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#LitsyTob23
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BarbaraBB
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I loved the analytic way today‘s judge considered both contenders. It was a hard choice. This final QF has been the hardest for us in the #LitsyToB23. With just a few votes in its favor, Rabbit Hutch is our winner. It advances to the Semifinals, in which it‘ll be up against Sea of Tranquility.

Please vote for the semifinals before Monday! https://forms.gle/FJYyLjjA53TFh8qr7 ‼️

jlhammar Voted! Thanks, Barbara. Such a fun judgement today 😆 - loved it! And, of course, I'm over the moon that both Goose and Rabbit make it to the semifinals. 1d
See All 13 Comments
squirrelbrain I just voted too! I‘m pleased with today‘s outcome; both great books though. 1d
Ruthiella I voted! I‘d love to see Goose and Rabbit duke it out for the Rooster! 🐓 1d
Jas16 I voted. I appreciated the judgment although I would have a different decision. I liked both books and am not mad seeing Rabbit Hutch advance. 1d
merelybookish Nice to return to a good judgement today. Enjoyed the graphs! Also very happy that both animals are still in it. 🦆🐇💪 @jlhammar @Ruthiella 1d
sarahbarnes Yay for Rabbit Hutch! Agreed with @Ruthiella @jlhammar @merelybookish - very glad to see the goose and the rabbit still hanging in there. 😁 1d
Hooked_on_books With today‘s judgment, every single matchup of this round went against me! Oh well. I also appreciated the judgement as some others did today. It helps that she liked the books, but her creativity and playfulness are refreshing. 1d
Suet624 I smiled all the way through reading this judge‘s remarks. I loved the process used to determine the winner. 1d
BkClubCare @Suet624 - Yay MATH! 🧮 1d
Suet624 @BkClubCare 😂😂😂 1d
Cinfhen Ohhhh, I think I see an animal matchup 🐇 vs 🦆 14h
50 likes13 comments
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BarbaraBB
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This is the only QF that‘s different from the #ToB23 one. In the real ToB Notes on your sudden disappearance is up against T3, in the #LitsyToB23 it is Seven Moons vs T3. With more than 20 votes T3 is our winner and therefor our second semi-finalist! The real tournament has its first surprise: Notes advances, which didn‘t make it past the opening round in our tournament!

See All 18 Comments
rmaclean4 Wow!! 4d
Suet624 I had to rush over to the website to read the results because I honestly couldn‘t believe what you were saying. 4d
BkClubCare Surprise! 🎉 4d
BkClubCare I whooped out loud - I love knowing others LOVE Notes! YAY! 4d
jlhammar Sad to see T3 knocked-out in the official tournament, but at least there‘s a chance of it returning as a zombie. Very happy it advances in our version! 4d
RebelReader Very surprised! I liked Notes but like T3 more. 4d
Megabooks No question that T3 is a better book than either it was against. It was one of my favorite books of last year, and it is probably top 10 all time. 4d
Cinfhen I enjoyed the judges comments and appreciated the decision. It was definitely a surprise & I LOVED it!! I wasn‘t as enamored with T3 as many others were so I respect Notes advancing. @jlhammar is right… T3 might sweep back in during the zombie 🧟‍♀️ 4d
Ruthiella I love it when there are surprising upsets like this in the ToB! I enjoyed Notes more than Tx3 or The 7 Moons. But I do have to give props to 7 Moons in that I didn‘t love the experience of slogging through it, but it has really stayed with me. Definitely, Tx3 could zombie. I just didn‘t connect with it emotionally the way other readers did. 4d
Addison_Reads I was surprised by today's choice in the official tournament. Like @Megabooks Tx3 is one of my favorite books, and not just in the ToB. I hope it gets an extra life and some extended playing time thanks to the zombie round. 4d
Larkken Oof! Oy. Maybe I should be happy (?) that everyone adores a book where so much of it reminds me of my cringy inner monologue from high school alongside juicy Hallmark-movie-esque plot developments? I don‘t know if I can believe something so like my inner demons can count as art-adjacent lol 4d
squirrelbrain Of course, Notes is the one book I didn‘t read…trots off to see if it‘s come down in price anywhere. 3d
Readerann I haven‘t read Notes, but am in the middle of Seven Moons and am happy with our decision today! 3d
Hooked_on_books Wow, Notes beat T3?!? I did not see that coming! I‘m even more curious now to read this judgment! 3d
Hooked_on_books The judgement is really thoughtful, as many of them seem to be. I like that. And I‘m happy to see T3 as a zombie, especially as it boots out MPP (though I wish it had booted Babel). 😆 3d
54 likes18 comments
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BarbaraBB
Sea of Tranquility: A Novel | Emily St. John Mandel
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Babel might have been the most surprising read for us this year. Most participants of the #LitsyToB23 enjoyed it more than expected. @Cinfhen @RebelReader and @kwmg40 even root for it in this years tournament.
It was up against Sea of Tranquility however, a book even more popular among us. Unfortunately Babel didn‘t stand a chance. Sea of Tranquility is our winner in this match! Unexpectedly, in my humble opinion, the #ToB23 judged likewise

