Zombie Sisters Rule

As you know if you've been reading this blog over the last few weeks, The Morning News Tournament of Books has been enthralling me. It is interesting to me to see how people read and review (and disagree on) certain "top shelf" titles.

Today, the winner was announced for this year's tournament. And it's The Sisters Brothers, a book that has been in award announcements and reviews all year. It's also a "zombie book," which means it was originally knocked out of the tournament by a judge, but the fans voted it back into contention.
I first noticed this book last fall when I wrote about the Man Booker competition (click here). I don't always like to read the books that everyone is talking about because they often don't deliver for me.
The Sisters Brothers is particularly hard for me to pick up because it's a genre I don't normally find interesting (Westerns), it has been compared often to Cormac McCarthy (not my fave), and it is often described as incredibly violent (which is neither a con nor a pro for me).
The interesting thing for me about this year's Tournament of Books, though, has been the very thoughtful and thought-provoking reviews by the judges. Today, all of the judges weighed in on The Sisters Brothers, and I have to admit that their views have changed my mind about the book.
I'm intrigued by the humor that is often referenced, by the idea that the author is "an amazing storyteller" with a "stellar future ahead of him." And who couldn't love that incredible cover design?
So, okay Morning News, you hooked me with your zombie by going right for my brain. I'll let you know what I think about the book after I read it.
And I know how you love lists (well, I do and I hope you do). The tournament commentator John Warner has provided readers with his list of "books to watch" this year for the 2013 tournament.
Even though it's only March, John? Oh well, I do like to see what's on a list like that, so here you go. And note the Zombie book. Probably has an unfair advantage with a title like that:

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

Threats by Amelia Gray

Brain on Fire by Susanna Cahalan

Canada by Richard Ford

The Master Blaster by P.F. Kluge

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Arcadia by Lauren Groff

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus

The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits

Flatscreen by Adam Wilson

The Angry Buddhist by Seth Greenland

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison

You and Me by Padgett Powell

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

In One Person by John Irving

Home by Toni Morrison

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

The Cove by Ron Rash

Pure by Julianna Baggott

Dead Low Tide by Bret Lott

The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

How Should a Person Be by Sheila Heti

Zombie by J.R. Angelella

That’s Not a Feeling by Dan Josefson

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Dogma by Lars Iyer

Gorilla Beach by Nicole Polizzi

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Mountains of the Moon by I.J. Kay

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

The Sugar Frosted Nutsack by Mark Leyner

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub

Eating Up the Brackets

Now I've seen everything. You've read the recent posts I've done about The Morning News and its book bracket. Well Garden & Gun magazine is now doing a Southern food bracket. And someone out there is even doing a basketball bracket, apparently.

I just found the food bracket, which is genius. Its point is to crown the king-daddy of all Southern dishes. A tournament like that could spark some serious slap-fights at the next family reunion.
Garden & Gun splits its bracket into four categories: Classic, Barbecue, Low Country, and Cajun/Creole. This fight is almost down to the Final Four (which sounds familiar, no?). And you can vote on all of your favorites.
Evidently, Cornbread beat out Mac & Cheese to advance in the Barbecue segment. Does that even make sense? First, there is no barbecue involved. And second, how in the world could Mac & Cheese beat Cornbread? My Southern-girl roots are deeply offended.
Oh, and why isn't biscuits-and-gravy included? Was the person who compiled this bracket even Southern? But I digress.
Yesterday, I voted for Shrimp & Grits over Hoppin' John in the Low Country category, but Hoppin' John won. Over grits. Oh, and did I mention the grits? The one foodstuff that originated in the South? Humph.
Today's vote will cause family rifts – it pits Fried Chicken against Country Fried Steak. My husband and I could have a fight over that one (I voted for Fried Chicken).
And tomorrow it's Beignets vs. Gumbo in the Cajun/Creole segment. Duh – fried dough with sugar wins every time. Just go to any county fair in the South if you don't agree and you'll see what I mean. The overall winner will be announced on April 9.
I'll keep an eye on this bracket, just like I'm keeping you up to date on The Morning News Tournament of Books. Time to check in on the Zombie Rounds.
As I told you on Monday, this is the one chance for fans to vote books back into contention (raising them from the dead, so to speak). And what do you know, some freaks people voted The Sisters Brothers back in! Seriously? Sigh. Moreover, the scary book won today's round and moves into the championship bout on March 30. It will go up against the winner of tomorrow's fight between Open City and the zombie vote Art of Fielding.
Never thought I'd root for baseball, but "Go Fielding!"

The Zombies Approach

If you have been following The Morning News Tournament of Books (what? like there's another tournament?), you will realize that we are down to the semifinal rounds.

Today, judge Michelle Orange took 1Q84 out of contention, which is good because I am scared of that book. Its sheer size could flatten you. Instead, she chose Lightning Rods to move up the bracket. Tomorrow, another book that scares me will be in contention when The Sisters Brothers faces off against Open City. The Sisters Brothers is supposed to be a tour de force, but it's just a violent incomprehensible dialog to me.
Never fear, though, the zombies are coming! Well, at least the "zombie round" is coming. This is the type of fan-input that I believe would greatly benefit the NCAA.
You see, The Morning News asks readers to vote for their favorite books from the past year while the judges are doing their thing. The books that have been knocked out have a chance to come back from the dead, with the top two fan favorites re-entering the play. We'll know the first zombie on Wednesday. Please please please do not let it be 1Q84. I'm scared enough already.