals share your lives.
Alison wrote: "I love that the mascots are back for another year. I put my old guy in the summer tournament and he's no longer around. I'll look forward to seeing what fabulous companion animals share your lives."Aw, I'm so sorry you lost your old guy, Alison.
C wrote: "Aw, I'm so sorry you lost your old guy, Alison...."Thanks, he was a great guy for napping on my lap while I read. I sent my ARC of Tenth of December to a friend in Sweden and he reported back that it had arrived with a few white cat hairs just as a bonus.
Alison wrote: "I love that the mascots are back for another year. I put my old guy in the summer tournament and he's no longer around. I'll look forward to seeing what fabulous companion animals share your lives."aw so sorry, Lost my old cat last week, might make her a mascot anyway.
I think it's about time I introduce you all to my very good boy, my puggle Goblin. I'm going to make my mascot request soon.
Audra wrote: "Alison wrote: "I love that the mascots are back for another year. I put my old guy in the summer tournament and he's no longer around. I'll look forward to seeing what fabulous companion animals sh..."Yes, you should share, Audra! I'm so sorry for your loss...
Audra wrote: "Alison wrote: "I love that the mascots are back for another year. I put my old guy in the summer tournament and he's no longer around. I'll look forward to seeing what fabulous companion animals sh..."Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about your losses, Alison and Audra. :(
Whoop whoop! I’m just chiming in here to claim my completist status. Finished up four days ago with… well, you know, that most dreaded of all book on the shortlist. But I did it; I made it all the way through all of them. Yea me!
Phyllis wrote: "Whoop whoop! I’m just chiming in here to claim my completist status. Finished up four days ago with… well, you know, that most dreaded of all book on the shortlist. But I did it; I made it all the ..."Wow, Phyllis, congratulations! How many years now have you been a completist?
I’m going to try to fit in Monstrilio and The Guest, two books I DNF’d last year but want to try again since they’re so well liked here. It’ll mean I’ve only read 10 of these, but I’m okay with that, the others just don’t interest me. Too many, too little, etc.
Phyllis wrote: "Whoop whoop! I’m just chiming in here to claim my completist status. Finished up four days ago with… well, you know, that most dreaded of all book on the shortlist. But I did it; I made it all the ..."NICE. I am hoping to complete this year.
Congrats Phyllis! I'm 5 away, and I'm not sure if I have the desire to finish. I'm on vacation in a tropical location, and I started Sacajawea and immediately thought: No, baby, not this for vacation!(The 5 to go are: Sacajawea, Shamshine, Librarianist, Auburn Conference, and Cold People. Please let me know if there's a strong case that any of these are must reads. I will admit that the strong reactions to Cold People make me want to dig in.)
Despite the fact that I said I wasn't going to read too many, I've gotten through a few. (Just finished Dayswork, and I liked it!) I'm going to see if I can get to Monstrilio, Auburn Conference; Cold People, or American Mermaid before the tourney starts.
Zachary wrote: "(The 5 to go are: Sacajawea, Shamshine, Librarianist, Auburn Conference, and Cold People. ..."Wow, if you finish Sacajawea, and then combine the two of us into one reader, we would make one completist LOL! Because those last four are four of the eight that I've read! I don't' know if I'd call any of them a "must read" but I hardly ever call any book a "must read." I just ran the "compare books" bot on our profiles, and we are 64% similar, so maybe you'd like the books I liked?
And Shamshine was my absolute favorite of the eight books I've read to date. If you'd like a noir mystery set in a alternate history, then try it.
I enjoyed Cold People a lot, but all of the negative comments people here have made are fair, those aspects just didn't bother me. I found it to be entertaining and thought provoking. It kind of face-planted at the end though, but I'd still read a sequel if he writes one.
Librarianist was enjoyable and thoughtful but ultimately pointless. It was a good audiobook.
I DNF'ed Auburn.
Zachary wrote: "Congrats Phyllis! I'm 5 away, and I'm not sure if I have the desire to finish. I'm on vacation in a tropical location, and I started Sacajawea and immediately thought: No, baby, not this for vacati..."I'd say Librarianist if you want to continue on. I haven't read Sacajawea or Shamshine yet.
But gurl, let's talk about Blackouts which I am almost done because I've been thinking about you while I read this.
