Litsy

#ToB25 and #LitsyToB25 have taken very different roads this year (which makes it so fun!) but in the end we all agree (at least a majority does 😉) on James as the winner of both tournaments. Percival Everett finally takes away the 🐓!

Thank you all for participating in this year‘s LitsyToB and I hope to see you next year. But before that, it won‘t be long until we‘ll be back with #CampLitsy25! Meg, Helen and I hope you‘ll join us there!

Megabooks, squirrelbrain

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 1w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 1w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Well-ReadNeck @fredthemoose @AnneCecilie 1w

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AmyG Thank you so very much. Camp Litsy will be here before we know it! 1w

ChaoticMissAdventures Yay!! Thank you! This was fun to see, I know people wanted to root for underdogs but I really feel like this book deserves all of the flowers. And we all got to read some other interesting books along the way! 1w

Suet624 Thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it. 1w

Megabooks I know ladies!!! We‘ve got to start our longlist planning emails! It‘s about time to get submissions!! @squirrelbrain 1w

sarahbarnes Crazy! I‘m glad Everett finally won the Rooster, although I would‘ve rather it was for Telephone. Oh well! Thank you for organizing our tournament again this year! ♥️ 1w

GatheringBooks Looking forward to joining #CampLitsy2025! 1w

fredthemoose Great tournament! Got me to read several books that would not have been on my radar otherwise. Thanks @BarbaraBB for organizing! 1w

BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - For me, it is The Trees. Looking forward to reading Glyph soon. 1w

BkClubCare Yes! Happy Spring Reading 🌷 everyone as we look for jewels 💎 to discuss at Camp 🏕️ BIG THANKS 👏 to everyone organizing and participating. 💖 (edited) 1w

Deblovestoread Thanks @BarbaraBB Fun as always! Looking forward to camp 🏕️ 1w

Jas16 Totally agree @ChaoticMissAdventures! And thank you so much Barbara for all the work you put into this. I look forward to our tournament every year. 1w

Lesliereadsalot Chiming in with my thanks Barbara! Added lots of new books TBR! I did love James, so happy it won out. 1w

Bookwormjillk Thanks very much! Can‘t wait for Camp Litsy and hope that next year‘s books will be a little less awesome than James so that the winners won‘t be quite so obvious. 1w

Hooked_on_books It‘s a wonderful, worthy book and deserves accolades, but I would also like to see the love spread around a little bit. Thanks for hosting once again and all that goes along with it! 1w

Kristy_K @BarbaraBB Thank you for organizing! I‘m glad to see James won. 1w

squirrelbrain Yes, I was only thinking about that the other day! @Megabooks ☺️ 1w

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Megabooks Looking forward to doing this again with you two ❤️ 1w

Megabooks @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB already thinking about the 4 I want to nominate!! 1w

kwmg40 I'm happy with the result and had a great time following both #ToB25 and #LitsyToB25. Thank you so much for hosting! 1w

cariashley Woop woop, what a great year all around! I‘m happy and unsurprised with the outcome as James was probably favorite read of 2024. I still think he should have won TOB for The Trees. Thank you so much for organizing again, it‘s been so fun! 1w

sarahbarnes @BkClubCare that‘s another great one! He really is just a phenomenal writer. 1w

Butterfinger My first year that I read so many from the list. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you. 1w

BarbaraBB @fredthemoose @lesliereadalot @GatheringBooks @Butterfinger Thank you so much for joining. I am glad you enjoyed it. I‘ll tag you for #CampLitsy25 this Summer, which is the best! 1w

BarbaraBB @Megabooks @squirrelbrain I need to dive into the booklist but I can‘t wait to do so. We‘ll email soon - I always forget when we start posting and in what order things go! Xxx 1w

Gissy I really want to read it but I will read Huckleberry Finn first 🤷🏽‍♀️ 1w

Megabooks Usually we start talking now and post around late April so people have time to vote and then buy winning books before June. @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I‘ll try to pop an email today or tomorrow. 1w

squirrelbrain Look forward to hearing from you! @Megabooks 1w

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cariashley

The Book of Love: A Novel | Kelly Link

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Finished this the other day and am now a #tob25 completionist (better late than never)! I really liked it, though it took me forever to read; in fairness, that wasn‘t really the book‘s fault as I have a lot going on right now (7 months pregnant). It felt like a cross between Stephen King and Neil Gaiman in a good way. Darkly entertaining and I liked the ending, after not being sure how it would be wrapped up.

