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jmc_bksI sort of like basketball. In the sense that I'll leave the sound of it on in the background while doing other things. And I'll go to a game to be social. (After all, I've dragged people to baseball and football games; it's only fair to reciprocate.) But March Madness leaves me a little...meh.
So I appreciate the alternate bracket excitement offered by DA BWAHA, where 64 of the best books of the year battle it out for the top spot.
In past years, my bracket has been trashed early. I selected the books that I enjoyed or those that I thought were better, rather than those that were most popular. I haven't figured out what my strategy will be this year. Am printing out the brackets and then stewing over them, picking as carefully as the people participating in the office pool usually do. I may do a "favorites" version and a "realistic/popular" version.
Looking at the entrants, I haven't read a lot of them. And those that I have read were not necessarily keepers, which just goes to show that everyone's taste is different. Frex, in the contemporary category, of the eight, I've read or tried to read four of the books. Two of them royally pissed me off; the other two were okay but not awesome. I've only read two of the historicals, and thought they were both kind of average. Again, two of the SFR/Para -- but I don't really remember much about them. Two of the YA books: one was meh, the other was good, if not as good as its prequel. (What is it about the second book of a trilogy? And how did The Empire Strikes Back manage to avoid that slump?) Only one of the Novel with Romantic Elements: Grave Goods by Arianna Franklin rocked. Only one of the category romances: Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly, which I loved. I think I've got the Mayberry TBR, maybe I'll pull it out and give it a try...but unless it is amazing, Carla Kelly wins. I've read five of the GLBT candidates, and picking from three of those (Hard Fall by James Buchanan, False Colors by Alex Beecroft, and Tigers & Devils by Sean Kennedy) will be hard -- my preference vs. the one with better buzz/popularity. Read four of the urban fantasy entrants: not sure how that'll turn out.
Actually, after being eliminated early, I loved listening to (reading?) the trash talk going on between participants with better judgment than mine. The prizes are pretty cool, too.
So I appreciate the alternate bracket excitement offered by DA BWAHA, where 64 of the best books of the year battle it out for the top spot.
In past years, my bracket has been trashed early. I selected the books that I enjoyed or those that I thought were better, rather than those that were most popular. I haven't figured out what my strategy will be this year. Am printing out the brackets and then stewing over them, picking as carefully as the people participating in the office pool usually do. I may do a "favorites" version and a "realistic/popular" version.
Looking at the entrants, I haven't read a lot of them. And those that I have read were not necessarily keepers, which just goes to show that everyone's taste is different. Frex, in the contemporary category, of the eight, I've read or tried to read four of the books. Two of them royally pissed me off; the other two were okay but not awesome. I've only read two of the historicals, and thought they were both kind of average. Again, two of the SFR/Para -- but I don't really remember much about them. Two of the YA books: one was meh, the other was good, if not as good as its prequel. (What is it about the second book of a trilogy? And how did The Empire Strikes Back manage to avoid that slump?) Only one of the Novel with Romantic Elements: Grave Goods by Arianna Franklin rocked. Only one of the category romances: Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly, which I loved. I think I've got the Mayberry TBR, maybe I'll pull it out and give it a try...but unless it is amazing, Carla Kelly wins. I've read five of the GLBT candidates, and picking from three of those (Hard Fall by James Buchanan, False Colors by Alex Beecroft, and Tigers & Devils by Sean Kennedy) will be hard -- my preference vs. the one with better buzz/popularity. Read four of the urban fantasy entrants: not sure how that'll turn out.
Actually, after being eliminated early, I loved listening to (reading?) the trash talk going on between participants with better judgment than mine. The prizes are pretty cool, too.