Audra wrote: "Zachary wrote: "Congrats Phyllis! I'm 5 away, and I'm not sure if I have the desire to finish. I'm on vacation in a tropical location, and I started Sacajawea and immediately thought: No, baby, not..."Yes, we MUST. I'll message you when I'm back in the country in a couple days. Blackouts has only grown in my estimation since reading it, and it's such a special piece of art that I'm dreading the discourse.
And thanks Nadine. Your defense of Cold People against the masses has me so intrigued!
Elizabeth wrote: "... How many years now have you been a completist?"I believe this is the 5th year, beginning with the 2020 ToB. One small good thing that came from the pandemic for me.
Zachary wrote: "Congrats Phyllis! I'm 5 away, and I'm not sure if I have the desire to finish. I'm on vacation in a tropical location, ... The 5 to go are: Sacajawea, Shamshine, Librarianist, Auburn Conference, and Cold People. Please let me know if there's a strong case that any of these are must reads.Oooooh Zach, I am envious of your tropical vacation, and Sacajawea is definitely not a vacation read.
I don't think any of the 5 you have outstanding are "must reads" in the sense of their being likely to go far in the tournament. To me, The Librarianist is the most "literary" among them, and I enjoyed it, but as I'm sure you've seen a lot of folks here seem to have found it boring. I got a kick out of both The Auburn Conference (a very short & fast read) and Shamshine Blind (took a bit to get into, but I liked the characters, and it was fun noir sci-fi-ey) -- these 2 are much more fitting for a vacation read.
Phyllis wrote: "Whoop whoop! I’m just chiming in here to claim my completist status. Finished up four days ago with… well, you know, that most dreaded of all book on the shortlist. But I did it; I made it all the ..."Congratulations!
(I'm not going to make it this year. I've got the time, but just can't bring myself to spend it on the remaining shortlisters. I think this will be the first time since I became a completist that I haven't at least tasted everything.)
Same, Tim. I salute the completists and … I’ve no plans to join them. Rather, I plan to live vicariously through them. :-)
Zachary wrote: "The 5 to go are: Sacajawea, Shamshine, Librarianist, Auburn Conference, and Cold People. Please let me know if there's a strong case that any of these are must reads...."Shamshine is a lot of fun -- essentially a chaotic detective novel -- once you get past the first twenty or so pages. (it's absolutely not noir, though)
And I also loved Blackouts and look forward to getting to talk about it during the ToB.
Alison wrote: "And I also loved Blackouts and look forward to getting to talk about it during the ToB."Same. Zach, I know you're worried because this novel is dear to you, and very much look forward to seeing more of your thoughts. But I don't think it'll be a contentious discussion at all (at least I hope it won't be), I think it's just not the kind of novel for everyone. I like experimental fiction, and there was so much beauty and melancholy here, which makes it a me kind of book. As someone said, it is a piece of art. But I'm sure people expecting more of a story arc were disappointed. I don't think they'll debate the merits of the concept, though.
Just finished Shamshine and was pleasantly surprised. Felt very Ben H Winters, who I love.I have two left: Bee Sting, which I wasn't going to read since I didn't like Skippy Dies but I see people are enjoying it, so I might squeeze it in. And Boys Weekend which has somehow taken the longest at the library despite being a graphic novel. I started out as #21 on the waitlist in Dec and have only moved up to #14. Argh!
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'm back home (sad trombone noise) and I've started Shamshine and Sacajawea, which consequently is the name of my favorite folk duo that I used to go see play in college all the time. And I do look forward to the Blackouts conversation! I'm not sure there's a forum more poised to have a thoughtful conversation about this kind of obscure art piece that means so much to the folks it represents.
Zachary wrote: "Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'm back home (sad trombone noise) and I've started Shamshine and Sacajawea, which consequently is the name of my favorite folk duo that I used to go see play in ..."I think that was the original name for The Captain and Tenille ;)
Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Frankenstein in Baghdad (other topics)Tyll (other topics)
Tell Me I’m Worthless (other topics)
Poor Deer (other topics)
Chouette (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ahmed Saadawi (other topics)Paz Pardo (other topics)
Michiko Aoyama (other topics)
Debra Magpie Earling (other topics)
Patrick deWitt (other topics)
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