Tournament of Books - Goon Squad Wins!

In a very close final match up, Goon Squad upset Freedom in a 9-8 decision to win this year's Tournament of Books' crown.  As those of you that have followed the tournament, in an earlier match up, these two titans faced off and Franzen's Freedom won.  Congratulations, Jennifer Egan!

These were the two titans of the tournament and, in my opinion, two of the very best books of 2010.  Both Egan and Franzen have produced memorable and worthwhile books.  If you haven't read them, I highly recommend both.

The Tournament restarts in March 2012.  Meanwhile, find a great book and enjoy it.

Tournament of Books: The Finals Are Coming

What a week of ups and downs. 

In the first knock down semifinal match, Freedom defeated Goon Squad., my pick to win the whole tournament.  I thought my many NCAA bracket losses exemplified my lack of basketball knowledge.  It seems that I'm just not good at tournament picks (or else I don't know as much about books as I thought I did). So it goes.  Franzen's Freedom is a formidable foe and a worthy opponent.

In the second semifinal match up, Lemon Cake beat Next.  While I thought Lemon Cake was a fine book, there was no way it could withstand the blows Freedom has been dealing out to its foes.

Then came the Zombie round.  In the zombie round, the winner of each semi-final round squares off with another contestant that lost earlier in the contest.  The zombies were Room and Goon Squad.  Freedom dealt a decisive blow to Room to enter the finals and Good Squad squarely defeated Lemon Cake. My pick is back!

On Monday, the finals are played out with a rematch of Freedom and Goon Squad.  I'm still hoping for Goon Squad to pull off an upset of the seemingly unstoppable Freedom.  What makes this round different than the earlier match up between these titans is that every judge votes in the finals.  In earlier rounds, it is a single judge making the call.  While I enjoyed Freedom a lot, I'm sticking with Egan's Goon Squad to win it all.  Stay tuned.



Tournament of Books - Round 2 Recap

Round 2 is now complete.  In the biggest match up of the Tournament so far, Freedom beat Room.  Although I enjoyed both books, I thought Room was far more compelling and original.  The judge disagreed, finding Room's five year old narrator confining and narrow.  That was the point of the book, wasn't it?  The story is about confinement and creating a world within that tight space.  I guess we disagree.

In the other three quarterfinal rounds, Goon Squad beat Finkler, Next beat Nox and Lemon Cake beat Model Home.  I'm surprised Lemon Cake made it this far.  It was a very good book but was not as strong as Super Sad True Love Story or Lord of Misrule.  Perhaps one of those books (or Skippy Dies) will make a run for it in the zombie round.  (For those unfamiliar with the Tournament, the winners of the semifinal rounds must face off the two most popular books that were eliminated in the Tournament before advancing to the finals.)

The semifinals are set -- Freedom versus Goon Squad and Next versus Lemon Cake.  I'm sticking with Goon Squad to win the whole Tournament.  While I enjoyed Freedom, Goon Squad is original, diverse and beautifully executed.  The semifinal and the zombie rounds start on Monday.  Stay tuned!

Tournament of Books 2011 - Round 1 Recap

Round 1 of the Tournament of Books is now complete.  The results from the last three match ups were:

So Much For That lost to Next
Super Sad True Love Story lost to Model Home
Lemon Cake beat Bloodroot

I didn't read Model Home but I'm really surprised that it beat Super Sad, which was a fantastic book and one of my favorites for 2010.

I went five for eight on correct calls.  The next round, which starts next week, should be fun.  The left bracket (Freedom vs Room and Finkler vs Goon) are huge battles.  The right bracket has a lot of wild cards (Nox, Next, Model Home and Lemon Cake). 

I'm sticking with my original call that Room beats Freedom and Goon beats Finkler and then wins the whole thing.  The left half of my bracket is in disarray.

The action restarts next week.  Stay tuned.

Tournament of Books 2011 Update

Round 1 of the Tournament of Books started last week and continues through this week.  One upset so far.  The summary to date:

Freedom vs. Kapitol -- Freedom, a favorite and 2010 heavyweight won .

Room vs. Bad Marie -- Room, another fan and critic favorite won decisively.  Room takes on Freedom in the next round.  Expect a titanic clash.

Savages vs. Finkler Question -- Finkler (the Man Booker winner) won.

A Visit from the Goon Squad vs. Skippy Dies -- close, but Goon Squad won and next faces off with Finkler

The winner of today's match up, Lord of Misrule vs. Nox, was announced this morning.  In a dramatic upset, Nox won.

Three match ups left this week to close out the opening round.  My calls for those are So Much For That beats out Next; Super Sad True Love Story defeats Model Home and even odds on Lemon Cake versus Bloodroot.