Tournament of Books discussion
2025 ToB
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2025 ToB GR Bracket Competition
There's a problem in row 17 & 19 & 22, 23, 26, 27, 30 - it won't take my answer.Thank you for wrestling with this!!
So sorry, Nadine, and thank you for identifying the errors. I will try to fix it this evening.
I think I have corrected the errors in the spreadsheet that Nadine pointed out. Please everyone do let me know if you encounter any other errors or difficulties with making your entries.
Looks like it's working okay now - thank you for looking into it!
I'm going with my preferred outcomes for my picks (compared to what's more realistic) since we know these are never easy to predict anyway. ;)I may make a few changes after reading a few more, though. Thanks for setting this up, Phyllis!
Made my picks. It looks like it will be a fun March. I see 15 bracket selections now with a couple not complete.
Brock wrote: "Made my picks. It looks like it will be a fun March. I see 15 bracket selections now with a couple not complete."Yes, I have a few more books to finish in order to make my guesses.
Filling out the brackets made me realize how many books I really enjoyed this year! Several tough matchups!
Just a reminder to get your bracket competition entries in before midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, March 4, when I will lock the bracket competition spreadsheet.
From the bracket voting so far, all of the opening rounds are blow-outs except for the last two, with the play-in vs. The Book of George a three way tie, and an even split between Margot and Someone Like Us in the last round.Quarterfinals are likewise decisive, except the last round, although predictions are either Margot or Someone Like Us. (Neither George nor the play-in competition are being given much of a chance.)
Semis round 1 has the juggernaut James crushing the competition, and Margot edging out the field in round 2.
(Margot is also the leading pick for a zombie, with Martyr right behind.)
James and Margot win their Zombie rounds, and it is James for the Rooster.
[If I think of it, I'll update this collective prediction after Phyllis locks the bracket.]
I feel like the play-in round is the most difficult selection, and that impacts whether or not The Book of George moves on, as all three books are so different from each other and each play for interesting matchups in the subsequent round. I personally like Wedding People the best without any doubt, but think All Fours and Liars are actually better slated to win because they're abnormal in how they're written.
The Wedding People felt like staring at a loaf of wonder bread for hours on end.
I agree with you, Calvin, on all of that. The Wedding People was also my favorite, followed by Liars in number two spot for me. I am looking forward to the play in round, more so than I recall being in the past years, but my memory is short!
I really get what you’re saying, Audra. Wedding People was kind of a mindless romcom. But I really enjoyed reading it. I have a weakness for mindless romcoms.
Wedding People was fun! And it didn't feel like a waste of my time, which certain other books did.
Phyllis, thank you for putting the spreadsheet together. That was fun to fill out! I decided to strictly go with my favorites, no strategy, so I suspect I won't do too well.
I'm looking forward to the discussion of All Fours in the hopes that it reveals to me why I dislike it so much. I cannot at all articulate it to myself, so I need someone else to do it for me! :)
Peggy wrote: "I'm looking forward to the discussion of All Fours in the hopes that it reveals to me why I dislike it so much. I cannot at all articulate it to myself, so I need someone else to do it for me! :)"Oh I'm looking forward to hearing that :D
I think it's my fave.
I hate remembering that A) the Tournament is posted on Pacific time and B) my workday starts super early.Hopefully I'll have a judgment to read by lunch.
Kyle, looks like you don’t have to wait until lunch as Andrew just posted that they’re live!
Hey folks. I will be out of pocket most of this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I will likely be unable to update the bracket competition spreadsheet on those days, at least until Wednesday evening. If there is someone who would like to take care of that for us in a more timely fashion, shoot me a message with whatever sign-in you use on the Google spreadsheet and I will give you permission to do so. Otherwise, I will get it all updated on Wednesday evening.
Bob wrote: "Yooo only 3 people picked LIARS?!"yes an upset from the start!!
I had a feeling it might go that way, but simply refused to acknowledge Liars as a solid contender because I disliked the book so much. Still hedging my bet that either History of Sound or Colored Television is going to clear through to the quarterfinals.
