The Morning News Tournament of Books' Long List Is the Best "Best List" For Readers and an Awesome Resource for You to Help Them

I am on record (many times) writing and talking about how The Morning News Tournament of Books is the best best list for readers, plus it is a super fun way to present it. Also this "best" of 2024 list is presented as a short list now but the "winner" is not decided until March of 2025. I love that the dust will have settled on the year before these books are aired off in judged brackets.

But wait, I think I am getting a little ahead of myself here. Let's back up a bit.

What is the Tournament of Books? From the landing page for the current short list:

Coming March 6, 2025: the 21st year of the Tournament of Books.

Look, we’re surprised as much as you are. Going on two-plus decades, the fact that an event that began as a joke has become one of the web’s biggest cultural events—at the end of which we threaten to give one of our society’s greatest living authors a live rooster—is still startling. There are only a handful of us who organize this thing. There are tens of thousands of you playing along, and hundreds of smart, thoughtful, hardcore readers who participate voluminously in the discussion every day. And we really couldn’t ask for much more. 

A big reason all this has happened for so long is because of the tremendous support of our presenting sponsor Field Notes. If you love the ToB, please show that love to Field Notes, too! We recommend becoming annual subscribers, just like us, because the goods are, well, very good. 

The other big reason we’re here is our Sustaining Members. Their support truly makes this event take place. 

Think of it this way: How much did you pay to attend the Eras tour, or a Beyoncé concert, or a night with Charli XCX? The ToB is a month-long blast, but it requires about six months of pre-production—so we need you to join the crew today and play a role in keeping this event rolling. Sustaining Members also receive 50 percent off everything at the Tournament of Books store—and this year our top-tier supporters are going to receive something very covetable and new. (They also receive our deep affection.)

Here’s how the Tournament works. Each weekday, starting March 6, two books from the shortlist are read and evaluated by one of our judges. One book is chosen to advance to the next round, and the judge explains how they came to their decision, then the commentariat—folks like you—express their feelings and thoughts about that decision and the books themselves. And the next day we do it all over again. This goes on through the month of March, until our championship match, where all our judges convene to decide which of the finalists wins the Tournament of Books, and with it our prize, the Rooster. (No one’s ever accepted the actual live rooster we offer them, fwiw.)

One thing to note before we go: We need your Zombie vote before midnight Eastern on Thursday, Dec. 19. Because from the play-in round to the eight opening round matches, to the four quarterfinal matches, through the two semifinal matches, the field is whittled down to two finalists. However, before those books can enter the championship, they must endure a “Zombie Round,” which restores two books that were eliminated previously during gameplay. As to which books return, it’s determined by y’all, right here, right now, using the form below. 

We’ll have more to announce as the Tournament approaches, so make sure you’re signed up for the Rooster newsletter to stay up with all the news. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you soon!

Click here (and scroll down) to see the full list of titles that are competing this year.

The ToB is not your average book award or best list and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system. With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. 

And because it happens in March each year, but the books are from the year before-- again the 2025 ToB uses 2024 books--there are a lot of titles that are already off holds. So it's a current "best list" option of a wide range of best books, many of which are on the shelf.

With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry. You can learn about the judges whose information is after the books themselves on this page. Just the list of judges alone makes for its own resource to suggest books to readers.

Once the tourney begins each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned. This is the easiest link to use to pull up each match-up and enjoy it for fun while also learning something new and unique about these popular books. 

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself. Plus those are the comments of regular readers. There is even a running commentary on the battle itself by the tournament organizers.

To see what will come for 2025, use this link to the 2024 ToB to see what I mean. 

Speaking of last year-- don't forget the back list! From 2005 to the present. Each with their own full bank of the above mentioned information and more! It is no longer all on one page like it used to be but, if you want to see the archive of ToB from the old format from 2005-2020, click here and scroll to the bottom of the right gutter for all the links. And then click on the years for 2023, and 2024 to see the details of those tourneys. For 2021 and 2022, I cannot figure out the link (they don't do a full list with links to the matches after 2020), but you can see their announcement of the books for the 2021 and 2022 tourneys by clicking on the year.

ToB has also become my go-to resource for "literary fiction." Why? Because the ToB takes the idea of "literary" titles, titles worthy of being deemed as worth your time [which I hate, but it is a thing], and gives it a wide berth. I especially love using the backlist titles for book discussions. 

Speaking of the backlist AGAIN, I love the "Wall of Champions," which you can click here and scroll down to see. That page alone is an awesome "sure bet" resource.

