ToB 2026 Short List > Likes and Comments
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Lauren
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Dec 09, 2025 06:25AM
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My heart was in my throat when I saw the title "ToB 2026 Short List."I've been following this for years, and I still get so excited!
It seems to be taking longer than usual this year, no?
No, this is pretty much the week they’ve released the short list in recent years.
Last year, it was 12/5, and I'm sure we were all outraged about it coming out too early. ;)
Just checked the past few years, and it looks like we are on the later end, other than the much later date for 2020: -2024: 12/5
-2023: 12/6
-2022: 12/9
-2021: 12/3
-2020: 12/19
Andrew confirmed this week on the Discord, so I expect tomorrow!
My 'I'll read it even if it doesn't make the shortlist' pile of books is now dead. The Mind Reels.
I can start setting up the discussion threads later today!Interesting list, I'd read more on the longlist than past years, but I've read NONE of the shortlist. Except for Flesh which I am halfway through right now.
Does anyone know if you need to read "Bunny" to be able to appreciate "We Love You Bunny"?
Also, ONE WEEK for the zombie vote? Dang.
Maybe a new rule, if you see a book about theatre on the longlist just read it because it is shortlist bound! (this is anecdotal and I will not be double checking but feels true)
Also Rooster vote is 12/18 so you got a week!
So far: read one (Buffalo Hunter Hunter) and own one (Katabasis). Nine just got added to the queue.
I’ve read 20 from the long list but only two of those ended up in the shortlist. I’ve got five from the shortlist in my current Libby loans. And another five I’ve already bought from Audible. Kinda surprised that Flashlight didn’t make the shortlist. I’m still gonna work through the long list as planned. Happy reading, err’body!
I’m excited! I’ve never heard of half these books. I’m sure at least one or two will be on my list of best books ever!
I've read three -- The Wilderness, Blob, and The Ten Year Affair. The last two were library borrows after the longlist came out, happy with my choices I suppose! (Though neither were favorites of mine. Love The Wilderness though!)I own three (Endling, If You Love it..., The Unveiling), and my library hold for The Director just came through so that's up next! Will be getting my library holds in order later...
Bretnie wrote: "I can start setting up the discussion threads later today!Interesting list, I'd read more on the longlist than past years, but I've read NONE of the shortlist. Except for Flesh which I am halfway..."
Adding "writing is hard", "writing programs at universities are hard," and "my partner is in the way of my creative career" to the list of shortlist catnip.
I know they say that We Love You Bunny is a standalone, but would love to know if anyone agrees with that experience. I really dislike when sequels make the shortlist.
Based on this list and having only read 5, I don't see completist status in my future for this go around, but I'm thrilled we'll get to talk about 2 of my favorite reads of the year: The Wilderness and The Director. I'm also happy to receive the push I needed to pick up the Ian McKeon and Quan Berry, even though the theme of my reading year has been "least favorite offering from authors I normally enjoy."
Ones I'm a little iffy about reading:"We Love You, Bunny" - while I liked "All's Well", I never read the original Bunny. Not super into the idea of reading two books for the credit for one.
"The Mind Reels" - if other folks read this and say it's pretty good, I'll give it a shot, but we've talked a bit already about the author and I'm unsure.
"Blob" - jeez I dunno guys
Haven’t read WLYBunny but on Awad’s latest visit on the SMDB pod she said it’s both a prequel AND a sequel to Bunny. Can’t imagine that working without reading Bunny first but maybe she pulls it off?
I've read four: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter; Katabasis; The Mind Reels; and What We Can Know. So at least I have a couple of the longest ones out of the way.I own another 8 that I am looking forward to reading. And there are another 3 I do want to read. But as usual for me, there are 3 I would not read but for the ToB; so . . . off to expand my horizons.
I've read ZERO from the shortlist -- a first for me, I think?! Can anyone chime in about which titles from the shortlist have a good audio version?
