Tournament of Books discussion

I'm a bit disappointed, but far from surprised. Maybe I need to reread Goon Squad. Maybe my tastes are too conventional. Maybe I should just be happy that Franzen didn't win. Maybe I'd have liked Goon Squad more if the jacket design didn't have the author's name larger than the title of the book. (That one always bothers me.)

Next year, I resolve to be a better critic, to approach new works with less skepticism, and to start reading potential TOB selections much earlier.

Do you happen to know how they choose their longlist? I know a list is created in December, and then January. How does one give them suggestions?

For starters, I recommend "The Last Brother" by Nathacha Appanah (published in the US 2011). It made their list of suggestions they threw out at the end of this year's tournament. It's an amazing book.

I can't find information on the compilation of the long list and have been wondering the same thing. It would be nice to get a jump on reading likely candidates, as I didn't particularly enjoy this year's experiment of cramming.

The Last Brother looks fascinating! I've been a little stuck on nonfiction and some classics since the tournament ended, so don't have much in the way of recommendation for 2011.

Thanks for your reply, Jamie.

Good for you with those classics! You are way ahead of me there.

And thank you for letting me recommend The Last Brother. I am tickled there is another human being on this earth who now has heard of this little gem.