In terms of actively using the ToB to help readers, beyond keeping the cache of suggestions readily available, you can stage your own ToB at any time. Use theirs as an inspiration. Here's an example, kick off Summer Reading by taking a look at your most circulated titles-- overall or in specific genres-- or stage a tourney based on your Summer Reading Theme. This is a great participatory display that can be put up in the building or online. Have your patrons vote yes, but also have your library workers do commentary. Get everyone on staff involved who wants to be and have fun with it. You will showcasing your staff's expertise and your collection. And January is usually when we start seriously talking about Summer Reading planning, so the timing of my post right now, is just in time.

I hope you use the ToB as a resource to get your patrons excited about reading. You can use all of the past years to create a diverse (in every way) display to attract a wide swatch of readers.

If you want to take a deeper dive, you can read "A Brief History of the Tournament of Books." 

The 2026 Morning News Tournament of Books Begins Today: Bookish Fun and One of My Favorite Resources

I am on record (many times) writing and talking about how The Morning News Tournament of Books is the best best list for readers, plus it is a super fun way to present it. Also they look back at the year we just finished, so this "best" of 2025 list is not decided until March of 2026. I love that the dust has settled on the year before these books are paired off in judged brackets.

And it all begins TODAY!

But wait, I think I am getting a little ahead of myself here. Let's back up a bit.

What is the Tournament of Books? From the About page:

But it’s not really a contest. We’re not even sure it’s a “tournament.” What the ToB has been and will be, as long as we’re putting it on, is a month-long conversation about novels and reading and writing and art that takes place on weekdays in March.

Here’s how it works. Throughout the year, we gather, read, and assess the works of fiction we think would make worthy Tournament competitors. In December we present our findings in the form of a "long list." We then cull it to a final shortlist of 16 or so books. (Some years we expand the list beyond the core 16 to include an extra set of two or more books that compete in a pre-Tournament play-in match.)

When the Tournament of Books begins in March, each weekday two works of fiction go head to head, with one of our judges deciding which book moves forward in the brackets, according to whatever criteria matters to them. Along the way, the judges reveal their biases and interests, any connections they have to the participating authors, and, most importantly, an elaborate explanation of how they decided between the two books.

Following that day’s decision, we have color commentary in the form of a dialogue between two experts. From the beginning, our ToB Chairmen, authors Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner, have cracked wise, but we’ve also invited into the booth our favorite literary podcasters, independent booksellers from across the country, and novelists like Elliott Holt and Laura van den Berg. Think of it as a bigger-picture view of the proceedings from people who not only have read a ton of fiction, but who are also familiar with the way that the publishing industry makes the sausage, to bastardize a phrase. Then we leave it up to you, the readers, to add your own passionate thoughts and rebukes to the mix in the comments.

As I mentioned above, The 2026 ToB begins today. It is the 22nd year of this bookish fun! Click here  to see the full list of titles that are competing this year. OR Click here for a spread sheet of the full list with summaries of the books.

And please keep scrolling because there is a play in round and this amazing downloadable bracket which you can fill out for yourself. Don't let the college basketball fans be the only ones to have the bracketology fun.

Or make a display of this year's titles but add in titles from past years which are available with one click here-- again scroll down they are all there.

If you want to take an even deeper dive, you can read "A Brief History of the Tournament of Books." 

Everything ToB is organized and easy to find, use for yourself, or to get your readers interacting with books during this "March Madness" season. You go to the About page for the archive, where clicking on that year's winner brings you to the entire ToB for that same year. See 2026's event page here.

And there is always a landing page for the current year. It is an amazing resource of "best titles," but also you have PLENTY of books to make a display that can last you the entire month of March. Remember, there are 22 years of titles that have competed and they are all available with one click (and a scroll down).

When you go to the 2026 landing page, use the drop down menu in the top left by clicking on 2026 to choose how you interact with the ToB as it progresses. There are page options for:

• Today's Match
• The Books
• The Bracket-- filled in as it goes on 
• And info on the Judges

This year, I have a clear book I want to win, and it will come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog or who has ever met me, it is The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. And its inclusion in this tourney is another reason I love the ToB as a resource.

The ToB is not your average book award or best list and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system. With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter's inclusion as a #2 seed, meaning it is a favorite to win it all, is but one example of this.

