April RandomCAT: Easter greetings from the Rooster

Currently the yearly Torunament of Books (aka The Rooster) is ongoing and when April starts we'll already know the winner. Have you managed to read the books that you wanted to read before tournament start? Or did a specific book awake your interest during the competition? Do you still have unread books of the last years' competitions on your shelves or wishlists? Then April is the time for these books! And doesn't the Rooster fit well to the upcoming Easter celebrations?

For this month's RandomCAT read a book from any year's Tournament of Books.

Here is some general information of what the ToB is all about (including all the winners): A brief history of the ToB

And here you can see this year's books and on the right side you have direct links to all the previous years.

Just in case we have enthusiasts here who have read all the ToB books they ever wanted to read: Maybe there is an author you would like to read more of? Or a topic of one of the books you would like to know more about? Be creative!
Or are there people who absolutely don't want to dive into the ToB? Then pick a book from your favourite book award instead and let us know what makes this award so special for you.

Have fun picking and reading your books!

Wow, I was surprised to discover that I'd read a few ToB books from previous years, without even knowing it :)

I'd put The Sisters Brothers on my list of books to read this year -- in this case, to read again before seeing the movie -- so this challenge is the perfect nudge to finally get started!

Love this challenge! Every year I add books from the Tournament to my TBR so this is a great chance to actually get to one. I have decided to go with a 2007 entry, Firmin by Sam Savage.

If I can go based on tags, (hopefully these are properly tagged and were in the tournament at some point!), I have 4 options. These two are my preferred possibilities:
- The Round House / Louise Erdrich
- Our Souls at Night / Kent Haruf

The other two options for me, in case those are mistagged:
- Freedom / Jonathan Franzen
- The Road / Cormac McCarthy

It's not hard to find something from TOB on my shelf so this works great for me.

Just quickly I've found these:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

If I were going to start one right now it would be the Urrea. I'm just starting Station Eleven and it was a winner but I need to have it read by the end of next week because the author, Emily St. John Mandel, is coming to our university and will be giving a public presentation one night so I want to have it read by then.

>3 DeltaQueen50: I was thinking of Firmin: adventures of a metropolitan lowlife too! I did a search for Tournament of Books in my tbr collection and found several but I've been hoping to get to this one soon. That makes two books (so far) that we will both be reading in April.

If I take one from my TBR, I think I'll read Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick which was a semi-finalist in 2005. But I also might read The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard which didn't make it out of the first round in 2016 but which I took as a BB from Kay that year when she read it for the TOB.

I'm currently reading The Italian teacher and while I will finish it in March, I'm going to claim that for this challenge.

The Newbery Awards is one of my fave categories, so I might pick one of those. That will fit into my personal challenge for this year too.

The kinds of books chosen for the TOB tend not to be the kinds of books I enjoy reading, but I am intrigued by My Sister, the Serial Killer and Washington Black, both of which have been eliminated in this year's tournament but may come back as zombies!

I've got 12 ToB books on my TBR; I'm planning on reading Milkman, which is a book from my friend Lisa (which is one of my 2019 categories) and it gives me a B and an M for the AlphaKIT - first time I've gotten a two-fer all year!

I still have one of last years ToB selections on my shelf so I think I'll try to finally read Moonglow by Michael Chabon. Plus it works for the AlphaKIT which is a nice bonus.

I have read some of the books, but the only one I can find on my TBR shelf is An Arsonists Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke, which was a contender in 2008

>6 VivienneR: We do seem to like to read the same books, Vivienne - I'm looking forward to Firmin.

I've been meaning to read All The Light We Cannot See for ages, so I'll plan on finally getting around to that. I honestly don't try to follow any of the awards or the tournament, so it's always just a matter of what catches my interest via reviews. I'll just have to do my best to forget what I just found out--that this book apparently lost out to Station Eleven, which I didn't dislike, but also wasn't that impressed by... In any case, I love Doerr's short stories, so I'll look forward to trying this novel :)

>6 VivienneR: and >14 DeltaQueen50:, I hope you guys enjoy Firmin--I certainly did. It's a really interesting and memorable book (in a good way!)!

I've got a surprising number of the books on my TBR, usually from getting hit with a BB elsewhere. I don't yet know what I will be reading, though. It depends on my mood at the time.

I'm currently listening to The Road which was the 2007 winner. I don't think I'll finish it before April (!) begins as I only listen in my car.

I'll probably also read The Round House which is on Planet TBR.

And finally, I'll try to read the ultimate winner.

