Tournament of Books discussion

Once it's posted, we can start the discussion here.

How many have you read? What are you most excited to see on the list? What are you most disappointed/surprised is missing from the list? What are you dreading the discussion of, or planning to skip? Do you already know which one will get your zombie vote? Which book do you recommend we prioritize before the zombie vote?

Happy Long List Day to all!

At last: https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/the...

Happy to see some books on my Read Real Soon list on there. I haven't even heard of a bunch of them, though....

Yeah, I own (or am waiting for library copies of) several on this list. Maybe I've read about 3-4 so far?

Kind of surprised that Raja didn't make it on there, after its win last night.

I've read exactly one, The Correspondent. Five were already on my TBR so I guess I'll start with those.

I've read 12 with a 13th in progress. Loved Endling and Cursed Daughters, and would love either The Buffalo Hunter Hunter or The Unveiling to make the short list so we have some horror representation.

There are a lot of books I was hoping to see and didn't: Heart the Lover, People Like Us, The Devil is a Southpaw, The Hounding...

The shortest book is one of my favorites of the year, so I recommend that On Earth As It Is Beneath.

My worst year ever, I've read one, Audition by Katie Kitamura. I really hope it doesn't make the short list as I found it to be solidly meh.

I've read 16 of these books and I've got the audiobooks for another 6 in my TBR pile! Super excited to dive in! Really stoked to see Gliff here. I feel like it didn't get any awards traction this year!

I've read 15, have one in progress, and one waiting.
I'm bummed Woodworking didn't make it. It's one of my faves of the year.
I found The Dream Hotel to be a slog.
Glad to see Endling, Flashlight, The Emperor of Gladness, We Do Not Part, and Wild Dark Shore.
I was reading Flashlight while audiobooking The Emperor and they went really well together.

Have read 13, my biggest disappointment by far is North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther but excited to see what some of these others I do not recognize hold in store.

ok this is a seriously great list! I feel oddly better about my bad writing year to see 5 of my 9 wish-list books on this long list...

GO SKYDADDY

But yes should have reiterated, a very exciting list, definitely some that more off the beaten path which is great!

I've made a list again this year...I've only read 7 so now I need to work on my library hold lists. Does anyone think the play-in maybe road trips related (Hartnett, Wilson and Walter)?

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Excited to see so many interesting looking books I’ve never heard of. I’ve really liked all the books from the list that I’ve read:

Cursed Daughters,
On Earth as it is Beneath,
We Do Not Part,
Stag Dance,
Flashlight,
Skydaddy,
Endling,
And I started Palaver yesterday and like it so far.

The only books I didn’t like were the Ocean Vuong (DNF’d), and The Dream Hotel.

Has anyone here read the Brandon Taylor or the Danielewski?

Audra wrote: "I've read 15, have one in progress, and one waiting.
I'm bummed Woodworking didn't make it. It's one of my faves of the year.
I found The Dream Hotel to be a slog.
Glad to see Endling, Flashlight..."

Agreed about The Dream hotel. Totally overrated! And I've heard such terrible things about Flesh, even though it won the Booker Prize. That's gonna be at the bottom of my reading pile (even though I've owned the audiobook since it was released).

shocked by the inclusion of Freddie deBoer.

I've read 11.5ish of the books and actually have a couple more of them lying around. Looks like a great list even if it feels like it's pretty easy to predict a good chunk of the list inclusions year as Tournament All Stars. I'm a little sad not to see Heart the Lover or Woodworking. I haven't read it yet, but I'm shocked not to see A Guardian and Thief here.

I wonder which of the doorstops they'll select for the shortlist. They can't pick them all.

I traditionally don't really alter my reading patterns for the long list. I've still got a bunch of other books I'd like to finish before the year's end, but this list looks very promising!

I have read 22 of them, which mostly seem like they are good choices for the list.

Patricia wrote: "shocked by the inclusion of Freddie deBoer."

I agree. No way I'm reading him even if his book makes the short list, which I truly hope it does not!

Mara wrote: "... so we have some horror representation..."

I dunno, is this really a year that is underrepresented for horror?

Wow, I'm very happy with this year's list! There are so many on here that I've been wanting to read.