Addison_Reads I loved them both, and I'm sad to see Babel out. I hated that these two were paired together. 2w
Megabooks Even though Mandel and that book have a huge place in my heart. I‘ll definitely read Kuang again though. 2w
See All 23 Comments
jlhammar Pleased with this outcome. I have to disagree with the judge regarding the HBO Station Eleven adaptation. It‘s quite different from the book, but I absolutely loved it. Funny that someone who avoids sci-fi and fantasy gets stuck judging this match. Though I think Babel is one that many who don‘t usually read fantasy have loved and same for Sea and those who may not usually enjoy sci-fi elements. 2w
RebelReader I‘m disappointed that Babel didn‘t move on because Sea was not my cup of tea, but on to the next matchup! 🤣 2w
Jas16 Another match up of two of my favorites from the list and another outcome I wish had gone the other way. 2w
kwmg40 Too bad for Babel, but I loved Sea also (just a tiny bit less) so I can live with the judgements. I do hope Babel returns as a zombie. 2w
batsy I've not read Mandel because it does feel like I should start from the beginning which I think is Station Eleven (that I haven't read), but I think the assessment of Babel was fair. I liked it, but with the same qualifications as the judge—the heavy-handedness grew exhausting. 2w
Deblovestoread I enjoyed both books. And although Babel got my vote I‘m not sorry to see Sea of Tranquility advance. 2w
batsy ("I really wished Babel would branch out beyond the scone" made me laugh lol) 2w
Cinfhen I am disappointed since this was my least favorite book by Mandel but I‘m ok with Sea moving on. I do wish these two weren‘t up against each other but that‘s life. 2w
Readerann I, too, wish both could have moved on. But Sea was my fav of this ToB. 2w
Suet624 I believe I voted for Sea because a) I liked it and b) there was no way I was going to tackle Babel. I sing praises on all of you ambitious readers who read it and enjoyed it. 2w
Ruthiella I definitely preferred the deft and understated writing in Sea over the didactic tone of Babel. 2w
BarbaraBB @batsy I agree with the judge too, it was too long and turned exhausting. Buy it deserved to make it further in the tournament. The brackets suck this year! @Addison_Reads @Megabooks @squirrelbrain @Jas16 @kwmg40 @Deblovestoread @Readerann 1w
sarahbarnes Agreed that I liked Babel more than I expected to, but as a huge Mandel fan, I was happy to see that one advance. 1w
Larkken This is one where I changed my mind after voting! I think Babel was hugely cerebral and grows on me despite the dragged-on tragic ending while I‘m finding the long author-in-a-pandemic subplot of SoT is sticking in my mind and not in a good way. #unpopularopinions I think! 🤪 but I‘m also with all of you thinking both books deserved to move on! So it‘s nitpicky. Should I be more annoyed that genre books were pitted against each other? (edited) 1w
Larkken @batsy just read that! Lol 1w
Hooked_on_books Have you read a book where you enjoyed parts of it, but the author did something that made you by the end almost hate the book? Then every time you see someone say how great it is, you hate it a little bit more? That‘s me with Babel. I was so sure we were going to pick it and I‘m so glad we didn‘t. I‘m really happy to see Sea move on in both. 1w
BarbaraBB @Larkken I wonder too why they set up genre books against one another. Did they always do this I wonder? 1w
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Yes! I know that feeling very well. Not with Babel though. I had it recently with 1w
Suet624 @BarbaraBB oh gosh, yes. School for mothers…grumble, grumble. Just no. 1w
68 likes23 comments
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BarbaraBB
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“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ends its odyssey where we began, with Sam and Sadie and a video game. It‘s an elegant reset, and there‘s always the hope that this time around, they‘ll play it better.” It‘s the reason why today‘s #ToB23 judge has chosen Tomorrow over Dinosaurs.
In the #LitsyToB23 we were less outspoken. Many of us loved Dinosaurs and voted it but those votes are not enough: Tomorrow is our winner too!