And because it happens in March each year, but the books are from the year before, the 2026 ToB uses 2025 books meaning that many of  the titles are already off holds. This is a list of the current reigning "best books" but because of the timing, they are actually available to be read without a wait.

With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry. You can learn about the judges whose information is after the books themselves on this page. Just the list of judges alone makes for its own resource to suggest books to readers.

Once the tourney begins each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned. This is the easiest link to use to pull up each day's match-up and enjoy it for fun while also learning something new and unique about these popular books. Once it gets going you can follow the matches through the link to the in-progress bracket.

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself. Plus those are the comments of regular readers. There is even a running commentary on the battle itself by the tournament organizers.

ToB has also become my go-to resource for "literary fiction." Why? Because the ToB takes the idea of "literary" titles, titles worthy of being deemed as worth your time [which I hate, but it is a thing], and gives it a wide berth. I especially love using the backlist titles for book discussions. 

Speaking of the backlist AGAIN, I love the "Wall of Champions," which you can click here and scroll down to see. That page alone is an awesome "sure bet" resource.

I hope you find a way use the ToB as a resource to get your patrons excited about reading. You can use all of the past years to create a diverse (in every way) display to attract a wide swath of readers.

A Unique Take on Best Books: Tournament of Books 2024

The Morning News' Tournament of Books is one of my favorite "best books" resources for a few reasons. 

Every year, I take a moment, after the competition is completed to remind you of what a great resource the ToB is to help your readers looking for thought provoking reads across the full spectrum of genres and storytelling styles.

Click here to see the 2024 list of books with summaries.

On the surface this appears to be just another list of "best books," so why do I think it such a valuable resource? Well you can read their full explanation here, on their "About" page here, but here is an excerpt that I think sums up why I like it so much:

But it’s not really a contest. We’re not even sure it’s a “tournament.” What the ToB has been and will be, as long as we’re putting it on, is a month-long conversation about novels and reading and writing and art that takes place on weekdays in March.

Here’s how it works. Throughout the year, we gather, read, and assess the works of fiction we think would make worthy Tournament competitors. In December we present our findings in the form of a "long list." We then cull it to a final shortlist of 16 or so books. (Some years we expand the list beyond the core 16 to include an extra set of two or more books that compete in a pre-Tournament play-in match.)

When the Tournament of Books begins in March, each weekday two works of fiction go head to head, with one of our judges deciding which book moves forward in the brackets, according to whatever criteria matters to them. Along the way, the judges reveal their biases and interests, any connections they have to the participating authors, and, most importantly, an elaborate explanation of how they decided between the two books.

The ToB is not your average book award and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system. With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. 

And because it happens in March each year, but the books are from the year before-- so the 2024 ToB uses 2023 books--there are a lot of titles that are already off holds. So it's a current "best list" option of a wide range of best books, many of which are on the shelf.

With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry. You can learn about the judges who always get their own page here. Just the list of judges alone makes for it's own resource to suggest books to readers.

Each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned. This is the easiest link to use to pull up each match-up and enjoy it for fun while also learning something new and unique about these popular books. 

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself. Plus those are the comments of regular readers. There is even a running commentary on the battle itself by the tournament organizers. Again use this link and click on one of the matches to see what I mean.

And don’t forget the back list. From 2005 to the present. Each with their own full bank of the above mentioned information and more! It is no longer all on one page like it used to be but, if you want to see the archive of ToB from the old format from 2005-2020, click here and scroll to the bottom of the right gutter for all the links. And then click on the years for 2023, and 2024 to see the details of those tourneys. For 2021 and 2022, I cannot figure out the link (they don't do a full list with links to the matches after 2020), but you can see their announcement of the books for the 2021 and 2022 tourneys my clicking on the year.

ToB has also become my go-to resource for "literary fiction." Why? Because the ToB takes the idea of "literary" titles, titles worthy of being deemed as worth your time [which I hate, but it is a thing], and gives it a wide berth. I especially love using the backlist titles for book discussions. 

Speaking of backlist, I love the "Wall of Champions," which you can click here and scroll down to see. That page alone is an awesome "sure bet" resource.

In terms of actively using the ToB to help readers, beyond keeping the cache of suggestions readily available, you can stage your own ToB at any time. Use theirs as an inspiration. Here's an example, kick off Summer Reading by taking a look at your most circulated titles-- overall or in specific genres-- or stage a tourney based on your Summer Reading Theme. This is a great participatory display that can be put up in the building or online. Have your patrons vote yes, but also have your library workers do commentary. Get everyone on staff involved who wants to be and have fun with it. You will showcasing your staff's expertise and your collection.

