Tournament of Books discussion
This topic is about
Optic Nerve
2020 Super Rooster -Tourney!
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Semi-Finals and Zombies
I had the urge to track what potential zombies are still left:2020 - Normal People (Optic Nerve)
2017 - The Underground Railroad (Homegoing)
2016 - The Sellout (The Turner House)
2013 - The Orphan Master's Son (The Fault in Our Stars)
2012 - The Sisters Brothers (Open City)
2009 - A Mercy (City of Refuge)
2005 - Cloud Atlas (The Plot Against America)
https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...Surprise!
Obviously, I am taking myself out of the bracket contest. They asked me to do the guest commentary after I had submitted my bracket, but I thought it would be suspicious if I just up and deleted it. And the only rule they gave me was “don’t tell anyone.” Happy to answer any questions now though.
I’m trying to avoid the commentariat today, but we’ll see.
SF#1 - https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...Jason, I’m so excited to see you in the commentary booth today!
Jason wrote: "https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...Surprise!
Obviously, I am taking myself out of the bracket contest. They asked me to do the guest commentary after I had subm..."
Congrats on your commentary today - nice work!!
And I for one am happy to keep you in the contest, since you submitted your bracket picks before you got this commentary assignment. I was unemployed from Dec-May this past year, but now have a job that allows me to spend too much money supporting my local independent bookstores. I'd be very happy to send a book to the bracket winner who happens to also have experienced unemployment recently, and being a student again can't be an easy financial situation (if you end up winning, or even if you don't!).
Thanks, Lauren. I'm fine not being in the competition. I knew I'd step out once it published. I was just waiting. Even unemployed I've been trying to single-handedly save bookstores and now have a stack I'll probably never work through. Just bought Earthlings yesterday from an indie in Nevada City.
Wow, Jason, fantastic!
Jason wrote: "https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...Surprise!
Obviously, I am taking myself out of the bracket contest. They asked me to do the guest commentary after I had subm..."
Yay, Jason! (insert Kermit arm flail here)
I have a question and am not sure where to ask it, so here it is:I didn't submit predictions for the SuperRooster, but I'd like to join in on the award for the winner as I am still pleased every time I think about the wonderful books I received. Is that possible?
Jason wrote: "Thanks, Lauren. I'm fine not being in the competition. I knew I'd step out once it published. I was just waiting. Even unemployed I've been trying to single-handedly save bookstores and now have a ..."Ha, good to know I'm not the only one who feels personally responsible for keeping their local bookstores afloat. ;)
Hope you enjoy Earthlings!
Alison wrote: "I have a question and am not sure where to ask it, so here it is:I didn't submit predictions for the SuperRooster, but I'd like to join in on the award for the winner as I am still pleased every ..."
I'm sure whoever wins would be happy to receive a book from you - nice of you to offer!
I'm also excited about picking out a book for the winner. There aren't many big readers in my life, so I look forward to shopping for a book for another lit lover.
Great job Jason! I loved your story about emailing them after the first year. :)
Thanks, everyone. I've been a mess in the lead up to this, to be honest. I really felt out of my depth and was intimidated by the quality of the guest commentators before me. Andrew sent me the first couple of 'get to know you, what'd you think' questions and then left it to me for like 5 days and I couldn't stop writing and editing and deleting and writing more and the next thing I knew, I had this monologue that was embarrassing and didn't feel like a conversation at all. But, he inserted more stuff inside my paragraphs to make it more back-and-forth. He deleted my one good joke, but it was at his expense and another veiled sports reference, so I guess I had it coming. I had no idea sports metaphors were verboten. I thought that was the point.
This is my first year playing in our bracket here. Can you tell me the mechanics of how I send a book to the bracket winner (and I definitely think Jason should stay in), and any hints about how I determine what books the bracket winner already has so that I send them something different? I think this is all very cool!
Jason--congrats!!--what a wonderful job you did in the booth today. I, for one, appreciated the sports metaphors, verboten or not. And I am also trying to put my local indies on my back for the duration--just bought a decently heavy bag of books at both Book Soup and Skylight (for any fellow Angelenos out there). When will I read them all? Who knows!
Phyllis wrote: "This is my first year playing in our bracket here. Can you tell me the mechanics of how I send a book to the bracket winner (and I definitely think Jason should stay in), and any hints about how I ..."It's pretty open-ended and up to you. I found perusing their 'want to read' shelf is direct knowledge, but you don't know if they already own the book. I like seeing what they consider a 5-star read and picking something you think fits their taste but isn't on their 'read' shelf. And then I've also just asked.
Spoiler in case you haven’t read the decision yet.Well, that was another author picking Rooney while everyone scratched their heads. The last book standing in the bracket contest is City of Refuge. Wow.
Sorry, if NP wins this thing, the Rooster has lost its credibility with me. My opinion, I know. I love this tournament but so many great books gone.Just wow.
Marionette wrote: "Sorry, if NP wins this thing, the Rooster has lost its credibility with me. My opinion, I know. I love this tournament but so many great books gone.Just wow."
Yes, having it win earlier this year was enough. I just don't get it with that book. :(
I could defend it for the 2020 TOB. But a few of my favorite books ever were in this bracket and even I am getting a little shook.
Our final four ended up with three women.
