Litsy

Everyone is excited about the #ToB23 longlist and deciding what books out of these 68 to read before the shortlist will be announced.
So I‘d like to know your favorites of the ones you‘ve read so far. I think we all can benefit from eachother‘s suggestions. So please share your Top 5 below! *Tagging the #ToB22 crew*

I‘ve read 11 and my top 5 is:
- the employees
- the rabbit hutch
- scattered all over the earth
- sea of tranquility
- trust

BkClubCare, Simona, Megabooks, Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, cariashley, Well-ReadNeck, MicheleinPhilly, Suet624, merelybookish, batsy, Readerann, Sophronisba, vivastory, Chelsea.Poole, kwmg40, squirrelbrain, thebluestocking, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes, ImperfectCJ

sarahbarnes Good idea! Of the 12 I‘ve read, I think my top 5 are: Checkout 19, Trust, Employees, Candy House, and Either/Or. I have Rabbit Hutch on hold at the library and can‘t wait to read that one! 2mo

squirrelbrain Great idea Barbara! My top 5 are Sea of Tranquility, An Island, Nightcrawling, Trust and Tomorrow. If I can add a no-no, that would be the Irving. I didn‘t enjoy it at all, and it‘s as long as the rest of the list put together! 2mo

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain That is good to know about the Irving. I was a bit attracted to it because I used to love him but that‘s rather nostalgic. 2mo

See All 56 Comments

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes I am waiting for Checkout 19! 2mo

Megabooks I can‘t narrow it down to five, but I gave 5⭐️ to Sea of Tranquility, Tomorrow x3, and Lapvona, but also loved Checkout 19, Mouth to Mouth, Disorientation, and The Rabbit Hutch. Maybe Nightcrawling and Trust belong here too. Lots of great choices. I‘ll stop now! 🤣 Great idea Barbara! 🤩 (edited) 2mo

cariashley 😱 I missed that this came out! So exciting! 2mo

jlhammar Of the 11 I've read Checkout 19 is my favorite. Horse, Either/Or, Young Mungo and Case Study are my other tops (though Violin Conspiracy and Sea of Tranquility were both fantastic audiobooks, definitely worth a listen). Haven is the one that I haven't yet read that I'm most excited for. It's in my December TBR stack. 2mo

squirrelbrain Barbara, lots of poor reviews for the Irving. In fact I don‘t think I‘ve seen a positive press review, and a lot have been from reviewers who are fans of his previous work. 2mo

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain That is reassuring 😀. 2mo

BarbaraBB @jlhammar I am excited for Haven too! 2mo

BarbaraBB Thank you @Megabooks so many great options!! 2mo

vivastory I've only read a few on the list, but 2 that stand out as absolute favorites of the year are Employees & Scattered All Over the Earth 2mo

Cinfhen I‘ve read 18 - my top 5 in no particular order are Horse, Violin Conspiracy, Tomorrow, Trust & Rabbit Hutch. But honestly I‘m not sure these 5 will be on my Top 22 of 22 🤷🏼‍♀️ (edited) 2mo

Bookwormjillk There are a lot I haven‘t read yet, but excited to see Sea of Tranquility and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 2mo

Reggie I‘ve read two and maybe this works opposite cause I read horror, Lolol. But I‘m super happy Manhunt is on here and I read Cult Classic which I loved. 2mo

Chelsea.Poole I've only read 8...stars beside my top 5:
-sea of tranquility*
-you made a fool of death with your beauty
-tomorrow...
-the school for good mothers*
-the rabbit hutch*
-now is not the time to panic*
-nightcrawling*
-ocean state (least fav!)
2mo

Chelsea.Poole This is a great idea btw! We should compile the top 5 of the top 5 lists! Love reading everyone's lists. I have several I'm already on hold for (Manhunt, Disorientation, and Cult Classic) I'm interested in reading these:
-Flight
-Toad
-Babel
-Mouth to Mouth
-Young Mungo
-The Violin Conspiracy
and maybe Monarch
I've also seen the tagged around and curious

Case Study

2mo

Addison_Reads I've read 20 on the list. I'll have to look over it again later and give my top 5. Birdcatcher surprises me. It was such a boring, disoriented read. I hope it doesn't make it to the shortlist. 2mo

Suet624 Feeling like a slacker next to all of you! I‘ve read 5, 2 of which I‘m surprised made it on this list. 2mo

merelybookish I've read 8 and am reading 1 more. Of the ones I read, Checkout 19 and Either/Or are my favourites. I also liked Joan is Okay and The Rabbit Hutch. My current read Flight is solid (so far). I liked Seven Steeples and Search for different reasons but neither seem like TOB books, like cannot imagine they'd ever make long list. 2mo

Megabooks @Addison_Reads I bailed on BC when I was reading the NBA shortlist. I don‘t plan on trying again if it makes this one. 😒 2mo

Megabooks I‘m vaguely surprised this didn‘t make the longlist. It screams tob to me. 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel

