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The Tournament of Books longlist is out!

There are 58 books and they are all on this listopia, to make it easier to click and add the ones you want.

/list/show/1...

I read two so far, both five stars.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Hello Beautiful

I plan to read
Birnam Wood - probably in January
Wellness

Mobility
Open Throat (it could be awful, but ..)

And more I’m sure

Many of the titles sound a lot darker than my two favorites so far.

Thanks Nancy! I'm sure I've heard "Tournament of Books" before, but this is the first time I've made an effort to go look at what it's about.

I've read those exact same two books, but have a bunch on my TBR. And will likely end up with a few more as I look through the list.

As it turns out, I'm reading "America Fantastica" right now.

I loved both "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" and "Hello Beautiful".

I enjoyed "Happiness Falls" and gave it 4 stars.

I liked "The Librarianist," giving it 3.5 stars.

I disliked and didn't finish:
"Birnam Wood"
"The Rachel Incident"
"What You are Looking For is in the Library"
"American Mermaid"
"The Fraud"

I've read:

5 stars: (outstanding, a favorite)
Wellness
Study for Obedience

4 stars: (liked a lot)
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Birnam Wood
Chain Gang All-Stars
This Other Eden
The Librarianist

3 stars: (liked it)
The Fraud
Let Us Descend
Land of Milk and Honey
Biography of X

2 stars: (it was ok)
The Bee Sting (this is a love it or hate it type of book)

Another list where I have not read a single one.

I think I am going for a perfect score this year - of not having read a single book on any best of 2023 list. 🤣

I miss the write in feature that used to be a part of the first round of voting. I think the selection of books is too narrow and to clearly a marketing ploy.

Joy D wrote: "I've read:

5 stars: (outstanding, a favorite)
Wellness
Study for Obedience

4 stars: (liked a lot)
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
Birnam Wood
Chain Gang All-Stars
This Other Eden
The Librarianis..."

Joy,
Chain gang all stars doesn’t sound like your kind of book. I’ll have to look for your review.

Other reviews have me adding Mobility and Open Throat.

Jgrace wrote: "I miss the write in feature that used to be a part of the first round of voting. I think the selection of books is too narrow and to clearly a marketing ploy."

I thought there were more last year. Why do you think it’s a marketing ploy? Are there more high profile books this year? Or do they favor certain publishers?

Last year I loved Search and The Book of Goose. I doubt I would have noticed either one otherwise. I hope to find a couple like that this year.

I'm curious too. It's not sponsored by Amazon. It is a group of people who do this yearly. Their sponsor is a little known "publisher" of a collection of "memo" books for American farmers, called Field Notes, none of which is prize eligible. The prize is a live rooster (though none of the authors has ever accepted the rooster, lol.)

I haven't decided whether to participate in the tournament. It starts in March. This announcement gives readers a chance to get started early.

ETA - Nancy, Chain Gang All-Stars is a biting social commentary on the prison system and well worth reading.

Joy D wrote: "I'm curious too. It's not sponsored by Amazon. It is a group of people who do this yearly. Their sponsor is a little known "publisher" of a collection of "memo" books for American farmers, called F..."


Thanks Joy, I’ll add Chain Gang All Stars to my list.

The Tob is an annual feature run by the Morning News which is a reader supported publication. It seems to have a strong following.

I probably won't read them all - some sound like they are not in my wheelhouse, but I will likely read:
Mobility
Sing Her Down
Lone Women
American Mermaid
Vintage Contemporaries
The Shamshine Blind
Blackouts

This list may actually get me to read Hello Beautiful, which I've been on the fence about reading based on reviews from friends with similar tastes.

I'm relatively new to the Tournament of Books and first started watching the tournament last year. I didn't know that the people who started it did NOT take themselves or the books seriously. They did it as a reaction to the prestigious book awards. The Rooster award (the name) comes from a funny (and raunchy) essay that David Sedaris wrote concerning his brother, who calls himself "The Rooster."

Here is the Youtube video of Sedaris reading "You Can't Kill the Rooster." Enjoy!

Note: If you are sensitive about profanity, the video is not for you.

Holly R W wrote: "I'm relatively new to the Tournament of Books and first started watching the tournament last year. I didn't know that the people who started it did NOT take themselves or the books seriously. They ..."

That was too funny!

Jgrace wrote: "I miss the write in feature that used to be a part of the first round of voting. I think the selection of books is too narrow and to clearly a marketing ploy."

My bad. I was thinking of the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards. The opening round banner is at the top of the page. (...... 'didn't read carefully"... I hear myself saying that in my teacher voice.)

