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ImperfectCJ I vote for

Cinfhen I‘m voting for Rabbit 🫀🐰Thanks for hosting, Barbara❤️ 2y

jlhammar

merelybookish I also vote for

squirrelbrain Gosh, this is difficult! I liked both and can‘t even remember which I put above the other in my final list. I think, for its quirkiness I‘ll go with

Suet624 Tomorrow x3 2y

Hooked_on_books I vote for Tomorrow! 🎮 2y

Deblovestoread I went back to Storygraph and what I rated these two when I read them. The Rabbit Hutch had .25 stars more than Tomorrow so my vote his to Rabbit. 2y

Ruthiella The Rabbit Hutch! 🐇🐇🐇 2y

RebelReader I vote

Readerann This was a tough choice because neither was my favorite. I‘m going with Tomorrow. 2y

Jas16

Larkken Tomorrow x3 👍🏻 2y

batsy I haven't read both so will abstain from the vote 🙈 But based on the description alone, I think I might be partial to Rabbit... Interesting to see how it ends! 2y

Addison_Reads I also loved Rabbit, but Tx3 is my pick.

kwmg40 This is a tough one, as I liked both books, but I'll go with Tomorrow! 2y

Well-ReadNeck Such a good m 2y

Well-ReadNeck Whoops! Hit send by accident … anyway … a great matchup and so much to love about Rabbit Hutch, but Tomorrow stuck with me and gets my vote.

Well-ReadNeck Also, I‘m MUCH more excited by our final than the official one. 😝 2y

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BkClubCare

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

pick

Ok, I am a few minutes late since I had hoped to post before it all started (oh well!) and here‘s my ranking grid.
Top row makes up my top4+ with my favorite getting the lower right sidebar ribboned location. The last row shows my least favorites and the middle is a jumbled swirling can‘t-decide mess. Bring it on! #Tob2023 #LitsyToB23

BarbaraBB Great graphics! Looking forward to the tournament! 2y

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB - I get stressed out by attempting to make these cool images 🤣 Yet, they seem to come together faster than I expect… (edited) 2y

jlhammar I love how we‘re all so different! This is going to be so interesting. 2y

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BkClubCare @jlhammar - it really is the beauty of the tournament. Everybody wins 🏆 2y

Ruthiella Interesting mix! We definitely have a few favorites in common. 👍 2y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella - I was thrilled to see the Booth mention a few of my favorites. 2y

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Chelsea.Poole @BarbaraBB @Megabooks @Cinfhen @Addison_Reads @Hooked_on_books @RebelReader @kwmg40 @Jas16 @squirrelbrain @merelybookish @BkClubCare @cariashley @Ruthiella @Suet624 @MicheleinPhilly 2y

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Well friends, I somewhat petered out on #ToB at the end.
Here‘s my rankings—top are favorites and the middle 2 rows I feel pretty good about in general, and the placement of those could move around at the drop of a hat/reading a judge‘s opinion! (With the exception of 2am —nope!)
The bottom row I didn‘t get finished. I was enjoying Volcano and made it halfway before the library loan was sucked back into Libby. I‘ll finish when I can. Bailed on 3.

Hooked_on_books Sounds like the book choices were pretty successful for you. That‘s great! 2y

jlhammar Nice! Love seeing The Rabbit Hutch in your tops. I‘d also be happy if Sea and Violin do well. So excited for the tournament kick-off today! 2y

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BkClubCare I am “borrowing” your image! Hope that is okay 😳 2y

sarahbarnes Yes! Rabbit Hutch is a top pick for me, too. 2y

Ruthiella 2 AM is my last placed book and I also doubt any judge could make me budge! 😂 2y

Cinfhen Funny, I didn‘t hate 2Am as much as I disliked some of the others @Ruthiella 2y

Ruthiella @Cinfhen I didn‘t hate it, it bored me. 😂 2y

Cinfhen Looks like 2am already got the boot @Ruthiella 🤣 2y

squirrelbrain Great list! Your top ones are very similar to mine. 2y

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RebelReader

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

These are my top six for the tournament. At least I think so. 🤪
This was my first year participating so I have nothing to compare this year‘s short list to, but many Littens have said this wasn‘t a great year. I enjoyed following everyone else‘s posts and picks almost as much as reading the books! ❤️❤️❤️

Ruthiella Nice list! The fun of the tournament for me is all of it-the anticipation of it, the drama of trying to get copies of and read the books, the guessing of the outcome, etc. Discovering a handful of great novels or a new favorite author, it‘s just the icing on the cake. 😀 2y

Cinfhen Great choices❣️can‘t wait to see how our tournament compares with the official one😁 2y

RebelReader @Ruthiella I agree it‘s all been fun! 2y

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RebelReader @Cinfhen I‘m anticipating that my picks are too tame for the Tournament and that the winner will be Manhunt or another one I bailed on. 🤨 I agree with @Ruthiella it was big fun no matter how it ends up! 😀 2y

BarbaraBB Julie, I received your votes for our ToB. If you want, you can add your two zombie choices (the books with the most votes can re-enter the tournament as a so called Zombie). Just saying ❤️ 2y

RebelReader Thanks @BarbaraBB I wasn‘t sure what a Zombie choice was! 🤣 2y

BarbaraBB I thought so! That‘s why I reached out, it can really help to get your favorites back in the tournament if they have lost a round of votes earlier! 2y

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Ruthiella

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

This is roughly my order of preference for the #ToB2023 shortlist. Tomorrow it could change… The McCarthy utterly surprised me as did Manhunter. Maali Almeida annoyed me actively while reading but has grown in my memory. Most disappointing was the Mara because I loved the Tsar of Love and Techno so much.

squirrelbrain Love this! You have some polar opposites to me, but that‘s what makes for good discussions doesn‘t it?! 2y

Ruthiella @squirrelbrain Totally! I like being able to see what appeals to other readers about books I didn‘t care for and vice versa. It‘d be boring if we all liked the same thing. 2y

BarbaraBB Love your choices! We‘re almost starting the ToB! 2y

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Ruthiella @BarbaraBB Ooh! That reminds me! I still need to vote on your Google doc. 🙊 2y

jlhammar So fun to see your wrap-up! 2y

Ruthiella @jlhammar It‘s always neat to see them all together! 2y

Cathythoughts Nice to see all these. Screenshot taken 👍🏻 2y

Hooked_on_books I‘m loving this order! We completely agree on some and totally disagree on others. I love it! (I also feel like everyone liked Babel but me, so I‘m glad to see it really far down your list. 😆) 2y

Ruthiella @Hooked_on_books I love the disparity too! 😃 Babel was entertaining but way too didactic for me. I much prefer the messy lines in Manhunt, for example. (edited) 2y

55 likes9 comments

Hooked_on_books

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I have finished my #tob2023 reading and here is my rank order of the books! Though I do have to say that if I redid this tomorrow, it could change. My top 4 and bottom 5 would still be more or less in the same order, but I could see the middle 9 swapping around quite a bit.

BkClubCare, Megabooks, Cinfhen, MicheleinPhilly, Aimeesue, Suet624, merelybookish, batsy, Chelsea.Poole, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, RebelReader, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

BarbaraBB Interesting! A play-in book as your favorite, let‘s hope it‘ll enter the tournament! 2y

Cinfhen Congrats on completing the shortlist 🥳🥳🥳I‘m enjoying seeing everyone‘s rankings! We‘re a bit all over the place which will make for great discussion / results☺️ 2y

Ruthiella Wow! My Volcano is your No. 1! That‘s going to be the last one I read. It‘ll be nice to end on a high . 🤞 Congratulations on reading the entire shortlist! 🥳 2y

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squirrelbrain Congrats on being a completist! I think we have quite similar thoughts…. 2y

Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB I didn‘t end up voting it as my favorite on our Google doc since it may not even make it in, but if I‘m honest with myself, I just loved it! 2y

Hooked_on_books @Cinfhen @Ruthiella Thanks! And My Volcano isn‘t for everyone, but it really worked for me. 2y

Hooked_on_books @squirrelbrain Thanks and yes! When I saw your graphic I noticed a lot of similarities. I love that you put The Violin Conspiracy first. It‘s marvelous! 2y

Cinfhen I‘m going to try My Volcano again…since I bailed a few weeks back 2y

BarbaraBB I would be surprised if it won‘t make it into the tournament. But as we all know the tournament always is full of surprises 😉 (edited) 2y

Chelsea.Poole Nice wrap up! I‘m with you…my top reads are pretty set as are my least favorites but I go back and forth with the “B team” reads…especially after reading everyone‘s insightful reviews! 2y

jlhammar Amazing! Love seeing your wrap-up. I‘m definitely going to try to finish My Volcano before it‘s due back to the library. Really liked what I‘ve read of it so far. Much more than An Island and 2 AM so hope it wins the play-in. 2y

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LitsyEvents

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

#litsy2B23 is open for voting! See the host @barbarabb for more information or to vote!

26 likes

squirrelbrain

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Here‘s my own #tob list, in order of best to worst. That means that Seven Moons, at the bottom of my list of books that I actually read, is likely to win, just as it did the Booker! 🤣

Interestingly, whilst I loved my top 3 reads, I kind of felt that none of them were ‘different‘, ‘quirky‘ or ‘challenging‘ enough to have made the shortlist. I think that Nightcrawling, Rabbit Hutch and Volcano are the sort of books that should be on there.

BkClubCare, Megabooks, Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, MicheleinPhilly, Aimeesue, Suet624, merelybookish, Librarybelle, batsy, Chelsea.Poole, BarbaraBB, RebelReader, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Cinfhen Ohhh, I like that you ranked your books😍I really hope Seven Moons doesn‘t win, only because it already won an award 🤓 2y

BarbaraBB Oooh so interesting! I have to read Seven Moons yet (or at least try to) and then I‘ll post mine too! 2y

Hooked_on_books Seven Moons won‘t win, the Passenger will. 😜 I love that you loved The Violin Conspiracy. Me too! It was one of my favorites of 2022. I read it in the spring and it‘s still with me. Marvelous book. I have one left to go (Goose) and look forward to ranking my books after I finish that one, inspired by you! 2y

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Chelsea.Poole I have neglected Seven Moons and even managed to read the McCarthy ahead of it because I'm dreading it so lol...I like your rankings! I really liked Violin and Olga as well. 2y

Ruthiella Nice! Is great to see them arrayed like that. I‘ll try to do the same when I‘m done, but I have 4 books still to read. 😅 (edited) 2y

Megabooks Love the visuals and the explanation!! We agree on some and not others, but yes, Olga, Violin, and even Dinosaurs are very blah for the tob, especially when there were books like How High We Go… and Our Wives Under the Sea that didn‘t even make the longlist. Btw, I‘m still keeping an eye out for Grown Ups, but it hasn‘t arrived. Thanks for sending it!! 2y

squirrelbrain So difficult to rank them @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books @Ruthiella @Chelsea.Poole - I‘ve changed my mind several times already since posting, and will probably keep changing it! 2y

squirrelbrain @Megabooks - I posted it only the day before Royal Mail announced the cyber attack that stopped all international outgoing mail for the last month (and is still ongoing). I would imagine it‘s right at the bottom of a big heap of parcels, although they are working through the backlog now apparently. (We still can‘t take new international parcels to the PO). 🙄 2y

ashw21 Loved so many of these books..Violin Conspiracy and Tomorrow X3 were in my top 10 last year! Seven Moons was a 4-star read for me as were Babel, Nightcrawling, book of goose! 2y

jlhammar So great to see your wrap-up! I‘m hoping to tackle a few more over the next couple of weeks. Can‘t wait to see what the ToB judges make of these. @Megabooks Yes! I was kind of surprised that How High and Our Wives weren‘t chosen as they seem like exactly the kinds of books they might have gravitated towards in the past. Definitely kind of a strange ToB year. 2y

Librarybelle Awesome! Love to see your overall ranking! 2y

Suet624 Love this! 2y

batsy Fun! I have something like personal beef with Seven Moons, so I'm hoping it doesn't win 😅 2y

squirrelbrain @ashw21 - you‘ve read so many! Are you joining in with our own Tournament of Books here on Litsy? We all vote on the brackets and see how our choices compare with the actual ToB judges. Tagging @BarbaraBB as she is our wonderful host! 2y

BarbaraBB Thanks for the tag Helen! You‘re very welcome to join us @ashw21 ! 2y

ashw21 @squirrelbrain thank you so much .. would love to.. I am very new to Litsy so still learning !! 2y

ashw21 @BarbaraBB thank you so much! So lovely to be part of this wonderful community.. I am very new to Litsy so still learning .. thank you will try and join 2y

squirrelbrain Welcome @ashw21 - Litsy is a lovely place to be! You can search the #tob hashtag to see everyone‘s thoughts on the various books. All the Littens tagged into those posts are the ones following #tob this year, and all wonderful people to follow! 2y

BarbaraBB @ashw21 I‘ll tag you in upcoming posts about #tob23b 2y

Larkken Interesting wrap up! I am not sure I‘ll be able to finish them all in time, myself. I‘ll have to compare my list to yours when I get there though! 2y

65 likes20 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

The ones with 🤩 enjoyed without reservations and would love to see any of them win the Rooster. Babel and The Passenger were the most surprising of these.

Next tier is 🙂 maybe Seven Moons belongs here, too. These were interesting books, but I have some reservations.

The remainder weren‘t my favorites. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It was an interesting year to be a first-time completist! 😂 I can‘t wait to see everyone else‘s #ToB23Wrapup!

