If you’re as excited about next month’s horror popup as we are, you’ll want to jump on this StoryGraph, courtesy of @mrsthrift.bsky.social! app.thestorygraph.com/reading_chal...

READRUM ~Coming Oct. 27~

READRUM ~Coming Oct. 27~

It’s the final match at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The Zombie Rounds ends today. Tomorrow: our summer final! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The Zombie Round begins at the summer bracket! “Creation Lake,” our Zombie poll top vote-getter, returns to face “The Safekeep,” which has been flattening the competition so far. And this time, upvotes become percentage points, so anything could happen www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

It's the final week at the summer bracket! Today, the semifinals wrap; tomorrow, the Zombie Round begins www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The semifinals begin at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The quarterfinals wrap at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

On to the second half of this summer’s quarterfinals! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The quarterfinals continue today at the summer bracket → www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The quarterfinals begin at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

The opening round draws to a close at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Over at the summer bracket, it’s the final week of our opening round! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Now live at the summer bracket → www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Here we go, on to the second half of the opening round! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Our first-ever summer bracket continues with “Real Americans” and “Wandering Stars.” www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Week two begins at the summer bracket! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

With one match down, the opening round continues at the summer bracket → www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

Get ready to vote and discuss (though not necessarily in that order). The summer bracket is now open! www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-sum...

👏 👏 👏

Match pairings to follow next week, but in the meantime here are the books that will be entering our first-ever summer bracket: “Absolution” by Jeff VanderMeer “The City and Its Uncertain Walls” by Haruki Murakami “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner “Good Material” by Dolly Alderton (1/3)

Bracket-based discussions with a twist, coming this summer www.tournamentofbooks.com/welcome-to-t...

Well deserved, but believe it or not, James is only Percival Everett's 4th best novel according to my entirely subjective, definitive ranking of his books that I've read. biblioracle.substack.com/p/the-defini...

Man, this is a pretty fucking gross move from Amazon, huh? Good on @bookshop.org for not mincing words, though:

Y’all, the ebook of The Book of Love is on sale for $1.99 right now.

soooo pleased with this outcome, though it would be hard to be displeased when both finalists are among the best novels published last year (both were in my personal top 10!) 📚💙

this year's @tournamentofbooks.com final is a goddamn nailbiter: www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/champio...

It’s the championship at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! Today, all the judges convene to decide which of this year’s finalists—“Martyr!” by Kaveh Akbar or “James” by Percival Everett—wins this year’s Rooster. www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/champio...

❤️

“I want to believe that immersion isn’t the same thing as escape—and still I’ve had a hard time reading books how I used to.” Mary Turfah closes the Zombie Round at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/zombie-...

“I have had zero engagement with the BIG LITERARY BOOKS of 2024. If there had been hype—well, I missed it.” Ivy Pochoda kicks off the Zombie Round at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/zombie-...

“Both [books] hit my trash-meets-highbrow mix of tastes with near algorithmic precision.” Sammy Loren wields the gavel at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social—and with today’s decision, the Zombies emerge! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/the-ext...

This judgement is why I love the tournament of books. In the comparing and contrasting and mulling over, there is magic. Thank you Judge @emilyhughes.bsky.social

“Maybe the ideal way to read these books *is* side by side—a compendium.” It’s a battle of the heavyweights today at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social, as @aditikhorana.bsky.social decides between “James” and “Martyr!” www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/james-v...

my @tournamentofbooks.com judgment is live!! I'm particularly proud of this piece of writing so please give it a look if you're inclined: www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/liars-v...

The quarterfinals conclude at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social, as @emilyhughes.bsky.social decides between “Liars” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/liars-v...

I wrote about Percival Everett's James and Rita Bullwinkel's Headshot for @tournamentofbooks.com. www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/james-v...

“Nothing survives the abattoir of the forest.” Nicholas Glastonbury makes the call between “The History of Sound” and “The Extinction of Irena Rey” as week three draws to a close at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/the-his...

“You know that feeling when you’re watching a show and you can figure out six of the story’s next chess moves? That’s how I don’t want to feel, ever.” @kellymcevers.bsky.social at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/martyr-...

“Everett and Bullwinkel take familiar genres and stories and make them strange and offbeat.” @kearse.bsky.social kicks off the quarterfinals today at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/james-v...

“I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn’t read any of the reviews or the jacket copy. I didn’t even look at the blurbs.” @michaeldavidlukas.bsky.social at today’s 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/margos-...

“When I told people I’d been reading two novels about bad relationships, they’d ask which was better, which made me pause. Better *at what*? Better *for* what?” @maxread.info today at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/liars-v...

Such a fantastic piece by Alena Saunders although as someone who absolutely loves Danzy Senna's writing I am not ashamed to say I was shocked by the conclusion this came to! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/colored... @tournamentofbooks.com

"I have come up with an extremely personal set of criteria of what makes a book enjoyable to read." Alena Saunders judges today’s match at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/colored...

Beautiful! cc @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social

“A punchy, unthreatening text suits the contemporary attention span, atrophied by technology and social media as it is for many of us.” Bobuq Sayed judges today’s match at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social! www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/orbital...

“Only a few hours ago I caught my phone throwing my reflection back at me: empty and devoid of rigor, not how I imagine it sees the world.” @meher.bsky.social judges today’s match at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/beautyl...

thinking about tony tulathimutte's paris review article about rejection plots today. super good longread by the writer of a super good book (that made me recoil and even scream in revulsion at points)

“I loved this book, and I fucking hated every character in it.” Jean Chen Ho makes the call in today’s match at the 2025 Tournament of Books, presented by @fieldnotesbrand.bsky.social www.tournamentofbooks.com/2025/martyr-...