2mo

Hooked_on_books Great idea! I‘m really enjoying everyone‘s lists! I‘ve read 21 and my top 5 are Nightcrawling, A Violin Conspiracy, The School for Good Mothers, Joan is Okay, and Tomorrow x3. My rec to NOT read is Birdcatcher. It‘s awful and it makes me a little mad to see it on this list (especially considering some of the books that aren‘t here). 2mo

BarbaraBB @vivastory they both are favorites of mine too. Such good ones. 2mo

BarbaraBB @Reggie I always love your horror suggestions and I definitely want to read

Cult Classic: A Novel

2mo

BarbaraBB @Chelsea.Poole Three of your eight I haven‘t read and I am really interested in all of them: Mothers, Panic and Ocean State. 2mo

BarbaraBB @merelybookish I‘ve been looking forward to the tagged since I enjoyed Chemistry

Joan Is Okay

(edited) 2mo

BarbaraBB @Megabooks Yes!! I was thinking the same! 2mo

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Which book do you miss most on the list? 2mo

Hooked_on_books I was surprised How High didn‘t make it, since it‘s so good. I‘m also surprised not to see Tara Stringfellow‘s Memphis or Yanagihara‘s To Paradise on here, as I thought both were great. I also thought Schweblin‘s Seven Empty Houses should make the list. Especially since they added both of Cormac McCarthy‘s books. 2mo

batsy I'm going to get back to you on this! Excited to scroll through the comments and see people's picks. My mind is all over the place atm as our general election was yesterday and the outlook looks grim 😟 2mo

BarbaraBB @batsy Has there been declared a winner yet? Last night it seemed so close. 2mo

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I was surprised about those two McCarthy‘s too. 2mo

batsy @BarbaraBB The most conservative, right wing parties are banding together for a possible coalition and likely to receive the King's approval 😞 2mo

BarbaraBB @batsy That is horrible, I was afraid so but hadn‘t heard yet. What a world 😌 2mo

batsy I'm a slacker who's only read 4 on this list 😂 I really liked 3 of them: The Employees, Haven, and Either/Or and wasn't a fan of the 4th: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. 2mo

MicheleinPhilly I‘ve only read 3 and 2 (Sea of Tranquility and You Made a Fool…) were duds for me. Of course I own probably 10 others. But this year has been weird for me so I didn‘t get to a ton of new releases. 2mo

Addison_Reads Of the 20 I've read my top 5 are Manhunt, Babel, Nightcrawling, Tomorrow x3, and Young Mungo. I also really enjoyed Cult Classic, Horse, Lapvona, and Sea of Tranquility. The Kevin Wilson is one of my most anticipated upcoming reads so I'm happy to see it here. 2mo

BarbaraBB @batsy That one was so disappointing, I agree! 2mo

BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly Which was the third you read? Did you like it? 2mo

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads so many recommendations of books I haven‘t read yet. Thanks!!! 2mo

MicheleinPhilly Nightcrawling and yes, I absolutely loved it! 2mo

BkClubCare Great 💡- I will be back. I am most looking forward to

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A Novel

2mo

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB - oh yes! That is said to good (Joan is OK) 2mo

BkClubCare @MicheleinPhilly - Noted 📝 (scrolling thru this and upping all on the tbr) 2mo

BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly I loved that one too! 2mo

ImperfectCJ I've only read three: Either/Or, Lapvona, and You Made a Fool of Death. Since I DNFed that last one, I'll recommend the other two, although none really wowed me. I liked Lapvona somewhat more that Either/Or, but I think I should read the books before and after Either/Or before passing judgement. Excited for this longlist! 2mo

BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ I haven‘t read Lapvona yet but see what you mean about both others. 2mo

Larkken I was excited about the long list posting but my first foray into reading from it (The School for Bad Mothers) was not a success! I‘m intrigued by Mouth to Mouth and Search, among others. I‘ve only tried five at this point so I guess I have some catch-up to do 😂. Tried Babel, Either/or, manhunt, and Fool of Death, and very much liked Babel and Manhunt from that tiny subset. 2mo

Larkken @Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB yeah, what‘s up with adding both McCarthys? Bah. I didn‘t think they were even both out. (edited) 2mo

Larkken @Reggie I was happy to see Manhunt, too. 😊 def was hoping to see a smidge more specfic/horror or etc. but I guess I started reading tob books to diversify? Lol 2mo

BarbaraBB @Larkken Oops I just ordered Good Mothers, heard good things about it. I am also intrigued by Mouth to Mouth. And thanks for the heads-up for Babel and Manhunt!! 2mo

Larkken @BarbaraBB I may just not have been mentally prepared, lol. I‘ve seen others love School, hope it works for you! 2mo

Hooked_on_books @Larkken They‘re not! The second one doesn‘t come until December 6. And I think one slot per author is plenty. 2mo

Readerann I‘m late to the party but am now starting my small stack of longlist books, beginning with The Last White Man. Thanks for the tag @BarbaraBB 2mo

BarbaraBB @Readerann You‘re very welcome, I know that you like to read ToB books as well! 2mo

