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#therooster
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AceOnRoam
Golden State | Ben Winters
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Ok, here is the list. Of the 7 I have read so far, I would LOVE for Ben Winters to win this tournament.

#Tob2020
#TheRooster

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

#readingonroam

BarbaraBB I see this post just now, or I wouldn‘t have asked you the exact same question. I haven‘t read your favorite so will soon! 5y
AceOnRoam @BarbaraBB yes, it's all good, I think we were posting at the same time as we were both excited to share the big news! 5y
BarbaraBB You were right, a very good and entertaining book! 5y
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AceOnRoam @BarbaraBB I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It's different for sure! 5y
BarbaraBB Is it still your favorite? 5y
AceOnRoam @BarbaraBB Yes, at the stage it is my favourite.. looking forward to the brackets coming out this week !! 5y
BarbaraBB Are they coming out this week? Great! I was wondering about that! 5y
Rissreads I just looked at the short list and I have every single book either on my physical tbr shelf or on my Litsy tbr list! ❤️ 5y
32 likes8 comments
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Cinfhen
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Congrats to Susan Choi this year‘s winner of the National Book Award for fiction 🎊
And congrats to Sarah M. Broom; 2019 #NationalBookAward NF winner 🎉
I think I just found my #pop20 #BookThatWonAnAwardIn2019

JennyM I found this book a slog to read! 5y
Cinfhen I‘ve seen mixed reviews @JennyM but I did purchase book a few weeks ago when it was a #KindleDailyDeal I‘m willing to give it a try 😉 5y
Hooked_on_books I hated this book. I‘m mad it won. I wanted Disappearing Earth to win. I wanted Thick to win for NF, but do look forward to The Yellow House. I‘ve heard good things. 5y
See All 16 Comments
Cinfhen Im still surprised that On Earth didn‘t make the short list @Hooked_on_books Award season is always surprising!! Do you follow #TheRooster #ToB ???? 5y
Hooked_on_books I do pay attention to their list, as I‘ve found some great books on it. But their tournament often ends with a book I disliked winning. Maybe I‘m just the weirdo. 😜 I‘m just bummed about NBA as I‘ve found them to be a pretty reliable mirror of my taste and they weren‘t this year. Hopefully we‘ll realign next year. 5y
Megabooks I bailed on Trust Exercise. Hated it! I hope you like it more. 5y
Cinfhen Wow!! That‘s 3 in a row who hated Trust Exercise @JennyM @Hooked_on_books @Megabooks 5y
Soubhiville I also bailed on Trust Exercise. I‘m looking forward to Yellow House though. @Mitch picked it up while she was in Austin. Did you read it yet Mitch? 5y
MicheleinPhilly I own both of these but haven‘t read either. Surprise surprise. 🙄 5y
Cinfhen No shock there @MicheleinPhilly but I am surprised to see another bail @Soubhiville Gee, this book is not getting any love from Littens today 5y
Jas16 I‘m another one who hated Trust Exercises. 5y
Mitch @Soubhiville not yet ! Arrgghh too many wonderful books! 5y
Cinfhen Wow!!! How did Trust win??? @Jas16 5y
Ruthiella I enjoyed Trust Exercise! One vote for it.😂 It is an odd book but ultimately enjoyed the challenge of it. It makes the reader complicit in its message I think. I‘ve not read Yellow House but I‘ve heard good things. I need real motivation to read nonfiction. Novels are my siren song! 5y
Cinfhen Finally @Ruthiella !!!! 5y
JennyM I think Trust Exercise is stylistically brilliant and I can see why those in the know think it‘s a worthy winner. But the overwrought, angsty way it was written actually made me physically anxious! And it literally was a slog to get through it. Good luck! Looking forward to your thoughts next year xx (edited) 5y
100 likes2 stack adds16 comments
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AceOnRoam
The Italian Teacher | Tom Rachman
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I feel the brackets are due any minute now. Bring it #TOB2019 #TournamentOfBooks #TheRooster

Redwritinghood I haven‘t done much TOB reading. I‘m so burnt out from Booker and NBA! 6y
AceOnRoam You did a smashing job on those awards @Redwritinghood I am only halfway through this shortlist (if that)... 6y
thebluestocking I‘m so excited! But I believe I‘ve only got through five of the short listed books. The Overstory is slowing me down. 6y
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BarbaraBB Thank you for sharing!! Did you see them already, @merelybookish @RidgewayGirl @Ruthiella @mklong @Lindy ? (edited) 6y
AceOnRoam @BarbaraBB no worries! Its so exciting. I need to read more as I have only read 9! 6y
Lindy @BarbaraBB Thanks for tagging me on this! I hadn‘t seen the brackets yet and I was just now thinking of this tournament because something similar is going on in the book I‘m reading, except it‘s paintings competing against each other in the 11th c Japan of #Genji, argued by knowledgeable women as judges, in 6y
thebluestocking @AceOnRoam Thanks for the tag!!! 6y
AceOnRoam @Lindy I'm so curious about the tale of the Genji 6y
49 likes10 comments
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thebluestocking
The Tournament | Matthew Reilly
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So, the 2019 Tournament of Books short list just came out - early. I‘m still processing, but I have read only two of these: There There and Census. Almost all of my long list reading was for naught.

