Tournament of Books discussion

This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB.

Tina wrote: "This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB."

THIS is actually my favorite part of the Tournament of Books! I don't remember, are books written in previous years, but translated into english in 2019 are eligible?

Nadine wrote: "Tina wrote: "This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB."
..."

Yes, they are.

How cool! A place to hear about some of the newest and best books. I need more reading time..... :)

Is Sally Rooney's Normal People a 2020 ToB eligible book? It just came out in US, but was huge in the UK last year.

Jason wrote: "Is Sally Rooney's Normal People a 2020 ToB eligible book? It just came out in US, but was huge in the UK last year."

Yes, it's eligible based on the April US publication date.

Jason wrote: "Is Sally Rooney's Normal People a 2020 ToB eligible book? It just came out in US, but was huge in the UK last year."

That looks so interesting! Adding it to my TBR...

Has anyone read An Orchestra of Minorities? It's next up for me.

Elizabeth, I didn’t totally love OoM—the last fourth felt draggy and repetitive, but I thought the writing was lovely and I’m glad I read it. I listened to the audiobook, which was great since the book is very much in the oral tradition,

Oh boo, and it looks so interesting...Thanks for the audio recommendation! I'm a bit worried about the Igbo sections, but I guess I wouldn't understand them in print either! :) So I may give that a try.

Elizabeth, it was definitely interesting, maybe just not 100% baked. Is anyone interested in Old Drift? That one has a great review by Salman Rushdie in today’s NYT and is high on my TBR.

Lisa in the online commentary was recommending Old Drift.

Jan wrote: "Is anyone interested in Old Drift? That one has a great review by Salman Rushdie in today’s NYT and is high on my TBR."

The description of The Old Drift didn't interest me. But I picked up the ARC because I was impressed by Serpell, who spoke about her book on a panel of debut authors at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. I haven't read it yet.

Tina wrote: "Jan wrote: "Is anyone interested in Old Drift? That one has a great review by Salman Rushdie in today’s NYT and is high on my TBR."

The description of The Old Drift didn't interest..."

I picked up the ARC at the Seattle conference as well and I'm interested in it. I didn't catch that panel, though. I'm going to up my participation here at ToB. I've really enjoyed reading the discussions.

Jan wrote: "Elizabeth, it was definitely interesting, maybe just not 100% baked. Is anyone interested in Old Drift? That one has a great review by Salman Rushdie in today’s NYT and is high on my TBR."

I saw that review...This book fascinates me. I put it on hold when I saw it in The Millions, and I'm picking it up from the library next week. It's so long, I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it before it's due since I'm finishing something now and do want to try Orchestra, but I'm hoping to make enough headway to be able to tell if I want to take it out again (or buy it.)

Jan wrote: "Elizabeth, it was definitely interesting, maybe just not 100% baked. Is anyone interested in Old Drift? That one has a great review by Salman Rushdie in today’s NYT and is high on my TBR."

I am planning to read Old Drift soon - hopefully sometime in April, but will hold off to time it with a group read. (I won it in a GR giveaway! Woot Woot!!)

Nadine wrote: "I am planning to read Old Drift soon - hopefully sometime in April, but will hold off to time it with a group read.."

Is there a group read somewhere? That would motivate me to finish.

Not that I know of, but sounds like there's quite a bit of interest here! It was a losing contender for a group read in the Latest Literary Fiction group, so we could start a buddy read there, for anyone on this thread who's interested. There may be folks in that group interested as well.

I read a super early arc of Therese Anne Fowler's A Good Neighborhood, and I loved it!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Elizabeth Arnold wrote: "Oh boo, and it looks so interesting...Thanks for the audio recommendation! I'm a bit worried about the Igbo sections, but I guess I wouldn't understand them in print either! :) So I may give that a..."

I do not think that OoM is difficult to understand. I did enjoy it quite a bit in print. I gave it 5 stars at the time and I feel that rating for me still sticks. It's hard to talk about why without giving away spoilers.

Has anyone read A Woman Is No Man? I plan on reading it in April. I've heard nothing but great things.

I also loved American Spy but I don't think enough people did to get it to the longlist unfortunately. It was an easy 5 stars for me but a lot of other readers I know only gave it 3 or 4.

Nadine wrote: "Tina wrote: "This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB."
..."

This is my favorite part too! I would never have come across Smoke City if not for this group. I'm looking forward to another year of great recommendations.

I read Black Leopard, Red Wolf and I have never been more confused about my thoughts on a book. I gave it 5 stars because once you climb through the bog that is that novel it gets tied up in a way that is both interesting and pays off. But I have never slogged through a more interesting book. There is so much darkness, hatred, and misogyny that I don't feel I would recommend anyone read it. But I don't regret the experience. I normally average 8-12 books a month and it took me all of February. I couldn't read anything else while I had it, but I often wasn't in the mood for it. Finally, having African myths and legends that I was very unfamiliar with as a backbone for a lot of this, was awesome. The most YMMV book I have ever read.

Kip wrote: "I read Black Leopard, Red Wolf and I have never been more confused about my thoughts on a book. I gave it 5 stars because once you climb through the bog that is that novel it gets t..."

Black Leopard, Red Wolf took me twice as long as most books to read. It's not a book you can read in a lazy manner. Ultimately I found it to be fine, there certainly was some pay off to stick with it to the end, but I'm not sure the pay off was enough. By the end a lot of the first third of the book was hard to recall. I found the lists of characters provided at the beginning pretty useless as they didn't provide enough detail about the various characters.

I'm not a prude, but the violence and sex in this book were over the top. It gets compared to Game of Thrones a bit (unfairly I think). It certainly makes Game of Thrones seem PG rated in comparison.

While I'm happy I read the book, I don't think it would be a good book for the TOB.