Summary:

-Read: 8

-Own but haven't read yet: 4

-Most excited to see: Cursed Daughters, Endling, The Wilderness

-Biggest disappointment: While I'm surprised Raja didn't make it, I'm glad it's being recognized elsewhere, so I'm less disappointed it's on the list. But I would have loved to discuss People Like Us, The Great Mann, and Fundamentally

-There are a few here I will pass on, but I'll hold off on mentioning them in case they don't make the short list anyway.


So now, I need to prioritize my limited print book-buying funds, my 7 library holds on Libby, and the 6 Libro.fm credits I've been saving for this to prioritize the books I think I'll enjoy the most (and might get my zombie vote).

I'll read through the descriptions and check with y'all for opinions on those soon.

The Danielewski is...1200 pages?! Are those real 1200 pages or like artsy-fartsy 1200 pages?

Real pages..

Bob wrote: "The Danielewski is...1200 pages?!"

Ridiculous, right? I can’t imagine it being on the shortlist. I didn’t even like House of Leaves, I avoid Westerns, and the dialect on the first page is cringy. But it has good reviews so I’m curious.

Mara wrote: "Patricia wrote: "shocked by the inclusion of Freddie deBoer."

I agree. No way I'm reading him even if his book makes the short list, which I truly hope it does not!"

What's up with this author? I've never heard of him.

Soooo.... the actual 2026 winner won't even get a chance to compete!!! (How to Dodge a Cannonball
very sad about that. I don't think the tob listens to me, but it DOES seem like they listen to Lark. :D

I have only read ONE on this list. The Han Kang. It's a solid long list overall. Many books I'm looking forward to. A couple authors on my 'don't need to bother reading again' list.

Above I meant I have *never* heard of him.

I’ve read 5 on the list, and I’m in the midst of two (I just received my On the Calculation of Volume pre-order!) and I think I own another 10 I want to get to. Time to scour my library offerings. Happy there were a few I haven’t heard of and I’m looking forward to exploring!

I don't know DeBoer, but I was already disinclined to want to read a book with a synopsis like that from a guy who looks like me.

C wrote: "Soooo.... the actual 2026 winner won't even get a chance to compete!!! (How to Dodge a Cannonball
very sad about that. ..."

I had to go back and check the list again, I was so sure it would make the longlist (at least!). It was in my pre-longlist stack of ToB reading. All I can say is that they'd better have a solid shortlist if they are leaving that one (and the NBA winner!) out.

Jessica wrote: "(I just received my On the Calculation of Volume pre-order!)..."

Okay, maybe you can help: do I have to read vols 1 and 2 first? Because that turns it from a 144 page read to a 480 page read.

I've read six on the long list
* Audition - meh, I need to stop reading Kitamura. I really liked A Separation but I was not impressed by Intimacies and actively disliked Audition
* The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - I'm a long time SGJ fan, and I thought this was solid. 4 stars.
* Dream Count - this was good, but not great. Felt like Adichie was out of ideas and just threw this together from old notes to fulfill a publishing commitment.
* The Dream Hotel - I really liked this one! 4 stars
* We Do Not Part - I might be the only person on the planet who did not love this book; I found it to be a dull and pointless slog. I read it last winter and now all I can remember from it is all the snow. Wading through thigh deep snow felt like a good analogy for the entire book.
* We Love You, Bunny - I love Awad, usually, but this book did not need to exist, it felt like a tepid rehash and I did not enjoy my time spent reading it.




And I've got seven on my TBR
Blob: A Love Story
Cursed Daughters
Killer Potential
Run for the Hills
Tilt
Women, Seated
What a Time to Be Alive


I tend to be out of step with ToB so probably only one or two of those books, at most, will show up on the short list!

@Nadine in NY - I really enjoyed Tilt<\i>.

oh and I really thought Make Sure You Die Screaming would be on their list!! It felt like the perfect ToB book, it was weird but pithy, queer, contemporary, bizarre, relentless, heartfelt and ultimately (surprisingly) heartwarming.

Phyllis wrote: "@Nadine in NY - I really enjoyed Tilt."

I will push it up higher on my very very long TBR :-)

Re: On the Calculation of Volume

Yes, I would say you have to read the first two or you won’t know what’s happening. I got to the end of the second and realized that they’re being translated so the full set has already been done and will eventually include SEVEN.

I’ve read 4 of these, with my favorite being Wild Dark Shore. I had a bunch of literary releases waiting in my Libby holds and only one of them made the list! (The Director)

Some of these synopses are interesting enough to me to put on my TBR either way, but I will wait for the shortlist to spend any credits or waitlist spaces for January reading!