BkClubCare, Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, MicheleinPhilly, Aimeesue, Suet624, merelybookish, batsy, Chelsea.Poole, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, RebelReader, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Chelsea.Poole Oh nice rating system!! Several of your 🤩 would make my favorites list too! 2y

Cinfhen I like how you rated your books!! You obviously liked more of them than I did but then you actually read all of them !!!!!!! QUEEN 👑 2y

MicheleinPhilly Nice! I still have 4 more that I know I want to read but I‘m also skipping a few because I know they‘re not my cup of tea. 2y

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jlhammar Great wrap-up! I think I'm going to have to buy The Rabbit Hutch and The Passenger soon because my library holds still are showing weeks out. I have a feeling I'll enjoy those anyhow so I don't mind. Also finally planning to get to Tomorrow this month. Babel is in progress - enjoying it so far. 2y

squirrelbrain I love your rating system! Some of your 🤩 will be on my list, but some will be quite different! 2y

Megabooks @Chelsea.Poole thanks! I‘m so interested to see your wrap-up. 🤔 2y

Megabooks @Cinfhen thanks dear friend!! 😘😘 this was a really off year for sure. 2y

Megabooks @MicheleinPhilly that totally makes sense. Idk why i suddenly decided to be all completist this year, but I am known for getting a wild hare sometimes! 2y

Megabooks @jlhammar I think Babel is the surprise hit this year because many of us who don‘t usually read fantasy are liking it a lot. That‘s what‘s so fantastic about the tob. I hope you enjoy the ones you have left! 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain oooo…I‘m excited to find out your faves! 💜 2y

BarbaraBB Great rating system! I feel the same about most of your favorites, but of course I haven‘t read them all!! 2y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB I really can‘t wait for your wrap up!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 2y

batsy Fun rating system! And well done on reading so many from the list 🙌🏾 2y

Megabooks @batsy thanks! It was an interesting year to be a first-time completist for sure! 2y

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LitsyEvents

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Repost for @BarbaraBB

Just one more month until the Tournament of Books will kick-off. We‘ve been complaining about the shortlist, surprised by unexpected gems and most of us are still reading as many of the books as we can until the #ToB2023 starts.

And we have our #LitsyToB23! Next week I‘ll share the form for you to vote for the opening round.

See the original post at https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2546742

BarbaraBB Thanks for sharing 🤍 2y

40 likes1 comment

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

So I‘ve finished the shortlist….sort of 🙈I‘ve read 14, skipped 1 ( The Passenger) and bailed on 3!!!
From the 14 my favs are Babel, Dinosaur & Rabbit Hutch but honestly none of these books would make my yearly best list. I enjoyed other books on the long list MUCH MORE. Overall a disappointing rooster but I look forward to chatting with the tournament crew.

Cinfhen @Megabooks @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Ruthiella @Chelsea.Poole @Hooked_on_books @Suet624 @sarahbarnes @Addison_Reads @Micheleinphilly @well-readneck @BKClubCare @Batsy @Aimeesue @merelybookish

2y

Megabooks Yay!! Great job C!! I just finished up this weekend too. I need to make a wrap up post. 2y

Ruthiella Well done! 👏👏👏 2y

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jlhammar Wow, impressive! 2y

squirrelbrain Great overview! I‘ll hopefully get to my last 2 soon and then I‘ll post mine… I agree, though, not many would make my best-of lists. 2y

Cinfhen I still have a bunch from the long list that I haven‘t read @squirrelbrain @jlhammar @Ruthiella @Megabooks but I probably won‘t attempt them. Thanks for the positive vibes xxx (edited) 2y

BarbaraBB Great overview! 2y

ImperfectCJ Nice wrap-up. I've been thinking of bailing on Seven Moons (the style is just not working for me), and knowing you dnfed it helps me feel less bad about contemplating setting it aside. I hate to end my shortlist reading with a bail, but it might come to that. 2y

Chelsea.Poole Good job! I still have 7 to go! 😬 I can‘t imagine I‘ll make it. Probably skipping moons and on the fence about The Passenger 2y

merelybookish Amazing! I have read 9 and plan to read 2-3 more. No way I'll read them all. 2y

Hooked_on_books My favorites are definitely different from yours, but I agree about this being a lackluster rooster year! 2y

sarahbarnes Nice work! I like your best of list, as it were. I agree that I would‘ve preferred a few off the longlist to be in the mix instead. Oh well, it will be fun! 2y

Cinfhen I LOVE your outlook @BkClubCare !!! I just feel life is short and there are plenty of books I WANT to read…. Im not gonna waste my time reading a book Im really not enjoying or struggling with @ImperfectCJ its not a job… I‘m #AllHailTheBail 🙌🏻❤️ 2y

Cinfhen Im curious to see what the panel makes of these books @Chelsea.Poole @merelybookish @Hooked_on_books @sarahbarnes but I will say I‘m shocked to see a YA fantasy on my personal favorite list! This tournament does open my eyes to new authors and books I might not have chosen to read, so that‘s definitely a win 🏆 2y

BarbaraBB With Babel among your favorites it‘s about time you start reading Harry Potter 😀 (if I remember well that you didn‘t yet 😉) 2y

Cinfhen You‘re right @BarbaraBB 🙈 I‘ve tried and I just can‘t get into it!!! It‘s my #LiterarySecret 2y

BarbaraBB Haha! I love that you didn‘t follow the crowd 💪🏽🧙‍♀️ 2y

Cinfhen I‘m just a #RebelReader @BarbaraBB ☺️😘 2y

batsy Super impressive! I'm in the midst of Babel now and liking it! Haven't read the other two of your faves 🙈 2y

Cinfhen Hopefully you‘ll get to them soon @batsy 😁 2y

sarahbarnes I‘m in the midst of Babel right now and liking it too @batsy @barbarabb. And I haven‘t read Harry Potter either! 🤫 2y

Cinfhen Woohoo 🥳 I‘m no longer the ONLY one to never read HP @sarahbarnes I feel so much better 😂 2y

81 likes22 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Thanks for the template @BarbaraBB 😍So I‘ve read 10, bailed on one (Seven Moons) and I‘m not even attempting to read The Passenger. I‘m going to start Babel next, but I honestly don‘t think it‘s for me🤷🏼‍♀️ I‘m kind of disappointed with this shortlist - but im looking forward to Mercury Pictures & Sudden Disappearance. I haven‘t been able to find My Volcano but there‘s still plenty of time until March 😁

Cinfhen Hope I got everyone ♥️ @Megabooks @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Ruthiella @Chelsea.Poole @Hooked_on_books @Suet624 @sarahbarnes @Addison_Reads @RebelReader @Micheleinphilly @Well-ReadNeck @BKClubCare @Batsy @Aimeesue @merelybookish @JamieArc

2y

Hooked_on_books I‘m not excited for Babel, either. I‘ll be interested to see what you think! 2y

Suet624 Are you going to read Manhunt? 2y

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Ruthiella I have this crazy idea to not rush…pace myself…I have almost three months to read 15 books. We‘ll see if I can restrain myself! 😂 2y

BarbaraBB I am a bit disappointed about the shortlist too but that‘s because I am so excited about many longlisted books that didn‘t make it. I only read 6 shortlisted books so it may still turn out to be a great list for me! 2y

batsy I found the shortlist a bit disappointing, as well. Just a couple of books that I found exciting not making it! 2y

squirrelbrain I struggled through Seven Moons, and also don‘t fancy The Passenger. I‘ve reserved Babel on the digital library but I don‘t think it‘s for me. It‘s not available until Feb anyway…. 2y

TrishB @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain I can‘t see either of you liking Babel 🤷‍♀️ 2y

sarahbarnes Agree with your sentiments. And now way I‘m reading the McCarthy either. I have a few of these coming from the library so I‘ll give them a go. 2y

TracyReadsBooks For what it‘s worth, I found Babel to be disappointing. A great premise, in one of my favorite genres, but the story didn‘t live up to my expectations. The author just didn‘t do enough with it. 2y

squirrelbrain Thanks @TrishB - @julesg doesn‘t think I‘ll like it either! Thanks for the feedback @TracyReadsBooks - luckily it will be a library copy so I‘ll give myself permission to bail if needed! 2y

julesG I agree, @TrishB. Don't think Babel is the book for @squirrelbrain or @Cinfhen. 2y

Megabooks I found My Volcano on Amazon for about $15, but they were running low on copies. Very curious about what you‘ll think about Babel. You and @squirrelbrain both bailed on Seven Moons, so I‘m not sure I even want to try. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

73 likes13 comments

Sea of Tranquility: A Novel

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

@BarbaraBB was kind enough to share her #ToB template! I‘ve read the checked ones. I gave 5⭐️ to Sea of Tranquility (my zombie) and Tomorrow x3. Rounding out the top half are The Rabbit Hutch, Nightcrawling, Mouth to Mouth (which I‘m about to reread), and Dinosaurs. I‘m really enjoying reading other Littens‘ reviews as they come in. Such a fun time of year!

Hooked_on_books, Cinfhen, Well-ReadNeck, MicheleinPhilly, Aimeesue, Suet624, merelybookish, batsy, squirrelbrain, RebelReader, Addison_Reads, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Megabooks Also @Chelsea.Poole and @BkClubCare 👍🏻 2y

Cinfhen Awesome template @BarbaraBB ♥️ I‘ve read 10 - bailed on one and I‘m skipping Passenger!! Excited to try the others. Honestly, this list isn‘t all that exciting for me. I‘m hoping I‘ll find a new favorite from the few I have left to read. 2y

JamieArc I‘m curious about Sea being your zombie. It makes me think that you‘ve been putting it off and it keeps chasing you until you read it 🧟😆 2y

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RebelReader Appreciate @BarbaraBB for this template. I‘m skipping The passenger because I think I‘ve bailed on everything I‘ve tried to read of his. Manhunt and The Volcano might get a pass from me too. I just pick up Mouth to Mouth from the library today, but won‘t get to it until the weekend for sure. Is it so good? Is that why you‘re re-reading it? 2y

Chelsea.Poole Agreed! This is an exciting time…loving everyone‘s reviews. My next up for this is

Manhunt

Ruthiella You have made an excellent head start! This is my favorite reading event of the year! 2y

Addison_Reads I have read 12 so far on this list, reading Mercury Pictures now, and the rest I have on hold through my library. Manhunt is my zombie vote just because I'm so excited to see a horror novel featured. 2y

Megabooks @Cinfhen sorry your first choices didn‘t make it, but I‘m glad you‘re trying the rest. Excited for your reviews! 2y

Megabooks @JamieArc the tob allows you to vote for your favorite book (rn just after the brackets are released) to come back into the tournament if the judges have eliminated it. 🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️ The two with the most votes will join for a second final four. 2y

Megabooks @RebelReader M2M has the trifecta for rereads for me: It‘s interestingly complex, I own the audiobook, and its short. I read it the week it came out like 10 months ago, so a refresh would be nice. I hope you enjoy it. 2y

Megabooks @Chelsea.Poole enjoy! Looking forward to your review! 2y

Megabooks @Ruthiella for sure! And thank you. Sometimes I feel I‘m a bit too obsessed with new releases. 😂 2y

Megabooks @Addison_Reads mercury pictures was good for me, but I guess I was expecting something different given his past books. Maybe a little more gravitas. But I liked the ending! I think you are more up on new releases than I am, which is very impressive to me. 2y

BarbaraBB Looking forward to your remaining reviews! 2y

squirrelbrain You‘re doing so well! Looking forward to the rest of your reviews! 2y

rmaclean4 Impressive! I have read 4.5 of the books. I am looking forward to most of the rest of the list. I loved Sea of Tranquility and The Book of Goose was a top read for me this year. Cant wait to read your reviews. 2y

84 likes16 comments

cariashley

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Here we goooo #TOB23! I‘ve only read two of the shortlisted books so I have my work cut out for me (Sea of Tranquility and Tomorrow). I own Mercury, Babel, and Olga in print.

I‘m going to need to do some of these as audiobooks to get through the whole list. I‘m picky when it comes to fiction on audio so thinking hard about my strategy. Has anyone listened to the audio versions of the shortlisted books?

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

Ruthiella I‘ve only read one and own none! 😂 I put a bunch on hold at the library, though. I started Mouth to Mouth in print but something tells me it‘d probably also be good on audio. 2y

Chelsea.Poole I just listened to this on audio and it worked well

Mouth to Mouth: A Novel

Chelsea.Poole Also The Rabbit Hutch, Dinosaurs, and Nightcrawling on audio were all good! 2y

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squirrelbrain Like you, I‘m going to listen to a fair few on audio, mainly due to that‘s where they‘re free! I just finished this one on audio and really enjoyed it.

Olga Dies Dreaming

squirrelbrain I also listened to this one a while ago, and I think it may work better in print.

Hooked_on_books I‘ve listened to Sea of Tranquility, The Rabbit Hutch, The Passenger, and The Violin Conspiracy on audio. All are good except The Passenger, which I‘m bothered to see on this list at all. Some parts grabbed me, but overall I don‘t think it‘s a good book. 2y

Well-ReadNeck I liked The Violin Conspiracy, Olga Dies Dreaming, Mouth to Mouth, and Mercury Pictures Presents in audio. I tried The Book of Goose, Nightcrawling, and Sea of Tranquility on audio, but switched to (and preferred) print. 2y

jlhammar Violin Conspiracy was great on audio. I also enjoyed the audio production of Sea of Tranquility. 2y

Deblovestoread I listened to Violin Conspiracy and Nightcrawling and they were terrific. I‘m grateful for the additional audio recs as I have credits to burn. 2y

BkClubCare Yes, I will likely do a spreadsheet tracking availability AND audio recs 2y

Cinfhen I‘m loving these recs too - especially glad to see your suggestions @Well-ReadNeck as Book of Goose & Mercury are two I need!! I did audio for Sea, Dinosaurs, Olga; Violin, 2am & An Island - all worked great on that medium ( although I didn‘t necessarily love all of the books) in print I read Rabbit, Night, Tomorrow & mouth and thought they were all good in print too. I do think 2am would not have worked well for me in print. 2y

cariashley @Ruthiella @Chelsea.Poole @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @Well-ReadNeck @jlhammar @Deblovestoread @Cinfhen this is SO helpful, thank you all!!! @BkClubCare yup I‘m about to jam on my own spreadsheet!! 2y

Deblovestoread Audible currently has Olga Dies Dreaming on sale for 5.99 Also, Manhunt. (edited) 2y

37 likes13 comments

Chelsea.Poole @Ruthiella @Megabooks @Cinfhen @Suet624 @sarahbarnes @thebluestocking @Mindyrecycles @vivastory @kwmg40 @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @amyrabbitt @MicheleinPhilly @Hooked_on_books 2y

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I believe @BarbaraBB did this last year…? 🤔 Which I then stole to use as guide for #ToB. 😊
I liked it so much I made one with this year‘s list.
The first 6 are the ones I‘ve read and then go in order of availability to me at the current moment from the library. #ToB2023

Chelsea.Poole @Addison_Reads @cariashley @batsy #tob23. Feels like I don‘t have everyone tagged 😬 (edited) 2y

Suet624 Thank you for this visual presentation. It‘s really helpful. 2y

See All 8 Comments

squirrelbrain This is a great help! I think @BkClubCare may also be joining in. 2y

BarbaraBB Yes I made one again too! A bit obsessed I guess! 2y

batsy Thanks for this! 2y

Deblovestoread Thanks for this! Much better than the list I made, 2y

Hooked_on_books Babel is for sure the least available to me electronically. But I should be able to get a print copy from my library before the tourney. Not sure how excited I am to read it, though. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 2y

75 likes8 comments

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

The #toblonglist is out! (Thank you to @Ruthiella ‘s eagles eyes.) #tob

I‘ve read 24 titles and own (or are already on hold for) an additional 5. Beyond that, these are the other 11 I‘m most interested in with the ones I‘m more serious about buying on the bottom row.