BarbaraBB You‘re pregnant! That‘s wonderful! Congratulations, on completing the shortlist too of course 😘 1w

squirrelbrain Congratulations on both! 🤪🎉 1w

cariashley @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain thank you!! Both feel like major accomplishments 😊 1w

BkClubCare Woot! 🙌 Completist!! 🌟 oh, and AW! Congrats on all your announcements (edited) 1w

cariashley @BkClubCare thank you!! 🥰 7d

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Bookwormjillk

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

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Finally got around to this one for #TOB25

I assumed this would be total fluff (not that there‘s anything wrong with that) but it was pretty deep albeit in a fluffy way. I liked what it had to say about taking care of yourself, finding the true you as you get older, loneliness, and grief. I loved how the author handled the pandemic. It made me laugh too.

Not my favorite short list title, but I can see why so many people love it.

BarbaraBB Glad you know now what all the buzz is about! 1w

kspenmoll In my TBR -one day…. 1w

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BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

It was to be expected that The Book Censor‘s Library didn‘t stand a chance against The Wedding People. So we‘re left with two very popular books left in the #LitsyToB25: TWP and James (James is a finalist in #ToB25 too).

Please vote one more time for your favorite and I‘ll see you on Monday for the final match! Have a good weekend. https://forms.gle/QksJX14ZcJMmmYij7

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 2w

See All 26 Comments

sarahbarnes Two great books indeed. Although not the type of TOB books I hope for! Oh well, it seems like the tournament may never be what it used to be. 🤷🏻‍♀️ At least we still have the longlist every year! 2w

ChaoticMissAdventures @sarahbarnes what book(s) from the long list were you rooting for? There were a few I was sad didn't make the shortlist. 2w

ImperfectCJ I appreciate that the judge in today's official ToB decision addresses the challenges of reading fiction in times like these. It can feel indulgent while at the same time feeling essential (at least to readers). Her comments remind me of how blown-away I felt when I read James and how important fiction is (although it doesn't take much to convince me of that). 2w

sarahbarnes @chaoticmissadventures I would‘ve liked to have seen Ghost Roots, Banal Nightmare, and Poor Deer on the shortlist. Which ones were you rooting for? 2w

BkClubCare Today‘s TOB readthru made me glad that I read The Safekeep 2w

BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - Poor Deer is such a great read! (The author admitted that she was relieved to not have it on the short list.) 2w

BkClubCare AND as much as I cheer for and (believe it or not,) continue to learn more to appreciate of James, I am choosing The Wedding People as it was my favorite read of 2024! 💒🍾 🌊 (edited) 2w

AmyG Thanks for the book rec of Poor Deer. 2w

Bookwormjillk I‘m torn about who to vote for. I have to think about this. (About 1/3 through Wedding People.) I loved Help Wanted from the long list and thought it should have taken George‘s place. 2w

Hooked_on_books Boo!!!! I loved TWP, but BCL is such a special book! I‘m not surprised, of course, but very disappointed more people didn‘t see in it what I did. 2w

ChaoticMissAdventures @sarahbarnes so many of us liked Poor Deer, it is sad it didn't make it in. I also really enjoyed I Cheerfully Refuse. There are a few on the longlist I still want to read eventually Cahokia Jazz and Small Rain look great. 2w

sarahbarnes @ChaoticMissAdventures yes! I want to read all three of those. Good to hear you enjoyed I Cheerfully Refuse. 2w

kwmg40 Two excellent books for the final! 2w

GatheringBooks Woohoo!! Voted!!! Thank you for the opportunity of participating. I have yet to finish around three books or so but this has been a fantastic experience. Til next year! 💕💕💕 2w

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare How cool that the author was glad Poor Deer wasn‘t shortlisted! And I totally agree @sarahbarnes , none of my longlisted favorites ended up on the shortlist 1w

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks Very happy you enjoyed it and to have you participating ❤️ 1w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I voted for it because I think it deserves more audience but it didn‘t stand a chance 1w

BkClubCare @Bookwormjillk - g2k, will stack Help Wanted. I need to glance again through the long list. 1w