I was fairly ambivalent to Optic Nerve when I read it, but I love the idea of a fairly obscure (0.6% of the # of ratings that NP has on goodreads), short, translated novel written by a woman taking home this big bird.
It's baffling to me that anyone could pick Normal People over The Orphan Master's Son.That's all.
Kip wrote: "I was fairly ambivalent to Optic Nerve when I read it, but I love the idea of a fairly obscure (0.6% of the # of ratings that NP has on goodreads), short, translated novel written by a woman taking..."here's hoping!!
Jason wrote: "https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...Surprise!
Obviously, I am taking myself out of the bracket contest. They asked me to do the guest commentary after I had subm..."
Huzzah! Great fun to be in the room where it happens. :)
I loved the judgment today even though I, too, find NP's domination to be puzzling. I found TOMS to be a slog, so I wasn't rooting for either book today, just for a good and thoughtful judgment.I'd also be fine not seeing the phrase "purity test" batted around for awhile but maybe that's just me. :)
My question is: is Adam Johnson white? I always thought he was Asian-American. I'm half Asian with a white last name. Not that I think he has to qualify as Asian to do the research and write the book. The judge seemed to think he did tho.
Jason, I don't know that answer to your question, but regardless of Johnson's background I felt uncomfortable with the way the author, in the interviews I read, set himself up as a truth-speaker for North Korea. It's so hard for outsiders to believe what's really going on in N. Korea that I thought Johnson should have been more circumspect, and that he should have described his novel as a fictional parable. I'm still totally awestruck by the novel itself, just thought the surrounding market message was a little off.I guess this is close to what people also say about The Underground Railroad...that blurring the truth can lead to unfortunate misconceptions. I felt it less with The Underground RR though because the premise of that book is so fantastic, plus we -know- what happened with the Underground RR, whereas what's happening in N Korea is much worse than we can imagine probably but still not the same as Johnson's novel.
Jason wrote: "Phyllis wrote: "This is my first year playing in our bracket here. Can you tell me the mechanics of how I send a book to the bracket winner (and I definitely think Jason should stay in), and any hi..."Thank you, Jason. That is helpful.
Jason wrote: "Spoiler in case you haven’t read the decision yet.Well, that was another author picking Rooney while everyone scratched their heads. The last book standing in the bracket contest is City of Refug..."
Isn't it crazy that, out of 19 of us in the bracket contest, only 1 of us managed to pick just 1 of the two final original Rooster contenders? Somehow I thought we were more intuitive than that. Hah!
Looking back at his previous camp ToB appearance, Victor LaValle is going to pick Optic Nerve, isn't he?https://themorningnews.org/article/th...
Jason wrote: "Looking back at his previous camp ToB appearance, Victor LaValle is going to pick Optic Nerve, isn't he?https://themorningnews.org/article/th..."
I'm really hoping! He does that and I'm reading everything he's written! (fingers crossed!)
Meanwhile on the N. Korean location discussion, I would love to see someone do multiple interviews with defectors who have made it out of N.Korea and then write a fictional story taking place in the north. I wonder how available those folks are? (I think there is some ongoing danger for them so I'm not sure how elusive they remain).
Amy, it looks like Krys Lee did something similar to what you're describing--she's worked with North Korean refugees in the past and wrote a novel about North Korean defectors in China called How I Became a North Korean. I haven't read it yet, but after stumbling on this conversation between her and Adam Johnson, I'm intrigued: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a...
lark, it's baffling to ME that anyone could pick Normal People over ANYTHING.
The repetitive comments about people being shocked NP keeps winning is like when you're at a meal and someone doesn't like something that you are enjoying and they keep giving you a look of disgust.Please let me enjoy my mashed potatoes!
OK, I'm officially ceasing and desisting. I love mashed potatoes.
Ellen wrote: "OK, I'm officially ceasing and desisting. I love mashed potatoes."Everyone does... it was a bad analogy. ;)
Yes -- mashed rutabaga, a staple at our Thanksgiving table might have been a better one, since I'm the only one who truly loves it (and that may be mostly because I so love saying "rutabaga").
For a completely different take on North Korea - which really blew my mind given what i thought i knew of North Korea - has anyone seen the Korean romance drama on Netflix called Crash Landing on You ? Obviously there are many ways to fictionalize a country we don’t know but that is a very different South Korean take on it. It has a lot of humor for those looking for an escape from 2020.
Ellen wrote: "lark, it's baffling to ME that anyone could pick Normal People over ANYTHING."Maybe they skipped the book and watched the mini-series which was a significant improvement due to the acting of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Not sure if it was on purpose but they posted tomorrow's zombie instead of today's:https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...
SO THEY MADE A MISTAKE. The next two judgments are up for the time being.https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...
https://themorningnews.org/tob/superr...
I am guessing the links will break soon
It seems the victor lavalle judgment is gone, but i saw who won.
Me too, but they fixed it
Kip wrote: "Your secret is safe!"Thank you! Also, was this the most 2020 thing I could have done?
Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Of Mice and Men (other topics)Earthlings (other topics)
Oct 27 - Semifinal #2 (2013-2020) The Orphan Master's Son v. Normal People*
Oct 28 - Zombie #1: A Mercy v. City of Refuge rematch!
Oct 29 - Zombie #2: Normal People vs. Optic Nerve rematch!