jlhammar Yay! I really liked Dinosaurs, but not as much as Tomorrow. I totally agree with the judge about Tomorrow wearing “its heart on its sleeve.” 2w
merelybookish I am sad! 😭 🦖🦕💚 2w
Cinfhen This was one of the more interesting matchups for me, as I liked both but didn‘t LOVE either book. Im fine with the outcome but would have been ok if the winner was Dinosaurs. 2w
See All 19 Comments
Suet624 I would have been happy with either. 2w
squirrelbrain I liked both, but Dinosaurs has stayed with me longer. I don‘t mind so much that Tomorrow won though. 2w
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I felt exactly the same! 2w
Hooked_on_books I‘m the opposite of @squirrelbrain and @BarbaraBB —I read T3 last July and it‘s still with me, whereas I read (and liked) Dinosaurs after the shortlist was released and it‘s already mostly gone. I feel like todays judge quite liked both books, which made the judgement interesting to read (thought they should have made the redacted part available). I wasn‘t sure which way we would go, though! 2w
jlhammar @Hooked_on_books Yeah, I think T3 will stay with me more as well. If you highlight the redacted/cloaked part of the judgement you should be able to read it. I couldn‘t get it to work on my phone, but it worked okay on my laptop. 2w
Hooked_on_books @jlhammar Oh, I see. I was reading it on my phone, so that explains that. I‘m a little surprised that they were concerned about spoilers for T3 but not Dinosaurs, since they didn‘t redact spoilers for that one. 2w
jlhammar @Hooked_on_books Yes, I had wondered about that as well! 2w
Jas16 The bracket this year seems to love having my favorite books face off against each other. The decision on this one was going to hurt either way although Dinosaurs was my favorite of the two and one of my absolute favorites of the tournament. 2w
BkClubCare @Hooked_on_books - makes me wonder about the “popular” vote; I think reader counts are WAY higher for T&T&T (not that it makes sense to me as I reread this, but I wonder about this silent majority that “zombie-verbs” the Zombie vote. Am I making any sense? (edited) 2w
BkClubCare @Jas16 - I rated Tx3 the same as Dinosaurs but I felt more for Millet, especially as time goes by. 2w
Addison_Reads Both of these books I loved, but Tx3 is a favorite of mine so I'm happy with the results. Both of these authors are ones I love though so this match was my hardest to decide on. 2w
kwmg40 I liked Dinosaurs but am glad to see Tomorrow continue in both tournaments! 2w
Hooked_on_books @BkClubCare Uh, maybe? 😆 I agree that far more people have likely read T3 and it would thus be the more likely Zombie of these two. But I don‘t think that would impact the judge (not sure if that‘s what you meant or not). 2w
Ruthiella I wasn‘t overly fond of either book, so this could‘ve gone either way for me. But as usual, I really enjoy reading the commentary on the site because it shows me points that I didn‘t fully appreciate. 2w
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - I so enjoy the analysis and the convos of why things work or not for an individual reader. I dislike the “sorry, this book is just stupid and so are you” sounding comments. LOL (of course, some sting more than others.) Fun stuff! (edited) 2w
BkClubCare @Hooked_on_books - yeah, I don‘t know what I meant either 🤷🏻‍♀️ And was it the judge who decided to shield spoilers or the TOB production team? Whatever… not a big deal, I guess. (edited) 2w
60 likes1 stack add19 comments
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BarbaraBB
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There it is! The first bomb placed under the #ToB23! Notes wins from Seven Moons because the judge liked both and calls himself “one who roots for the underdog”. And he did, what a surprise!

