Tournament of Books discussion

Thread to track our final 4 judgements ahead of the Finals (Piranesi is shown only because it was first mentioned zombie alphabetically at the end of Opening Round #8)
SF #1: Deacon King Kong vs. Interior Chinatown
SF #2: Breasts and Eggs vs. Red Pill
Zombie Round #1: Interior Chinatown v. Piranesi
Zombie Round #2: Breasts and Eggs v. The Vanishing Half

zombies remained the same from the end of Opening Rounds till now: The Vanishing Half & Piranesi (though there was a hint that Deacon King Kong was high on the list, it was not above these two)

I'll just say now that I'm glad that my favorite of the whole tourney went out with a judge who clearly, clearly loved it.

Deacon King Kong v. Interior Chinatown! https://themorningnews.org/tob/2021/d...

Kyle wrote: "I'll just say now that I'm glad that my favorite of the whole tourney went out with a judge who clearly, clearly loved it."

Totally agree!

I think this is one of the best ToB judgments I've ever read. This line just broke my heart, it reminds me of what hurts me most about my mom and probably many other women of her generation (born 1919) ".....how his imagination shrinks to fit the roles offered him".

Nadine wrote: "I think this is one of the best ToB judgments I've ever read...."

Me too. I'm so glad she took time in the beginning to speak about her own experiences with racism. What a masterful aside, on her way to her review of two books, and she said so much in a single paragraph.

So it could be the template for a successful and enriching TOB judgment is to seriously find your love for both books, to be generous with that love in what you write, and then to pick the one you loved most...and to do it all with extraordinary humility, grace, and rhetorical panache. Is that so much to ask???

lark wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I think this is one of the best ToB judgments I've ever read...."

Me too. I'm so glad she took time in the beginning to speak about her own experiences with racism. What a masterful..."

So true. Loved this judgement so much; it was so well written and very thought provoking. It has me in mind to locate copies of Judge Chung's books and give them a try.

Matthew wrote: "It has me in mind to locate copies of Judge Chung's books and give them a try."

I read the Kindle sample of The Tenth Muse and loved the opening, so I bought it from Bookshop. Lord knows when I'll get to read it, but it looks so good.

lark wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I think this is one of the best ToB judgments I've ever read...."

Me too. I'm so glad she took time in the beginning to speak about her own experiences with racism. What a masterful..."

Yes - this type of judgment every time please! :)

Elizabeth wrote: "Matthew wrote: "It has me in mind to locate copies of Judge Chung's books and give them a try."

I read the Kindle sample of The Tenth Muse and loved the opening, so I bought it from Bookshop. Lord..."

Let me add a plug for The Tenth Muse, which I read last year and thought was great! Interesting characters & situations and fascinating issues.

Like many of us, I'm sad Deacon King Kong is gone, but so happy that the judge loved the book and its characters as much as I did.

And the zombies are confirmed!

https://themorningnews.org/tob/2021/b...

I'll note that our final four include 3 female authors (1 British, one Japanese in translation, one African-American) and one Asian-American male.

I didn’t have that weird ‘I hate zombies’ feeling I always have about now. I think it’s because both zombie books were knocked out in the first round. It feels like this should almost be the way zombies are chosen: most popular books knocked out in Round One.

Wow. My two favorite books made it to the end. Good tourney.

lark wrote: "I didn’t have that weird ‘I hate zombies’ feeling I always have about now. I think it’s because both zombie books were knocked out in the first round. It feels like this should almost be the way zo..."

I like that - perhaps it reduces zombie (book) fatigue?

lark wrote: "I didn’t have that weird ‘I hate zombies’ feeling I always have about now. I think it’s because both zombie books were knocked out in the first round. It feels like this should almost be the way zo..."

I generally like this idea, except for how it played out last year. We don't need to talk about that again though. ;)

Seeing as how a zombie that was knocked out at round one became the Rooster in 2020 and 2019 (loved the outcome that time), I think it's quite possible we'll see that again this year.

I'm rooting for either IC or TVH to take it this year.

Beginning of the end folks - zombie #1 round https://themorningnews.org/tob/2021/i...

Ugh, all of my favorites are out. I did like Chinatown a lot and I hope it becomes champion, given what's left. I'm very sad about Sticks, Tender, and most of all, Deacon.

Deacon and Interior Chinatown were ties for my favorite book of 2020, so I'm glad the tie is broken :)

I admired IC more than I liked it, if that makes sense - I'd be fine with it winning, but it didn't win my heart the way Deacon or Shuggie did.

Kyle wrote: "I admired IC more than I liked it, if that makes sense - I'd be fine with it winning, but it didn't win my heart the way Deacon or Shuggie did."

Same.

Kyle wrote: "I admired IC more than I liked it, if that makes sense - I'd be fine with it winning, but it didn't win my heart the way Deacon or Shuggie did."

Deacon won my heart. Shuggie just wore me out. I was numb by the end.