Tim wrote: "C wrote: "Soooo.... the actual 2026 winner won't even get a chance to compete!!! (How to Dodge a Cannonball
very sad about that. ..."

I had to go back and check the list again, I ..."

ah, I know! I really hope people will still give 'How To Dodge A Cannonball' a chance at some point, past March anyway. I see Alison is also a fan.

Does anyone have any from the long list that they loved on audio? ( if anyone else is interested in the same info, I loved the audio versions of both The Road to Tender Hearts and The Correspondent. Both excellent in that format).

I like Emperor on Audio. I think I did Wild Dark Shore on audio as well. And The Slip.

Kim wrote: "Does anyone have any from the long list that they loved on audio? ( if anyone else is interested in the same info, I loved the audio versions of both The Road to Tender Hearts and The Correspondent..."


I'm hoping Run for the Hills is good on audio, because I've got that audiobook on hold!

Kim wrote: "Does anyone have any from the long list that they loved on audio? ( if anyone else is interested in the same info, I loved the audio versions of both The Road to Tender Hearts and The Correspondent..."

I liked Cursed Daughters, Endling and Skydaddy on audio.

Oh, dang, I've only read one...ONE. At least it's one that I think could make the shortlist--The Director, which was pretty great.

I did have Heart the Lover up next but alas, I think that will have to change. Maybe Tilt or Wild Dark Shore or Audition instead.

But I'm more intrigued by this year's list than last year's, so that's something. Many unfamiliar titles, which means some excellent discoveries await!

Tournament of Books 2026 Longlist

Among Friends by Hal Ebbott
Animal Instinct by Amy Shearn
The Antidote by Karen Russell
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Beneath the Moon and Long Dead Stars by Daniel Wallace
Beyond All Reasonable Doubt, Jesus Is Alive!: Stories by Melissa Lozada-Oliva
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
The Burning Heart of the World by Nancy Kricorian
The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Endling by Maria Reva
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Flesh by David Szalay
Fonseca by Jessica Francis Kane
The Four Spent the Day Together by Chris Kraus
The Garden by Nick Newman
Gliff by Ali Smith
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch
Lion by Sonya Walger
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel
The Mind Reels by Fredrik deBoer
Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor
The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey
Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett
On Earth As It Is Beneath byAna Paula Maia
On the Calculation of Volume III, (Book III) by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell
Palaver by Bryan Washington
The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie Jr.
Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian
Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
Sheepdogs by Elliot Ackerman
The Silver Book by Olivia Laing
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer
So Far Gone by Jess Walter
Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
Swallows by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Tilt by Emma Pattee
Tom's Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski
Too Soon by Betty Shamieh
Underspin by E.Y. Zhao
The Unveiling by Quan Barry
Waterline by Aram Mrjoian
The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson
We Do Not Part by Han Kang
We Lived on the Horizon by Erika Swyler
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
What a Time to Be Alive by Jade Chang
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
Women, Seated by Zhang Yueran
Your Name Here by Helen DeWitt

Kim wrote: "Does anyone have any from the long list that they loved on audio? ( if anyone else is interested in the same info, I loved the audio versions of both The Road to Tender Hearts and The Correspondent..."

I’m an audio listener too. Your two are high on my list, I like Annie Hartnett. I loved Run for the Hills and Wild Dark Shore. Death of the Author sounds great, but it’s helpful to see the character and place names in print.

I’ve read these 6 so far. I agree this is a great list to work from. I’m most looking forward to TILT.

Dream Hotel
Killer potential
Run for the Hills
So Far Gone
The wilderness
Wild dark shore

That was supposed to say The Wilderness. Bad copy/paste job.

I can’t find the zombie votes deadline - has anyone seen it?

I don’t think they do zombie voting until after the short list goes up?

Jessica wrote: "Mara wrote: "Patricia wrote: "shocked by the inclusion of Freddie deBoer."

I agree. No way I'm reading him even if his book makes the short list, which I truly hope it does not!"

What's up with t..."

Hesitant to bring up too much (and I don't know and have never interacted with this man) but the background seems relevant to the novel he has written:

I first learned of him in the 2010s when he spoke against several feminist blogs about making too many jokes and not taking feminism seriously.

Later, he made some sexual assault accusations against another writer (who I won't name). He then admitted that he made everything up and blamed it on his mood disorder.