Holly R W wrote: "As it turns out, I'm reading "America Fantastica" right now."

I can’t wait to hear if you liked it. I’m thinking of adding it to my list.

Does anyone happen to have a Tob shortlist book on a current or previous SUBDUE board? I rolled 5-6, so my next book will have to come from someone else’s board. Or Enough or a shortish memoir or NF book.

Nancy, it seems like I'm having a hard time settling down with a book. I've started and stopped about 4 books now. I had returned "America Fantastica" to the library due to my own restlessness with it. A GR Friend just gave it a 5 star rating and thought it was very funny. I think I'm going to try reading it again.

Holly R W wrote: "Nancy, it seems like I'm having a hard time settling down with a book. I've started and stopped about 4 books now. I had returned "America Fantastica" to the library due to my own restlessness with..."

I think I’ll hold off too. It sounds like a movie plot, so maybe I can wait for that.

I get that way too, especially when I’m not feeling well. I might sample 4-5 books to find one I can stick with. I started Demon Copperhead several times this year before I decided I was ready for it. I hope you feel better soon.

Thank you.

NancyJ wrote: "Does anyone happen to have a Tob shortlist book on a current or previous SUBDUE board? I rolled 5-6, so my next book will have to come from someone else’s board. Or Enough or a shortish memoir or NF book.."

Nancy, My Subdue board has Let Us Descend (Conductor Loop 9 #12) and Land of Milk and Honey (Conductor Loop 7 #42).

I have lots of non-fiction - every board has at least a handful of them.

NancyJ wrote: "The Tournament of Books longlist is out!

I read two so far, both five stars.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store"

That is on my want to read shelf. I don't love everything McBride writes, but he writes so very well, doesn't he? I've given 2 of his books 5 stars and they aren't even the sort of novels I usually like to read.

Holly R W wrote: "Nancy, it seems like I'm having a hard time settling down with a book. I've started and stopped about 4 books now. I had returned "America Fantastica" to the library due to my own restlessness with..."

I was just looking at the reviews for Snow Road Station, about an older actress dealing with memory issues. It sounds like something you and I might like. It fits December flurries and it might have a holiday in there.

@Nancy, thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.

By the way, I did try reading "America Fantastica" a second time and found it wasn't for me. I know you were curious about this.

SHORT LIST
American Mermaid by Julia Langbein
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Blackouts by Justin Torres
Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Cold People by Tom Rob Smith
Dayswork by Chris Bachelder
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Open Throat by Henry Hoke
* The Auburn Conference by Tom Piazza
*The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
The Guest by Emma Cline
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
*The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

* Play-in round

Darn, I was planning to read Mobility, Birnam Wood, and Wellness soon, and they are no longer on the shortlist.

I just read Open Throat by Henry Hoke and I really liked it. It's told from the pov of a mountain lion living near the Hollywood sign. It's surprising and clever.

I am reading The Librarianist this month or next-love this quirky author

Well, they definitely missed the boat by not including Wellness, Study for Obedience, and Vintage Contemporaries. These were 5 star reads for me, and you all know how stingy I am with 5-star ratings.

There are a few on the shortlist which I plan to read, but I definitely won't be reading the entire list (e.g., Brainwyrms is not for me.)

Joy D wrote: "Well, they definitely missed the boat by not including Wellness, Study for Obedience, and Vintage Contemporaries. These were 5 star reads for me, an..."

I know. It’s not a list many people will feel compelled to finish. The Tob group on GR wasn’t very happy with the cuts either. There is an awful lot of horror on the short list (and it bugs me that they all seem to have queer tags). I think the judges this year wanted to play up their differences from award groups.

I wouldn’t have even considered reading Open Throat if it wasn’t for all the positive comments on the board. It’s short which made it easier to take a risk on it. There is a creepy scene near the beginning that you won’t like, but it’s over quickly and it’s not purely gratuitous.

I am planning to read Open Throat. Thanks for the warning. I can usually handle a limited number of creepy scenes, as long as it's not the entire book.

I really dislike horror and a lot of those ToB short listed books seem to be playing up the violent content. I guess a lot of people like that sort of thing. I just finished Cold People - there's really no literary merit in it. It's a run of the mill sci-fi thriller that does not even pretend to use any realistic science.

Joy D wrote: "I just finished Cold People - there's really no literary merit in it. It's a run of the mill sci-fi thriller that does not even pretend to use any realistic science
..."
I won that book and was excited because I have enjoyed all of the authors other books, but when I started I couldn't get interested, but feel obligated to finish and write a review. I thought this might be the month to do it, but your assessment doesn't encourage me.