I hope you use the ToB as a resource to get your patrons excited about reading. You can use all of the past years to create a diverse (in every way) display to attract a wide swatch of readers.

If you want to take a deeper dive, you can read "A Brief History of the Tournament of Books." 

If you want more "Rooster Events," scroll to the bottom of the "About" page to see the "Super Rooster" (a contest to decided the champion of champions), "Camp ToB" (a summer book club of past titles: 2023 event is here; archive is here), and "The Nonfiction Pop-Up" (a one time event).

Your Annual Reminder-- The Tournament of Books Starts Today!

This is your annual reminder that the Tournament of Books is beginning today. Every year I repost my explanations as to why it is a fun and valuable RA resource. This is not your average book award and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system.

With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry.

Each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned.

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself.

And don’t forget the back list. 13 previous years of backlist tourneys to be exact. Each with their own full bank of the above mentioned information and more! Every single page of ToB has the links to every past year [bottom right].

There is plenty here to make a display for “March Madness,” and The Morning News did all the work for you. You can even print out a bracket for your displays.

Click here for every ToB post on RA for All or see below for last year’s.

Make sure to stop by the ToB site daily for the next 2 weeks to see what’s going on. Also please consider supporting their sponsor, Field Notes. I not only visited, but I also placed an order. [Side note, as the mom of 2 lefties, I highly recommend their lefty notebooks. My kids love them.]

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MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017

Fill Out Your Brackets....Book Brackets: ToB XIII Is in Full Swing

Many of you are spending this morning signing up for NCAA basketball brackets and contemplating your choices between schools you have never heard of let alone knew they had a basketball team that was any good. [I’m looking at you Winthrop.]

Seriously though, even people who never watch any sports get in on the fun of “March Madness.” My husband loves to tell the story of his non-sports watching friend who in college filled out his bracket and chose the winners based on whose mascot would defeat whom. He won the whole thing by the way. So truly, anyone and everyone can do this.

Now, I am all for filling out a basketball bracket. It is tons of fun and gives everyone a rooting interest in the tourney, but people we are book experts. Thankfully for 13 years, the folks over at The Morning News have been running the Tournament of Books and it is amazing!

Click here to see this year’s tournament [currently on day 4] and to have easy access to the previous 12 years of tourneys. But first, read below where I have re-posted my comments from last year on why I love the ToB and how to use it as a resource. Yes it is fun AND can help you do your job better.

I would also like to point out that ToB is one of the most diverse best books discussions- both in the diversity of the authors and in the inclusion of multiple genres. And, it has been that way for 13 years; they are not bandwagon jumpers on this issue; they have led by example for over a decade.

This is a hotly contested tournament and conversation between the books and the book lovers. You should follow along both because it will help you to help readers and because as a book lover, this is your big time “bracketology."

Maybe when your friend sends you that invite for the NCAA bracket, you can send them the link to ToB.

And if you need help with your basketball brackets, just do what all of us here in Chicagoland are doing....pick Northwestern.

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MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016

Let the Book Games Begin: The 2016 Tournament of Books is On...

Today marks the start of the 2016 Morning News Tournament of Books.  The 12th annual! What is ToB?  It is what is sounds like-- a March Madness style tourney but with books battling it out. 

However, it is also  so much more.  

Back in 2014, I wrote a post entitled “Why Your Should Follow The Tournament of Books: A RA Perspective” that explains that “so much more” part a bit better. From that post:

“...if you are a fan of reading...anything...for fun...anytime...you will love following the ToB. I promise.  If I am wrong, you are a liar and you don’t love reading as much as you think you do. 

Each day they have 2 books from the previous year, so in this case 2013, squaring off in a March Madness bracket style, so that the titles get narrowed down to 1 final winner.  The final match is judged by all of the judges for fairness.  Click here to see the entire 2013 ToB IX. 

There is a judge, normally themselves an award winning author, who writes a long commentary on how the two book stack up against one and other.  Each official judge’s commentary and ruling is then followed by a commentary on that specific match and how it played out by The Morning News editors, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner.
Here’s why this process is so great for you as a reader.  First, these books are not judged in a vacuum.   All of the books in the tourney have already been through that process and have been determined among the best books of the previous year.  Reading another author’s take on how a specific book fairs when paired with another specific book is fascinating.  Is it unfair? Probably, yes.  Depending on what you are against and by whom it is being judged, both of those factors can help predetermine the outcome. 