BarbaraBB @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Suet624 @Kristy_K @kspenmoll Voting for the winner is a draw so far. Your vote can make the difference. If you want, please do so! Thanks!! 😘 1w

ChaoticMissAdventures @BarbaraBB thank you for the reminder!! I got distracted yesterday 💃 1w

Suet624 Oops - thought I had done this. Thanks for the reminder. 1w

BarbaraBB @Suet624 @ChaoticMissAdventures Thanks!! 1w

Kristy_K @BarbaraBB Thanks for the reminder! Just voted. 🙂 1w

61 likes26 comments

BarbaraBB

James: A Novel | Percival Everett

We have our first #LitsyToB25 finalist. The History of Sound didn‘t really stand a chance against James.
I personally am disappointed, I rooted so hard for THoS 🤷🏻‍♀️
In the #ToB25 we‘ll see tomorrow if James there too advances to the finals. Today Martyr! beat Margo in the first ToB Zombie round.

Tomorrow we‘ll have the second Zombie match: The Book Censor‘s Library vs The Wedding People.

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 2w

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Bookwormjillk I'm disappointed too. Hoping to finally start The Wedding People today! 2w

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk Just in time to vote for it in the finals - if it wins against The Book Censor! (edited) 2w

TheBookHippie I like HoS better than James 🙃 2w

ImperfectCJ I'm disappointed in the results of both our contest and the official, but more in a *sigh* way than a stomping-my-feet way. I could go either way in our contest, and I shouldn't be surprised that an mfa prof chose the artier novel. I liked Martyr overall, but Cyrus's self-involvement wore on me after a while, and the creative-writing-class ending annoyed me. As did the totally predictable "twist." 2w

Hooked_on_books I‘m not surprised by either result. I threw my vote behind the underdog for us today, but clearly not enough of us did the same. Oh well. 2w

Suet624 Rats 2w

fredthemoose @ImperfectCJ I felt exactly the same about Martyr! 2w

squirrelbrain Meh - I wish HoS had got through but didn‘t really expect it to, with the James juggernaut. 2w

Megabooks Boo! History of Sound was just a bit better imo! 2w

68 likes12 comments

ImperfectCJ

Wandering Stars | Tommy Orange

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I kept putting this one off because I wanted to re-familiarize myself with There There first, but finally I picked it up, and I'm glad I stopped delaying. The interwoven stories, including those in the past and present and about figures both fictional and historical, are gripping and deal poignantly with how various addictions can draw a person in and how the legacy of colonialism continues today. Another #tob25 longlist title.

ImperfectCJ The repetition of "hella" and the focus on breadth rather than depth in character development detract a bit from an otherwise well-told story. 2w

52 likes1 comment

BarbaraBB

The Wedding People: A Novel | Alison Espach

Happy birthday Jen 🎈!

Another very hard choice in the #LitsyToB25: The History of Sound vs The Wedding People, two absolute favorites. An almost equal score, but The Wedding People has won in the end.
It's not the end though, for The History of Sound. It will return as a zombie!
I'll annouce both 🧟 🧟‍♀️ shortly - along with another GForm for you to vote.
In the #ToB25 we were facing Irena vs Margo and again Irena wins. What‘s happening?

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck 2w

See All 17 Comments

Bookwormjillk I can't believe I still haven't read Wedding People! 2w

BarbaraBB @Bookwormjillk You obviously should. It‘s very popular among the #LitsyToB25 participants! 2w

AmyG Happy Birthday @Jas16 🥳🎂🎉 2w

Jas16 Thanks for the birthday wishes @BarbaraBB @AmyG I honestly thought History of Sound would be our winner today so I am surprised and pleased by today‘s results. Not so much the other tournament. 2w

cariashley I said “ugh” out loud when I reached the end of the official judgment today, though I fully expected it. Margo is great but I knew it was just too flighty to go any further with the judges (same with Wedding People). 2w

squirrelbrain Happy Birthday @jas16 - glad you got your birthday wishes with our results! 🥳 Let‘s just ignore the main tournament shall we?! 🤣 2w

Deblovestoread Happy birthday @jas16! 🎂🎈📚🎉 2w

BarbaraBB @cariashley I agree. I expected the judges to find Margo and The Wedding People not ToB‘ish enough! 2w

