I’m a little late in blogging this: The 2008 Tournament of Books started last week. It’s already in the fourth match of the first round. Sorry, sorry, but the first round is the least interesting, anyway, as it seems somewhat-to-very obvious which books will advance to the next bracket. (Pitting Denis Johnson’s National Book Award-winning Tree of Smoke against Jeff Parker’s funny and charming but ultimately disposable Ovenman was just mean.)

The tournament asks a handful of judges to read two books, and decide which one they prefer; the winner advances to the next round. So far, in addition to Tree of Smoke, Vendela Vida’s Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, Joshua Ferris’ Then We Came to the End, Jonathan Lethem’s You Don’t Love Me Yet (this one VERY grudgingly, only ‘cause the other book was deemed worse) have made it through the first round.

It’s fun ‘cause usually nerds don’t get to bet on things.

Check in over at The Morning News to follow the action. I hope somebody eliminates the Johnson book just for the hell of it, and makes the contest a little more interesting.