Bretnie wrote: "Does anyone know if you need to read "Bunny" to be able to appreciate "We Love You Bunny"?..."Part of what I disliked about "We Love You" was how boring it was because it endlessly rehashed and recapped what happened in "Bunny" - so you MIGHT like it even better if it's all fresh and new for you. The idea is that the main protagonist of "Bunny," Sam, is the author of the book and she's now on a book tour, and the other members of her MFA program, that she turned into characters in her book (and who call each other "Bunny" as a sort of universal nickname), are PISSED. They have quite a few bones to pick with Sam and the way she portrayed them.
Expect it to be a completely over the top satire with truly unbelievable and nonsensical events.
There you go, now you're ready to read "We Love You, Bunny."
I'm up to having read 5 from the shortlist, but none of them were read before last month (Buffalo Hunter Hunter was the first, during my spooky season October reads). I got lucky and had 4 of 8 longlist books that I've read or am reading hit. No strong zombie vote favorite for me so far though, and I doubt I get to more than another book or two if very lucky before voting time. It may be hard to make a choice for that, though Endling likely has the edge for now.
I concur that many sound like books I want to read, though the play-in round is the most likely source of an unread if I don't reach completist status this year. I will probably read the Mona Awad, since I previously read and liked Bunny well enough. The deBoer is a probable skip though, unless folks here speak exceptionally well of it, as everything I've read about the author makes me think that he's a bit of a problematic jerk at best.
I'm currently reading and listening to books 18 and 19 from the longlist, but I've only finished 4 from the shortlist. I have two others on my shelves (The Passenger Seat and The Burning Heart of the World. REALLY disappointed Seduction Theory didn't make the "The Academy, 2025-2026 Edition" play-in round, it's a perfect fit and it was a 5 star read for me. I did read The Mind Reels which was a fine book. Wasn't great, wouldn't highly recommend it but it was an effective, convincing portrait of a woman experiencing a mental health crisis--though, like I said in my review, there were some "men-writing-women" moments.
Oh, Katabasis was pretty good on audio for what it's worth.
Ha, thank you Nadine! I think I'll skip Bunny and just go straight to We Love You. :)
Quick "alas!" for Run for the Hills, Wild Dark Shore, and The Wayfinder. (I'm still about 150 pages from the end, but I really liked it.)Any other weeping/gnashing of teeth for the ones that didn't make the shortie?
Zero books and only one one of them, The Ten Year Affair, that arrived at my house yesterday. I guess it's getting my Zombie vote. I was going to vote for Flesh, purely because it has an apple on the cover, but I want to establish that I have depth beyond apple facts.
Bob wrote: "REALLY disappointed Seduction Theory didn't make the "The Academy, 2025-2026 Edition" play-in round, it's a perfect fit and it was a 5 star read for me."I'm sad this didn't make it either! I just finished it and it was a delight! I honestly kept thinking of The Ten Year Affair and how much better (and funnier) Seduction Theory was treading similar topics.
Consider my teeth gnashed for The Wayfinder and the Road to Tender Hearts.
I've read and loved Endling and The Catch. also read Flesh, but the second half wasn't as good as the first half for me. Blob, Buffalo, Metallic Realms, Burning Heart, and Passenger Seat look interesting for me. not sure about the rest.
This is quite the mixed bag of a short list! In general, there are more on here that I'm less interested in than many other long listers, but there are two I've read and loved, and The Catch is high on my TBR. I appreciate seeing a Palestinian novel on the list (for the first time?), and the Indigenous rep, even if it's likely too violent for me.
I've read:
-Endling (fantastic, I'll be rooting for it) 5 stars
-Katabasis (beautiful book physically, didn't quite work for me as well as Babel and Yellowface) 3.5 stars
-Too Soon (some great elements, some aspects I didn't love) 4 stars
-The Wilderness (excellent, I'll be rooting for it) 5 stars
I'm surprised I'm only familiar with two of the judges this year (Deesha Philyaw and Lilliam Rivera).