57 likes56 comments

Sapphire

The Trees: A Novel | Percival Everett

pick

I am reading the #tob22 books but not in time to vote. More interested in being exposed to new great literature than voting. But this book. Wow. It‘s why I read. It‘s funny and fast paced. It feels like pulp fiction but it‘s an important book with meaningful message. And just when you think it‘s turned serious there are zombies and ends with mystic stuff. It‘s the kind of book you love, but how do you say you like a topic like this?

vivastory Stellar review 👏👏I agree that the outcome of the real TOB the past couple of years has been disappointing, but it has been great for reading unforgettable books & there have been a lot of wonderful discussions surrounding it on Litsy 9mo

TrishB I felt the same about this book 👍🏻 9mo

BarbaraBB Fab review of a wonderful book! 9mo

21 likes3 comments

BarbaraBB

Klara and the Sun: A novel | Kazuo Ishiguro

The #ToB22 has the same winner as in Summer. I am a bit disappointed but the judges were very convinced of Klara 🤷🏻‍♀️
I am happy that in our ToB we chose The Trees as our well deserved winner 🐔

I want to thank you all for participating, it has been so fun to see how we Littens do think about the shortlisted books and how respectful we could completely disagree about books, only to agree in the end! I hope we‘ll play again next year 😘❤️

BkClubCare, Megabooks, Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, cariashley, Well-ReadNeck, Suet624, merelybookish, Readerann, Sophronisba, vivastory, Chelsea.Poole, alisiakae, kwmg40, squirrelbrain, thebluestocking, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes, ImperfectCJ

merelybookish Wow! I don't remember the last time I was THAT disappointed in the final. 😞 I didn't read Klara but there were so many other good books that seem more deserving. Thank goodness Littens know what's up!! Thanks again Barbara!! 10mo

sarahbarnes I agree @merelybookish 😒. I did read Klara and it was good, but I think the Lockwood and The Trees were better. I love the outcome of our tournament! Thanks Barbara for hosting! 10mo

Cinfhen Nooooooo!! I haven‘t read the decision yet but Klara was SUCH a disappointment!!! Boo 😒 Glad to see Trees won here. Great job, Barbara ♥️🙌🏻 10mo

See All 37 Comments

Suet624 Bah humbug. That‘s just wrong. 10mo

Ruthiella Thanks so much for taking the time to run the Litsy parallel TOB! You are a star! 🤩 I am an Ishiguro fan and not unhappy with the outcome. The TOB was founded on the premise that book prizes are fickle things and cannot be objective. The fact that The Trees didn‘t win the real TOB really illustrates this! 😆 10mo

thebluestocking Sigh. I‘m very bummed with the real winner. Klara was middling for me, and I loved the Trees and No One. But as @Ruthiella said, this is the point of the tournament - the fickleness. I‘m very pleased that The Trees won here! Thank you so much for putting this together @BarbaraBB. It has been an absolute delight. 💙💙 (edited) 10mo

Readerann I don‘t get bothered much by the ‘real‘ tournament judgments since, with the exception of the final round, it‘s just one person‘s opinion. The fun thing about our version is that we all get to weigh in on every round! I love the ToB mainly for helping me decide which new fiction I want to read (I read a lot of older stuff). Thanks to @BarbaraBB and all participants. I can‘t wait to do this again! ❤️ 10mo

Readerann All the praise for Klara has made me think I was a little too hard on it. I just expect so much from Ishiguro. I‘m perfectly content with The Trees winning here. Does someone want to write a fan letter to Everett and let him know?! 🤣 10mo

Mindyrecycles Thank you, thank you, Barbara! So much fun for us as the result of so much work by you. I LOVE that The Trees won here. I'm also happy about Klara winning the “real“ deal since I liked it and didn't like No One...I just wish The Trees and Subdivision had gone further like they did here on Litsy. The main thing is, I had the joy of reading them both and I wouldn't likely have read either without the tournament.
10mo

Megabooks I‘d be up for a fan letter @Readerann 😂👍🏻 excited to read more by him!! Love our outcome, kinda down about the real outcome. I wasn‘t impressed by Klara, but I know a lot of people love it. Thank you a million times Barbara! 💜 It is so special how we all weigh in equally, which is so different than the actual tournament. It‘s like we‘ve made our own thing, which is even cooler. 😎 10mo

squirrelbrain Boo hiss! Klara is the wrong decision IMO. Never mind, at least we all made the ‘right‘ decision! And we had such fun doing it - thanks Barbara! 10mo

Hooked_on_books We really got it right! The Trees was my favorite of all these books and I‘m delighted that we picked it. While I‘m happy to see Klara win the official tournament, since I disliked the Lockwood and liked Klara, it is a disappointment for the same book to win now and in the summer (though I didn‘t follow it then). What‘s the point of 2 tournaments if you‘re just going to pick the same book?! 10mo