Bookwormjillk Happy birthday @jas16 🍰 🍰 🍰 2w

Hooked_on_books This was a hard choice for me, as I really liked both these books. I‘m not surprised the official tourney chose Irena. It‘s what they do. 2w

Jas16 @squirrelbrain Thank you! And agreed. Another reason to be thankful for the Litsy tournament which I agree with more often than not and when I do disagree I can appreciate why. 2w

Jas16 @Bookwormjillk @Deblovestoread Thank you both so much! 2w

CarolynM I read about 20 pages of Irena before my irritation with it became too great to continue. This is the sort of writing the ToB likes? Sheesh! 2w

BkClubCare Yay Wedding People! 2w

64 likes17 comments

BarbaraBB

James: A Novel | Percival Everett

In the #ToB25 it's James against Martyr!, in the #LitsyTOB25 it's James against Beautyland.
That turned out to be one of the hardest choices for many of us but in the end James won, while in the real tournament Martyr! has grown into a serious contender for the Rooster!
We‘re sorry to see Beautyland go. The question is: can Percival Everett be stopped?! Tomorrow we'll know which Zombie he'll be up against!

BarbaraBB @CarolynM @Kristy_K @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks @AnneCecilie @fredthemoose @Well-ReadNeck @Bookwormjillk (edited) 2w

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @ChaoticMissAdventures @kwmg40 @GatheringBooks @Deblovestoread @Jas16 @BkClubCare @sarahbarnes 2w

BarbaraBB @Suet624 @cariashley @Soscha @AmyG @squirrelbrain @Butterfinger @kspenmoll @Lesliereadsalot 2w

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Bookwormjillk I guess there's still hope for a Beautyland Zombie! 2w

Lesliereadsalot I‘m sorry to see Beautyland go too, but James was amazing. Unforgettable. 2w

GatheringBooks I am super pleased to hear this. Glad that Martyr is doing quite well too. 2w

Suet624 My arms shot up in the air and I surprised myself by yelling, “YES!“ when I saw that Martyr! moved on on the TOB side of things. It's typical of me to root for an underdog and I was so glad to see the judge move Martyr! forward. I see that the commentariat disagrees with the decision but I'm thrilled. :). IMHO James has received its due praise. It's time for Martyr! to receive some love. 2w

Jas16 Beautyland vs James pitted my two favorite books of the tournament against each other. So it was going to both please me and make me unhappy either way it went. I was pretty shocked by Martyr beating out James. In my mind there is no comparison but that is what makes the tournament so I fun. 2w

Deblovestoread Not surprised James moves on and not unhappy either. I must read Martyr! 2w

ImperfectCJ The biggest thing that bugs me about Martyr! beating James in the official ToB (aside from the total MFA-speak of the judge's decision) is that now Beautyland is bumped out as a zombie. I don't dislike All Fours, but I think Beautyland deserves the chance to come back more. 2w

Hooked_on_books I‘m shocked by the judge today. For me Martyr was just ok and in no way a better book than James. Although I do like to see the book love get spread around, so it‘s a little tiring to see one book, even a really worthy one like James, hoover everything up. 2w

Butterfinger I absolutely adored Martyr. I also loved James. Tough. 2w

Butterfinger 100% agree @Suet624 2w

AnneCecilie I really enjoyed Martyr! I read Huckleberry Finn at uni and I don‘t like books I‘m forced to read, so while I liked James, my enjoyment of it suffered from my memories of HF 2w

BarbaraBB @AnneCecilie I agree! I hated HF when I had to read it and that definitely influenced my opinion of James. 2w

56 likes15 comments

kwmg40

The Extinction of Irena Rey | Jennifer Croft

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Given the mixed reviews this book had received, I hadn't expected to like it as much as I did. It was definitely weird and I'm sure there was a lot that went over my head, but I was never bored and the snarky footnotes were the best!
#ToB25

sarahbarnes Good to see a positive review of this one! I haven‘t tried it yet. 2w

Ruthiella Agree with @sarahbarnes ! Nice to see some one who likes it! I need to try it myself. 2w

BarbaraBB I find myself still thinking of this book, that certainly counts for something! Even though I didn‘t like it that much 😀 2w

53 likes3 comments

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