Still not as organized as @squirrelbrain though!

Unsure who‘s on top of the tag list this year, but I would like to be included!

Cinfhen, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain Typically, most of those are the ones that I can‘t get hold of, or are ridiculously expensive! Although I don‘t fancy Babel, after a few reviews including one from @julesg. I have a physical copy of Grown Ups and it‘s *really* slim. I can send it to you when I‘ve read it if you like? 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain I‘ve got to go read her review because I don‘t remember it. It would be lovely if you could send the book. Thank you! 😘😘 2y

julesG It's here. https://litsy.com/p/a084TlhkdllE but we also talked about it via email, I think @squirrelbrain. 2y

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Megabooks @julesG @squirrelbrain huh. I didn‘t think it would be that violent, but I guess colonialism very much is. Thanks for sharing! 💜 2y

julesG It's not exactly very violent on page. But what we'd call terrorism is implied, especially at the end of the book. 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain also I *still* have a birthday gift for Henry that I haven‘t sent! But the good news is I‘ve since acquired a gift for you too, so 🤞🏻 I can get it in the mail before thanksgiving (next Thursday). 💜💜 I need some of your organizational skills!! 2y

squirrelbrain You‘re right @julesG - we did talk about it more on email, but it definitely doesn‘t sound like my kind of book, and I believe it‘s a bit of a chunkster too! You may love it, though @Megabooks 2y

squirrelbrain @Megabooks oh thank you very much! 😁 I‘ll send the book in the New Year, as it will work for one of the #52books prompts so I‘ll read it early Jan. I can‘t believe it‘s only 6 weeks until ‘next year‘ though! 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain @julesG thank you both! I‘ll take your thoughts into consideration, especially since you know I‘m generally chunkster-averse. 😉 Next year is 💯💯💯 fine. I‘m just thankful you‘re willing to send it! I‘m so close to pushing the buy button on Search! My parents were on SO MANY minister search committees at our liberal, social justice church that it quite intrigues me. 2y

BarbaraBB So inspirating Meg! I have read 11, own another 4 and have ordered 7 more that were affordable. Like @squirrelbrain I love some of your choices but they are are still very expensive here. 2y

Ruthiella Still, pretty darn organized! 😃 Search is the one on your list I‘m most interested in. I hope it makes the shortlist, which will force me to read it. 2y

squirrelbrain Yes, Search is (d7 here in the UK at the moment! ??? @megabooks @BarbaraBB @Ruthiella 2y

BarbaraBB Meg do you have favorites among those 24 books you already read? 2y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @squirrelbrain the ones I‘ve added to my Amazon cart to watch Scattered = $17, Search = $22, Cyclorama = $21, but I‘m not jumping on any of those today. I may jump in Reward System, which is $14.50 for hardcover rn, so a good deal, but I just treated myself to two regular price books and a Book Outlet order, so I‘m not rushing. This was in my BO order though.

Seven Steeples

Cinfhen There are several on this list Im interested in reading too and thankfully a few are available on #Scribd🙌🏻 Im not planning on buying any until the shortlist is announced. 2y

Cinfhen But the one that intrigues me most and is not on scribe (yet) is

Cyclorama

(edited) 2y

sarahbarnes Nice!! I‘ve read 12 and there are some on the list I‘m pretty excited to read, too. 😃 2y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB Sea of Tranquility, Lapvona, and Tomorrow x3 were all 5⭐️ for me but I also loved Checkout 19 and Mouth to Mouth (as far as ones I don‘t think you‘ve read). 2y

Megabooks @Cinfhen some years I pay more attention to the longlist than others. The 4 I mentioned prices on ⬆️ I may get regardless. Or maybe not. Trying not to be too impulsive! 🤣🤣 2y

Megabooks @sarahbarnes yeah, it‘s a good list this year! 2y

squirrelbrain Yes, I‘m most intrigued by that one too @cinfhen but it‘s only on Amazon for (d2, and not even on Audible. ?‍♀️ 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain I just got Search on audible! Cassandra Campbell sounds like a great narrator match for the subject and I TOTALLY FORGOT I still had a credit this month! I may look at Cyclorama with one of my credits that comes on the 21st. @Cinfhen @Ruthiella @BarbaraBB 2y

BarbaraBB Thanks!! I just made a post about it where we can share suggestions. I just ordered Checkout 19 and Mouth to Mouth! I haven‘t read Lapvona either. 2y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I am intrigued by Cyclorama too. 2y

charl08 Ooh very tempting. I do love a list! 2y

68 likes25 comments

squirrelbrain

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Thanks for posting the 2023 list Ruth!

I‘ve had a look through, and I‘ve only read 11, with a further 6 that I already own.

There are around 10 that I don‘t fancy, and quite a few that are only available at (cd - (d0 on Amazon. (Maybe not pub yet in the UK?)

Still, I found the rest (over 20 ish) on Scribd, or at various libraries so there‘s plenty to go at! ? Next job is to check which work for 2023 challenges so I don‘t read them in 2022!

BkClubCare, Flaneurette, Megabooks, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, Suet624, vivastory, Chelsea.Poole, kwmg40, BarbaraBB, thebluestocking, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

squirrelbrain @MicheleinPhilly @batsy tagging you both too! 2y

Ruthiella You are marvelously organized, as expected! 😃 2y

Cinfhen Woohoo!!! I love being on #TeamHelen 🙌🏻💕😄 there are more than a few I‘m really not interested in reading, I‘ve read 18, I‘ve attempted 3 but bailed and I own 4 so I‘m in pretty good shape. I‘m more invested when we get to 32! It‘s more manageable (edited) 2y

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squirrelbrain Yes, but I did this instead of other things, such as housework…! 🤣 @Ruthiella 2y

squirrelbrain Wow, you‘ve read a lot @cinfhen! Which 3 did you bail on? It might remove a couple more off my list…! 2y

Megabooks You are so organized! 🤩💜 (edited) 2y

Suet624 @Cinfhen You are so ahead of the game, reading 18! Holy moly! I have so many to try to fit into my life. 2y

BarbaraBB You must have had the most wonderful day! I have read 11, own another 4. I have ordered 7 more (cheap ones) and now I am sitting on my hands to avoid buying more! 2y

squirrelbrain I bet our 11 are quite similar @BarbaraBB , although I know you haven‘t read this one, which I have… I would suggest that you *don‘t* read it! 🤣

The Last Chairlift

Cinfhen Thanks @Suet624 !!! There are a bunch from the 18, I enjoyed but overall I didn‘t really love that many. The three I bailed on are

School for Good Mothers

Dinosaurs: A Novel

Cinfhen I‘m not attempting the 900 page book by Irving!!! 2y

sarahbarnes Nice! You‘re ready to go! 😊 I‘ve read 12 and there are a handful of others I‘m interested in, too. 2y

squirrelbrain I didn‘t like Seven Moons either @Cinfhen . I was actually going to start Good Mothers last night but didn‘t, so I just started it now. 2y

batsy Thank you for the tag! I've read only a few from that list, I think, but I'll have to go over it again. At first glance yesterday it just seemed to me filled with books that I wanted to read 🙂 2y

BkClubCare Woot 🎉 2y

55 likes17 comments

MicheleinPhilly

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

This is always my favorite list - so many unknown gems to explore! #TOB #TournamentOfBooks #TOB23

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2022

Ruthiella Absolutely! For discovery, this longlist beats most of the other book prizes. 2y

Suet624 Only an occasional dud in the past lists. I love this tournament. 2y

batsy This has so many straight out of my TBR! And I'm happy to see Emma Donoghue's Haven get some attention. 2y

jlhammar Oh fun! I love following this tournament. I think I've only read 11 on this longlist, but I own 6 more that I am really looking forward to (Book of Goose, Cult Classic, Haven, Seven Steeples, Mercury Pictures Presents and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow). 2y

BarbaraBB This longlist always makes me so greedy!! 2y

40 likes5 comments

Ruthiella

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

It‘s UP!!!!!

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2022

BkClubCare, Flaneurette, Megabooks, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, Suet624, vivastory, Chelsea.Poole, kwmg40, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, thebluestocking, sarahbarnes

kwmg40 So excited! 2y

sarahbarnes Already?! Amazing!! 2y

Megabooks Yikes! My wallet is already hurting! 🤣🤣 Thanks for posting. 💜 2y

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vivastory Exciting! Thanks for the tag. 2y

Chelsea.Poole Thank you for the tag! (edited) 2y

Megabooks I found 11 books that I don‘t own that I find interesting! 👍🏻 2y

CarolynM Some interesting books on the list this year. 2y

squirrelbrain Lots that I haven‘t read, and a fair few that I‘ve never even heard of…. I‘ll have a proper look later and, of course, there will be a spreadsheet! 2y

BarbaraBB I‘ve read so much contemporary fiction this year yet the long list is filled with books I haven‘t even heard of! Love that! 2y

squirrelbrain I‘d love to know which ones you like the look of @Megabooks 2y

Suet624 Wow! I wasn‘t expecting to see the longlist so soon! Thank you for tagging me! How will I ever get to my TBR? 2y

Hooked_on_books FINALLY!!! Thanks for the link. Don‘t wait up, I‘ll be a while. 😆 2y

Cinfhen Oh wow!!! Thanks for the tag!!! I missed so much the past 24 hours!!! 2y

charl08 So tempting! Thank you for posting. 2y

61 likes14 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Y‘all know I had to add a short story collection! Here are my picks for #CampToB22 It was so great to see everyone‘s choices yesterday. I think NF would be interesting, but I‘m having a fiction moment. I‘d still join a NF one if it came about.

Cinfhen, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB

sarahbarnes Great choices! I‘m adding A Touch of Jen to my list! 2y

Megabooks @sarahbarnes yeah, that sounded really good to me! Thanks! 2y

squirrelbrain Great choices! Just requested Disorientation on #netgalley. 2y

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Cinfhen I love the way your covers look together!! They feel like summer reads 2y

BarbaraBB I have been so looking forward to your choices and of course you deliver! 2y

Megabooks @squirrelbrain I think you‘ll love it! 2y

Megabooks @Cinfhen thanks! I‘m looking forward to a lot of reading this summer 2y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB thanks! 😘 2y

Ruthiella The more I hear the more curious I am about Disorientation. I think I‘m gonna just read it regardless! 😆 2y

Megabooks @Ruthiella I highly recommend it! Very smart writing. I‘d love to discuss it! 2y

ImperfectCJ Moshfegh has a new one out?! I'm so bad at keeping up with what new books are coming out, I can't even keep track of my must-read authors 🙄 2y

batsy These are 5 that I already one to read, and off to look up the Bieker 🙂 2y

Megabooks @ImperfectCJ I try to stay on it but summer is always crazy!! I rarely look more than a month in the future unless it‘s a fav author like her. 2y

Megabooks @batsy that was one I found browsing at BN that sounded REALLY good! 2y

batsy *want to read, I mean 😅 and yep, I looked it up and it does sound good! 2y

BkClubCare Woot! (And... I could not find that grid in PicCollage 🥴 - I spend too much time searching and making things fit then not liking; and then everyone else‘s looks so nice and organized. Wish I knew what I am doing wrong... ) 2y

Chelsea.Poole Oops! Somehow I missed your list. Great choices, as always ☺️ 2y

75 likes17 comments

cariashley

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

This was hard - I‘ve stayed up way too late figuring out my picks for #CampToB2022 but here they are! Am so interested to see what books end up on the slate, this will be fascinating. And excited for another summer round with all of you. 🥰

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

squirrelbrain Great list! I really want to read your top 3, and I have the Straub on my list too. I don‘t know anything about the other 2 - off to check them out now…. 2y

Cinfhen I feel like we could run our own #Camp22 with all of these fabulous options!!! I need to investigate a few titles too @squirrelbrain 😄 2y

Ruthiella @Cinfhen @cariashley We could totally do our own version of this. There‘s already quite a bit of overlap in everyone‘s lists so far! 2y

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BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @cariashley @Cinfhen It‘s tempting to create our own tournament! I now want to read so many of the books that were nominated today! 2y

Cinfhen It would be super fun to run our own camp @BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @squirrelbrain @cariashley #VeryTempting 2y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @Ruthiella @squirrelbrain @cariashley We could make a longlist based on all suggestions we all made and let participants vote for the shortlist (6 books). Those six we can read in the months #CampToB takes place. What do you think??! 2y

sarahbarnes I‘m adding school for good mothers to my list! 2y

squirrelbrain Sounds like a wonderful plan @BarbaraBB ! Would you like a hand with pulling together the longlist? I‘ve never done Google forms before though, so you may need to teach me….. 2y

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain An excel would be fine, we can upload that on Google and share the link. I could make a Google form where people could name their six favorites for Camp? 2y

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain Do you really want to help? That would be great of course!! 💝 2y

Cinfhen Yes!!!!!! Do it!!!! I love that idea #CampLitsy @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB 2y

squirrelbrain Yes, I‘d love to help @BarbaraBB - I‘ll send you an email. 2y

cariashley @BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain brilliant idea!! I love this. Let me know if there‘s any way I can help out! 2y

cariashley @squirrelbrain the Celt is one I found randomly going through The Millions book preview list, that just looked good/interesting. I‘ve been following Grant Ginder on Twitter forever and he‘s so entertaining, but I‘ve never read any of his actual work! 2y

BarbaraBB @cariashley Thanks! For now, @squirrelbrain is helping our! I sent you an email too Helen! 2y

squirrelbrain Replying very shortly! @BarbaraBB 😀 2y

53 likes16 comments

squirrelbrain

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

#camptob2022 #summercampsuggestions2022

So difficult to choose, as many of the ‘best of‘ lists only include well-known authors. Instead, I looked on #netgalley, which wasn‘t good for my TBRor my %!