Hooked_on_books And thanks for hosting, Barbara! Amazing stuff! 10mo

BkClubCare Thank you! 10mo

kwmg40 I'm happy with the results, as two of my favourites won both the real tournament and our parallel one. However, the real win is that I discovered books that I'd not have read otherwise, such as Subdivision and Several People Are Typng. Thank you so much, Barbara, for all your work! 10mo

vivastory @merelybookish I had a really busy day at work & am now just seeing the decision. Geez! So, needless to say I just ranted to my brother about this for a few minutes. Not happy about their decision. 10mo

vivastory @sarahbarnes Out of the 6 that I read Klara was literally my least fave 😭 😭 10mo

vivastory Thanks so much for hosting this Barbara! Although my participation was limited this time around I have enjoyed seeing everyone's posts. Looking forward to the summer TOB that will be Klara free! 10mo

BkClubCare @vivastory - 😂 Out of the 18 I read, Klara was least of my favorites. (edited) 10mo

vivastory @BkClubCare Really? It's such an uninspired choice for the prize. There were so many wonderful books & one that was so forgettable is the winner?! I think that what irks me the most is that it won the summer TOB too. I think they need to change the rules so the winner of the summer are automatically disqualified for entry in the main TOB. It just doesn't seem fair. (edited) 10mo

BarbaraBB @vivastory Agree. Plus it came back as a zombie. The zombie round is a bit unfair too because we need to vote for them months before the tournament when we haven‘t read the more obscure ones yet. 10mo

BarbaraBB @kwmg40 That is so true! Most of the times the winner is not my favorite but I have discovered some new favorites! 10mo

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I think @vivastory has a point about disqualifying the winner of the Summer ToB. Or, at least, it should not be possible to zombie it. It was probable the only book everyone had read at the moment the zombie votes were given. 10mo

BarbaraBB @Megabooks @Readerann I would be nice to let him know somehow that The Trees won our tournament! And you‘re right Ann, about Ishiguro. I am a fan too and feel like I shouldn‘t judge too hard on Klara. (edited) 10mo

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @thebluestocking That‘s right about the fickleness. It‘s one of the things why we love the ToB I think, and I‘ve discovered some real gems! 10mo

merelybookish @vivastory It seems a shame both books in the summer were repeated in the final. The commentators' observations about how, when reading these 2 novels together, Klara would be the more comfortable read felt accurate. But for a competition that has crowned Fever Dream and My Sister, The Serial Killer, this seems a pretty dull pick. But also always fun and does point out yh absurdity of literary prizes. 10mo

merelybookish @BarbaraBB @vivastory I have mixed feelings about the Zombie since a few of my faves have come back to win it all, just like Klara. I was thrilled when A Visit from the Good Squad came back to beat Freedom. 😅 10mo

BkClubCare @vivastory - aw, but this *is* the point! That book awards are absurd. I am a sustaining member of the TOB and this consumes at least a third of every year. I love it so and learn from all of you how to think critically and appreciatively of whatever “literature” is. I am not good at figuring out NOR explaining what I don‘t like about my reading experiences so bouncing my thoughts and feelings off others opinions thrills me. Thank you all! 10mo

BkClubCare @vivastory - I have somehow created in myself an allergy, an anti-Ishiguro-style bias — his stories drive me batty. I cannot do the naive yet enlightened told with creepiness and all unexplained. Others seem to find it poignant and I only get frustrated. So if my TOB peers find Klara to be inspired, I will have to go along. 😏 it‘s just a me problem. 10mo

BkClubCare @merelybookish - Yes! It is fun and it is absurd and I love all of it. For all my ranting, it is my fun. 10mo

cariashley Ugh, so disappointed with the main TOB! Klara made me want to throw my phone against the wall when I was reading it. I hate feeling like I‘m missing something when I see all the love for it but so goes the subjective-ness of the reader experience. Our TOB outcome is so much more satisfying, yay for The Trees! And thanks SO MUCH Barbara for organizing, this has been fantastic! 10mo

merelybookish @BkClubCare I'm a supporting member as well. I wondered if anyone else was too. 🙂 10mo

merelybookish @BkClubCare And well said on all the reasons why it's so enjoyable and special! 10mo

vivastory @merelybookish @BkClubCare I'm also a supporting member, but after this decision that's going to change immediately! Just kidding 🙃 10mo

vivastory @BkClubCare I see what you mean about it being about the absurdity of book awards but looking back at past years & the winners it does feel like they actually got it right more often than not: Cloud Atlas, The Road, Good Lord Bird, Wolf Hall, Orphan Master's Son etc. 10mo

BkClubCare @vivastory @merelybookish - worth every penny for entertainment and education💰✔️ 10mo

BkClubCare @vivastory - looking for reviews of The Orphan Master‘s Son is how I found the TOB! 10mo

58 likes37 comments

BarbaraBB

The Sentence | Louise Erdrich

Meg, Care, Margot, Gayla & Alisia chose Matrix as their zombie. Their votes made Groff return in our ToB, where it met The Sentence, the underdog book for which we voted in majority again!
In the real #ToB22 Matrix was a zombie too, but didn‘t make it past No One. So it‘s Lockwood vs Klara in the finals tomorrow. Thoughts?

