The list for the 2012 Tournament of Books was just announced on Facebook, although as I type this, I see that their web page has not been updated as of yet.
Anyway, take a look at this list! These books will be dueling it out for the win. I am reading four of them now (good timing on my part) and the rest of them, with the exception of a few, were already on my “want” list.
The 16 Books That Will Compete in the Eighth Annual Battle Royale
- Nathacha Appanah, The Last Brother
- Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
- Teju Cole, Open City
- Helen Dewitt, Lightning Rods
- Patrick DeWitt, The Sisters Brothers
- Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot*
- Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding*
- Alan Hollinghurst, Stranger’s Child*
- Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones*
- Haruki Murakami, 1Q84*
- Téa Obreht, The Tiger’s Wife
- Michael Ondaatje, The Cat’s Table
- Ann Patchett, State of Wonder
- Donald Ray Pollock, Devil All the Time
- Karen Russell, Swamplandia
- Kate Zambreno, Green Girl
To see the full announcement, including the names of the judges, check out this post.
Which ones do you plan to read?
*Books I’ve read or that I am reading now.
Book Chatter 
Gee, I haven’t read any of these but Last Brother is on my list to read.
How have I not heard of the tournament of books?? LOL. A lot of those are on my list… I just passed on a review copy of Open City but maybe I should go back to that? Of course, it would take me forever to get around to all those!!
I am not promising to read all of them. I typically never do, but there are some on there that I do plan to read this year. So many of them sound good.
I’ve got a couple of these I plan on reading: The State of Wonder, Swamplandia, IQ84, The Tiger’s Wife, The Marriage Plot, and The Sense of an Ending. Some of the others I haven’t heard of but I’m going to check them out.
State of Wonder really didn’t interest me before, but I just finished Lost City of Z, about a failed expedition in the Amazon, and now it appeals to me more.
This is a PHENOMENAL list! I have many of them on my wish list too, and a few of them are sitting there begging for my attention. This is very exciting!
I am enjoying 1Q84 right now and have only The Marriage Plot on my tbr. Not interested in State of Wonder for some odd reason. Maybe Swamplandia, maybe.
I am having a hard time getting into The Art of Fielding. I’ve been reading it forever. I am liking The Marriage Plot (quite a bit) as well as The Stranger’s Child (more than I thought I would). Salvage the Bones is a tough read. Easing into it. I loved 1Q84. So different. Enjoy it!
I just bought Green Girl…love books like that…
Really? Green Girl comes across as being pretty dark. Especially if it’s being compared to The Bell Jar.
I’ve already read 8 of them, which made me really happy. I’m hoping to squeeze in the other 8 before the tournament begins!
Yes! You’ve read so many of them. It’s an amazing list. Sometimes I don’t get the titles that end up on it, but this time, I agree.
Great list of books! there are some that I want to read while others I don’t know much about.
Have read 1Q84, Will try to get to some of the others.
Wow! What a great list. I’ve read 5 and have 6 others on my TBR list! Thanks for the heads up, Ti.
Great list; I’ve read 5 and own 3 more so I’m in good shape here:)
Oh cool. I’d like to read Swamplandia, The Marriage Plot, The Art of Fielding and The Sense of An Ending — and perhaps 19Q4. OF course, that would require me to purchase some of these books…
I got a lot of them from the library. I can’t afford to buy the new books all the time.
I read a few of these, and am set to read a few more before the tournament begins, so I will at least have some idea of what’s going on! The only one I didn’t really like was Salvage the Bones. Too much animal cruelty in that one.
I am reading Salvage now but in tiny bits. Usually there are always a few books on the list that I absolutely won’t read, but this list is a pretty good one. I’d read anything on it, really.
That list looks fabulous! There are many in there that I want to read, so maybe I should try and make the time/space to read them! I’ve only read State of Wonder, so that list is like a wishlist for me.
Ti,
If you or your readers are interested, I am holding an “unofficial TOB 2012” contest. Entrants predict who will win each match. I award points for correct predictions, the most points wins. The prize is two books. Details are here:
So far, my favorites are: The Sense of an Ending, The Last Brother, and The Sisters Brothers, with Barnes’s work well out in front. I am looking forward to Open City, The Tiger’s Wife, Salvage the Bones, and The Art of Fielding. State of Wonder has me interested, but I have not been bowled over. Green Girl never fulfilled its promise. Finally, while some readers like The Devil All the Time, I would recommend giving it a pass.
I hope you enjoy the Tournament and, if you choose to check in, good luck in my unofficial contest.
Thanks,
Kerry