Today's judgment is disappointing - she spends at least three long paragraphs talking about what she disliked about one book, and just a sentence or two talking about the book she advanced. Did she even read it? I was eager to read a really good explanation of why someone would love this book, but I got nothing. (I'm carefully not mentioning titles so as to not spoil anyone who hasn't read the judgment yet.)
I didn't think it was too bad. I also agree with her choice.
Where do you find the comments from judges?
Beverly wrote: "Where do you find the comments from judges?"I'm not exactly sure what your question is, but if you mean the individual judgements, start here: https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/
There is a link to the current judgment at the top.
Phyllis wrote: "Hey folks. I will be out of pocket most of this coming Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so I will likely be unable to update the bracket competition spreadsheet on those days, at least until Wednesd..."No worries - thank you for getting to it when you can!
Oh dang, I am doing pretty well on this first round. Except I picked Rejection to go all the way. Oh well.
Interesting how all the people who chose Liars for the play-in round also chose Rejection over Martyr!, so most of us are currently in the same boat.The next final three first-round matches are what is really going to break the heat, since Colored Television currently has 2:1 odds against Extinction of Irena Rey, Liars vs Book of George is compounding off the picks from the controversial play-in round, and Margo's Got Money Troubles vs Someone Like Us has nearly even odds in the brackets.
Funny. I just came here to say the 3 people that picked Liars also picked Colored Television another book about liars.
Why do the History of Sound and Extinction of Irena get more points? It's not because of the seed because Headshot only got 1 point.
Headshot should have gotten 2 I believe. I think its 1 for correct and 1 per difference in seeds.
ah. had no idea how that was calculated.
Each first round is worth only one point, plus the difference in seeds when the underdog wins. Headshot was seeded higher than The Book of Love, so that round was worth only one point. History of Sound was seeded at 4, while Orbital was seeded at 1, so that round was worth 4 points. Irena Rey was seeded at 3, while Colored Television was seeded at 2, so that round was worth 2 points.The information about how many points each round is worth is contained on the bottom left of the "Fill This Out' tab of the competition spreadsheet.
How do we know which books are seeded higher? Is that info on the ToB bracket?
Yes, the seeding is assigned by the ToB organizers and is shown on their official bracket. For your convenience, the seeding is also shown on our GR bracket competition spreadsheet.
Does All Fours get a number 1 seed if it zombies? Just wondering if Irena Rey, Margo, or Beautyland would get bonus points if they beat it.
The seeding for each book stays the same all the way through the tournament. Any book that starts out as a 1 seed remains a 1 seed; any book that starts out as a 4 seed remains a 4 seed. The difference at each level of rounds is that the multiplier for the seed differential increases in each successive round. If you look at the “fill this out” tab in our competition bracket, you can see the seeding for each book and the multiplier for each round level.
I can’t believe I’m winning at this point! I won’t be much longer, but still exciting.
Congratulations to Lauren for the win! And co-congratulations to C and Bryn for the tie!This was a crazy year in the brackets.
Lauren, tell me what book you would like to receive, in what form, and how to get it to you, in congratulations for your bracket victory.
Wow. I’m amazed I did as well as I did seeing my favorite book of the year didn’t win. I’m not bitter. The History of Sound forever!!!!
And I'd like to thank Joy for keeping me company down at the bottom of the list....
Super surprised that I wasn't the last on the list. (and my bracket beat Tim's?!) Congrats to Lauren!
Congrats Lauren, C, and Byrn! And thanks Phyillis for organizing the spreadsheet!
Wait, how could I have won when I had Someone Like Us as the winner and many others picked James? I stopped checking the bracket once that book was knocked out, lol. Or isn't it a three-way tie at least?
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
If you see anything that looks like a mistake, please let me know! I definitely could have made some or many :>)
The plan is that the spreadsheet will remain open for entries until midnight Pacific Time on Tuesday, March 4. At that point, I will lock all of our entries.