The Morning News’ Tournament of Books is scheduled to begin next Friday. I have no idea why I get so excited by this competition each year. The list of judges has been announced, and Powell’s is offering 30% off all nominated books. I’m sure that your local independent bookstore would also be willing to sell you any of the titles in the running.
The Tournament has added a wagering pool to this year’s event. I have friends that assure me that betting makes anything more interesting. Invariably, whatever I wager on loses. I don’t find that very interesting. I decided to bet on the winner of this year’s Tournament anyway, however, because the proceeds go the charity First Book. And the winners will receive a big bag of schwag. From the site:
Each $2.50 we raise buys one kid one book, so your ten bucks buys four. With these matching donations however, your $10 wager has the power to buy 32 new books for underprivileged kids.
What kind of heartless bastard says “no” to that. I’m in for $10 on Junot Diaz’s The Brief History of Oscar Wao. Of course, this means that Oscar Wao will be eliminated very early in the competition. I apologize to the author for placing this bet.