But, is it fun? Heck yeah.  As a book lover and reader, I simply adore reading the judge’s commentaries themselves.  Because the matches are judged by award winning authors, I often feel like the commentary they provide to pick a winner reads like a short story in and of itself. Also, since it is so arbitrary, the entire thing both validates and satirizes the awards process-- simultaneously.  I love that too. 

And Kevin and John playing the part of the “regular reader” is great for placing the match within the context of the entire tourney and the larger literary world.
So even if you are not a traditional literary fiction fan, I highly suggest you follow the ToB because doing so is like reading a novel about the best novels of 2013. It is the most fun year in a review you will even experience. 

I even think it is worth going back and re-reading the commentaries from past years.  Why? You will find many good backlist options for your patrons.  And, because the commentaries are so well done, you will gather great appeal information about the titles, making it easier to book talk them to your readers.  And, with older titles, there is sure to be a few lurking in the stacks. 

Wow, that was a lot of “Ands.”  But seriously, the ToB, all 10 years of it, is a gold mine of fabulous reading suggestions, with annotations written for you by other awesome authors.  This is almost too easy!  So start using the ToB as your new RA tool, and keep using it all year long."

Yes, as a book lover, following the ToB is fun. You can root for your favorites. You can follow the commentaries. You can post your own comments.  [Speaking of the comments, side note, the comments are also very rich with useful RA material. There is almost an entire separate tourney going on in the comments. So at least read them, if not participate yourself.]

But the ToB is, as I said 2 years ago, an awesome RA tool.  I regularly use the ToB websites from all previous 11 years to help readers.

Try it for yourself.  Click here for the introduction post to this year’s contest, which includes a run down of what to expect. From that link you can access the entire tournament for this year and every single past year.

Enjoy the tourney for yourself, but don’t forget to also use it to help your readers find their next great read.

March Madness for Books: Resources and Fun for Every Library Worker and Reader

March Madness used to only refer to the NCAA basketball tournament but over the years it has spread into everything else. The book world was fairly early to jump on the March Madness marketing phenomenon by creating rankings, brackets, and competition of stories.

Today, I am going to offer you 3 examples. Each of which is fun to share with our readers with links, social media posts, displays, and maybe even a little tourney of your own. But they also make for an awesome resource of "sure bet" reads.  

Oh, and of course since this is Becky's blog,  all have a solid backlist. 

Let's begin with undisputed #1 seed of all book tournaments-- The Morning New's Tournament of Books. I have written about this event as a resource. Not only is the ToB fun, I argue all of the time, that their expanded definition of "literary fiction," of what is the overall best, has helped to expand the entire literary world's version of literary fiction. It is one of my favorite sure bet resources for our most avid readers. Click here to read my detailed discussions of ToB over the years.

ToB Backlist: Not only does the event go back to 2005, but on the main page for the ToB, you can see a "Wall of Champions," featuring each winner with a link to that year's competition, meaning you get access to all of the books included in that year's competition.

The ToB is adult book focused, but teens also love March Madness. There are many options and in fact, teen based tourney's are more common at local libraries than adult ones. Today, I offer a longstanding, local (to me), YA tournament of Books: The Illinois Library Associations Young Adult Services Forum's 2025 Tournament of Books. Just like The Morning News, the ILA YASF Tournament of Books can be used as a resource for displays, collection development, and online content. It is also a great way to assess trends in Teen fiction. These are the most popular books of the last year as determined by YA library workers; therefore, they show what teens want to read the most. Trends are important so that we can craft lists and add more titles to our collections, but even more important, trends in teen become trends in adult. As the readers age, they bring their tastes with them and those tastes become adult trends. Recent examples are Romantasy and (further back) Psychological Suspense. 

ILA YASF Backlist: Right at the top of the page is a list of the links to find the pervious tournaments going back to 2014. But please note, YA tends to age faster than adult, so I would use the links from 2020 forward to help readers and see how trends have emerged, matured, and start to fade away.

And then there are wildcard tourneys-- book centered March Madness about something more specific. This year's example is AWESOME as LitHub is doing a bracket tournament of The Best Villains in Literature. This one is elaborate. First the four divisions are: Authority Figures, Monsters & Boogeymen, Manipulative Bastards, Anti-Villain.

