From the Stacks
By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
When my staff and I put together the bracket for this year’s March Book Madness competition, the general consensus was “Killers of the Flower Moon” would be the 2024 Champion.
After all, it’s been popular with our readers since it came out in 2017, and the release of the movie only increased the number of requests for it. It was a natural choice as one of our sixteen titles and many bracket holders agreed it would definitely be a finalist if not the actual winner (that would include me).
I’m not surprised that “To Kill a Mockingbird” is once again a finalist; after all it always pops up on all-time favorite book lists, although it had to overcome a couple of formidable opponents. However, I did not expect to see Harper Lee’s classic go up against “The Boys in the Boat,” in the Championship Round.
Don’t get me wrong—I love Daniel James Brown’s story of the University of Washington’s crew team and I’m thrilled that others apparently agree with me. I’ve pushed that book into so many people’s hands and nearly everyone reported back to me that they enjoyed it, too.
I can speculate about why it overtook “Killers of the Flower Moon” but in the end, it doesn’t matter. Two of my favorite books are vying against each other so really there is no winner or loser as far as I’m concerned. After all, my bracket is out of consideration.
There’s still time for you to vote for one of these two deserving titles; all you need to do is go to www.pplonline.org/march-madness to cast your ballot by Saturday.
Will it be the beloved classic or the tale of the 1936 American dream team? Check this space on Monday for the big reveal.