Great theme! I can finish up any of this year's ToB books that I don't complete by the end of the tournament. I also have a few from previous years on my shelves: The Road, One Good Turn, Run and A Little Life.

I read a lot of the ToB books, but not all of them, so hopefully I will have one hanging around that I can squeeze in.

The Rooster! What a wonderful theme! And just in case the books who competed in all the various tournaments over the years do not appeal, here are links to the long lists from a few past years. If you can't find something there, I'll be surprised. They are very long lists!

https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2018
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2017
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2016
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-year-in-fiction-2015
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2011-tournament-of-books-long-list
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2010-tournament-of-books-long-list

>20 RidgewayGirl: This is very helpful Kay, thank you!

Just read House of Broken Angels, so good, can't recommend that one enough.

I have none of the Tournament of Books/Roosters currently in my library, so I'm taking you up on the option of using other book award winners.

This year I'm trying really hard to only read books off my shelves and I found one:

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen won the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults in 2011.

Will that work?

>23 fuzzi: Totally fine for me. The ToB appeals to many, but maybe not to everyone. And we all want to reduce our TBR mountains, so there's no reason to say no to another award winner. :)

For some reason I have a lot of Tournament Books in my e LIBRARY. I had no idea. Anyone have any favorites from the list? Or maybe a book that you didn't enjoy?

Girls Burn Brighter
Pachinko
Listen to Me
The Harder They Come
Welcome to Braggsville
The Tsar of Love and Techno
Mislaid
Station Eleven
Milkman
A Beautiful Place to Die

I think I'm at a library hold standstill at the moment and may be able to get to a few of them.

I really enjoyed Station Eleven if you like dystopian reading.

I liked The Tsar of Love and Techno. It's short stories, but they are somewhat connected - every now and then a character from a previous story will appear. I always enjoy that. I'm reading Milkman right now and really enjoying it, but you'd know pretty early if you like the writing style.

I really liked Station Eleven and have heard lots of favorable comments about The Tsar of Love and Techno but haven't read it yet.

>22 Kristelh: The House of Broken Angels was my favourite from this year's list!

>25 lsh63: I agree with >26 dudes22:, >27 raidergirl3: and >28 Kristelh:. Station Eleven and The Tsar of Love and Techno were both 5-star reads for me.

>25 lsh63: - Chiming in with love for The Tsar of Love and Techno, it was also a 5 star read for me. I would also highly recommend Pachinko or Station Eleven as well.

I really liked Station Eleven.

I've read Station Eleven, The Tsar of Love and Techno and A Beautiful Place to Die and really liked them all. A Beautiful Place to Die was interesting in the setting of 1952 South Africa shortly after the Apartheid Laws had been passed.

>26 dudes22:, >27 raidergirl3:, >28 Kristelh:, >29 mathgirl40:, >30 LittleTaiko:, >31 hailelib:,>32 DeltaQueen50: Thank you all for the feedback! Based on everyone's recommendations I'm going to go with Station Eleven, The Tsar of Love and Techno for sure and I will try to get to A Beautiful Place to Die, and Pachinko also. I did try a few chapters of Milkman, I think I'll try it another time when I can appreciate the writing style.

>25 lsh63: Highly recommend Pachinko--great characters, sweeping saga about a part of the world and a period of time that is not written about a lot.

>22 Kristelh: Also loved The House of Broken Angels . So glad I read it.

I have a lot of choices on my TBR for this Cat. If I stick to 2019 I'll probably choose My Sister the Serial Killer or The Mars Room We'll see what feels right when I get there. Still working on March Cats or, truth be told, still working on February and March;-)

Ooh, this is going to be fun!

My first thought is to read The House of Broken Angels since it has been on my TBR shelf for a couple of months and I really want to get to it.

But I have to admit that I'm tempted to acquire a copy of My Sister the Serial Killer. Maybe I'll do both. *grin*

Weighing in as another big fan of Station Eleven.

I'm reading A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley, which was long listed for this year's Tournament.

Hurray for this years winner: My Sister the Serial Killer. Two years in a row my favorite, quirky, tiny book has won.
I'm planning to read There, There, which I started last year for the Orange ColorCAT but never finished.

I also really liked My Sister the Serial Killer, although I haven't read that many of the 2019 tournament books.

I found this list under LibraryThing awards, although the 2019 books aren't added to it yet.

http://www.librarything.com/bookaward/The+Morning+News+Tournament+of+Books

Completed The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. Four enthusiastic stars.

>39 streamsong: I didn't even know that CK had awards lists like that!