I already have the Straub on #netgalley and the Kukafka has been on my radar for a while, and is also on Barbara‘s list. The others were all influenced by #covercrush and there is a bit of a theme of dysfunctional families…. Must be my thing! 🤣

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

Cinfhen Excited by all these possibilities 😄 2y

Chelsea.Poole I agree. These covers are 😍 I‘ve read Notes on an Execution and loved it! Curious about your other picks. 2y

merelybookish These look great! So many new-to-me! I am especially curious about Utopia. 2y

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thebluestocking I love the idea of heading to Netgalley. These look great! I struggled with finding books that wouldn‘t be up for the rooster anyway, so I went with nonfiction. I loved that camp year. 2y

vivastory Great suggestions! I have been meaning to read Straub 2y

batsy These look interesting and I'm keen to discover them. The Utopia cover is especially intriguing! 2y

Ruthiella I‘d gladly read all these! I really like the idea too of reading around a certain theme. 2y

BarbaraBB Such great choices l. Like @batsy I love the Utopia cover and I have a thing for dysfunctional families too 😉😘 2y

Megabooks Interesting list that I‘m mostly not familiar with. 💜 2y

sarahbarnes I love that you picked netgalleys because none of these are on my list yet! Thank you! 2y

squirrelbrain I‘ve applied for the ones that I didn‘t yet have @sarahbarnes - and got ‘I‘m Sorry You Feel that Way‘ on #netgalley today - yay! 2y

sarahbarnes Woohoo! That one and Utopia sound really interesting! 2y

70 likes12 comments

Ruthiella

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I used The Millions “most anticipated” book list and whittled it down to these for the Tournament of Books Summer Camp 2022. I don‘t read a lot of front list books, so it was a bit of a struggle to choose but now I‘m totally excited to see what makes the cut! 🐓

#CampToB2022 #SummerCampSuggestions2022

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

BarbaraBB This is great! I didn‘t know about a new Dan Chaon but am thrilled about it! I was thinking too of the Flamingo‘s. I read How High and didn‘t really enjoy it but I am a minority there. The other books I‘ll have to check out! (edited) 2y

Ruthiella @BarbaraBB I loved Chaon‘s Ill Will and have been meaning to read more from him ever since! 2y

squirrelbrain I loved Flamingo. I *nearly* included the Bervoets on my list -sounds good doesn‘t it? Will post mine soonish…. 2y

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Ruthiella @squirrelbrain I picked Flamingo because your review on Litsy made me want to read it! 😃 2y

Cinfhen Ohhh, Im definitely getting excited about ALL the possibilities for #CampToB22 - I need to look into a few of these titles that I‘m unfamiliar with🤓Thanks for tagging me 😊 2y

rockpools This hashtag is going to seriously damage all of our TBRs! So many I haven‘t come across yet - and True Biz which I‘m really excited for. 2y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I loved Ill Will too! And I only now see that you included Hannah Bervoets (thanks to @squirrelbrain comment!). That novella is good! (edited) 2y

BarbaraBB @rockpools You are so right 🤣🤣🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

Chelsea.Poole I JUST started True Biz, like 5 minutes ago. Loved How High and interested in Flamingo. Thanks for tagging me! And I agree @rockpools this hashtag could disrupt my reading plans BIG TIME 😆 📚 2y

merelybookish There are so many books!! Stacking Flamingo! 2y

Soubhiville @Chelsea.Poole @rockpools I‘m getting sucked into this hashtag too! 2y

RidgewayGirl I used the same list and also named Sleepwalk. I‘m reading it now and it‘s weird and fascinating. (edited) 2y

thebluestocking I love the Millions‘ lists. This looks like great line up!! 2y

BkClubCare 🦩 2y

vivastory It's always interesting to see the overlap & the divergence between The Millions list & Lit Hub's list. Great selections! 2y

Ruthiella @rockpools Indeed! Excitement about the TOB in all its various forms always blows up my TBR! 😂 2y

Ruthiella @Chelsea.Poole Glad to have your support for Flamingo and How High! Now let‘s see what I can squeeze in before the votes are tallied! 2y

Ruthiella @merelybookish So many books! The choices are pleasantly overwhelming. 😃 2y

Ruthiella @Soubhiville The more the merrier! 👍 2y

Ruthiella @RidgewayGirl I expect nothing less than weird and fascinating from Chaon. Ill Will creeped me out! 😱 2y

Ruthiella @thebluestocking The Millions really does us readers a service listing all the upcoming books! 2y

Ruthiella @BkClubCare 😊 2y

Ruthiella @vivastory Thanks for the tip! I‘ll put Lit Hub in my back pocket for later use! 2y

Megabooks I‘m excited to read Flamingo! It‘s a blame it on @squirrelbrain for me too. 😂 2y

Ruthiella @Megabooks @squirrelbrain With great power comes great responsibility! 😆 2y

squirrelbrain Eek @Megabooks @Ruthiella - now I‘m scared you won‘t like it! 😳 2y

Ruthiella @squirrelbrain No worries! 😊 I also get nervous when I recommend a book I love to another reader. 2y

Well-ReadNeck Sleepwalk definitely gives me ToB vibes!!!! 2y

Ruthiella @Well-ReadNeck Excellent! I hope it gets picked . 2y

60 likes29 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

#CampTOB22 #SummerCampSuggestions2022

I‘ve read one but I think it‘ll make for good discussion - the others I‘m curious about and I might have an #ARC or two 😉

I‘m curious to see what the final list will look like 🤩

Thanks for encouraging us to post our ideas @BarbaraBB #CampDirectorExtraordinaire xxx

BarbaraBB Haha that hashtag ⬆️😘. I have to check out the 4 books I don‘t know! Of course I have your first one on my list as well and I was thinking of suggesting this one too since @britt_brooke reviewed it

Mother Ocean Father Nation: A Novel

Cinfhen I have an ARC for that one ( Zevin) & the Brooks @BarbaraBB so I‘m hoping they‘ll both be chosen

Horse: A Novel

(edited) 2y

Cinfhen And I requested this one because the title drew me in….and he‘s a debut author

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squirrelbrain I‘ve only heard of one of these (the first one). I‘ll go check out the rest…. 2y

Ruthiella I‘ve not heard of ANY of these and only know one of the authors (Brooks). I would be totally OK with these were they selected for Summer Camp! 👍 I rely on the TOB to introduce me to new stuff. 2y

Cinfhen I hope you guys will share your #SummerCampSuggestions too @squirrelbrain @Ruthiella I‘m looking forward to #CamppToB22 2y

rockpools Ooh, there are some good looking books there! 2y

britt_brooke @BarbaraBB It‘s SO good. 💚 2y

Cinfhen Thanks @rockpools looks like we‘re in for some good summer reading 😘 2y

merelybookish More amazing books! 🤯 And I think Brooks would be a fun one to add to the TOB. I always enjoy her novels but tend to forget about how good she is. 2y

Megabooks What we do is on my TBR! Great list! 😘😘 2y

Cinfhen One of my favorite books is still this one @merelybookish

People of the Book

Cinfhen I know!!!! SO MANY good books @Megabooks and I‘m pretty sure your library will have them all!!!!! 2y

69 likes13 comments

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

…. Continuing my last post: these books I suggested for #CampToB22. Please share your 6 #MostAnticipatedBooks!

I had to include one thriller although I know that‘s not really ToB‘ish 🤷🏻‍♀️😉

To reach the real ToB people, here is the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfM6VOvtv_dy9-7v6GFk0ccZFrPnJG-vcnWHVaJ...

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

Cinfhen I really want to read

The Swimmers

Cinfhen And I think this would be perfect for discussion

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I changed my hashtag into yours 😀 #SummerCampSuggestions (edited) 2y

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Cinfhen 🥰😘 2y

squirrelbrain I‘m still thinking about mine….! 🤔 2y

squirrelbrain I agree @Cinfhen - I too want to read The Swimmers. 2y

Ruthiella Great list! I‘d gladly read these six for Summer Camp. 👍 2y

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Ruthiella You‘ll come up with books I‘m sure I‘d want to read! 2y

Hooked_on_books I‘ve read The School for Good Mothers along with the bottom three and I think they‘d all be good choices for CampTOB! 2y

rockpools I‘m just going to work my way through this hashtag stacking things. So many I haven‘t heard of! 2y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I probably was inspired by your reviews! 2y

Chelsea.Poole Great list! I hadn‘t heard of the Tessa Hadley. And yes to this one — excited about it this summer.

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty

(edited) 2y

merelybookish Great picks! I already have The Swimmers & Free Love stacked. 👍 Now to add more! 2y

BkClubCare 👏👏👏 2y

thebluestocking Lovely list! I want to read several of these too (well, now all of them because I trust your taste)! 💙 2y

sarahbarnes The Swimmers is on my list as well! And I am going to be adding some of these to my TBR now, too! 2y

Adventures_of_a_French_Reader I've read Don't Cry For Me, it's an excellent book. Hope you'll enjoy it! 2y

BarbaraBB @Chelsea.Poole That‘s one that @Cinfhen has been raving about and that can lead to a great discussion. I really want to read it! 2y

BarbaraBB @thebluestocking I hope they are as good as I expect 😀 2y

BarbaraBB @Adventures-of-a-French-Reader Thanks! It sounds so good! 2y

Sophronisba This looks like a great list! I would love to talk about Free Love with the commentariat. 2y

Megabooks I think The Seimmers has a good chance but I‘m excited for the Emezi too! 2y

68 likes22 comments

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfM6VOvtv_dy9-7v6GFk0ccZFrPnJG-vcnWHVaJ... 2y

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

What do you think of the new way of selecting books for #CampToB22?

I see why the overexposure of some books makes them want to try a different approach but I‘m not sure if we readers can come up with the right books. I mean that part of the fun is that #ToB always comes up with obscure books I‘d never heard of. I am a bit scared that we‘ll be reading bestsellers this summer. What do you think?
And will you send in suggestions?

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

Ruthiella Hmmm. Can they be published ANY year? Or just in 2022? 2y

Cinfhen I think it‘s a cool idea but definitely will probably feature bigger named authors 😔I‘m curious though! And I‘m trying to come up with some suggestions- are you?? 2y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I assume 2022 but am not sure! 2y

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BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Me too! Can‘t wait to see your suggestions! Will you post them? 2y

Cinfhen Ohhh, I will!!! That‘s a fun idea!!!! 2y

Cinfhen I accidentally deleted the email 🫣can you please send me the link ( if it‘s possible) 2y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Yes they should be published in 2022, I just read! 2y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I‘ll post mine too, that‘s fun indeed! 2y

Cinfhen Thanks SO MUCH xxx 2y

Hooked_on_books Yeah, I don‘t love their plan. I agree about them finding obscure or small press books I may not otherwise find. I think they should instead make a rule that, say, the top 4 finishers in CampTOB are automatically ineligible for inclusion in TOB. Then they could still pick unusual stuff and not end up with the same winner of both or overexposure. 2y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I thought in the past only the winner of Camp was included in the real tournament. That worked well I thought. But you read so many books: what 6 books would you suggest for this year‘s camp? 2y

Hooked_on_books Oh gosh, I‘m bad at the “most anticipated” thing. I‘ll have to think about it a bit! 2y

Hooked_on_books Ok, I‘ve thought of two: Either/Or by Elif Batuman and Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. 2y

Hooked_on_books Also, Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anastine and Nuclear Family by Joseph Han. (Maybe I‘m better at this than I thought.) 2y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Of course you are! I need to check them out immediately 😀🤍 2y

merelybookish I guess a lot of TOB fans were disappointed about Klara winning both tourneys! I will be interested to see how this goes. I have my reservations but don't care much if they muck about with Camp TOB as long as they don't change the official tournament. 🙂 2y

ImperfectCJ Totally new to Camp ToB, so no particular opinion about the change. I'm not great at picking (or even being aware of) books out during the current year. I rely a lot on stumbling across reviews and don't keep up well with new releases (there are only two 2022 books on my TBR right now), so I'm most likely just going to sit back and watch what other people pick. :-) 2y

Soubhiville I‘m really just a lurker on all your ToB discussions, but always love seeing all of your reviews. I feel like I might jump in on it? And I‘m adding a bunch of all of your suggestions to my TBR seeing your posts this morning! (edited) 2y

Larkken I‘ve only recently started paying attention to ToB (by working through the 2021 bracket, lol) and I‘m loving that it‘s bringing to my attention books I hadn‘t thought of before, instead of making me choose 😂 but I‘m still happily following and stacking these books! Yay new books!! 🥰 2y

RidgewayGirl The one thing this new rule did is made me scour the “most anticipated” lists. 2y

sarahbarnes Great idea! I will be posting mine! 2y

thebluestocking I loved the year they did nonfiction for Camp, so that‘s what I recommended! It‘ll be interesting to see what they do. I‘m fine with mixing it up. I didn‘t find the “double exposure” but I didn‘t like Klara. 2y

vivastory I like this idea. I do think there is a bit of a problem with overexposure. I'm going to do some digging & see what I find. 2y

cariashley This is interesting! I like that they‘re changing it up - I was definitely one of the people peeved about Klara. And the overexposure problem is real for me personally, at least when it comes to picking a zombie so early, before I‘ve read most of the books. I‘ll put some thought into what books I‘d like to see for the summer! 2y

