August: She reads the Booker Prize Longlist

image from the Official Website of the Man Booker Prize

As noted below, the Booker Prize longlist is out. Each year I set aside the months of August and September  to read as many books as I possibly can before the winner is announced in October.  This is no easy feat, and I always want to get them read prior to the announcement of the shortlist -- which rarely ever happens. And I stink at predicting the winners, except for last year when I had a personal two-way tie between Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and The Glass Room, by Simon Mawrer and Mantel's book won. Had it gone the other way, I would have been just as happy -- The Glass Room is excellent. If you haven't had the opportunity to read it, definitely go get a copy. In many ways, it is much better than Mantel's book -- and it's unforgettable.

This year, also noted below, I've already read two that appear on the list, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (which I loved) and The Slap, which I thought was good but not great.  That leaves 11 to go:


in my library
Peter Carey Parrot and Olivier in America
Emma Donoghue Room
Andrea Levy The Long Song
Lisa Moore February
Rose Tremain Trespass

on its way:
Damon Galgut In a Strange Room
Tom McCarthy C 

pre-ordered

Paul Murray Skippy Dies
 
Left to buy: 
Helen Dunmore The Betrayal, 

Howard Jacobson The Finkler Question
Alan Warner The Stars in the Bright Sky

The books by Dunmore and Warner are sequels, so I also felt compelled to pick up the earlier ones so that I don't start in the middle of a story somewhere and feel lost. Call me anal, whatever, but I hate that feeling in the back of my head that I might be missing something.

As always, so as not to feel guilty about books I already own and haven't read, I'll be continuing to read through my tbr pile a little at a time. This also helps clear out my brain, which by October tends to be very tired to the point where I just want to read junk afterwards. I'll be posting each book's review as I finish.

wish me luck!