In the #LitsyToB23 it was a close call as well. However, with two votes in its favour, we literature snobs, made Seven Moons today‘s winner 😉
So we are already drifting apart. Love it!

rmaclean4 Wow...that is a shock. 2w
BarbaraBB @rmaclean4 I am as surprised about the ToB‘a choice as about our! 2w
RebelReader I thought they would pick Moons even though I enjoyed Notes more. 2w
See All 19 Comments
merelybookish I picked Moons (not having read it) because I found Notes kinda dull. 2w
jlhammar Yeah, kind of surprised by this judgement, but don‘t feel strongly about this particular match. I bailed on Notes and probably should have bailed on Seven Moons. 2w
Suet624 I didn‘t read Moons but assumed it would beat Notes. So much for assumptions. 2w
batsy I am surprised by their choice! Didn't read Notes but felt like Seven Moons was a shoo-in. 2w
Jas16 Surprised by this one too. I liked Notes more but really thought Seven Moons would easily win. (edited) 2w
Chelsea.Poole I‘m surprised at how much Notes has stayed with me. I am in agreement with the judge, though I agree-it‘s surprising! 2w
squirrelbrain I didn‘t read Notes as I couldn‘t get hold of it, but didn‘t like Seven Moons. Interesting choices from both sides! 😁 2w
BkClubCare I am happy! And though, some books are more “obvious” (but, are they? Really?!) to win, I dislike the slight condescension in a few of the comments. So you didn‘t like xyz, even thought it weak, but GET OVER IT. Recognize that for some, this book hit the right buttons. Shhheeeeesh. 2w
BkClubCare Sorry, had some buttons pushed. Carry on, 🥺 2w
Cinfhen Wow!!! Surprised like the rest of you!! I didn‘t love Notes and bailed (twice) on Moons but I was expecting the reverse decision- thought for sure Moon would advance in the official tournament and Notes would have won ours. Like @Suet624 so much for assumptions 😁 (edited) 2w
Ruthiella A classic ToB upset! Love it! 😂 2w
Hooked_on_books I was curious but uninvested in this particular decision. As I finished each pair, I jotted down my vote. This is the only one that changed on later reflection. I initially picked Moons, but when we voted I went with Notes, as it had stuck with me more. Interesting results today! 2w
sarahbarnes We literature snobs indeed! 😂 I didn‘t read Notes but I‘m okay with that one advancing in the real tournament. 2w
Larkken I didn‘t like Notes, and thought there were others on the longlist that did young woman‘s Bildungsroman better. Bah 😂 2w
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - my first reaction, too! It all usually falls apart for me anyway, that I love these mini wins. (And I really did enjoy 7Moons very much.) 2w
BkClubCare @sarahbarnes - I just found some positive critiques of Notes and… well, it is just fascinating how books hit or miss with people. 2w
65 likes19 comments
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BarbaraBB
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“So I tried again later, attempting to set myself up for success—only to again find myself uninterested in continuing, letting my eyes go fuzzy over the words.” Many of us will agree with the #ToB23 judge‘s opinion on Mercury Pictures Presents. She chose The Book of Goose as her winner, as did we in the #LitsyToB23. A convincing majority voted for Goose. Tracy however will be disappointed, she voted for Mercury as her favorite book. Happy weekend!