Should we play Swap Three? I wish I could switch out these:
-The Mind Reels
-The Ten Year Affair
-We Love You, Bunny (I didn't really "get it" with the first one, and expect the same experience with this one)
For these long listers:
-Audition (I just finished it and want to talk about it)
-Theft
-The Correspondent
---
And now I have some questions for the group:
1. Is it possible to read Buffalo Hunter Hunter by skimming over the graphic scenes and still get something from the story? Are there breaks in the violence, or is it pretty relentless?
2. Metallic Reals sounds like too much of a stretch for genres that work for me. Could it work for those who struggle with SciFi?
3. Flesh sounds interesting, but I've mostly seen reviews about its terrible writing. Is it worth a try, or will I regret using up a limited audiobook hold for it for the next few months? (I only get seven holds through the Austin library.)
4. Is there anything in the Ten Year Affair that might work for readers who don't do well with books focused on sex and romantic relationships?
5. Is the author of The Mind Reels bad enough to make it unethical to read it? Some notes have been shared (thank you!), and I read a few things, but I'm short on time/energy to do a full investigation on the situation.
Thanks and happy reading!
To everyone who I kinda rolled my eyes at whey they complained about previous shortlists: I'm sorry, I take it all back. I now know how you feel. Of the three books I've read, only one is worth being in the Tournament, The Wilderness is great though, I'm glad we'll be talking about it.
Of the others, only two of the books I was excited about from the longlist made it, but at least I'm on the waitlist for Flesh. There are two books I really don't want to read, but given that there's another I'm not going to read, I'm saved from the lure of being a completist and am going to try my best leave all the books that don't excite me unread.
All those complaints aside (and I'll do my best not to whine going forward) I'm happy Lincoln Michel's book is included and The Ten Year Affair looks promising and I'm excited to read The Director.
And I'm excited that Deesha Philyaw and Katya Apekina will be judges!
Paul wrote: "I've read and loved Endling and The Catch. also read Flesh, but the second half wasn't as good as the first half for me. Blob, Buffalo, Metallic Realms, Burning Heart, and Passenger Seat look inte..."
FWIW regarding the Ten Year Affair question, while it dipped too far into woes of millennial New York creatives who resent having to grow up for me to care too much, the dialogue in it is super witty, and it's more formally inventive than I was expecting.
Re: Buffalo Hunter Hunter, I very lightly skimmed the most violent parts and still feel like I left the experience having read a complete novel. I think you can still absorb the picture of justice/revenge the author paints without (literally) all the gory details. The mood is more relentless than the gore, but goodness is it long.
Lauren wrote: "Should we play Swap Three?..."Sure! I'd get rid of The Mind Reels as I'm not going to read it anyway, for all the reasons already mentioned.
I'd also get rid of If You Love It, Let It Kill You. I like the author, but this is a level of navel-gazing that no one should have to read, and Katabasis as I've never warmed to her fantasy novels.
As for what I would have included: So Far Gone, which is wonderful, Fonseca, which I'm reading now and liking a lot, and Women, Seated, which gave me so much to think about.
My Swap Three would be to take out:Katabasis
Blob
We Love You Bunny
And include:
The Correspondent
Flashlight
So Far Gone
Lauren wrote 1. Is it possible to read Buffalo Hunter Hunter by skimming over the graphic scenes and still get something from the story? Are there breaks in the violence, or is it pretty relentless?."There are breaks in the violence. But, I didn't find the violence to be that bad (though I am a person who can skim sections). I've been working through both the audio and print version, so I have not been able to skim some parts. I find the narrative structure takes the edge off of the violence. The book is a story within a story within a story which leaves you off-kilter and confused. If one were to skim the violent sections, then you may be a tad bit more confused.
Zachary wrote: "Paul wrote: "I've read and loved Endling and The Catch. also read Flesh, but the second half wasn't as good as the first half for me. Blob, Buffalo, Metallic Realms, Burning Heart, and Passenger S..."
This info helps - I'll give both a try! Thank you.
And Kyle, I just started Run for the Hills, and it's definitely working for me so far.
