The Tournament of Books

The annual Tournament of Books, that zany, diverting, and very satisfying on-line book competition, launches tomorrow. This year it has a new twist.

Instead of just watching as writers, book critics, and bloggers read books and compare them against one another, in a sort of NBAA bracketed-style competition, mere observers can now participate in the contest. The Tournament of Books has created the “Book Bloggers’ Office Pool.” Six bloggers have tried to predict the winner of the contest, and readers can compete to win the entire flight of books by choosing the blogger that correctly guesses the winner. Entries must be sent by 6 pm EST tonight.

It’s a lot easier to see that to write. Look here for the contest.

Two bloggers chose The Echo Maker by Richard Powers as the ultimate winner, two chose Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, one chose Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart and one chose Half of a Yellow Sun by

I personally am going to root for Gwenda Bond, of the blog Shaken and Stirred. She is voting for The Road.

I love these kind of contests. I love the notion that almost ordinary people with good literary tastes get to weigh in on excellent books. I love that there is no real prize attached, just the warm glow you get when someone appreciates your work. This is fun, not serious, although any press about a book can bring it more readers.

Here is the complete list of competing books. Powell’s is offering them for sale at a 30% discount during the competition.

Candidates for TMN’s 2007 Tournament of Books

Click on titles for 30 percent discounts on all candidates

Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
One Good Turn, Kate Atkinson
Arthur and George, Julian Barnes
Brookland, Emily Barton
English, August, Upamanyu Chatterjee
The Lay of the Land, Richard Ford
Pride of Baghdad, Niko Henrichon, Brian K. Vaughan
The Road, Cormac McCarthy
The Emperor’s Children, Claire Messud
The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo, Peter Orner
The Echo Maker, Richard Powers
Against the Day, Thomas Pynchon
Firmin, Sam Savage
Absurdistan, Gary Shteyngart
Alentejo Blue, Monica Ali
Apex Hides the Hurt, Colson Whitehead