BarbaraBB I personally agreed very much with this quote by the judge: “While reading I thought of the many friends I had lost, friends I thought would be forever, and the cruelty of life that forces us to grow up. It is no small feat to capture the love and devastation of childhood friendships turned sour.”💕 (edited) 2w
BkClubCare I had a tough time with The Book of Goose and I think it just might be me with the style AND subject - not sure. But I was so bored with MPP! I so loved the author‘s prior books that I wanted to love this. I am not unhappy with this decision either way. 2w
sarahbarnes Yesssss!!! Go Goose! ♥️♥️♥️ 2w
See All 24 Comments
BarbaraBB @BkClubCare Both were not my favorites on the shortlist either but I also thought MPP was boring 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2w
merelybookish 💯 the right decision! I appreciated that the judge really like Book of Goose and didn't choose it as a lesser of two evils! 2w
batsy Happy with this result! I haven't read MPP and though I had some reservations with Goose I think it's a worthy winner. A distinctive book with some excellent writing, especially in the first half. 2w
jlhammar Woo-hoo! Thrilled to see Goose advance. I loved this match commentary by Kevin Guilfoile “Sometimes trying to find a reason you didn‘t like a novel is like trying to find a reason you didn‘t fall in love with somebody.“ 2w
batsy @jlhammar I just read it and was struck by that, too. So accurate! 2w
squirrelbrain I love that quote too @jlhammar @batsy - so true! I‘m pleased with the result - I found them both a bit forgettable though. 2w
Ruthiella I was disappointed with MPP. It was beautiful writing but too much, all over the place for me. I lost steam reading it. I definitely preferred the narrower focus of TBoG as well as its examination of a certain kind of friendship in childhood/adolescence. 2w
Readerann I didn‘t read Goose (yet), but I have a more favorable opinion of MPP than most of you. Because I found the characters so interesting, I was willing to put up with some disjointedness and overwriting. 2w
Chelsea.Poole I can agree with the judge‘s ruling here as well as what you‘ve quoted in your first comment! 2w
Hooked_on_books I fully expected us to go with Goose and good to see we‘re in concert with the official TOB! It‘s not my favorite of the tourney, but I felt MPP really didn‘t deliver. 2w
Cinfhen The official tournament is turning out to be full of surprises- im totally down with this decision 2w
Megabooks I think I voted for Mercury but only because I hated Goose. I‘ll once again draw a parallel between Mercury and Manhattan Beach. Flawlessly researched but DULL! And agree with you @BkClubCare ! 2w
Well-ReadNeck I fell in love with the characters on MPP. Goose did absolutely nothing for me. But I also couldn‘t get through My Brilliant Friend, which is well liked, but I could not finish. 2w
BarbaraBB @Well-ReadNeck Goose is comparable to My Brilliant Friend indeed. Typically European. I loved the Ferrantes series, and thought Goose was not as good. 2w
BarbaraBB @Megabooks Is Manhattan Beach as dull? Then I am glad I have kept postponing reading it! 2w
BkClubCare @BarbaraBB @MegaBooks - LOL! I adored Manhattan Beach! Isn‘t this just craziness? Shrug- it really is interesting why some books tick the “OH YEaH” and others don‘t. I would have advanced Goose because it felt “better” even as it wasn‘t for me. 2w
Jas16 I am the outlier who is not thrilled with this decision. I thought Goose was fine but really loved all of the stories and characters in MPP. 2w
BkClubCare @batsy - yes, I do think Goose the “better” (more literaturely book!?) than MPP. Yes,yes “whatever that means”) 2w
BkClubCare @Jas16 - good to know. I think it suffered from comparisons to his previous. I ❤️‘d Tsar AND Constellation. #comparisonbias 2w
BarbaraBB @Jas16 You‘re with @Well-ReadNeck so in good company! And among us a few more preferred it over Goose! And like @BkClubCare states, I think expectations might have been sky high because of his earlier books. (edited) 2w
BarbaraBB @batsy I thought the first half of Goose was much better too. 2w
58 likes24 comments
review
BkClubCare
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Pickpick

