Tournament of Books discussion
2020 TOB Tourney
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2020 Semi-Finals and Zombie Rounds
Very interesting, here are my predictions for the Qaurterfinals. :-)https://www.collinsbookblog.com/copy-...
I wish On Earth We are Briefly Gorgeous was not up against Optic Nerve. I was quietly surprised at how much I enjoyed Optic Nerve.
And they’re up!https://themorningnews.org/tob/2020/s...
(And I don’t think anyone over in the Bracket Competition picked this one!)
I must have been half asleep when I read Saudade.
Carmel wrote: "I must have been half asleep when I read Saudade."So funny, I feel like that too. I remember liking it well enough while I was reading, but if you asked me to tell you now what I'd read I'd give you a blank stare.
Elizabeth wrote: "Carmel wrote: "I must have been half asleep when I read Saudade."So funny, I feel like that too. I remember liking it well enough while I was reading, but if you asked me to tell you now what I'd..."
Exactly... :-)
This year's tournament has not disappointed if you're a fan of surprises, that's for sure.
Short books from outside of America written by women are becoming the gold standard in the ToB based on Saudade and the last 2 winners. I wonder if the short length might benefit a book in this contest? The last 2 winners were amazing books, Saudade is fine, but it's definitely a trend I will keep in mind for future brackets.
Kip wrote: "Also this applies to Optic Nerve!"True! At this point (depending on the personality of tomorrow's judge, obviously) I could totally see Optic Nerve winning the whole thing. The only remaining novel I could imagine beating it is On Earth.
I wonder if LCA will zombie. If it does, I can still see it taking the Rooster. So many interesting possible matchups are left. Optic Nerve vs Saudade potentially squaring off in the final though - whoa, who would have bet on that going into the tourney?
Matthew wrote: "...Optic Nerve vs Saudade potentially squaring off in the final though - whoa, who would have bet on that going into the tourney?..."according to our Bracket competition, NO ONE had Saudade making it further than the semis & only Heidi included Optic Nerve in the final show-down.
Amy wrote: "according to our Bracket competition, NO ONE had Saudade making it further than the semis & only Heidi included Optic Nerve in the final show-down. ."FASCINATING!
And now I’m wishing I had listened to the devil (angel?) on my shoulder telling me Optic Nerve could win! This whole thing has been a roller coaster.
Wow. I almost feel like I should read Saudade again because the judges seem to be getting much more out of it than I did.
When do the new match-ups go up? It seems later than usual today.
it's really 'late' today. we've been a little spoiled but this is definitely the latest one to date.
Amy wrote: "it's really 'late' today. we've been a little spoiled but this is definitely the latest one to date."to be fair, every year there's at least 1 decision posted around 9am PST/noon EST due to a variety of issues
It's up! Optic Nerve v. Trust Exercise. (really pretty covers match-up)https://themorningnews.org/tob/2020/o...
Plz allow me this moment of silence for my zombie pick. :( although I friggin’ knew that was going to happen
So glad LCA came back as a zombie! I would be happy with either LCA or Optic Nerve winning the Rooster. My bracket would be happier if LCA won lol. I'm not sure what I think about the Saudade/Normal People match up. I'm still in shock that Saudade has made it this far, and Normal People is such a divisive book. I have a feeling the outcome will be mainly determined on which side of the love/hate fence the judge falls on with Normal People.
What a weird tournament this year. And without feeling strongly about the remaining books (including zombies), I'll have to hope the judgments are entertaining and/or provocative.
I only like LCA, so glad it emerged as a Zombie pick. (Maybe this group had a hand in that....) The other three are not just books that I was meh about, they were all in the bottom quartile of the books I read (15 of 18). I pretty actively disliked them all. I've become used to a book I don't like winning (like Fever Dream) but it's becoming harder to invest so much in reading all or most of the ToB books when my tastes seem to have diverged so much from the judges. (Not always the commentariat, which is why I like this group so much....)
Official link isn’t up yet but Saudade v Normal People is posted
Of course a Zombie wins while we're in the middle of a pandemic.
Jason wrote: "Of course a Zombie wins while we're in the middle of a pandemic."Yep! And of course that zombie is Normal People! Ugh.