Then, within the divisions, each villain was given a ranking and then paired up just like the NCAA tournament. There is an essay about each villain, why they are evil and then anyone can vote. Currently there are on Round 2. But here is the link to see how the votes shook out in Round 1.

What is so fun about this tournament is that villains are the catalyst for our protagonists, therefore the very best make our favorite books better and their villainy stays with us. Also, once we get a winner out of each "region," I am actually more interested in which type of villain wins. 

Since this tournament is voted on by actual readers, there is so much we can learn about what readers enjoy most in their stories just by standing by and watching this competition unfold.

And in terms of using this as a resource, each villain's entry ends with links from LitHub where this villain previously came up.

Can you tell, I just LOVE this?

If you want her hear more about how LitHub created this tournament, listen to this episode of the LitHub Podcast (it's the final story).

Best Villains Backlist?: Yes this is the inaugural tournament BUT all of the villains are from book we know. By definition this is a backlist tournament, which is refreshing as the other two are all focused on 2024 books.

I hope you have fun perusing all of these brackets and get a chance to vote for your favorite villain.

I know there are many more. Feel free to add your favorite March Madness Book Brackets to the comments.  

Your Annual Reminder to Follow the Tournament of Books Because It is Fun and Useful

One of my favorite book events of the year begins today....The Tournament of Books. Click here to follow.

I love ToB for so many reasons and I have written about them many times before. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I will repost my comments from last year below.

But before I leave I want to encourage all of you who enjoy following ToB each year, especially those of you who, like me, use it as a great outside the box suggestion tool, to support the sponsor Field Notes. I made a purchase during the tournament last year and then this Fall I actually became a subscriber to their quarterly box.

ToB is fun and useful. As I describe below, you can use it to make suggestions to readers and build displays. And it is extremely interactive. Let's help make sure it keeps coming year after year.

I also want to explicitly mention that just being on the ToB list-- any year-- makes all of these books a good readalike option for each other. Take me, every year [without fail] some of my favs from the year before end up in the ToB. This year, two of my professed favorite books from last year, My Sister the Serial Killer and There There are in the running. It happens year after year. I know I am not the only one because I see similar thought expressed in the comments.

There is more about how to use the ToB as a RA tool below. It is a great way to recapture your love of books and reading. Spend some time each day reading the judge's comments. Whether you agree or not, whether you have read the books in question or not, it is really nourishing to your story loving soul.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018

Your Annual Reminder-- The Tournament of Books Starts Today!

This is your annual reminder that the Tournament of Books is beginning today. Every year I repost my explanations as to why it is a fun and valuable RA resource. This is not your average book award and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system.

With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry.

Each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned.

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself.

And don’t forget the back list. 13 previous years of backlist tourneys to be exact. Each with their own full bank of the above mentioned information and more! Every single page of ToB has the links to every past year [bottom right].

There is plenty here to make a display for “March Madness,” and The Morning News did all the work for you. You can even print out a bracket for your displays.

Click here for every ToB post on RA for All

Fill Out Your Brackets....Book Brackets: ToB XIII Is in Full Swing

Many of you are spending this morning signing up for NCAA basketball brackets and contemplating your choices between schools you have never heard of let alone knew they had a basketball team that was any good. [I’m looking at you Winthrop.]

Seriously though, even people who never watch any sports get in on the fun of “March Madness.” My husband loves to tell the story of his non-sports watching friend who in college filled out his bracket and chose the winners based on whose mascot would defeat whom. He won the whole thing by the way. So truly, anyone and everyone can do this.

Now, I am all for filling out a basketball bracket. It is tons of fun and gives everyone a rooting interest in the tourney, but people we are book experts. Thankfully for 13 years, the folks over at The Morning News have been running the Tournament of Books and it is amazing!

Click here to see this year’s tournament [currently on day 4] and to have easy access to the previous 12 years of tourneys. But first, read below where I have re-posted my comments from last year on why I love the ToB and how to use it as a resource. Yes it is fun AND can help you do your job better.

I would also like to point out that ToB is one of the most diverse best books discussions- both in the diversity of the authors and in the inclusion of multiple genres. And, it has been that way for 13 years; they are not bandwagon jumpers on this issue; they have led by example for over a decade.

This is a hotly contested tournament and conversation between the books and the book lovers. You should follow along both because it will help you to help readers and because as a book lover, this is your big time “bracketology."

Maybe when your friend sends you that invite for the NCAA bracket, you can send them the link to ToB.

And if you need help with your basketball brackets, just do what all of us here in Chicagoland are doing....pick Northwestern.

