The 2017 ToB Discussion Thread

The first match-up -- the play-in round is up.

http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/

Thoughts? Feelings?

I'm glad Sudden Death won, since it was the only one of the three I had any interest in reading. Now that I've read the judgement, there's another I want to read.

Favorite comment came from Kevin:

Kevin: When literature gets to the bottom of why we middle-aged white men are not completely fulfilled in all aspects of our lives it can move on to other subjects, John. Until then, obviously, it must remain dedicated to that lodestar.

Which one are you now interested in reading?

I was a little disappointed but not completely surprised by the decision. However, it will make it much easier for me to root for Mister Monkey when they face off during that round.

>3 LittleTaiko: The Sport of Kings. I agree whole-heartedly with the judge, Jason Diamond's comment that, "yet there is something about a hefty book mixing family drama, the South, class, racism, and horse racing that just gets my attention."

I'm planning to wait for the paperback and then bring it with me on our annual week at the beach.

Yes, Mister Monkey was a perfectly delightful book that, for me, was outshone by many other books this year. I suppose I'd put Sudden Death in that category too, but it had its moment in the sun today. While I'm sad to see Throwback go, it will be fun to root for Mister Monkey for a day.

Here is today's round.

http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/

So far, I haven't felt as invested in the outcome as in prior years. Maybe it's because there are only a couple of books that I truly loved and we haven't gotten to those rounds yet.

Today's round was interesting - thoughts? Personally I was happy with the result even though I hadn't read the winner.

Looking forward to tomorrow and hoping for a High Dive win. The Mothers was good but I enjoyed High Dive just a bit more.

I'm halfway through High Dive and while I'm liking it enormously, it doesn't seem to be doing anything new. It will be interesting to see which wins. I was certainly surprised by Version Control taking today's round.

The comments section over on the ToB is heated today, although reading through, it's the same guy who was upset over on the goodreads discussion.

The problem with the controversial books is that when they win a round, the book that lost is a bit short-changed in the ensuing discussion.