Tournament of Books 2022

Tournament of Books
Rooster Award for best fiction
sponsored by Field Notes and Bookshop
details | daily
annual self challenge
winner announced on March 31
~*~
WINNER: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
~*~
THE SHORTLIST:

All's Well
by Mona Awad
Literary, Horror | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
interesting dark Shakespeare themed vibe

Beautiful World, Where Are You
by Sally Rooney
Literary, Ireland | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
making sense of love, romance, relationships

The Book of Form and Emptiness
by Ruth Ozeki
Literary, Magical Realism | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Echo Wife
by Sarah Gailey
SciFi, Thriller | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
to be human

In Concrete
by Anne Garréta
translated by Emma Ramadan
Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
loved the word play

Intimacies
by Katie Kitamura
Literary, Mystery | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Klara and the Sun
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Literary, Dystopian | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
ugly observations of being human

Libertie
by Kaitlyn Greenidge
Historical, African American | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Matrix
by Lauren Groff
Literary, Historical | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
women in power

Nervous System: A Novel
by Lina Meruane
translated by Megan McDowell
Literary, Medical | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
science, math and illness

No One Is Talking about This
by Patricia Lockwood
Literary, Fantasy | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

Several People Are Typing
by Calvin Kasulke
Humor, SciFi | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

Subdivision
by J. Robert Lennon
Mystery, Surreal | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Trees
by Percival Everett
Literary, Mystery | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

When We Cease to Understand the World
by Benjamín Labatut
translated by Adrian Nathan West
Short Stories, Historical | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
Play-in round books:

The Confession of Copeland Cane
by Keenan Norris
SciFi | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
struggles of being a future young black boy and continued issues

Our Country Friends
by Gary Shteyngart
Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Sentence
by Louise Erdrich
Magical Realism | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

Tournament of Books 2021

Tournament of Books
Rooster Award for best fiction
sponsored by Field Notes and Bookshop
details | daily
Love to treat myself with this annual self challenge of reading some or all of the shortlist books for this tournament.

~*~
WINNER: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
~*~
THE SHORTLIST:

Breasts and Eggs
by Mieko Kawakami,
translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd
Literary, Feminism, Japan | Goodreads | my rating: 5
female body image, children and meaning of life

A Children’s Bible
by Lydia Millet
Literary, Dystopia | Goodreads | my rating: 5
adults lacking

Deacon King Kong
by James McBride
Historical, Literary | Goodreads | my rating: dnf

Interior Chinatown
by Charles Yu
Literary, China | Goodreads

Leave the World Behind
by Rumaan Alam
Thriller, Mystery | Goodreads | my rating: 4
to be safe

Luster
by Raven Leilani
Contemporary, African American | Goodreads | my rating: 4
suburban fantasies, twisted relationships

Memorial
by Bryan Washington
Contemporary, LGBTQ | Goodreads | my rating: 4
modern love, parents

Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
Fantasy | Goodreads | my rating: 5
love how this unravels with its many halls and statues along the way

Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
Magical Realism, Hawaii | Goodreads | my rating: dnf

Shuggie Bain
by Douglas Stuart
Historical, Scotland | Goodreads | my rating: 4
sad realities, but love it there

Telephone
by Percival Everett
Contemporary, Family | Goodreads

Tender Is the Flesh
by Agustina Bazterrica
translated by Sarah Moses
Horror, Dystopia | Goodreads | my rating: 5
creepy, fertility, mortality, morality

Transcendent Kingdom
by Yaa Gyasi
Contemporary, Africa | Goodreads | my rating: 5
religion, science, addiction, depression

The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett
Historical | Goodreads | my rating: 4
living true, what's it worth

We Ride Upon Sticks
by Quan Barry
Historical, Sports, Witches | Goodreads
PLAY-IN ROUND:

The Down Days
by Ilze Hugo
Dystopia, South Africa | Goodreads | my rating: 5
grief, hair, ghostbusters

Red Pill
by Hari Kunzru
SciFi, Germany | Goodreads | my rating: 4

The Resisters
by Gish Jen
SciFi, Baseball | Goodreads

Camp ToB 2020

Camp ToB 2020
summer reading program (details)
from the Tournament of Books
Camp bylaws are the same as last summer:

- Every week we’ll read half of each book, then discuss here on Wednesdays.