In our ToB it‘s The Sentence vs The Trees. Please vote TODAY for your preferred winner! https://forms.gle/5EbCE3SaKB5q4JQH9

BkClubCare, Megabooks, Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, cariashley, Well-ReadNeck, Suet624, merelybookish, Readerann, Sophronisba, Chelsea.Poole, alisiakae, kwmg40, squirrelbrain, thebluestocking, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes, ImperfectCJ

Cinfhen I forgot that the SummerToB was Klara v No one, where Klara won so I‘m REALLY hoping No One will outshine Klara in the final rematch!!! The Lockwood is definitely the more memorable book, IMO. 10mo

Cinfhen Thanks again Barbara for being the BEST host xxx 10mo

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Thank you my friend. And yes it cannot happen again. I am all for the Lockwood too. 10mo

See All 17 Comments

merelybookish I'm ok with Lockwood moving on but I didn't like how the judge described Matrix. He made it sound more traditional than I found it. Haven't read Klara but Lockwood *should* win. And ditto Cindy! Thanks for all your hosting Barbara!! It's been fun! 10mo

squirrelbrain Definitely want the Lockwood to win in the ‘real‘ final! Thanks for hosting Barbara! 10mo

Addison_Reads For my first ToB this has been a lot of fun, with surprises, upsets, and great commentary. My favorites are no longer in the running, but in our alternate ToB I would be pleased with either book winning, although I feel The Trees is the stronger contender. In the real tournament, I'm really hoping for the Lockwood. Thank you @BarbaraBB 💚 10mo

sarahbarnes Thank you Barbara for hosting - this was so fun! I too am rooting for the Lockwood!! 10mo

Suet624 I've been seriously disappointed that past winners took the prize. This, though, was a huge disappointment for me. How can either of the TOB finalists win the whole shebang? I will definitely remember both of them, but The Trees is the one that I purchased for my friends.

And BARBARA!!! Thank you so much for everything. I don't know how you did it, but you pulled it all together seemingly effortlessly. Which I know can't be the case. 💗 10mo

Hooked_on_books I so agree with @Suet624 —how can these two be the ones remaining in the official tournament?!? I liked Klara quite a bit but would not have picked it as a finalist, and I didn‘t care for the Lockwood at all (which means it‘ll probably win, like the hated Trust Exercise did in the past). So now I‘m rooting for Klara there and The Trees over here. 10mo

Readerann I haven‘t read the Lockwood, so I don‘t have a strong opinion about the ‘real‘ winner. Klara was fine, not amazing. @Hooked_on_books I forgot Trust Exercise won in the past. Yech. 10mo

Readerann I think we all have an inkling which will win in OUR tournament. 😉 10mo

BkClubCare Lockwood ALL THE WAY! And won with convincing march through the bracket for a deserved play to the finals and not some icky dead smelly slide up from the grave. It had its day in the Summer Camp Sun. 10mo

BkClubCare Oh, and am happy that our Litsy tob has my top 2 favorites 🥰 10mo

thebluestocking Ooh. I‘m definitely rooting for The Trees here and Lockwood in the real tournament.💙 10mo

kwmg40 I didn't like the Lockwood all that much but I realize I'm definitely in the minority here. Very happy to see The Sentence and The Trees in our own final! 10mo

Well-ReadNeck @Cinfhen Crazy that the ToB mirrored the Summer version. TBH, I didn‘t really like either Klara or the Lockwood, but I‘d pick Klara. As for our version: I‘m sooooo excited that my two favs are in the final and Subdivision was in the last round 🤗🤗🤗 10mo

BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck We‘ve got much better taste 😉 10mo

54 likes17 comments

BarbaraBB

The Trees: A Novel | Percival Everett

They did it again. I can‘t believe what happened today in the real #ToB22: Zombie Klara beat The Trees???? WTF?
A small consolation is that in our tournament it did win. Subdivision was a worthy Zombie, 6 of us (Helen, Cassie, Janelle, Mindy, Tracy and I) nominated it for Zombie. However, in our votes for the match against The Trees it didn't stand a chance, only Cassie and I voted for it.
Wow, I am still SHOCKED by the outcome in the real ToB🤯

kwmg40 Wow, that was a shock! I really liked Klara (probably much more than others here) but I thought The Trees was a better book and was sure it would win. 10mo

Cinfhen Wow!!! I just read the decision. I‘m not sure I agree with her. So shocking! Lockwood BETTER win!!! 10mo

merelybookish I am also in shock, although once she said her favourite aspect in The Trees was the Trump stuff (which I considered the worst part), I didn't have a good feeling. Upset!! Even the commentators were bummed. 10mo

See All 27 Comments

squirrelbrain What!?! I also just read the judge‘s views and can‘t understand how she could feel so much for Klara. That was the issue I had with the book; Klara was rather one-dimensional. I have read so many better near-future novels recently. This is a huge disappointment. 10mo

BkClubCare Thank goodness for the fine and sensible readers of Litsy. I am 💔 I know my own issues with Klara are such that I suspect an allergy to the author but seriously?! Ugh. I am SO SAD that this has happened?!?! “So it goes” 10mo

