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Battle of the Books

My book is better!

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With rain in the forecast for next week, you might be looking for a clever new book to curl up with. Lucky for you The Morning News has just released their match ups for the 2012 Tournament of Books, an NCAA-style battle that pits fiction against fiction and highlights 16 of the year's most acclaimed, loved and underrated novels.

This year's list features new releases from beloved authors like Jeffrey Eugenides (Virgin Suicides, Middlesex) and Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood) as well as relative literary newcomers Chad Harbach (The Art of Fielding) and Karen Russell (Swamplandia!).

You can read commentary and reviews of the challengers at The Morning News Tournament of Books website. Today’s match? The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes vs. The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock, as judged by Emma Straub.

Powell's Books in Portland will offer a 30% discount off the cover price of these literary gems while the competition is taking place, or if you're one of the few folks who still know how the library works you can pick them up there for the excellent price of FREE.

If just reading the books isn't exciting enough for you, download a bracket here and follow the action Book vs. Book.