So the long list for the Man Booker prize has been announced and are listed below. A few I recognise from various blogs and a few I see were predicted.
Do big prizes like this interest you and do read any books from lists like these?
I guess I’m like most people, I sometimes read the winner of these things but mostly I read some of the shortlisted books a few years later when they pop up in 2nd hand bookshops. Im also quite lazy, there will be some bloggers that will read the list and I will add the ones they rave about to my wishlist. This year I have been tempted to read them but my TBR list is as long as my arm at the moment so I think I will make a pledge to do this next year or maybe I’ll read the shortlist? I think that could be fun.
The longlist includes:
Peter Carey
Parrot and Oliver in America (Faber and Faber)
Emma Donoghue
Room (Pan MacMillan - Picador)
Helen Dunmore
The Betrayal (Penguin - Fig Tree)
Damon Galgut
In a Strange Room (Grove Atlantic - Atlantic Books)
Howard Jacobson
The Finkler Question (Bloomsbury)
Andrea Levy
The Long Song
(Headline Publishing Group - Headline Review)
Tom McCarthy
C (Random House - Jonathan Cape)
David Mitchell
The Thousand Autumns of Zacob de Zoet (Hodder & Stoughton - Sceptre)
Lisa Moore
February (Random House - Chatto & Windus)
Paul Murray
Skippy Dies (Penguin - Hamish Hamilton)
Rose Tremain
Trespass (Random House - Chatto & Windus)
Christos Tsiolkas
The Slap (Grove Atlantic - Tuskar Rock)
Alan Warner
The Stars in the Bright Sky(Random House - Jonathan Cape)
I read the longlist last year and it meant some books I would never have read and might still not (like the marvellous Brooklyn for example) but it did take some joy out of reading for me because it came a ritual.
ReplyDelete'Skippy Dies' and 'The Slap' are two books on the list that I have really wanted to read for a while so I will read those anyway. I also really fancy Room.
I read the longlist each year and love it. It's actually my favorite time of my reading year. I agree with savidgereads -- I've found authors & books that I may have otherwise not heard of or picked up on my own.
ReplyDeleteSimon - I can understand that, I think if I was prepared for it it wouldnt be s much of a chore which is why Im not reading them this year. Guarenteed next year though my TBR list will still be long.
ReplyDeleteNancy - I will be keeping an eye on your blog then!!
I've never payed attention the long list before, I usually just look at the books on the short list and decide if it's something I want to read. But this year I'm going to give it a go and try to read as many from the list as I can. I figure since I have until October, I should be able to read quite a few, so long as the library queues co-operate with me.
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree that it can become a chore trying to get through the whole list. I figure I'll pick the ones that interest me the most first.
Although I don't always resonate with the winner, Booker prize does carry a weight for me. I have always made time and effort to read the longlist. The announcement means it's that time of the year in which I have to get my act together! I'm very interested in Dunmore, Mitchell, and Murray.
ReplyDeleteShan - I think the only reason I was tempted this year because quite alot of them appeal this year so I think I will read them eventually.
ReplyDeleteMatt - I think the Booker and the Pulitzer are the two big events which interest me the most, since there are a lot.