- We’ll be joined in the commentary booth each week by a different member of the Commentariat. (Please volunteer for that in the form below!)

- At the end of each month you decide which of the two books we just read heads to the end-of-summer finale, where you’ll cast one final vote to decide which of our summer reads heads to the 2021 Tournament of Books.

~*~
WINNER: Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
~*~

The City We Became
by N.K. Jemisin
-Fantasy, New York | Goodreads | my rating: DNF

Sharks in the Time of Saviors
by Kawai Strong Washburn
-Magical Realism, Hawaii | Goodreads | my rating: DNF

The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich
-Historical, North Dakota | Goodreads | my rating: tba

Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid
-Contemporary | Goodreads | my rating: 5

Weather
by Jenny Offill
-Literary, New York | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Writers & Lovers
by Lily King
-Literary, Massachusetts | Goodreads

Camp ToB 2020 Reading Schedule:

June 3: The City We Became, first half
June 10: The City We Became, second half
June 17: Sharks in the Time of Saviors, first half
June 24: Sharks in the Time of Saviors, second half
July 1: VACATION
July 8: The Night Watchman, first half
July 15: The Night Watchman, second half
July 22: Such a Fun Age, first half
July 29: Such a Fun Age, second half
Aug. 5: Writers & Lovers, first half
Aug. 12: Writers & Lovers, second half
Aug. 19: Weather, first half
Aug. 26: Weather, second half
Sept. 2: Announce summer champion

Tournament of Books 2020

Morning News Tournament of Books
Rooster Award for best fiction
15th edition
sponsored by Field Notes and Powell's
details | daily
Each weekday in March, starting March 6, 2019, two of the books below will be read and considered by one of our judges (also listed below). One book from the “match” will be chosen to advance, with the judge required to explain in detail how he or she came to their decision. Then the judge’s decision is evaluated first by our official commentators, then by you, the Rooster fan, wherein you politely and respectfully describe how your heart was broken and your mind inflamed by such erroneous arrogance. And the next day we do it all over again.

That time of year again...

YAY! the shortlist for this annual tournament has been announced.

I read a few last year and the rest are in my tbr pile. The next couple months will be devoted to reading from this list before the competition begins.

~*~
WINNER: Normal People by Sally Rooney
~*~
THE SHORTLIST:

All This Could Be Yours
by Jami Attenberg
-Contemporary
Goodreads | my rating: 5

Fleishman Is in Trouble
by Taffy Akner
-Contemporary
Goodreads | my rating: 5

Girl, Woman, Other
by Bernardine Evaristo
-Literary, Feminism, Short Stories
Goodreads | my review: DNF

Lost Children Archive
by Valeria Luiselli
-Literary
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

Mary Toft; or, the Rabbit Queen
by Dexter Palmer
-Historical
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

Normal People
by Sally Rooney
-Literary, Ireland
Goodreads | my rating: 5

Nothing to See Here
by Kevin Wilson
-Magical Realism
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
-Literary, Poetry, LGBTQ, Asian American, Vietnam
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

Optic Nerve
by María Gainza
-Short stories, Art
Goodreads | my review: tba

Overthrow
by Caleb Crain
-ScFi, LGBTQ
Goodreads | my review: tba

Saudade
Suneeta Peres da Costa
-Historical, Africa, Portugal, India, Australia
Goodreads | my rating: 4

The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
-Dystopia, Feminism
Goodreads | my review: tba

Trust Exercise
by Susan Choi
-Literary, Coming of Age
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

The Water Dancer
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
-Historical, Magical Realism, African American
Goodreads | my review: tba

Your House Will Pay
by Steph Cha
-Mystery, Historical
Goodreads | my review: tba

PLAY-IN ROUND:

Golden State
by Ben H. Winters
-SciFi, Mystery
Goodreads | my rating: 5

Oval
by Elvia Wilk
-SciFi, Dystopia
Goodreads | my rating: DNF

We Cast a Shadow
by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
-SciFi
Goodreads | my rating: 5