BkClubCare I will be looking at the suggestions offered on the almost last day of March‘s TOB; everyone offers their next anticipated TOB books. I wrote them all down but not sure where I put it (tho my added-to-gr around that time could be a guide) I am reading Devil House now because it seems something TOB-ish. I might offer it. I also want to suggest Joan is Okay. 2y

BarbaraBB @Soubhiville You are very welcome to jump in! I‘ll tag you when the summer tournament starts! And if you like to share your most anticipated reads that you hope will make it to #CampTob we‘d love that! 🤍 2y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish totally agree! Don‘t mess with the real ToB! 2y

BarbaraBB @Larkken I know what you mean. So many great books! 2y

BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl I did too! And they are quite comparable! Do you have any favorites for the summer tournament? To me, you are definitely the expert! 2y

BarbaraBB @thebluestocking A non fiction camp? I don‘t even remember! 2y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare oh really? That must be such an interesting list! I hope you will find and share it. In the mean time I will look out for both books you suggest! 2y

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @vivastory @cariashley Very curious of your most anticipated reads! 2y

Addison_Reads I'm loving everyone's posts/suggestions. This will be my first CampToB and I'm excited to see what books make it in. I'll try and see if I can come up with books I'd like to see included. 2y

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads So many great suggestions in everyone‘s posts, you‘re right! I am looking forward to your choices if you find them! 2y

thebluestocking @BarbaraBB I just went back to find it. It was not a tournament-style thing, just a discussion. https://themorningnews.org/article/welcome-to-the-rooster-nonfiction-popup 2y

BkClubCare @thebluestocking - I really enjoyed that Nonfiction TOB! 2y

BarbaraBB Super interesting Jessica! @thebluestocking 2y

alisiakae I kind of like this idea, as long as we don‘t end up with the typical bestsellers! 2y

Readerann @BarbaraBB I will have to be a lurker for CampToB as I am focusing on my old TBR for awhile. But please keep me tagged so I can keep adding new books to replace the ones I‘m reading - thereby ensuring my TBR remains ridiculously long and unmanageable. 🤣 (edited) 2y

BarbaraBB @Readerann haha I know what you mean! Will keep tagging you! 2y

Well-ReadNeck How do we send in suggestions? Does anyone have a link? 2y

BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck I have posted the link above, in the comments! (edited) 2y

Well-ReadNeck @BarbaraBB OMG! yes! Thanks. Didn‘t scroll back far enough. Felt like I was missing some of the convo. Sorry! 2y

BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck I hope you‘ll post your suggestions too. We‘re planning to make a longlist of all suggestions and play our own #CampLitsy 😀 2y

54 likes45 comments

The Book of Form and Emptiness: A Novel

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I stole this from you @BarbaraBB to keep track of what I‘m missing for #ToB22
No way am I going to get to them all but I have several on hold at the library. Just borrowed When We Cease to Understand the World. Probably going to stay away from All‘s Well and The Book of Form and Emptiness.

Well-ReadNeck 🙌🏼👏🏼👊🏼 3y

BarbaraBB You‘re doing great. I was thinking of skipping the Ozeki too. And Copeland Cane. But now I‘ve heard good things about

Chelsea.Poole @BarbaraBB yeah, same! It doesn‘t seem like something I‘d enjoy but I also know these types of lists help me branch out and discover something I normally wouldn‘t try. I‘ll look for your review, if you read it 😊 3y

cariashley @Chelsea.Poole @BarbaraBB am almost done with the Ozeki and really really liking it, not to make things more complicated for either of you - it‘s a long one! 3y

Chelsea.Poole @cariashley thanks! This may be the push I need to go ahead and give it a go! (In a few weeks!) 3y

78 likes5 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Full bracket! Note to Meg: put phone down. Get out of rabbit hole.

Seriously sorry if I‘m forgetting someone! #tob

BkClubCare, Flaneurette, Cinfhen, Suet624, alisiakae, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

cariashley What?! I did NOT get an email!! This is so exciting 3y

sarahbarnes Wow, so exciting!!! Thanks for the intel! 3y

JamieArc Dear Litsy, We *need* to be able to zoom in on photos!!! 3y

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Megabooks @cariashley I think it came to Instagram early! 3y

Megabooks @sarahbarnes you‘re welcome! I‘m excited too! 3y

Megabooks @JamieArc for sure! Screenshot and zoom is the easiest I‘ve found. 👍🏻 3y

Suet624 Oh wow! Thank you. I hadn‘t seen this. 3y

Megabooks @Suet624 this was actually a productive use of Instagram, at least for me! 😂 3y

JamieArc @Megabooks I don‘t know why I hadn‘t thought of that 🤦🏻‍♀️. Thanks! 3y

Ruthiella Nice work! 👍 3y

ImperfectCJ Every year I'm intrigued and confused by ToB. How do you like to get involved? Do you read all the books and follow the voting? 3y

Suet624 @ImperfectCJ yes. 😄💕 3y

Cinfhen Yay, Meg!!!!! I‘m not liking the lineup but at least I know which books I don‘t need to read as a few are easy picks for me!!! 3y

squirrelbrain What @cinfhen said…. I may only read another one or two books…. Thanks Meg! 3y

BarbaraBB Oh exiting. I don‘t like that The Trees will meet Subdivision or Matrix in the second round! 3y

Megabooks @Ruthiella thanks! 3y

BkClubCare I think @Addison_Reads might follow TOB? 3y

BkClubCare I wasn‘t stressed about getting all these done until seeing this. 😂 I have 9 yet. Yikes 3y

Megabooks @ImperfectCJ pretty much! They release a long list, which is interesting to see because often there are books I miss through the year. Then they pick a shortlist of books that actually go in the brackets. Many of us try to read some/all of those books. Then we see what the judges say. Some years @BarbaraBB has tallied a litsy vote so we have our own winner. Often very different than the judges! 3y

Crazeedi @JamieArc agree!! 3y

Addison_Reads @BkClubCare thank you for tagging me. I'm trying to read them, but I'm limited to just what I can get my hands on through my local library, so I probably won't get to read them all in time. 3y

BkClubCare @Addison_Reads - I know! My library is limited, too. The fun (aka the madness) is the attempt. 3y

ImperfectCJ @Megabooks Thanks for the explanation! It sounds like fun... maybe I'll see how many I can get to before voting starts and see if I agree with the judges. I've been disappointed with the lists for some of the other big book awards the past few years, and maybe these will treat me better. 3y

BarbaraBB Do you think I should do that again? 3y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB yes!!! 💯💯💯 just sent you an email. 💕 3y

Megabooks @BkClubCare plenty of time! 3y

Megabooks @Addison_Reads so glad to know you for tagging! 3y

BkClubCare @Megabooks - I tried to be strategic by choosing the longest books first. 3y

BkClubCare @ImperfectCJ - I think it is important to know the history, too. It truly is a snarky “event” to highlight how difficult is can be to say any book is better than another. Explore the website and maybe walk through one of the years “battles”. I found it ~6 years ago when I wanted to talk about books none of my friends were reading. I have learned SO MUCH about how to appreciate literature from all the discussions. 3y

ImperfectCJ @BkClubCare Thank you for the suggestions! I actually read the history every year, I just haven't been able to figure out how an average reader like myself would participate (I tend to mull over small decisions for a very long time). But between the posts here and the challenge on Storygraph, I think I have an idea of how to be involved this year. :-) 3y

66 likes30 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I have finished the #ToBshortlist and #ToBplayin books! 🎉

Here are my rankings, which include two 5⭐️ books and two bails. I‘m excited to read more opinions as people review more books on the list. 👍🏻 #ToB22

Flaneurette, Cinfhen, Mindyrecycles, Suet624, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Suet624 I‘ve read the first 3 on your list so maybe I should stop while I‘m ahead. 😃 3y

Ruthiella Excellent! I think my list might be a little like yours only upside down! 😂 3y

Megabooks @Suet624 lol! Maybe so… 😉😂 3y

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Megabooks @Ruthiella so excited to see it!! 3y

Hooked_on_books I think I‘ve read half the shortlist. When‘s the actual TOB? 3y

Megabooks @Hooked_on_books March 👍🏻 https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2022-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju... 3y

Hooked_on_books That‘s what I thought. I might get them all read by then. We‘ll see. After Bunny, though, I‘m only going to read the Awad if I‘m going for completion. 😜 3y

thebluestocking Congratulations! I love seeing your rankings. I really enjoyed Matrix and No One is Talking About This too. I have a lot more reading to do! 💙 3y

Cinfhen I love that you were able to rank them!! Of the 18 I still have about 5 or 6 left to read. I‘m hoping to finish the list this month. Next up is this one that I‘m very excited for

Intimacies

Megabooks @Hooked_on_books I enjoyed Bunny but All‘s Well was just okay. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3y

Cinfhen Don‘t let Bunny put you off from the Awad @Hooked_on_books it‘s weird but more engaging. I kind of liked it.

All's Well

Megabooks @thebluestocking thanks! Those are great books for sure. 💜 3y

Megabooks @Cinfhen @Hooked_on_books perhaps listen to cindy… 😁 3y

Megabooks @Cinfhen I think you will enjoy that one a lot! Great gift from @BarbaraBB ! 💜 3y

Hooked_on_books @Cinfhen @Megabooks I‘m willing to try it, but I‘m giving it some serious side-eye! 😒😂 3y

Cinfhen Understandable @Hooked_on_books 🤣 3y

BarbaraBB I love this list! My favorites are similar to yours (except for Matrix) so far but I have to read 9 more 😀 3y

squirrelbrain My top two is the same as yours, and I feel it may remain the way. I have your 3 and 4 to read next though…. 3y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I think we‘re among the literary fiction lovers in our group, so it doesn‘t surprise me that we have similar rankings. (Although I still wish you had read Matrix in English, as I am convinced you would have enjoyed it more, Barbara.) Anyway, I think the SFF lovers will have different rankings! It seems there are some good choices for each group in this list. 3y

72 likes19 comments

Well-ReadNeck

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

So close, and yet …

Been hitting the #ToB22 shortlist books. I only have two left, but I think I‘m done. Not a Sally Rooney fan and after the rest of the list, I don‘t think I can face another book touted as “experimental fiction”. Most of these were only middle of the road for me. The exceptions (which I really liked) were The Sentence, The Trees, and although it‘s super weird, The Subdivision.

thebluestocking You‘re a machine!! Congratulations! 💙 3y

Ruthiella Well done! I really liked Subdivision too! I like trying to interpret what certain scenarios meant... 3y

BarbaraBB Well done! I must get to The Sentence and Subdivision soon too! 3y

MMFinck I feel the same way about Sally Rooney. It feels like there are so few of us. Is this image supposed to be all the books you read this year? I only see 4 rows. How do I see the rest? Following your reading is so fun! Happy New Year. :)
3y

Well-ReadNeck @MMFinck These books are just the #ToB22 Tournament of Books shortlist. The three small ones will be in the play-in round. 3y

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Megabooks @Larkken https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2022-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju... 3y

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I‘ve got 8 books to go for the #ToB22ShortList 😃‼️How is the rest of the crew doing??? Any standouts?? I‘ve just started Our Country Friends from the library and then I‘m thinking Several People Are Typing.

Megabooks, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, Ruthiella, sarahbarnes

Cinfhen Interesting to see the GoodReads scores. Most books are only 3 star!!! 3y

squirrelbrain I too have 8 books to go…. Country Friends (and the Awad) aren‘t out here until next month and I can‘t get them on Scribd yet, so I‘ll have to see how I can get hold of them. My next one is the Ozeki. 3y

BarbaraBB I have 11 to go. My next ones will be In Concrete and The Sentence. I have copies of a few more but I need to save them for next year‘s challenges. 3y

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sarahbarnes I have 11 to go, too. And I also have In Concrete up next from the library, as well as All‘s Well. I‘m currently reading Klara. Faves so far…probably Lockwood, Subdivision, Trees. I‘m loving Klara so far, too. 3y

Cinfhen I haven‘t gotten to Subdivision yet @sarahbarnes but I did like Trees and Im still holding out all hope for the Lockwood!! I wasn‘t crazy about Klara but I thought the Awad was fun, but not sure it deserves to be named winner. (edited) 3y

Cinfhen The Ozeki is a bit of a chunkster @squirrelbrain so I‘m putting it off for a bit, plus I can‘t seem to borrow it (edited) 3y

Cinfhen I can‘t remember if I‘m meant to use any of the books for next years challenge @BarbaraBB but I know what you mean about holding books back…. It‘s hard!!! 3y

Ruthiella I‘m currently reading the Rooney title. Not my cup of tea, but I try to read all the shortlist. I also didn‘t love Copeland Cane. Of the 7 I‘ve read so far, I think Intimacies is my personal front runner... 3y

Larkken This seems fun. It‘s for a tournament style challenge? 3y

Megabooks I‘ve got 5 left. 👍🏻📚 I‘m hoping to finish all in the next two weeks. (edited) 3y

Megabooks @Larkken it is! The Dallas Morning News does a college basketball style tournament for books every March. I‘ll drop a link ⬇️ 3y

Cinfhen I‘m looking forward to Intimacies @Ruthiella - 3y

Cinfhen Thanks @Megabooks for sharing the link with @Larkken 😍 3y

Larkken @Megabooks oh, cool! Thank you! 3y

Suet624 I have read 6 and picking up 2 at the library today. It‘s going to be hard to get through the majority of them this year, sadly. 3y

Cinfhen Are you reading the shortlist too @Suet624 !?!! We have to add you to our little group!!!! 3y

Suet624 Yup! 3y

Cinfhen Look who‘s joining the #ToB22 party @Ruthiella @BarbaraBB @Megabooks @squirrelbrain @sarahbarnes ….it‘s the wonderful @Suet624 ‼️Are you also following along @Simona ???? 3y

squirrelbrain Hi @Suet624 👋😁 3y

Suet624 @squirrelbrain hi! The TOB has been such a wonderful adventure for me over the past 5 years at least. So glad to be chatting about it with you all. (edited) 3y

Ruthiella I just finished Subdivision and REALLY loved it...which surprised me because I didn‘t think that going in! 3y

Cinfhen Did you do print or audio for Subdivision @Ruthiella ?? 3y

Flaneurette Can I join the group too? So far my favorites have been Trees, Subdivision, and Intimacies. I‘m looking forward to When We Cease to Understand (edited) 3y

Cinfhen Of course @Flaneurette tagging the others @Megabooks @BarbaraBB @Ruthiella @squirrelbrain @Suet624 @sarahbarnes am I forgetting anyone?? (edited) 3y

Simona Not really. So far I have read 5 or 6 books from the list, and eventually I‘m planning to read Matrix and book by Ozeki … 3y

72 likes26 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I know what I‘ll be doing for the upcoming months! Hunting the rooster! I‘ve read five so far and have Matrix on my shelves. I voted for The Trees as my zombie. I love the Tournament of Books! #tob22

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2022-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju...