BkClubCare @Cinfhen - COME ON Lockwood!! 10mo

BkClubCare @squirrelbrain - tbh, I didn‘t have time to read any of it. I don‘t usually do that!! I have to run workshops today so see ya all later. I don‘t have time to sob 😭 10mo

Cinfhen 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 @BkClubCare 10mo

Addison_Reads I know Subdivision was a long shot, but I had to show it some love. 😁 This is my first year following the ToB and today's decision in the real tournament has completely shocked me. I did enjoy Klara, but The Trees is a much better book and deserved the win. 10mo

Megabooks I want to shake some sense into that darn judge. A big WTF to this decision, and I feel the same way you do about Klara @squirrelbrain ! I‘m thinking I‘ll like Remains much more than Klara, which was a total flop for me. 👎🏻👎🏻 seriously 10mo

Megabooks I‘m just hoping the actual basketball tournament turns out better than the ToB! 10mo

jlhammar I really enjoyed and appreciated Klara, but was definitely hoping for The Trees to get the rooster this year. How great was Kevin Guilfoile's commentary? “the trees getting its nuts cut off by a Zombie is a little on the nose.“ Too perfect. 10mo

squirrelbrain @Megabooks - I loved Remains and it is SO different to Klara; hopefully you‘ll be OK! 😁🤞 10mo

sarahbarnes I‘m shocked along with everyone else here at the decision today. And also rooting for the Lockwood to take the Rooster! 10mo

Ruthiella Shocked but on the other hand, I never predict correctly how the judging will go! I loved Klara but still would have picked The Trees over it. Oh well. 10mo

Suet624 No! How could they? 10mo

Mindyrecycles I also loved Klara but she was no competition for The Trees. Shocked along with most of us! 10mo

Cinfhen I missed that comment @jlhammar thanks for sharing!! CLEVER commentary!!! 10mo

BarbaraBB @jlhammar What @Cinfhen says! Clever and so true!! 10mo

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella How come we‘re always wrong and still love this tournament 😄?! 10mo

Hooked_on_books I really liked Klara, but no way it beats The Trees. What was she thinking?!? Now that this travesty has been committed, I‘d love to see Matrix win tomorrow so there‘s an all-zombie final. Plus I didn‘t like the Lockwood, so I‘d rather Matrix beat it anyway. 10mo

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I wouldn‘t be surprised and it would be kind of spectacular although I liked the Lockwood more than Matrix! 10mo

thebluestocking Noooo! I‘m so bummed The Trees is out of the real tournament. But I‘m so glad it‘s moving on here. 💙 10mo

cariashley Absolutely shocked, and disappointed. I thought Klara was pretty lame. And kind of can‘t believe the judge said The Trees would have been more meaningful if she read it right after George Floyd.. 🥴 (edited) 10mo

Ruthiella @BarbaraBB I know! 😂😂😂 We hope against hope year after year. 10mo

Readerann I agree with everybody here. I liked Klara, but not against The Trees. After what @cariashley said, I don‘t think I‘m going to bother reading the commentary. 🙁 10mo

Readerann @Megabooks Ha ha. I confess the basketball tournament has cut into my reading time. I did even worse with my brackets there. 😗 10mo

59 likes27 comments

BarbaraBB

The Sentence | Louise Erdrich

And again The Sentence is unbeatable! It didn‘t even enter the real tournament while in ours it proceeds to the Zombie round (see my next post!!) with a clear majority of votes.

In the real #ToB22 there was a completely different bracket: No One is Talking About This against Nervous System. Of our group, Nervous System was no one‘s favorite or even zombie, so I think we are all happy with today‘s outcome in the tournament!

Addison_Reads Did anyone else see that they already gave away the Zombies in the commentary section? "Both our Zombies in this year‘s ToB will be heavyweights: Tomorrow, The Trees will face off against a newly kinetic Klara and the Sun. Then, on Wednesday, No One Is Talking About This will meet a cursed mummy Matrix." 10mo

tpixie I‘ve got this and really want to read it. It sounds great! 10mo

tpixie @Addison_Reads loved Clara!! ( haven‘t read the others) 10mo

See All 14 Comments

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads Yes they usually share the zombies before the start of the zombie round (tomorrow). I‘ll post ours now too! 10mo

merelybookish No One Is Talking About This vs The Matrix. Love both those books. Either way I win/lose. 10mo

BarbaraBB @merelybookish In our version of the tournament I have a similar dilemma: we‘ll have The Trees vs Subdivision tomorrow - my two favorites! 10mo

Cinfhen Excited for Louise Erdrich- while this book wasn‘t a favorite I think it‘s a good representation of 2021! 10mo

squirrelbrain @Cinfhen -you‘re so right; such a good representation of 2021. (Although it‘s also one of my faves) 10mo

Ruthiella Totally fun to see the differences in our TOB vs the real one! 10mo

Hooked_on_books I‘m not happy with the official tournament result today! But also not surprised. People seem to swoon over the Lockwood, but I decidedly didn‘t. And I‘m a little surprised at our result. I enjoyed The Sentence, but for me the Ozeki was head and shoulders above it. 10mo