Ok, I am a few minutes late since I had hoped to post before it all started (oh well!) and here‘s my ranking grid.
Top row makes up my top4+ with my favorite getting the lower right sidebar ribboned location. The last row shows my least favorites and the middle is a jumbled swirling can‘t-decide mess. Bring it on! #Tob2023 #LitsyToB23

BarbaraBB Great graphics! Looking forward to the tournament! 2w
BkClubCare @BarbaraBB - I get stressed out by attempting to make these cool images 🤣 Yet, they seem to come together faster than I expect… (edited) 2w
jlhammar I love how we‘re all so different! This is going to be so interesting. 2w
See All 6 Comments
BkClubCare @jlhammar - it really is the beauty of the tournament. Everybody wins 🏆 2w
Ruthiella Interesting mix! We definitely have a few favorites in common. 👍 2w
BkClubCare @Ruthiella - I was thrilled to see the Booth mention a few of my favorites. 2w
45 likes6 comments
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Readerann
The Violin Conspiracy | Brendan Slocumb
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I won‘t finish this before the start of the tournament (100 pages in), but I am so disappointed. I love mysteries and I love the violin, but I do not love this writing. I‘m surprised the book made the shortlist. Oh well. Expectations were too high.
#ToB2023 #ToB23 #LitsyToB23

BarbaraBB It‘s an okay read but for me not shortlist worthy either! 3w
15 likes1 comment
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LitsyEvents
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Repost for @BarbaraBB

On Wednesday the #ToB23 begins and with it the #LitsyToB23.
So far, we‘ve chosen 10 different winners and 14 different zombies, so there‘ll be lots to discuss with all those different preferences, the comparison of our outcomes to the official ToB and of course the fact that the shortlist sucks 😂
If you haven‘t cast your votes yet for the opening round yet, you still can:
https://forms.gle/onDCsFUhe99CSzvJ7

36 likes1 comment
blurb
BarbaraBB
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On Wednesday the #ToB23 begins and with it the #LitsyToB23.
So far, we‘ve chosen 10 different winners and 14 different zombies, so there‘ll be lots to discuss with all those different preferences, the comparison of our outcomes to the official ToB and of course the fact that the shortlist sucks 😂
If you haven‘t cast your votes yet for the opening round yet, you still can:
https://forms.gle/onDCsFUhe99CSzvJ7

See you at the play-in round!

merelybookish Exciting! No clear frontrunner! 3w
rmaclean4 Sounds like it is going to be a fun ride! 3w
kwmg40 Just voted! Looking forward to the event! 3w
See All 13 Comments
Cinfhen Great graphics 🤩I‘m always so bummed how certain books I like are paired to go head to head😣 3w
BarbaraBB @kwmg40 Thanks! 3w
Chelsea.Poole @Cinfhen same here! I think it‘s intentional 😆 3w
BkClubCare SO EXCITING 😁🥰📚🤗🤪 3w
Deblovestoread So excited to see how it all plays out! 3w
squirrelbrain Can‘t wait! 3w
jlhammar Wow, this will be interesting! Can‘t wait! 3w
Hooked_on_books I‘m excited for Wednesday to get here! 3w
Ruthiella I voted! ✅ 3w
BarbaraBB @Ruthiella Yes! 👍🏽 3w
60 likes13 comments