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I know you‘ll want to read the shortlist too and just before you start hunting those books: I‘ve send you one for Christmas. Let me know if you want me to tell you which one! 😘 3y

Ruthiella I just downloaded The Echo Wife and The Confessions of Copeland Cane from the library and put most of the others on hold. Looks like I‘ll have to buy two or three...#ToB2022 (edited) 3y

Karkar This years list is almost totally made up of books I want to read. Such a hard choice on the zombie. 3y

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BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I found four cheap copies online. The others I‘ll probably end up buying too but for now I have controlled myself! 3y

BarbaraBB @Karkar it‘s a great list, I think so too. A mix op popular ones and books I‘ve never heard of! 3y

Cinfhen It really is a solid list where I can see several books winning and I‘d be happy. I just don‘t want the Rooney or Ishiguro to win. I‘m still rooting for Lockwood!!!!! But I have 11 books to still read. 3y

BarbaraBB Now I hope you haven‘t read the one I just sent you 🤞🏽 @Cinfhen 3y

Cinfhen Thank you xx 😘 3y

65 likes8 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Thanks @Ruthiella for spreading the longlist of the #ToB22. I ❤️ this tournament!
I read 10 of them and I‘d like to read some more before the shortlist will be announced in a few weeks. So I could do with some recommendations by you guys!

Here‘s the longlist: https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2021

LeahBergen Happy Birthday, my book-loving friend! 😘😘😘 3y

Simona Happy birthday❣️🥂🍾💐 3y

batsy Happy birthday! Have a fabulous day 🎂💐❤️📚 3y

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Lizpixie Happy birthday lovely!🎉🎈🎁🎂 3y

squirrelbrain I‘ve probably read nearly the same books as you. Two of my favourites were Crossroads (!) and Cloud Cuckoo Land. 3y

BarbaraBB @LeahBergen @Simona @batsy @Lizpixie Thank you dear friends 🤍🤍 3y

BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I am so happy with the Franzen!!! And I‘ll check out Cloud Cuckoo Land, thanks, I hadn‘t heard of it! (edited) 3y

Suet624 I love the list of books this year. They all sounds so interesting. 3y

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cariashley

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

I‘ve got my Super Rooster shirt on and am ready for #ToB21 to start today! I‘ve never tried to “complete” a challenge like this before and it‘s already been so fulfilling, even though the tournament hasn‘t actually started yet (and I have a third left in my last book of the main brackets 😅). Can‘t wait to see how things play out in the official #ToB as well as the #LitsyToB21. Thanks so much to @BarbaraBB for organizing!

BarbaraBB This is so cool! @BkClubCare has one too. So good of you to contribute this way to the tournament! 4y

vivastory This is so awesome! I have a poster with all of the past nominees & winners. I also just ordered a t-shirt & a marathon style bumper sticker from them. I'll post a pic when they arrive. 4y

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB - psssst. I now have 3 tees and a coffee mug. 4y

cariashley @vivastory oooh a poster is such a great idea! 4y

cariashley @BkClubCare @BarbaraBB 😂 that‘s hardcore!! I need to buy some 2021 merch! 4y

49 likes5 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

The brackets are here for the #ToB21. From March 8 we can follow the judges‘verdicts but I was wondering if anyone is interested in having our own ToB based on these brackets?
It‘ll be fun to vote for the opening round of the tournament, and see who will make it to the next round and so on.

If you are interested submit this form before March 8 when I need you final votes!

https://forms.gle/Q894nSA3MVW3B8wP8

BarbaraBB ‘ll tag some people who I know have read some of the shortlisted books but everyone is welcome to join! @Megabooks @Kalalalatja @vivastory @emilyhaldi @Cinfhen @MicheleinPhilly @Ruthiella @sarahbarnes @thebluestocking @Hooked_on_books @suet624 @ClairesReads @cariashley @Readerann @azulaco @starrdom @BkClubCare @merelybookish @mklong @RidgewayGirl @kwmg40 @Redwritinghood (edited) 4y

Cinfhen Count me in!!! I haven‘t read them all but I‘ll try!!! 4y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Thank you 🙏 I hoped you would. I haven‘t read all of them either but it‘ll still be fun to have our parallel ToB 💜 4y

See All 35 Comments

vivastory Yes! I love this idea SO MUCH! Count me in! 4y

vivastory I just printed off a couple of these to fill in (while I should be working) & am already conflicted. I don't know if I want Leave the World Behind or Sharks in Time of Saviors to advance 4y

Kalalalatja I‘m in! Great idea 👍 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory It‘s going to be so hard! What to think of Breasts against Piranesi?! So hard! So happy you‘re in! 4y

BarbaraBB @Kalalalatja Yay! I‘m happy you‘re in! 4y

Readerann I‘m way behind on reading these, but will still join in. Thx! 4y

BarbaraBB @Readerann That is so wonderful! It will be fun! 4y

vivastory @BarbaraBB I haven't read Breasts & Eggs yet. I should receive it from the library early next week. I hope to finish Piranesi tonight. I'm really surprised by how much I'm enjoying it so far! 4y

Megabooks I‘ve read all but two, so count me in!! 💜💜💜 great idea Barbara!! 4y

Megabooks Breasts and Eggs 4 life!! Piranesi was good, but seriously...why is this a question?? 😃 4y

sarahbarnes Yes! Count me in! And I‘m reading Piranesi this weekend and can‘t wait! 4y

Ruthiella I‘m in!🐓 I still have one more to read (library hold hell), but no matter! 😀 4y

BkClubCare I‘m in! I am only half thru the short list but I am hoping to be a reading fiend the rest of February 4y

BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - the Clarke is next for me; hoping I can finish The Children‘s Bible tonight.

Piranesi

vivastory @sarahbarnes Looking forward to your thoughts on Piranesi 4y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks yay! You‘re in 💃 4y

BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes @BkClubCare happy you‘re joining!! 💜 (edited) 4y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Yes! So glad you‘re joining 💃 4y

kwmg40 I'd love to join in. I've finished only 6 of the books so far but hope to get through more of them before the tournament starts. 4y

BarbaraBB @kwmg40 Thank you for joining, it‘ll be fun even without having read all the books 💜 4y

Suet624 This is the first year in ages that I just can‘t get to read enough of the books to know what I‘m talking about. Kind of sad about that. Two more elections to work in in March and then hopefully commuting and long hours will be done by this summer. But I love this idea and I hope you do it next year. I‘m still sending them money and so happy they organize this tournament. By the way, struggling with Breasts right now. 4y

BarbaraBB @Suet624 I thought you‘d be too busy, but I thought maybe... You are doing great work and I completely understand. I hope towards Summer you‘ll have more time to read! 4y

BarbaraBB @Suet624 I can see why B&E is a struggle, I loved it but I think the writing is kind of detached. 4y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @vivastory @Kalalalatja @Readerann @Megabooks @sarahbarnes @Ruthiella @BkClubCare @kwmg40 I just added a google form above which you can use for your votes. You can update it until March 8! If you know other Littens who might want to participate please spread the word! 🤍 (edited) 4y

emilyhaldi Yes I‘m in!!! This will help motivate me to get my act together and READ!!! 😆 4y

BarbaraBB @emilyhaldi Yay! I‘m really happy you‘re joining too 💃❤️ 4y

BarbaraBB @rsteve388 Just saw you are reading the ToB shortlist too. Would you like to join in this parallel ToB in which we vote for ‘our‘ winner? 4y

rsteve388 @BarbaraBB Just signed up. Haven't read all of the books on the shortlist but I'll try to finish it. 4y

BarbaraBB @rsteve388 That‘s so cool that you‘ll be joining! It‘ll be fun! 4y

Hooked_on_books Yeah, I‘ve read enough of these to participate. I just filled out my bracket! 4y

BarbaraBB I‘m very glad you have! Thanks! @Hooked_on_books 4y

BarbaraBB @cariashley I‘ll tag you again. Maybe this was the post you found but if not, here‘s all information. So happy you are joining too!! 4y

56 likes35 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Here is the shortlist of the #ToB21.
A little bit predictable if I am honest, not many surprises but still an awful lot of books I haven‘t read!

I read just 3 and have 3 on my shelves, so I‘m gonna be browsing for cheap copies online!

Looking forward to the tournament, that‘ll start on March 8!

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2021-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju...

BarbaraBB @Megabooks You should be a judge in this tournament; most of these books I know because of your reviews. I think you‘ve read most of them? Same goes for you @Cinfhen , you‘ve read so many of them too, if I‘m right!! Impressive!! 🎈 (edited) 4y

Megabooks I‘ve read 7 of the main choices, but I‘m on book 363 this year, so it‘s bound to happen! 💜 4y

Megabooks I have 3 more on my shelves/in my audio queue. I might just read the whole shortlist this year! 4y

See All 48 Comments

BarbaraBB @Megabooks 363 books this year? That is beyond incredible! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the remaining books on the shortlist! Favorite so far? 4y

Megabooks Transcendent Kingdom and Breasts and Eggs made my best of the month list, and Interior Chinatown will probably be my best fiction this month, but tob‘s judging is really interesting so it‘s hard to tell how it will go!! 4y

Ruthiella I‘ve read seven. I got lucky and guessed three right from the longlist that I read this month. I‘m most looking forward to reading Red Pill. I‘m not looking forward to reading Tender is the Flesh *shiver*. 4y

Kalalalatja I‘ll try and see if I can find some of them on audio for my commute. I always want to read along with the TOB, but I keep forgetting about it 😅 4y

Megabooks @Ruthiella I‘m not looking forward to flesh either!! 4y

Megabooks I just started Children‘s Bible on audio. 👍🏻 4y

Cinfhen Ohhhh, thanks for the tag!!! I‘ve read 7!! I own 2 but one I left behind in the States. I‘m not even familiar with a few of these titles. I agree @Megabooks the judges of the #ToB are an interesting mix / nothing is really predictable 4y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @Ruthiella Wow you‘ve read seven. Any thoughts? (edited) 4y

Ruthiella @BarbaraBB I hated Sharks. I loved Piranesi. Luster was weird but I could not put it down. Sticks and Deacon were pretty fun yet topical. Interior and Vanishing were good but not great IMO. 4y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella This is so good to know! I read Vanishing, Sharks and World and didn‘t like either of them very much. I am most looking forward to

Breasts and Eggs

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella And I‘ll make sure to get a copy of Piranesi soon! 4y

BarbaraBB @thebluestocking @Suet624 @Hooked_on_books Are you in?! (edited) 4y

Cinfhen Of the 7 the standout for me is Breast & Eggs. I didn‘t care for Luster, Sharks or Children‘s Bible. I liked Leave The World Behind but I don‘t think it‘s an award winning book. Vanishing & Transcendent were good and could easily win but they aren‘t my top contenders. I want to read Interior Chinatown, we ride upon sticks and

The Down Days: A Novel

Cinfhen I have Deacon on my kindle and I‘ve heard really good things about Piranesi even though it‘s not my usual genre 4y

BarbaraBB Wow @Cinfhen you really are on top of this! I am looking forward to Breasts, Interior and Piranesi, but I hope to integrate them in the challenges and read them all! 4y

Suet624 @Megabooks that‘s amazing!!!! 363!!! 4y

Suet624 Thanks for tagging me Barbara. I hadn‘t seen the short list yet. I‘ve read a few and looking forward to reading more. ❤️❤️❤️the TOB. 4y

Megabooks @Suet624 thanks!! 😊💙 4y

vivastory Interesting, if predictable, list. I've read 6 of these & will be reading several more 4y

Hooked_on_books I‘ve read 10 of these! I‘m beyond thrilled to see We Ride Upon Sticks here. It‘s my favorite fiction of the year, but I didn‘t know how wide the interest would be. I don‘t plan to try to read the whole list, as there are some that just don‘t interest me, like Piranesi and Luster. I have Deacon on my library holds list already and plan to read The Resisters at some point. 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory I agree it‘s a bit predictable this year. Do you have any favorites? 4y

vivastory @BarbaraBB Transcendent Kingdom! I actually liked it more than her debut! I want to let it sit with me for a couple of more weeks before I feel comfortable making this statement, but I felt this way after completion & I still haven't wavered. Do you have any favorites? 4y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books That is impressive, 10! Any favorites? 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory That is quite a recommendation considering that Home Going was such a good read. I am so intrigued now! The three I read were no real winners for me (Vanishing, Sharks and Leave the World Behind) so I am still looking for my favorite. I have high hopes for Breasts and Eggs and Interior Chinatown. (edited) 4y

ClairesReads I‘ve only read 3 too. Looking forward to it though, it‘s a great shortlist! 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory I would have thought Shuggie Bain was your favorite now that I think of it. Your review made me finally stack the book. Looking forward to that one too! 4y

BarbaraBB @ClairesReads Me too, I am so looking forward to reading a lot of them. Hopefully I‘ll find the time and the books! 4y

vivastory @BarbaraBB I picked up Vanishing Half & Queenie yesterday. Looking forward to both, although def looking forward to Queenie a bit more. Of the ones I haven't read I'm very intrigued by Red Pill, Telephone, Breasts & Eggs, Children's Bible. 4y

vivastory @Hooked_on_books 10 is very impressive! I had not heard of The Resisters previously 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory Queenie is very good! She is so lovable. I am just starting

Telephone

vivastory @BarbaraBB I've only heard great things about it! Looking forward to your thoughts on Telephone. I haven't read Everett & have been meaning to. 4y

BarbaraBB @vivastory I only read one Everett but have been meaning to read more by him ever since so I‘ve been really looking forward to this one!