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I enjoyed the Lockwood but it felt like years ago that I read it. So I am not swooning anymore 😉. And I am surprised about The Sentence too. To be honest I think the brackets do help this book. Against the Ozeki too because many of us haven‘t read that one and did like The Sentence. I think. 10mo

Well-ReadNeck Excited to see my three favorites still in our brackets!!! In the actual TOB, only The Trees is a book I‘d recommend. So much fun to see the differences. 10mo

Readerann Yikes! I must read faster so I can get to The Sentence and see if it really deserves all the votes I‘ve given it. 🤣 10mo

BarbaraBB @Readerann Haha! You‘re obliged to read it, you brought it all the way to the zombie round 🤣 10mo

68 likes14 comments

BarbaraBB

The Trees: A Novel | Percival Everett

Despite all the love and praise for Intimacies, it didn't stood a chance against The Trees, not in the real #ToB22 nor in our version. One more week to go, for now I wish you a happy weekend! Next week will be zombie 🧟‍♀️ 🧟‍♂️ time!

BkClubCare Relieved. Whew! 10mo

Suet624 Yippee! Thank you Barbara for everything. 10mo

Cinfhen I think we‘re looking at the tournament champ 😉 10mo

See All 12 Comments

BarbaraBB @Suet624 Very welcome 🤍 10mo

Megabooks I agree @Cinfhen !! Thank you @BarbaraBB this is so fun! 💜💜 10mo

Ruthiella @Cinfhen I hope so! 🤞 10mo

Readerann I didn‘t pick The Trees, but am perfectly fine with it winning (if it does). If we do this again next year, I am determined to read more of the shortlist sooner! Thanks from me too, @BarbaraBB . 10mo

sarahbarnes The judge‘s verdict really resonated with me today. I felt similarly - Intimacies is the kind of book I love, but I felt like The Trees should win this one. 10mo

cariashley @sarahbarnes me too! Intimacies is so up my alley but I‘m really pleased to see The Trees advance. 10mo

Hooked_on_books Hooray for The Trees! What an incredible book! I was nervous reading the judgment today, not sure which way is was going to go. I was pretty sure we‘d go with The Trees, so I was less nervous about our vote. Now I‘m curious about what the zombies are going to be! 10mo

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @Readerann I too loved Intimacies but unfortunately it met The Trees and that book was so unique.. like @Cinfhen says I think that‘ll be our winner. Although you never know, we‘ve got some good zombies returning in our tournament next week! @Hooked_on_books 10mo

alisiakae I'm hoping The Trees is the TOB Champ!
10mo

61 likes12 comments

BarbaraBB

The Sentence | Louise Erdrich

The Sentence just keeps on winning in our tournament! It continues to the semi-finals at the expense of Klara, Paulina's favorite. The real #ToB22 had a completely different bracket today: The Echo Wife against Nervous System. The winner here is Nervous System.

With that we enter the next phase in the tournament. Please vote TODAY for your favorites in the semi-finals - since they‘ll start tomorrow‼️

https://forms.gle/yZqzCZtyAWQKLA3o9

ImperfectCJ I liked both in our parallel ToB, so I'm happy with the result. In the actual ToB, I was surprised, but I agree with the judge's assessment of Nervous System: "This is a story that manages to be about illness, love, family, and crumbling nations without ever feeling too broad or impersonal." And Nervous System has also stuck with me better. I keep having to remind myself, "Oh, yeah...Echo Wife is the one with the clones." 10mo

merelybookish As a fellow dum dum who doesn't know much about science, I enjoyed today's judgement. But glad The Sentence lives on in our TOB. 10mo

BarbaraBB @ImperfectCJ I forgot all 🤷🏻‍♀️about

The Echo Wife

10mo

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Ruthiella The Sentence was such a joy to read despite its heavy subject matter. I am pleased it is moving forward in our tournament! 😀 10mo

squirrelbrain I‘m so pleased The Sentence won! 10mo

Well-ReadNeck Yay! The Sentence was my second fav (after The Trees). Excited to see it move forward. I preferred The Echo Wife to nervous system, which I didn‘t get all the way through 10mo

Well-ReadNeck … also, I found today‘s written judgment to be odd and not very readable. It felt like she, too, preferred The Echo Wife, but picked Nervous System because it was over her head and, therefore, was more intellectual/worthy? Also, bizarre format that didn‘t quite work in practice. 10mo

Readerann Well, I‘m happy about The Sentence even though I haven‘t gotten to it yet! It‘s on my nightstand, but I keep getting my library holds in so have been focusing on those. I just picked up Matrix and The Echo Wife yesterday. Anyway, I‘m quite certain I WILL like the Erdrich. 😁 10mo

BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck Yes I felt that way too. I felt sure she would vote for The Echo Wife! 10mo

kwmg40 I had declared Klara to be my favourite when I submitted my form, but that was before I'd read The Trees. I'm glad my new favourite is still in the running and my old favourite is still a Zombie at least. 10mo

sarahbarnes Thank you! And I was happy with both outcomes today, although that‘s not where I thought things would end up in the real tournament based on the judgment. 10mo