I just completed Firmin by Sam Savage this very short Quarter Finalist 2007 book was very engaging.

Finished Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (Newbery Award).

A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
Follows the lives of Bennie (a former punk rock guy turned record executive) and Sasha (his assistant who likes stealing things) backwards and forwards through time, picking up the lives of several people attached to them in the process.
Meh. Not my usual cuppa. No real, steady plot and no actually likeable characters. I'm not fond of stories in which characters make poor life decisions, which is essentially what happens on a loop in this one. So, I spent most of the book in a constant state of distaste and exasperation. I want to fall in love with the characters in the books I read (or fall in love with hating them), not be generally irritated by them or just mildly loathe them.
I will say that the writing itself is excellent and for this it certainly deserves its Pulitzer.

>42 DeltaQueen50: Glad to hear you enjoyed Firmin. It has such an unattractive cover that my hand avoids it and picks up another book instead. So I'm reading Circe instead, for this category.

>45 VivienneR: In real life rats give me the creeps and I hate them. Luckily I was able to overlook my aversion to rats long enough to read the book. ;)

The Round House / Louise Erdrich
3 stars

Joe is only 13-years old when his mother is attacked. She has a hard time getting back on her feet when it comes out that she was raped. Joe and his father (a judge) try to figure out who might have done this, as they don’t know if the police (or which police, if any – the town police?, the tribal police?) will do anything.

The beginning of the book started off with a “bang”, so to speak, and it kind of ended that way, as well, but it was pretty slow-going in the middle. Overall, it was ok for me. I liked one of the other characters’ stories a bit better (but that could also be because it was condensed) – Linda. The author included some sad stats at the end of the book, with regards to native women and rape.

I finished Circe by Madeline Miller, which was absolutely brilliant!

Before reading this, my knowledge of the Greek myths consisted of bits and pieces that I had to fit together like a jigsaw in my mind. Miller has not only put them all the characters in context for me, but produced a narrative that flows beautifully. The story of Circe, daughter of Helios the sun god, has been retold in a way no one else has ever achieved. Like Miller's Song of Achilles, I can recommend this one heartily.

>48 VivienneR: So glad to see other people enjoying this. I have been raving about it just a little...

>48 VivienneR: I am #195 on my library's hold list! It's a mighty popular book, and with good reason, it sounds like.

May thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/305898

I finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, which I liked a lot!

And I'm glad to see all the different choices you've made. The ToB has so much to offer. :)

I finished Milkman by Anna Burns and I loved it. I read it very slowly,,a bit here and there, but I enjoyed savouring it in small doses.

I've finished The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard which was a book in the 2016 tournament but lost in the first round.

Like several others, I have read The House of Broken Angles by Luis Alberto Urrea.

So, I read Margaret Millar's Beast in View, winner of the 1956 Edgar Award for best novel. This award is given by the Mystery Writers of America. I've read many good Edgar Award winners and this was another good one. (Warning: 1950s stereotypes will offend some readers.)

However, I wanted to push myself with this challenge, so I'm currently reading Wolf Hall, which won the 2010 TOB. It's looking unlikely that I will finish before the month ends in 48 hours, but I'm definitely going to complete, as it is quite strong and intense in its own, very different way.

I have finished Arthur & George which was on the longlist in 2007 and now is finally off my TBR. Very good read, which stays in the mind.

I read On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, which I think was long-listed in 2007 or 2008. I enjoyed the characters' backstories more than the narrative.

I finished All the Lights We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr on April 30th, but was traveling and didn't get around to marking it down. Full review written for those interested. It didn't captivate me like his short stories, but I did really enjoy it.

Well, I have finally finished my April reading by completing Wolf Hall this evening. In addition to having won the Booker Prize, it was also the 2010 champion of the Tournament of Books.

I quite liked it, definitely 4 stars, even though I dislike extensive use of the present tense in novels. I also was slowed down by the confusing use of "him" and "he" for Cromwell even when another male was mentioned immediately previously. And my Kindle app kept telling me I would be done much sooner than I actually was. This book calls for a slower reading pace than I can manage with, say, a Sookie Stackhouse story.

>60 NinieB: I loved Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, and I'm impatiently waiting for the final book.

I finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson for this challenge and enjoyed it very much!

>61 mathgirl40: I'm definitely going to read Bringing up the Bodies! But I need a breather from the intensity of Wolf Hall. Isn't Anne Boleyn amazingly alive in Wolf Hall? I think Mantel's characterization of her was one of the most impressive aspects of the book.