Have you heard of the Tournament of Books? It’s a fun book “competition” (discussion) that puts a shortlist of books head to head in a tournament bracket until a winner is chosen. I first heard about it years ago when a group of work colleagues decided to divvy up the shortlist and use the tournament format for our own book club discussions. (In the process, I discovered All the Light We Cannot See, which absolutely blew my mind.)
This week they announced the 2023 Tournament of Books long list, which contains 68 books (all fiction) that will be whittled down to the shortlist soon. I wanted to take a moment to share five books on the list that caught my eye:
- Babel by R. F. Kuang: This has been on my TBR for quite some time, and I just got a copy from my library; as a former translator and fantasy lover I’m fascinated to see where it takes me!
- You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi: I read this romance earlier this year — shortly before starting this blog — and it was incredible; my notes simply say, “Wow.”
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: A friend just recommended this book to me so it’s on my TBR; I’ve lived most of my life on the fringes of gaming culture (lots of gamer friends and family, mostly drawn to puzzle and trivia games myself) and am curious to see where this story takes me.
- Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez: I keep seeing this title and have been hesitating because I don’t always connect with books set in New York (I know lots of people love New York, but I’ve never clicked with it!) but I might take this as a sign that I should finally give it a chance.
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel: I’ve seen Mandel’s name pop up repeatedly in book discussions (I already have her Station Eleven on my TBR) and I’m intrigued by its exploration of the simulation hypothesis and time travel.
Are there any books on the Tournament of Books long list that stand out to you, or that you’ve read and would recommend?
Five Sentence Reviews 