#ToB #tob2019 #therooster

Ruthiella I‘ve read four. I think it is a good mix. My Sister The Serial Killer interests me most; Census the least. Do you think you‘ll read them all by March? 6y
LauraJ Hmm, do you also have a Powell‘s subscription? 6y
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merelybookish I've read three and am currently reading/listening to a couple others. I like that there's some surprise. But was hoping My Year of Rest and Relaxation would make it. 6y
Ruthiella @merelybookish I hoped a WHOLE bunch would be on it because then I will be “forced” to read them!🤪 The Maze at Windermere, Asymmetry, Fire Sermon, The Friend....so many books 📚! 6y
thebluestocking @Ruthiella Yes. I agree My Sister the Serial Killer sounds very good. I have it on hold. I really liked Census. Did you read The Road? It‘s kind of similar. 6y
thebluestocking @LauraJ I don‘t know what that is. Is it something I should look into? 6y
thebluestocking @merelybookish Well done! I didn‘t get to MYRR. My main disappointment is the lack of The Friend. 6y
ReadingEnvy It‘s always SO hard to predict. Of the shortlist I‘d only read five (and I‘d read a high percentage of the longlist!) and bailed on 3. I‘m pleased that I can return Lake Success with a DNf but I imagine my favorites may have been left behind on the longlist. The Overstory, I‘m pleased by... 6y
thebluestocking @ReadingEnvy I should really learn to simply ignore the long list. 😉 I just returned a bunch of long list library books (I do like the feeling of not “having” to read them now). But I, too, am sad that many of my favorite reads of the year did not make the list. 6y
merelybookish @ReadingEnvy What three did you bail on? 6y
BarbaraBB So early! I had read 20 books of the longlist, of which I miss a lot of favorites on the shortlist! Now I‘ve read only six, no particular favorites unfortunately. On my shelves are two more that I bought because they were Booker nominated but didn‘t get to because they didn‘t appeal. So, I am not too thrilled yet but I am looking forward to reading as much as I can from this list anyhow! 6y
batsy The shortlist seems comparatively tame compared to the books that were left out from the longlist! Those are the books I was most excited to read—like @Ruthiella I was hoping to be motivated to read them if they were on the shortlist 😅 6y
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - oh. I was going to read Census next. (Or first?! Since I haven‘t read any! 😩 6y
Ruthiella @BkClubCare It might be a great read! I‘m just not excited about it for whatever reason.😀 6y
ReadingEnvy @thebluestocking I always find my favorite books every year from award long but not short lists, it's just how my reading tastes fall somehow 6y
ReadingEnvy @merelybookish The Parking Lot Attendant, The Mars Room, and Milkman (which technically I read 50% of and then skimmed to 90% and read the last 10%) 6y
AceOnRoam Thanks for the tag 😀 this year I was so proud of myself finishing about 20 books from the Longlist, but alas only 6 made the shortlist 🤨 6y
AceOnRoam My 2 favourites of the ones I have read are The Italian Teacher and There There 6y
thebluestocking @AceOnRoam Those are decent odds, though. I read 11 from the long list and only 2 made it to the short list. I liked There There quite a bit, and I‘m looking forward to reading The Italian Teacher. 6y
41 likes20 comments
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Flaneurette
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Well I‘ve got some reading to do! I‘ve read 9 and own 19 more. My favorites so far are Florida and Severance. Love the #tob #tob2019 #therooster

mreads I've read 12, DNF 5 and added 11 to my TBR list 6y
MicheleinPhilly 19??? Now I don‘t feel so badly about my stack. ☺️ 6y
Churchlady Thanks for sharing! I‘ve read 5 and there were quite a few I hadn‘t come across yet! 6y
34 likes1 stack add3 comments
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thebluestocking
Rooster | Don Trembath
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The Morning News released the long list for the 2019 Tournament of Books today! The field has been narrowed 76 books, which will further be narrowed to the final 16. I‘m still working through the list. I‘ve read a handful at least! #tob #therooster #tob2019

merelybookish I've read 6. 😯 Lots left to tackle! 6y
thebluestocking @merelybookish I think my total is just five. But every time I try to read off of the long list, I choose wrong! (edited) 6y
AceOnRoam Yes I choose all the wrong books then have a big shortlist to read through!!! 6y
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thebluestocking @AceOnRoam I‘m glad I‘m not alone!! 😂 6y
AceOnRoam Seems to be part of the initiation ritual which lasts about 4 years!!! One day I will ace it..I'm persistent lol. 6y
thebluestocking @aceonroam Oof. I‘m past four years and still haven‘t gotten it right. I‘ll bet you‘ll get it though! Maybe my lesson is to just read what I read until the actual short list comes out. 6y
38 likes6 comments
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BarbaraBB
An American Marriage | Tayari Jones
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The Rooster Summer Reading Challenge is here again. I loved this challenge last year and am tempted to participate again. It will be a lot of reading though as I read only the tagged book so far. We‘ll see. In June they‘ll br reading An American Marriage and Tomb Song. For the reading scheme, see https://themorningnews.org/article/welcome-to-the-2018-rooster-summer-reading-ch...

