You might remember that I was making a reading list when The Morning News announced the 16 titles in their 2012 Tournament of Books.
Making the list wasn’t very complicated; it amounted to adding the 11 books that I hadn’t already read to my TBR list.
What can I say? They all looked “good”.
I only managed to complete three more and begin two others, but I wasn’t seriously considering any of these five — well, the Murakami, but I was in no rush — so I feel rightly chuffed.
Like I’ve gotten this inside bookish scoop. Which is perhaps the sensation that makes this event so popular.
Next step: the first eight books will be eliminated Wednesday, March 7th, in the bookish Battle Royale.
Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers VS Ann Patchett, State of Wonder
(I haven’t read the Ann Patchett novel yet — it’s on my stack — but I suspect that the charms of Eli and Charlie will be too much for the judge to resist anyhow. If I’m wrong, I’ll pick up State of Wonder next.)
Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding VS Teju Cole, Open City (*see Wednesday’s post)
(I think the humour in Harbach’s novel will appeal to the judge in this pair, although I think the scope of Open City would lead to some really interesting conversations.)
Téa Obreht, The Tiger’s Wife VS Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger’s Child
(I haven’t read the Hollinghurst novel, but I attended a reading, and I suspect the judge will be drawn to the interwoven structure and magical elements of The Tiger’s Wife, though it wasn’t one of my faves.)
Michael Ondaatje, The Cat’s Table VS Karen Russell, Swamplandia!
(My guess is that the quirkiness of Karen Russell’s novel will seduce the judge and I agree that it’s charming, though I think Ondaatje’s sophisticated storytelling and crafting offer the reader even more.)
Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending VS Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time
(Both books are still on my TBR pile. Though it appears that the characters in Pollock’s novel could totally whomp Barnes’ offerings, it seems likely that the buzz surrounding Barnes work — and he is top-notch — will sway the battle.)
Nathacha Appanah, The Last Brother VS Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
(And speaking of size mattering, it’s hard to imagine that the slender little indie from Graywolf could survive a pairing with the massive and sprawling Murakami novel, but I’m still in the process of reading Appanah’s novel and listening to Murakami’s, so I can’t say how much size might matter.)
Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot VS Kate Zambreno, Green Girl
(In some ways, this pairing echoes the match above; everybody’s talking about Eugenides and Zambreno’s novel is the only one that I haven’t managed to scoop yet. My hunch is that the bookishness and literary-ness of The Marriage Plot will appeal to the judge, but it’s just a guess.)
Helen DeWitt, Lightning Rods VS Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones
*see Wednesday’s post for more on these two novels
(Oh my, talk about a polarizing work, Helen DeWitt’s novel is just that, but my guess is that the judge will appreciate the sharp satirical tone of her work over Ward’s openly lyrical, sensory-soaked NBA-winning novel.)
I’m new to The Morning News Tournament of Books, although it’s in its 8th year.
And I’m even newer to the HarperCollins tournament, the HCC March Madness, which I just learned about yesterday.
So where have I been since 2008? Every year since, there have been 64 books, 6 rounds, 6 weeks, and 1 champion.
And somehow I missed all that. And I definitely missed last year’s winner, which is doubly crazy because I’ve read that book more than a few times myself.
There is more potential for direct involvement with the HCC event; you can not only vote, but you’re encouraged to vote. You’re even encouraged to champion a particular book amongst the 64.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: I”m lookin’ at you!
And voting not only involves you, but it makes you eligible to win a prize, which consists of all 64 books.
(Well, see, you mention something like that to bookish folks, and it enters the realm of irresistible, doesn’t it. Which is obviously the point.)
On Wednesday, I’ll post my thoughts about the other three TOB contenders that I’ve read (maybe four, if I have time to finish The Last Brother), and I’m off to vote for Betty Smith’s classic at HCC now.
Clearly I am late to the bookish tournament parties. How about you?
I had no idea about the HarperCollins tournament! I just voted and that’s probably all the participation that I’m going to do.
I’ve been following Tournament of Books for years but I’m not excited about it this year as I was in previous years. Maybe it’s the selection? I do plan on reading 1Q84 sometime soon.
It’d be neat if you could track your friends’ votes in this (are you reading this, HC?!) to add another degree of community to the experience. So, for instance, if you voted for the Paul Harding collection (which is likely excellent, but which happens to be up against my beloved Betty Smith favourite) I could personally harass you about your errant ways. Hee hee.
Well, perhaps that, and perhaps the fact that you don’t have much energy to spare to have your bookishness pulled in too many directions while your course load is so heavy? But I do think it’s true that it’s most exciting when you first discover something like this and, after awhile, there are other new-to-you events competing freshly for your reader’s attentions.
I never knew about any of these book tournaments until I started blogging. It is kind of interesting, but I am never “up to date” enough in my reading to participate. Oh, I’d love to be able to read them all, but I simply do not have the money to go out buying all these new books, and unfortunately my library doesn’t own that many English books (and translations take a while), which is why I hardly use it. Perhaps that is why the March Madness may appeal to me more, since there are older books on that list as well? At least I have read a few of those..
Last year, I tried to read all the Orange Prize longlisted books, but this year I won’t have the money to buy them. I’m kind of disappointed about that, but at least there will be another longlist next year. Oh, and I know this has nothing to do with book tournaments, but I know you read all of the Orange book last year, which is why I was reminded of it.
I struggle with the timeliness of it, too, Iris; there are just so many books, right? And not only is it costly to buy the titles in hardcover/new (or frustrating to try to deal with library holds for them when they’re in such demand) but there are so many older books that I simply want to read as much as I want to read the newer ones. And I think it’s same for you, based on the assortment of reading you’ve been enjoying this year so far, with Elizabeth von Arnim nudging up against Patrick Ness!
My Giller Prize longlist and Orange longlist reading last year were responsible for the head start that I had on this list (well, if you can call 5 books a head start, but it feels like that to me, because usually I’ve only read 1 or 2 books in that kind of situation) and an unexpected number of credits for Audible’s audiobooks were responsible for the other 3. Otherwise, I would probably have just added them to my TBR list and gotten around to them in another 5 or 10 years, if then. *laughs*