Liz wrote: "I've read ZERO from the shortlist -- a first for me, I think?! Can anyone chime in about which titles from the shortlist have a good audio version?"The ones I've read were all on audio, with three of them being dual-format reads where I also dipped into the print versions. I thought they all worked in audiobook formats:
-The Wilderness
-Too Soon
-Katabasis
-Endling
I started The Director on audio, but I couldn't focus on it and returned it on Libby already. It was likely a male British accent narrator, which my brain usually rejects for some reason. I might give it one more chance before switching to a print version.
It looks like If You Love It, Let It Kill You is not available on audio. :( Let me know if anyone finds it somewhere.
Lauren wrote: It looks like If You Love It, Let It Kill You is not available on audio. :( Let me know if anyone finds it somewhere"It's available on Audible. I picked it up during the last sale they had.
Zachary wrote: "Based on this list and having only read 5, I don't see completist status in my future for this go around, but I'm thrilled we'll get to talk about 2 of my favorite reads of the year: The Wilderness and The Director...."I'm looking forward to The Wilderness and The Director, but, like you, not seeing myself a completist this year. With such a strong longlist, this feels disappointing to me. Except that it had the power to align my views with Zach's.
Also disappointed that the radical Anti-wha got =Sky Daddy= cancelled....
For the first time EVER my reading between the longlist and the shortlist was somewhat effective.I’ve read 3 (The Mind Reels, The Passenger Seat & Katabasis) all since the longlist came out!
Excited by this list, I didn’t get a lot of reading in this year (big move, new job!) so I didn’t really have any horses in the game for things I was hoping for that didn’t make it.
Super sad about The Wayfinder. Amazing book - one of my favorites this year, in fact.I've read Endling (loved it) and am currently reading The Director, which I'm also enjoying. A few of the books that I was very interested from the long list made it over. Sadly, a fair number of the short list wasn't on my TBR from the long list -- it looks...meh. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised!
Kyle wrote: "Any other weeping/gnashing of teeth for the ones that didn't make the shortie"Are you kidding? I'm going to be gnashing my teeth till the end of March.
Cursed Daughters
Flashlight
Fonseca
So Far Gone
The Wayfinder
Women, Seated
We Do Not Part
Audition
There's half a tournament's worth right there.
I'm enjoying Katabasis so far and am actually excited for all of these books!I lucked out and was able to check out 14 of the 18 books, and the remaining ones have only one person on the waitlist or are available in e-edition format in my library, so I'm going to seriously challenge being a completionist before the play-in round this year!
Lauren wrote: "1. Is it possible to read Buffalo Hunter Hunter by skimming over the graphic scenes and still get something from the story? Are there breaks in the violence, or is it pretty relentless?..."The violent scenes are violent, but there aren't that many of them. Most of the book is: a young woman is told of the discovery of a diary of her distant relative, and then you're reading the 19th C diary of a old priest sloooowly recounting his days in the old west (did he drink whiskey? did a parishioner give him some cake? was it good cake?), and he writes about this oddball guy who calls himself "Good Stab," who shows up now and then and starts telling the priest HIS story, and you have no idea why or what is going on at first, except you know this is supposed to be a horror story.
I mentioned in another comment: a lot of the violence is a real accounting of Indigenous history in Montana. I don't know if that makes it harder for you to read, or more worthwhile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marias_...
Kyle wrote: "My library hold list just blew up"My head just blew up. Not Katabasis!!!
Of course, from the stack of eleven longlisters I have beside my chair, only ONE will make the shortie. ah. (The way I see it, this stack of books MIGHT make it to the summer tournament, if we follow the same format as last year...) I have read a whopping zero from the shortlist and haven't even read 'Bunny' yet... there are maybe three I won't read, even if they made the short list. I'm looking forward to 'Metallic Realms' -- I just finished 'Pale Fire' in preparation for reading that.
I’ve read 5. Ugh. Not thrilled. I love Endling, Blob is just that, I feel like I’ve been reading The Director since the end of WWII, We Love You Bunny was entertaining but easily forgotten. Buffalo Hunter could have been half as long. The many I read that didn’t make the cut I loved, so I’m weary of what left.