I was happy about last year's zombie champion, and I'd be fine with LCA taking the Rooster, but not NP. :/
Does Optic Nerve have a chance over LCA? I really hope so, even though I loved LCA that would be far more interesting. (And mean more for the author. After you've won the MacArthur Fellowship and Folio, and been a finalist for the Booker, the Rooster doesn't mean much.)
Elizabeth wrote: "Does Optic Nerve have a chance over LCA? I really hope so, even though I loved LCA that would be far more interesting. (And mean more for the author. After you've won the MacArthur Fellowship and F..."True. I think it could have a chance, and I'd be fine with that winning too.
Elizabeth, until the Normal People judgment today, I've sensed a sincere rooting-for-the-underdog vibe in many of the judges' decisions. Not that unworthy books are winning, not at all...just that a consideration for which book could benefit most from promotion has been a tiny factor in how judges decide in the end. I think it's fair. I think it's wonderful.
Amazing... I assumed it was out!
I suspect most of our judges would consider themselves underdogs as well.
One of my favorite judgments of the tournament by a mile. And I had no real rooting interest in either book, but her defense of her pick was fun and direct.
I'm rooting for LCA because it was my favorite book of those I read, she teaches at my daughter's school, and it'll be one redeeming win on steaming pile of loser picks in the bracket contest. Not to derail any discussion, but I was a covid lay off casualty this week so a Zombie vs Zombie final will give me hope in making a comeback from the dead.
Jason wrote: "I'm rooting for LCA because it was my favorite book of those I read, she teaches at my daughter's school, and it'll be one redeeming win on steaming pile of loser picks in the bracket contest. No..."
I'm so very sorry, Jason...
You WILL make a comeback, people will rehire. But gosh, what a nightmare.
Jason wrote: "I'm rooting for LCA because it was my favorite book of those I read, she teaches at my daughter's school, and it'll be one redeeming win on steaming pile of loser picks in the bracket contest. No..."
Terribly sorry, Jason. I'll be rooting for your own comeback, sooner rather than later...
Amy wrote: "And now we know the final contestants!https://themorningnews.org/tob/2020/l..."
I'm so thrilled I'm not even mad my pick to win didn't win.
I'm curious about this judgment for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who gets compared with Dale Peck, Andrew WK, and Stephin Merritt, hey, I want to read what they apparently didn't write.
lark wrote: "I'm curious about this judgment for all the wrong reasons. Anyone who gets compared with Dale Peck, Andrew WK, and Stephin Merritt, hey, I want to read what they apparently didn't write."true, my curiosity is piqued! hoping it's something dramatic and villainous like those and not something banal and realistic like COVID-19 impact!
I never would have guessed this about Optic Nerve though I loved the book. Now I'm going to need to go get my own glossy cover physical book!
Reading the comments over there reminded me that not a single judge has voted for Normal People as yet in the tournament. Has that happened before? Anyway it seems to me that makes Normal People the underdog, weirdly so.
Well, guess I'm rooting for Normal People. Funny how two of the leading contenders were books I never even tried.
In honor of what might have been, here is an essay of judge Jeanna Kadlec's that was published in Longreads in Dec 2019: "Deconstructing Disney: The Princess Problem of Frozen II".
lark wrote: "In honor of what might have been, here is an essay of judge Jeanna Kadlec's that was published in Longreads in Dec 2019: "Deconstructing Disney: The Princess Problem of Frozen II"."
omg. here for it!
lark wrote: "Reading the comments over there reminded me that not a single judge has voted for Normal People as yet in the tournament. Has that happened before? Anyway it seems to me that makes Normal People th..."Good point... I didn't think of that before posting my prediction (ON winning by just one vote). Oh well!
Lark, thanks for posting that article by Kadlec. Looking forward to reading it. But man, what a tournament!! I'm Team Optic Nerve all the way, although I never would have predicted this outcome. Like it's not enough to have Covid blowing our minds on a regular basis (John Prine on a ventilator??!?), now the TOB has to get in on it?
Tournament of Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Saudade (other topics)Saudade (other topics)
Lost Children Archive (other topics)
Optic Nerve (other topics)
Trust Exercise (other topics)
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SF #2 - Optic Nerve vs. Trust Exercise
Zombie #1 Normal People* vs. Saudade
Zombie #2 Lost Children Archive* vs. Optic Nerve
(* = zombies)