So Much Blue: A Novel

Hooked_on_books Other than Sticks, the standouts for me are Chinatown, Tender, and Vanishing. 4y

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I hadn‘t heard of Tender but am very intrigued by it! 4y

Hooked_on_books It came onto my radar shortly before it popped up at my library in audio so I went for it, expecting to perhaps bail, given the content. But it‘s so well done. Pun unintended, but I‘m laughing at myself, so I‘ll leave it. 😆 4y

BarbaraBB Haha, well done 👍🏽 4y

Megabooks Just looked at what I have coming in order-wise and in my audio queue, and I will have read all the main choices by the middle of January. That has never happened!! I don‘t think I‘m going to do the play in, basically for financial reasons, but I‘m really happy that I finally did this! 👍🏻👍🏻 4y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks I never have either, so cool you‘re on track. I am going to buy the 16th book after the play in! Did you vote for the zombie round? 4y

Megabooks I had to go with Breasts and Eggs, although of the ones I‘ve finished, interior and transcendent were other faves. I think sticks is going to be up there, too. But B&E has stuck with me the most of those three (and the field I‘ve read so far). I‘m really enjoying sharks right now too, but it has been a gut punch of depression. I just can‘t fall in love with endless heartbreak, you know? 4y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks I know exactly, I feel that way about endless misery and poverty. I sound horrible, I know, but I often feel it‘s too much. It‘s the reason why I haven‘t read Shuggie Bain yet, because I suspected it to be one trail of mystery too but now that I‘ve read so Kanye good reviews I will pick it up. 4y

BarbaraBB @BeckyMerilatt Here is the link to the shortlist and how the #ToB21 works. It‘s nice to follow when in starts (in March) and the shortlist is very good! I have read 8 so far. 4y

BkClubCare I appreciate your enthusiasm for the TOB. Is making such a cool graphic time consuming? Can I borrow? 4y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare you mean this one ⬆️? I can send it to you! What is your email? 4y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare No need to e-mail of course, you can just take a screenshot 🤦🏻‍♀️ Silly me! Of course you can borrow! 4y

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB LOL - screenshot will work fine THX! 4y

60 likes48 comments

thebluestocking

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

This is the current state of my #SuperRooster reading. I definitely want to read The Accidental and A Visit from the Goon Squad before the tournament starts in October, but I‘m not sure I‘ll get to Wolf Hall or The Sellout. #tob

Hooked_on_books The Sellout is really good, but you have to make sure you have no distractions and really pay attention to it. I found it required my whole brain but was worth the effort. 4y

Karkar This sounds like fun! I will have to get busy reading. 4y

thebluestocking @Hooked_on_books I‘ll have to try again. I read about half of it on audio when it was originally in the Tournament, but I just couldn‘t find anything to grab on to. 4y

thebluestocking @Karkar Yay! The Tournament of Books is always a blast, and this year we get two! 4y

53 likes4 comments

thebluestocking

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

These are the 16 winners of the Tournament of Books #tob; in other words, the contestants for the #SuperRooster.

I‘m not sure which I‘m rooting for yet. I loved Cloud Atlas, The Road, and Station Eleven and liked a whole bunch more.

Ruthiella I will be excited to see the judgments. I don‘t have a favorite to win, however. Of those I read, the only one I am not 100% behind is Fever Dream. But I think I just didn‘t “get” it. 🤔 4y

thebluestocking @Ruthiella I had a hard time with Fever Dream too. It was too...blurry for my taste. 💙 (edited) 4y

43 likes2 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Earlier today @AceOnRoam mentioned they would be announced this week and here they are, the brackets for the #TOB2020. Check out https://themorningnews.org/p/here-are-your-2020-tournament-of-books-brackets

Normal People vs Fleishman, Girl Woman Other vs Nothing to See Here, pfff! Exciting times ahead from March 6!

umbrellagirl I keep hearing good things about

Nothing to See Here

thebluestocking You beat me to this! I‘m particularly bummed about the Lost Children Archive/Mary Toft matchup. 5y

BarbaraBB @umbrellagirl I really liked it a lot. It‘s no Heavy Literature but so original and well written! 5y

See All 10 Comments

Suet624 Looks like we all got excited about the announcement. I‘m with @thebluestocking. Disappointed that LCA is up against Mary Toft. 5y

BarbaraBB @thebluestocking @Suet624 Both are favorites of you, right? I still need to read Mary Toft. I think Nothing to See Here won‘t make it against GWO and I would have loved to see it go further in the tournament. (edited) 5y

Suet624 I haven‘t even read Mary Toft. From looking at reviews, though, I think I‘m going to like it. 5y

thebluestocking @BarbaraBB Yep. I loved both. It‘s always hard to see good books go down early! 💙 5y

mklong I was hoping for a Booker face off, but Normal People and Lost Children Archive would both have to go out early for that to happen 5y

AceOnRoam Thanks for tagging me @BarbaraBB an interesting bracket. There's going to be a few upsets but I don't really feel very strongly about any of this years titles. I think the Atwood is only there to generate some potentially heated discussions in the commentariat!! 5y

BarbaraBB @AceOnRoam They couldn‘t ignore Atwood I think. So far there are no 5 star reads for me but I have enjoyed most of the ones I read except for

Overthrow: A Novel

(edited) 5y

64 likes10 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

The shortlist of #ToB2020 is here and it‘s GOOD! I do miss Disappearing Earth on it but other than that, I‘m very happy with it!

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2020-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju...

I can‘t wait to read the ones I haven‘t yet!

Megabooks, Cinfhen, Zelma, Redwritinghood, merelybookish, thebluestocking, Ruthiella

Megabooks So pissed Very Nice didn‘t make it! Overall, I‘ve already read a lot of them. 👍🏻👍🏻 Pretty happy! 5y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks Oh yes, Very Nice. I‘ll read it anyway! 5y

AceOnRoam My favourite time of year 😊 5y

See All 32 Comments

LiteraryinPA I‘ve barely read any! Looks like my TBR is about to get longer... 5y

MicheleinPhilly My number of “owned but unread” books is 🤦🏻‍♀️. 5y

BarbaraBB @AceOnRoam Mine too! Have you read many yet? 5y

BarbaraBB @LiteraryinLititz mine too.. 5y

BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly It‘s horrible. Every time I think I won‘t buy any more books for a while there‘s a ToB or that list of yours... it is so addictive. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 5y

AceOnRoam @BarbaraBB I have read 7 Barbara, looking forward to getting a few more read in the coming weeks. 5y

AceOnRoam @MicheleinPhilly lol, same here! 5y

merelybookish Yay! I've read five and just picked up Mary Toft from library! Interesting list. A good mix. Just wish The Testaments hadn't made it. 5y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish Me too, now I need to read it while I don‘t want to 😉 5y

thebluestocking Yes!! I haven‘t even read the list yet. I came straight here to celebrate!! 💙 5y

thebluestocking Okay. Now I‘ve read the list. I‘ve read five - more than in any other year. I too am sad about The Testaments, but I‘m excited about the rest of the list. 💙 5y

Cinfhen I checked last night before bed and the list wasn‘t out yet!! Thanks for the tag, Barb!!! I‘ve read 8 and I enjoyed most although I‘d be REALLY pissed if Testaments advances 🤬I‘m happy with the list and I‘m looking forward to reading more of these titles 5y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen Two more are coming your way. I am reading Fleishman now. It reminds me of Here I Am so far. Which is good! 5y

BarbaraBB @thebluestocking Looking forward to your reviews. I just ordered a bunch of the books... 🤦🏻‍♀️ 5y

Cinfhen I‘m reading All This ( Attenberg) now and it has some Here I Am vibes too. I‘d send it to you but it‘s an audio. If you download the app ( it‘s free) you can listen to this book for free. 5y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I read you‘re liking that one a lot. That‘s good to know. You are listening on Audible? I have no subscription for Audible but there will be a cheap paperback in March. Hopefully just in time! (edited) 5y

Cinfhen Yes, I‘m listening via Audible. I think you‘re going to like it! So frustrating that you don‘t have the subscription available/ it‘s a really good service if you like audiobooks 5y

batsy I'm quite happy with this list bar The Testaments, as well! An interesting selection. 5y

Megabooks I told you you‘d like Fleishman Barbara!! 5y

mklong @BarbaraBB @batsy @merelybookish I wasn‘t thrilled to see The Testaments on there either, but on the bright side the commentary should be lively for that one. I love how well they mix obvious, “well of course that one is on there” with the “what the heck is that?” 5y

Redwritinghood Wow! I‘ve already read 8 of them. That‘s unusual for me. Time to get busy on the rest! 5y

Ruthiella I‘ve only read four so I‘ve got my work cut out for me! Excited about Mary Toft since I loved Version Control.😀 5y

Suet624 @merelybookish @cinfhen I‘m with you about The Testaments. @mklong (edited) 5y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks And you were so right! 5y

BarbaraBB @Redwritinghood That is really good! I only read four. 5y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I am glad books like that make it to the shortlist too! 5y

Suet624 @Ruthiella I still talk about Version Control with folks. That was great. 5y

Well-ReadNeck OMG! Disappearing Earth!!! I had the exact same reaction. 5y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella - whoa. Failed to notice the author. 5y

47 likes32 comments

A Brief History of Seven Killings

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2019

Here it is: The longlist for the #ToB2020. So many good books. And so much to read. A lot of them I have never heard of. One of the things I love about this Tournament 💙❤️🐓

MicheleinPhilly I always love how many new to me books appear on this list. 5y

BkClubCare Ugh - I have only read two. And where is Bowlaway?! Darn 5y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare They haven‘t included all summer reads this time. That‘s new isn‘t it? 5y

See All 7 Comments

BarbaraBB @MicheleinPhilly Me too! The same goes for that list you posted about lately. I love that! 5y

MicheleinPhilly YES! I have that Real Simple list bookmarked because they update it every month. 5y

Megabooks I just posted six new ones I‘m looking at reading. So many that just slipped through this year. (But admittedly not the best year for me personally. 😉) Anyway, excites to get started! 5y

BkClubCare @BarbaraBB - I don‘t know. I didn‘t really follow the summers prior and tbh, I thought only the summer winner came over? 5y

57 likes7 comments

merelybookish

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

The Summer #TOB reading schedule has been posted . . . And I find the choices uninspired. (Both books I was hoping wouldn't make it did. 😒)
So am I the only pooper? What one are you psyched to read?
@BarbaraBB @batsy @BkClubCare @thebluestocking @Megabooks @Rachel_nyc @Zelma @Redwritinghood @Suet624 @saresmoore

Suet624 Well I own the Marlon James and I‘d like to read Daisy Jones. I‘ll try one more bit not sure which one yet. 5y

BarbaraBB I‘m kind of neutral. I‘m happy Lost Children‘s Archive made it and I‘ll probably not read Marlon James. The other ones I don‘t know but I‘ll probably end up reading them! Thanks for posting! 5y

batsy Thanks for sharing. Lost Children Archive, Trust Exercise and American Spy are books that I'd like to have read, so that's nice. A bit bummed that Bunny and If, Then didn't make it! I wanted to read the Marlon James when it first came out, but some comments on how violent and rapey it is have made me go hmmm. 5y

See All 31 Comments

merelybookish @Suet624 Nice to already own one! 5y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB Yes I am also happy to see the Lost Children's Archive, since I've already read it! 😉 And I think it will make for good discussion! 5y

merelybookish @batsy I could not get through James's previous book, the one that won the Booker. I could recognize that it was brilliant AND that I found it an absolute slog. So no more James for me! And violent and rapey makes it easy to stick with that! 5y

BarbaraBB I feel exactly the same about the James though I did finish

Megabooks I wasn‘t impressed by Daisy Jones. Too many one-dimensional characters. I‘m excited about Trust Exercise. I coincidentally got on the library list for it earlier today. I‘m unsure if I‘m going to do this because so much of what I read depends on library availability. We‘ll see... I like seeing everyone‘s opinions, though. 5y

mhillis I thought American Spy was interesting 📚 5y

BkClubCare I keep forgetting to check James‘ audiobook hours but I likely will use an audible credit on it anyway. 5y

8little_paws Lost children archive and trust exercise were both duds. I loved American spy and so far no verdict on BLRW. Waiting for my daisy Jones hold, probably skipping bowlaway 5y

saresmoore I agree with @batsy about Bunny and If, Then. I also want to read Sea Monsters because I think it‘ll be refreshingly different. The only one in this list that actually interests me is Trust Exercise. Ain‘t it always the way with this type of list, though? I wonder if some people just voted for titles they recognized. 5y

merelybookish @saresmoore Yes! One of the best things about the TOB is how they bring unexpected and unsung books into the mix. This is the kind of lackluster list you get when you crowd source. 5y

merelybookish @8little_paws Haha! I liked Lost Children Archive and have seen such divergent views on Trust Exercise (it Sparks real love/hate) there I am curious about it. 5y

merelybookish @mhillis That's good to know! One title that I'm not familiar with! 5y

merelybookish @Megabooks Ive seen so much hype around Daisy that it's made me leery. 5y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB Yes! I'd put it in the same category as The Overstory. A book I don't enjoy but can understand its.merit. (I would also add to that list