Piping in on An Orchestra of Minorities, I am reading the physical book and absolutely loving it! Your heart breaks for the young man the novel is centered on, but there are moments that absolutely make you laugh out loud! Loved this year’s TOB , never would have came across The Golden State on my own. Thrilled with My Sister’s win. Thanks everyone for sharing recommendations for next year’s TOB, I can’t wait!

I get email notifications from this group, and I've been getting notifications of the threads Amy's just added for the "Super Rooster." So I open email after email looking at these amazing titles, and (other than the 5 I haven't read) each one I have such a visceral reaction to. Partly the feel of the book itself, but also remembering the time of my life when I read them, the writing I myself was doing that these books enriched, the places I sat to read inside and out, the year my daughter was born and I read with her sleeping on my lap...

I just can't wait to reread and discuss these amazing books.

It's been a weird ToB year for me, so I think I missed this. Is there really going to be a tournament of winners? But not ToB 2020? When is it happening?

Andrew mentioned it at the end of the commentary on the championship round. There will be a regular ToB in 2020 as well.

Sophia wrote: "Andrew mentioned it at the end of the commentary on the championship round. There will be a regular ToB in 2020 as well."

Thanks so much, Sophia ☺

I just read Peter Rock's Night Swimmers, and it was fantastic, 5 stars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Elizabeth Arnold wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I am planning to read Old Drift soon - hopefully sometime in April, but will hold off to time it with a group read.."

Is there a group read somewhere? That would motivate me to finish."

I would be interested but probably not until June.

Normal People is one of the BOTM selections this month.

Nadine wrote: "Not that I know of, but sounds like there's quite a bit of interest here! It was a losing contender for a group read in the Latest Literary Fiction group, so we could start a buddy read there, for ..."

I'd be up for a buddy read too, if you want to post it on NLF? I have the book from the library today. It looks so thick and inviting. Gorgeous cover!

Love the new Super Rooster books topics. Can we create a general Super Rooster topic to talk about the thing as a whole or about multiple books?

Elizabeth Arnold wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Not that I know of, but sounds like there's quite a bit of interest here! It was a losing contender for a group read in the Latest Literary Fiction group, so we could start a buddy r..."

Will do!

Jason - good idea, I’ll get on that in the 2020 TOB general folder!

Also, Peter Heller's The River is riveting and gorgeous. ❤

Tina wrote: "This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB."

Can someone point me to, or add to the thread, the date parameters for consideration? I'd really like to include The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina but I'm not sure if it came out too early.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "Tina wrote: "This thread is for discussing 2019 books.
And, here is a link to a new list: Goodreads Picks for ToB 2020. Please only add books you have read and would like to see in the next ToB."
..."

Eligibility is officially the calendar year, but ToB organizers occasionally include a book published the previous December, and hardly ever include those published in the last quarter of the current year. Dates for our contenders list are Dec-Dec.
I've confused myself with all those dates!

Amy wrote: "Jason - good idea, I’ll get on that in the 2020 TOB general folder!"

finally made the Tournament of Champions discussion thread (we really need someone to decide what we're gonna call it!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Just read Marcy Dermansky's Very Nice, and it was fantastic. Some of you will remember Bad Marie from several years ago -- same author.

Dianah wrote: "Just read Marcy Dermansky's Very Nice, and it was fantastic. Some of you will remember Bad Marie from several years ago -- same author."

Another of her novels, The Red Car, was on the long list a few years ago and it's a fantastic book. I've got her new one on my list of books to get soon.

Alison wrote: "Dianah wrote: "Just read Marcy Dermansky's Very Nice, and it was fantastic. Some of you will remember Bad Marie from several years ago -- same author."

Another of her novels, [book:The Red Car|340..."

I adored The Red Car also! She is so talented! ❤

Dianah wrote: "Alison wrote: "Dianah wrote: "Just read Marcy Dermansky's Very Nice, and it was fantastic. Some of you will remember Bad Marie from several years ago -- same author."

Another of her novels, [book:..."

I usually don't like soap-opera-y plots, but if Marcy Dermansky writes it, it's a must read for me! Can't wait for Very Nice!

Nadine wrote: "Dianah wrote: "Alison wrote: "Dianah wrote: "Just read Marcy Dermansky's Very Nice, and it was fantastic. Some of you will remember Bad Marie from several years ago -- same author."

Another of her..."

You won't regret it, Nadine! ❤

I just finished A Woman is No Man and it would definitely provide a lot to discuss in the ToB, as would Normal People for completely different reasons. I think in the manner of small presses, I'd nominate King of Joy by Richard Chiem (from Soft Skull). I really, really liked that weird journey of a book.

Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg is excellent!

I'd love to see Miriam Toews' Women Talking. I don't think it's quite as strong as All My Puny Sorrows, but it's lovely and has lots of fodder for conversations about power, agency and evil in a hyper-patriarchal community of religious fundamentalists. It's also short., and excellent on audio.

Barely apropos, but...... All My Puny Sorrows was excellent on audio too :)

Technical tip: Something I noticed recently about GR.....when you post a comment, if you use the "add book/author" link at the top of the comment box instead of manually typing in a book title, the book will be added to the "Books Mentioned in this Topic" list that's in the righthand column towards the top of each thread. It took me years to even notice that list, since it only appears at the top of the screen, below the advertising. It would be nice if it was unpinned and could follow along as we scroll.

I just finished Trust Exercise and added it to the 2020 vote list. This is a fascinating read, especially in the second section, and it plays with so many expectations we have as readers. I think it's more enjoyable if you don't know too much about it, except not to get too annoyed in the first section and give up on it. It's playful at times and horrifying at others, and would have lots of topics for discussion. I gave it five stars, and am still grinning.