Hooked_on_books Well I‘m not happy with either result today! And I‘m a total science person, so I found the judgment unreadable and skipped to the end, annoyed to see the wrong book chosen! Oh well, that‘s life. 10mo

BkClubCare Oh yay. I forgot The Sentence is alive here. 10mo

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @Well-ReadNeck @Suet624 @ImperfectCJ @thebluestocking @4thhouseontheleft You Americans are probably asleep now but can you please vote when you wake up for the semi-finals of our ToB? Form above. Thanks 🙏 10mo

Ruthiella I‘m still up! 😂 I voted. ✅ 10mo

Suet624 I think you woke me up. 😃 voted. 10mo

64 likes16 comments

BarbaraBB

The Book of Form and Emptiness: A Novel | Ruth Ozeki

Today was a close call for us. No One vs The Book of Form of Emptiness. The latter won in our tournament; Ann and Cassie see their favorite book continue to the semi-finals while it didn‘t even make in to the quarter finals in the real #ToB22.
For now (Zombies are coming!) Cindy, Helen, Sarah and Jessica have to say goodbye to their favorite in our tournament. However in the real #ToB22 Lockwood did beat When We Cease. That'll cheer them up!

sarahbarnes Yesss! I cheered out loud in my office when I saw today‘s verdict in the real tournament! 🤩 10mo

Addison_Reads I was worried about both outcomes today, but I'm very pleased that my favorite book lives on here and that the Lockwood is moving on in the real tournament. 10mo

ImperfectCJ I loved Headley's comments in the actual ToB, both the content and the tone. I saw a conversation between her, Madeline Miller, and Emily Wilson back in 2020 that was really fun/interesting, and now reading this review/commentary, I really want to read more by Headley. I need to pick up her Beowulf. 10mo

See All 15 Comments

Cinfhen Im bummed about our tournament but I‘m SO glad Lockwood moves on in the real tournament! And now I need to pick up Form if our group thought so highly of it. 10mo

merelybookish @ImperfectCJ I enjoyed her ruling as well. I like it when the reviews of the books are grounded in a larger discussion. 10mo

Hooked_on_books I‘m shocked! So many people seem to rave about the Lockwood (which I didn‘t much like) that I was sure it would be moving on for us. I loved the Ozeki so I‘m happy to see this result. I assumed Lockwood would move on in both places, so I‘m unsurprised by today‘s official TOB result. I appreciate the judge‘s write up even if I have a few quibbles with it and wanted the opposite outcome. 10mo

thebluestocking @ImperfectCJ I totally enjoyed the judgment today too. I loved both of these books, but I thought Headley was spot on about the masculinity issues in When We Cease. 10mo

thebluestocking @Cinfhen my thoughts precisely, Cindy! 10mo

Megabooks Both were top 5 for me, so I‘m happy! 10mo

Cinfhen @thebluestocking Thanks, Jessica 💕 10mo

cariashley Whew, I‘ve been dealing with work insanity and a sinus infection and was just able to catch up on all three judgments this week (six including ours!) and I‘m surprisingly pleased with all of them. I really appreciate how today‘s judge called out the rampant onanism in When We Cease, because blecch! 10mo

Readerann Yay for our tournament! I‘m not informed enough to comment on the ‘real‘ one today. 😁 10mo

BkClubCare “Strange laundry, in a dark room” ❗️(Am I recalling that correctly?) ❤️❤️❤️ 10mo

kwmg40 I'm glad Ozeki's book moves on in our tournament but I am really sad to see the end of the Labatut book. It was one of my favourites from this year's list. 10mo

BarbaraBB @kwmg40 I enjoyed When We Cease too! 10mo

57 likes15 comments

BarbaraBB

The Trees: A Novel | Percival Everett

Matrix vs The Trees was a no brainer, both in our version of the #ToB22 and in the real one. Except for Meg, Margot and Gayla we all voted for The Trees, who many of us have predicted to take away this year's rooster. Hopefully the Zombie round will stir things up again!

merelybookish No surprise and The Trees is a worthy winner. I voted with my ♥️ for Matrix fully expecting it to lose. But hopefully it will come back as a zombie! 10mo

kwmg40 I liked Matrix a lot but I‘m hoping to see The Trees in the finals, so I‘m happy with the results. 10mo

squirrelbrain I agree @kwmg40 - Matrix was one of my favourites, but The Trees just edged it. 10mo

See All 9 Comments

sarahbarnes 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 Although I am on the list for Matrix from the library and am interested to read it. 10mo

Ruthiella I would love to see Everett win the 🐓 this year! 10mo

alisiakae @Ruthiella me too! 10mo

Hooked_on_books That‘s a relief! I loved Matrix but The Trees is just incredible. So glad it won it both places! 10mo

Readerann I loved The Trees, but will have to read The Matrix now. *goes off to place a library hold* 10mo

Well-ReadNeck My favorite for the win! Glad to see the strong showing 10mo

63 likes9 comments

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