Orphan Master's Son

Rachel_nyc I‘m mostly looking forward to Lost Children Archive and American Spy. I‘m dreading Black Leopard because of the violence and am not sure yet if I‘ll even read it. I have heard mostly good things about Daisy but I‘m always skeptical when there is so much hype. 5y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish I know what you mean! And what to think of

The Narrow Road to the Deep North: A novel

BarbaraBB @Rachel_nyc I‘ve read Daisy. It‘d amusing but forgettable! 5y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish ... and

The Finkler Question: A Novel

BarbaraBB @merelybookish All books I have but keep postponing :-) 5y

Redwritinghood Nice! I have all of these except American Spy. I‘m reading Lost Children and Trust Exercise right now, though. 5y

Rachel_nyc @BarbaraBB Good to know. The wait for the ebook is almost 6 months at my library so I was going to buy it when I saw it made the tournament but I‘ll probably just wait. 5y

Megabooks @merelybookish I loved The Orphan Master‘s Son but I think that is only because I listened to the audiobook. I may not have even stuck with it in print! I keep on going back and forth about reading The Overstory #SortOfOffTopic 😉😉 5y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB OMG I HATED The Finkler Question! So much talk about circumcision. 🙄 Have not tried the Flanagan. And don't have much desire to do so. 5y

merelybookish @Redwritinghood You're on it! I'll be interested to hear what you think of Trust Exercise! 5y

merelybookish @Megabooks Not off topic at all! Maybe i would have liked OMS better if I had listened to it. I found it looong! 5y

thebluestocking I was a tad disappointed by the list too, but I‘m feeling okay now because I like the process and discussion as much if not more than reading the books usually. I liked Daisy Jones fine. I don‘t really want to read the James, but it‘s the only one my library actually has. I‘ll probably try and find others around. 5y

Zelma Well, one way to look at it is that only one of these titles will go on to the March Tournament. 😁 5y

merelybookish @Zelma Good point! 😀 5y

53 likes31 comments

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

So have you seen this yet? The announcement of Camp ToB 2019. We have until May 13 to vote for the six Summer reads. The selection is unconventional of course, I‘ve read none except for Daisy Jones! What books are you voting for? #camptob2019

https://themorningnews.org/article/announcing-camp-tob-2019

BkClubCare, Megabooks, Rachel_nyc, Zelma, Redwritinghood, Suet624, merelybookish, thebluestocking, Ruthiella

Megabooks Thanks for the tag!! I‘ll have to look! 5y

Ruthiella OMG so excited! Thanks for the heads up! I‘ve not read any but will definitely vote for Trust Exercise since I have it on hold at the library!!! 5y

saresmoore This is so fun! I am intrigued by at least six of the selections. 5y

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merelybookish Yes! This popped up on Facebook. Ive only read one (Lost Children Archive). I mostly avoided voting for some titles: the Marlon James book because I don't want to read it 😬 and Bowlaway because I keep seeing bad reviews. 5y

BarbaraBB @Ruthiella That one sounds good indeed. One of my six votes! 5y

BarbaraBB @saresmoore Such weird choices, but intriguing indeed! 5y

BarbaraBB @merelybookish I voted for Lost Childrens Archive because I have a copy. I don‘t want to read the Marlon James neither and Bowalaway sounds too weird to my taste. I am really curious to see where this will go! 5y

saresmoore @merelybookish @BarbaraBB I agree re: Marlon James and Bowlaway. I‘ll be interested to see what gets chosen! 5y

Rachel_nyc So fun! I haven‘t read any yet but a few were on my radar. I need to look up the others before voting. 5y

merelybookish @saresmoore @BarbaraBB Ive also seen mixed review of Trust Exercise but the criticisms intrigue me. Unlike Bowlaway which just sounds weird 5y

Redwritinghood I haven‘t read any of them, so I just voted for the ones I own and haven‘t yet read. 5y

Suet624 Thank you for tagging me. I got the email about it but I haven‘t looked yet. I‘m very excited. 5y

batsy This is so fun! I didn't vote for the James and McCracken and so I'm relieved to see your comments @merelybookish 😆 I want to read the Luiselli and Choi books. 5y

merelybookish @batsy Im thrilled to see I'm not alone in my opinions! 5y

BkClubCare Yes! I immediately clicked over and voted super quick. Many look great. I really liked Bowlaway 5y

BkClubCare And.... seeing now that many are not interested in Bowlaway. I love quirkiness - it was so right up my alley (ha - bowling reference! #sorrynotsorry) 5y

BarbaraBB @BkClubCare Now I feel tempted to read it just because you like it! 5y

thebluestocking Yes! I‘m so excited! I really want to read Bowlaway but not the James. But other than that, I will just be excited to see what books make it in. It‘ll be a fun way to spend the summer. 💙 5y

minkyb Thanks for posting. 5y

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merelybookish

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

Okay #tob friends, the tournament starts tomorrow. I'd love to hear your answers! Here are mine:
🐓Milkman
🐓Milkman (🤞)
🐓The Overstory 😴

@BarbaraBB @mklong @ruthiella @Rachel_nyc @Mindyrecycles @Redheadrambles @BkClubCare @AceOnRoam @thebluestocking @Flaneurette @batsy @reggie

And please tag anyone else who is into #tob!

AceOnRoam @ClairesReads @Redheadrambles 6y

Reggie I haven‘t read them all but for the sheer fact that I cannot pass a tree after having read Power‘s book without wondering about it‘s life I have to go for the Overstory. I haven‘t read much of the shortlist but that‘s the one I‘m going for. (edited) 6y

merelybookish @Reggie Wow, that's pretty cool! I wanted to like the Overstory but I just didn't. But I think it has a good chance of winning. (I feel like you should read My Sister the Serial Killer.) 6y

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Reggie Actually, I have read MSTSK. I liked it but there was just something about all those trees and the importance of their existence that we all take for granted. The world used to have 6 trillion but now we‘re down to 3. Sorry, that book did a number on me. 6y

AceOnRoam 🐓The House of Broken Angels 🐓The Overstory 🐓Milkman 6y

merelybookish @Reggie No, I get it! I loved Barkskins by Proulx which also charts the destruction of forests in North America. So I thought I would love Overstory too but...I didn't. 6y

HardcoverHearts I adore The Tournament!! Thanks for the reminder to check out the contenders. 6y

merelybookish @AceOnRoam Awesome! Thank you! I didn't read your fave but I've heard it's good! 6y

AceOnRoam No worries. I never noticed the rooster emoticon before so Thank You lol. 6y

AceOnRoam I'm still reading The Overstory so hopefully I have put my eggs in the right basket 🤞 6y

merelybookish @AceOnRoam I think it has a good chance. It's one of the weightier, more ambitious books competing. And they do tend to go far. 6y

AceOnRoam @RidgewayGirl @Ruthiella @Lindy 6y

AceOnRoam I think this year is going to be quite upsetting and the commentary will be more exciting than the books. I need to go start refreshing the website, ciao... 6y

AceOnRoam @Lola 6y

BarbaraBB 💥 The House of Broken Angels 💥 Milkman 💥 The Overstory 6y

BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl 6y

Emilymdxn ✨ The Overstory or There There, ✨ idk maybe Milkman ✨Dictionary of animal languages (edited) 6y

ClairesReads The Overstory or Milkman- I want to win- I think the Overstory will win. And based on our group, any of those crap ones, I hope they don‘t win! 6y

batsy Yet another year where I had grand plans to read the shortlist and ... didn't 😂😂😭 6y

BkClubCare Thanks for the tag! I am cheering for Milkman. It was my favorite of the few I read. My 2nd fave is My Sister the Serial Killer. I liked The Overstory, Golden State, the Parking Lot Attendant, Speak No Evil and So Lucky. I abandoned The Italian Teacher before Pinch grew up and then basically quit reading anything. (Probably the the longest slump I have had!) I have 3 hours to go on Washington Black audio - it's ok. But I AM Excited for today ! 6y

BkClubCare @Ruthiella 🐓 6y

Graciouswarriorprincess I love this tournament but have been so busy lately. I will look today. 6y

mklong I want Milkman to win, but I have predicted that House of Broken Angels will actually take the Rooster. 6y

BkClubCare Oh, I also read Census. I hope that one doesn‘t win. I have no insight nor hunch on what might win. Bring on the commentary! 6y

Mindyrecycles Love the enthusiasm, thanks for this post! Rooting for Milkman and I think it will win. I am still reading Overstory and I love it so we‘ll see if it surpasses MM in my affections. I hope Call Me Zebra doesn‘t win—blech! 6y

Ruthiella ❤️ 🐔 I think I liked Call Me Zebra more than others- still it‘s way down on my list! My favorites were Milkman and The Mars Room. So excited the Tournament is actually NOW!😀 6y

thebluestocking Weirdly, I hardly ever have strong feelings about which books move on in the Tournament. This year I read half of them (There There, Census, My Sister, So Lucky, Mars Room, Warlight, Washington Black, Milkman), and I gave them all four stars except WB which got three. 6y

Rachel_nyc Ugh I have too many that I love! I think House of Broken Angels is still my top pick but I loved Milkman, There There, The Overstory, My Sister the Serial Killer and have a soft spot for The Italian Teacher though I don‘t expect it to make it past first round. 6y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB We agree on the Overstory! 👍 6y

merelybookish @Emilymdxn I don't think Dictionary will get very far. 6y

merelybookish @ClairesReads A lot of the books seem pretty mediocre this year. 6y

merelybookish @batsy Oh well, you can still follow the TOB. Or not. It's all good. 😄 6y

merelybookish @BkClubCare Yay another Milkman fan! I didn't even try the Italian Teacher, so you go farther than me. 6y

merelybookish @mklong House of Broken Angels seems like one of the possible contenders. I feel it's between it, Overstory, and Milkman. 6y

merelybookish @Mindyrecycles Thanks for playing along! I didn't read Call Me Zebra. Someone warned me away from it awhile ago! 6y

merelybookish @BkClubCare Agreed. Census is odd. 6y

merelybookish @Ruthiella Oh, I keep forgetting about The Mars Room. Another possibility for the win. 6y

merelybookish @thebluestocking I have felt that too, but I usually have one I'm rooting for and one I'm rooting against. This year I don't have one I really dislike. There's no Lincoln on the Bardo. 😂😂 6y

merelybookish @Rachel_nyc My longshot is There, There. I think it's uneven but would still be happy if it prevailed. And actually same for My Sister, the Serial Killer. 6y

mklong You are so right that it is more fun when you have one to root against! For me this year‘s Lincoln in the Bardo is

Washington Black

BkClubCare @merelybookish - I really liked Rachman‘s The Imperfectionists but I had trouble with TIT and then it expired as a library loan. And I didn‘t read anything for two weeks after. 6y

Rachel_nyc @merelybookish I would be satisfied if either of those one. 6y

merelybookish @mklong I haven't read that one but have seen lots of mixed reviews! 6y

batsy I'm loving the ToB judgments and comments section. I haven't read Call Me Zebra but the judge's take on it—"But what is a breathy stab?"—killed me ? 6y

merelybookish @batsy I know! The commentaries have been great. It's noticeable how they've felt the need to position what it means to read fiction in this political/cultural moment. I also enjoy that they've both criticized/disliked one of the books. I do like some snark. More fun than when they like both books and talk about the challenge of comparing apples to oranges. 6y

RidgewayGirl I‘m rooting for Milkman and House of Broken Angels.

House of Broken Angels

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thebluestocking

Here Comes the Rooster! | Jerry Dunne

It‘s official! The brackets for The Tournament of Books are out! I‘ve still got a lot of reading to do! #therooster #tob #tob2019

For more info, head here: https://themorningnews.org/p/here-are-your-2019-tournament-of-books-brackets.

Thanks for the heads up, @AceOnRoam

AceOnRoam No worries! I hope you have a great tournament 😊 6y

AceOnRoam I am most curious about Milkman vs The Italian Teacher. I just finished Milkman but honestly I didn't love it and had some irritation about repetition which could have been easily avoided with some editing... but I think the judge will pick Milkman.. 6y

Cinfhen Saw the list last night. I‘m a little annoyed that most of the Booker shortlist made this list 🙄☹️ @AceOnRoam I agree, Milkman was a hate it/love it and I think it might be a love with the judges 😬 6y

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AceOnRoam @BkClubCare 6y

BkClubCare @AceOnRoam - ok, I know this next sentence is based on the few books I‘ve read... I think a head to head of The Milkman vs The Parking Lot Attendant would be fascinating!!! 6y

AceOnRoam @BkClubCare ...That would be fascinating. I thought they both had weak endings.... Milkman was just a dull ending and Parking Lot just lost the plot!!! 6y

AceOnRoam @Cinfhen if the Booker books weren't in the shortlist I would have had even MORE BOOKS TO READ lol, so I'm happy with some overlap! 6y

Cinfhen Ha!!! That‘s true @AceOnRoam 6y

thebluestocking @AceOnRoam My hold on Milkman just came in. I‘m nervous about that one. I‘ve got The Italian Teacher too but haven‘t read it yet. Milkman appears to be a critic favorite, but I‘ve seen such mixed reactions here on Litsy. 6y

thebluestocking @Cinfhen I am kind of annoyed about the Booker thing too. I wanted the National Book Award winner, The Friend, to make the short list. 6y

thebluestocking @BkClubCare You‘ve been making such good progress on the list! 6y

BkClubCare @thebluestocking - Forward Momentum! 6y

AceOnRoam @thebluestocking You only need about 20mins with Milkman to know if it's 'for you' or not. I hated the reading experience but the narrator on audiobook is pretty amazing. I would never have finished the print. It sounded ridiculous in my head. 6y

BkClubCare @AceOnRoam - I have to say the Milkman is almost an out of body experience. I would read something and it would trigger tangent thoughts and I would find blocks of time go by with no reading done! My mind had wandered off without me. Thoughts of Ireland, sentence structure, wonder wander wonder. I had to take a break and read something else. And yet I love this chick who just wants to read and walk and be left alone. 6y

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