#ToB #Tournamentofbooks #therooster

Ruthiella I am going to read only those books I can get from the library! I‘ve already read Circe and can get my hands in American Marriage. But I REALLY want to read The Friend which my library does not have 😢 6y
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella I haven‘t even heard of The Friend. I have to look into that one! 6y
mklong I was planning to read a few of these anyway, so I‘m in. Isn‘t this how Fever Dream got into ToB? 6y
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BarbaraBB @mklong Yes, Fever Dream was last year‘s Summer challenge winner 6y
RidgewayGirl So excited about this. 6y
BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl aren‘t Kudos and The Circe installments in a series? I am a bit surprised by these two. Or am I wrong? 6y
RidgewayGirl @BarbaraBB, Kudos is the last book in a trilogy, but the second book didn‘t need the first to be read, so I expect the same is true of the third. Circe is not the sequel to The Song of Achilles. They are both just based on Greek mythology. 6y
BarbaraBB @RidgewayGirl Thank you so much for clearing that up!! 6y
AceOnRoam I actually like these books more than last year's selection. I'm in. I have read Circe which is brilliant. 6y
BarbaraBB @AceOnRoam Good to know. I‘m in too! 6y
DreesReads I am in again this year, and just picked up Tomb Song from the library. I have already read An American Marriage too. I am dreading Circe though, I did NOT much like Song of Achilles. I can‘t quite imagine another 400 pages of the same. 6y
73 likes11 comments
review
Redheadrambles
So Much Blue: A Novel | Percival Everett
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Panpan

⭐️⭐️

Something about this cover said jazz, cocktails, and mysterious woman in dimly lit club. I knew there was an extra-marital affair between a water-colourist and an older married man so I was getting ready for some good doomed love affair reading. However, most characters seemed terribly thin and their motivations hard to parse.

Probably the weakest of the books I have read for this years Tournament of Books but at least it was short !

BarbaraBB Just bought it... must read it though because of the ToB 😉 7y
Redheadrambles @BarbaraBB Absolutely you should I have seen some very positive reviews of it so don‘t be disheartened! 7y
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Redwritinghood Most of the way through this book, I felt the same way, but it came together for me at the end and I ended up liking it. In your case, at least it was a short book! 7y
Redheadrambles @Redwritinghood yeah I had seen you say that in your review and I think I kept hoping I might reach that point ! I just never did unfortunately 7y
thebluestocking I love that cover. Too bad the inside didn‘t work for you. Another Tournament book down! 7y
batsy I loved this! Sorry it didn't work for you 💙 7y
Redheadrambles @batsy I know I have seen quite a few people love it so I guess it‘s just one of those books ! 7y
Redheadrambles @thebluestocking yep I probably have another two in me before competition time. You look like your doing really well with it. Keen to see what you make of this one 7y
20 likes9 comments
review
AceOnRoam
Lucky Boy | Shanthi Sekaran
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Pickpick

This book tackles some heavy situations and emotional trauma is rife. Whether these situations were avoidable was a big question for me for most of the book. By the end, I stopped judging by my own standards and was engaged in the characters as the author intended them to be read. Trigger warnings below in spoiler.

Image credit, The Morning News

#Tournamentofbooks
#tob18
#TheRooster
#ReadingOnRoam

AceOnRoam there is violent rape and a miscarriage incident within these pages. fairly brutal reading. 7y
Pelican71 I really need to get to it; I have it on my shelf. I‘ve heard good things considering the topics in the book. 7y
AceOnRoam @Pelican71 It's pretty good for a debut but she will improve I think. I look forward to her next book. 7y
thebluestocking I‘m glad to hear you enjoyed it. I haven‘t seen a lot of reviews for it. It‘s waiting patiently on my nightstand for me to get to it. 7y
AceOnRoam @thebluestocking Its not getting a lot of love from the TOB Goodreads group, but of my GR friends 6 of them have given it 4 stars. 7y
50 likes5 comments
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AceOnRoam
Lucky Boy | Shanthi Sekaran
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The Tournament of Books team have really out-done themselves this year with a fine selection of shortlisted books and now a -dream come true- early release of the brackets this week! OMG!

#TheRooster
#TournamentOfBooks
#TOB18

BarbaraBB Yay, good to know! 7y
thebluestocking Yay! I missed this. Thanks for posting. 🎉🎉 7y
AceOnRoam @thebluestocking no worries. Its very exciting to get them so soon. 7y
51 likes3 comments