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MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016

Let the Book Games Begin: The 2016 Tournament of Books is On...

Today marks the start of the 2016 Morning News Tournament of Books.  The 12th annual! What is ToB?  It is what is sounds like-- a March Madness style tourney but with books battling it out. 

However, it is also  so much more.  

Back in 2014, I wrote a post entitled “Why Your Should Follow The Tournament of Books: A RA Perspective” that explains that “so much more” part a bit better. From that post:

“...if you are a fan of reading...anything...for fun...anytime...you will love following the ToB. I promise.  If I am wrong, you are a liar and you don’t love reading as much as you think you do. 

Each day they have 2 books from the previous year, so in this case 2013, squaring off in a March Madness bracket style, so that the titles get narrowed down to 1 final winner.  The final match is judged by all of the judges for fairness.  Click here to see the entire 2013 ToB IX. 

There is a judge, normally themselves an award winning author, who writes a long commentary on how the two book stack up against one and other.  Each official judge’s commentary and ruling is then followed by a commentary on that specific match and how it played out by The Morning News editors, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner.
Here’s why this process is so great for you as a reader.  First, these books are not judged in a vacuum.   All of the books in the tourney have already been through that process and have been determined among the best books of the previous year.  Reading another author’s take on how a specific book fairs when paired with another specific book is fascinating.  Is it unfair? Probably, yes.  Depending on what you are against and by whom it is being judged, both of those factors can help predetermine the outcome. 

But, is it fun? Heck yeah.  As a book lover and reader, I simply adore reading the judge’s commentaries themselves.  Because the matches are judged by award winning authors, I often feel like the commentary they provide to pick a winner reads like a short story in and of itself. Also, since it is so arbitrary, the entire thing both validates and satirizes the awards process-- simultaneously.  I love that too. 

And Kevin and John playing the part of the “regular reader” is great for placing the match within the context of the entire tourney and the larger literary world.
So even if you are not a traditional literary fiction fan, I highly suggest you follow the ToB because doing so is like reading a novel about the best novels of 2013. It is the most fun year in a review you will even experience. 

I even think it is worth going back and re-reading the commentaries from past years.  Why? You will find many good backlist options for your patrons.  And, because the commentaries are so well done, you will gather great appeal information about the titles, making it easier to book talk them to your readers.  And, with older titles, there is sure to be a few lurking in the stacks. 

Wow, that was a lot of “Ands.”  But seriously, the ToB, all 10 years of it, is a gold mine of fabulous reading suggestions, with annotations written for you by other awesome authors.  This is almost too easy!  So start using the ToB as your new RA tool, and keep using it all year long."

Yes, as a book lover, following the ToB is fun. You can root for your favorites. You can follow the commentaries. You can post your own comments.  [Speaking of the comments, side note, the comments are also very rich with useful RA material. There is almost an entire separate tourney going on in the comments. So at least read them, if not participate yourself.]

But the ToB is, as I said 2 years ago, an awesome RA tool.  I regularly use the ToB websites from all previous 11 years to help readers.

Try it for yourself.  Click here for the introduction post to this year’s contest, which includes a run down of what to expect. From that link you can access the entire tournament for this year and every single past year.

Enjoy the tourney for yourself, but don’t forget to also use it to help your readers find their next great read.

Morning News Tournament of Books Is On...And Your Library Can Use It to Promote Books and RA Service

One of my favorite annual book events is The Morning News Tournament of Books. Click here to see my past posts on the event.

Here is how it works and why you should care from the Library perspective as I laid it out in a post last year:

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In case you are new to the ToB, click here for the basic run down. 

But if you are a fan of reading...anything...for fun...anytime...you will love following the ToB. I promise.  If I am wrong, you are a liar and you don’t love reading as much as you think you do. 

Each day they have 2 books from the previous year, so in this case 2013, squaring off in a March Madness bracket style, so that the titles get narrowed down to 1 final winner.  The final match is judged by all of the judges for fairness.  Click here to see the entire 2013 ToB IX. 

There is a judge, normally themselves an award winning author, who writes a long commentary on how the two book stack up against one and other.  Each official judge’s commentary and ruling is then followed by a commentary on that specific match and how it played out by The Morning News editors, Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner.
Here’s why this process is so great for you as a reader.  First, these books are not judged in a vacuum.   All of the books in the tourney have already been through that process and have been determined among the best books of the previous year.  Reading another author’s take on how a specific book fairs when paired with another specific book is fascinating.  Is it unfair? Probably, yes.  Depending on what you are against and by whom it is being judged, both of those factors can help predetermine the outcome.
But, is it fun? Heck yeah.  As a book lover and reader, I simply adore reading the judge’s commentaries themselves.  Because the matches are judged by award winning authors, I often feel like the commentary they provide to pick a winner reads like a short story in and of itself. Also, since it is so arbitrary, the entire thing both validates and satirizes the awards process-- simultaneously.  I love that too. 

And Kevin and John playing the part of the “regular reader” is great for placing the match within the context of the entire tourney and the larger literary world.
So even if you are not a traditional literary fiction fan, I highly suggest you follow the ToB because doing so is like reading a novel about the best novels of 2013. It is the most fun year in a review you will even experience.

I even think it is worth going back and re-reading the commentaries from past years.  Why? You will find many good backlist options for your patrons.  And, because the commentaries are so well done, you will gather great appeal information about the titles, making it easier to book talk them to your readers.  And, with older titles, there is sure to be a few lurking in the stacks. 

Wow, that was a lot of “Ands.”  But seriously, the ToB, all 10 years of it, is a gold mine of fabulous reading suggestions, with annotations written for you by other awesome authors.  This is almost too easy!  So start using the ToB as your new RA tool, and keep using it all year long.

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Back to this year.  Here is the link for the full 2015 bracket.

You can use this link to pull up the daily battle and get to the menu to navigate the entire tournament.  Selection Sunday is this weekend for the NCAA Basketball Tourney. Why not get in the spirit by promoting the Tournament of Books at your library right now?

You can print out each day's match and post them in the library. You can make signs to support your favorites. For example, I'm all in on Station Eleven.  When we get past the preliminary rounds, I am making signs with the covers so we can "root" for books at the desk.

Or just post the bracket and start marking the winners and losers.  Again, bracket is here.

Whatever you do, don't just ignore that it is happening.  This is a chance to have fun and engage our patrons.

If you celebrate or promote The Tournament of Books at your library, let me know.

Resource Alert: The Morning News' Tournament of Books

Click here to enter the ToB

This is your annual reminder about the Morning New's Tournament of Books sponsored by Field Notes because it is the perfect mix of fun and useful.

Click here to see the completed tourney. 

Every year I repost my explanations as to why it is such a valuable and unique RA resource. This is not your average book award and not only because it is a battle between the books as judged by other writers using a bracket system. With ToB we also get the most diverse list of “best books” you will see anywhere, both diverse in authorship and genre. 

And because it happens in March each year, but the books are from 2021, there are a lot of titles that are already off the holds shelf. So it's a current "best list" option of a wide range of best books, many of which are on the shelf.

With ToB you not only learn about great books and why they are wonderful, but you also learn about the judges themselves, also a very diverse group of people throughout the publishing industry. Each “battle” has a full write up which gets to the heart of the two books’ appeal and structure. These essays give us valuable information on who would like the book and why. Readalikes are also often mentioned.

Oh and the comments. The readers who follow along religiously and have entire discussions about each pairing of books for pages and pages are THE BEST. Following just the comments is like reading a novel itself. There is even a running commentary on the battle itself by the tournament organizers.

And don’t forget the back list. 17 previous years of backlist tourneys to be exact. Each with their own full bank of the above mentioned information and more! Every single page of ToB has the links to every past year [bottom right].

In terms of actively using the ToB to help readers, you can stage the tournament at your library online through your social media by reposting to their daily battles. The graphics are all there to make an engaging post. All you have to do is add the link. You can even ask patrons to vote and then see if your results are the same. Post both results and have your own online tournament. This will drive interest in your collection and for titles that are not in high demand right now.

But also, and this is a super fun way to grab patrons' attention as they return to our buildings, you can make a daily display following the action. You can post pictures of the covers for that day and fill a display with ToB titles going back to 2005. You can also allow people to vote in person, but honestly, keeping track of your library's winners is easier online.  

Finally, ToB has become my go-to resource for "literary fiction." Why? Because the ToB takes the idea of "literary" titles, titles worthy of being deemed as worth your time [which I hate, but it is a thing], and gives it a wide berth. I especially love using the backlist titles for book discussions. 

Whether you actively use the ToB to stage a tourney at your library or you just use it as a resource or passive display idea, it is an event not to miss.

Click here for every ToB post on RA for All over the years.