Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

In 2019, I want to concentrate on books that have garnered the attention of the judging panels of various prizes. I have chosen 19 prizes (because it’s 2019) that cover a variety of nationalities, genres, and book/author criteria. At least 50% of the books I read in 2019 will be from these prize lists and I plan to read a minimum of 2 books per prize.

Number of Award Nominated Books/Total Books Read
75/127 (59%)

Counts Per Prize
Women's Prize for Fiction: 28 [average rating 3.78]
Booker Prize: 23 [average rating 3.69]
Carnegie Medal: 19 [average rating 3.63]
National Book Award: 13 [average rating 3.76]
Walter Scott Prize: 11 [average rating 3.90]
Costa Book Award: 11 [average rating 3.90]
National Book Critics Circle Award: 8 [average rating 3.87]
Folio Prize: 8 [average rating 3.62]
Clarke Award: 7 [average rating 4.00]
Desmond Elliott Prize: 6 [average rating 4.16]
Dylan Thomas Prize: 6 [average rating 3.83]
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: 6 [average rating 3.83]
Nebula Award: 6 [average rating 3.83]
Scotiabank Giller Prize: 6 [average rating 3.33]
Tiptree Award: 5 [average rating 4.00]
Goldsmiths Prize: 5 [average rating 3.80]
The Kitschies: 4 [average rating 4.25]
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize: 4 [average rating 3.50]
The Stella Prize: 3 [average rating 3.66]

LITERARY FICTION

1. Booker Prize [average rating 3.69]
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the UK.
1. Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (4 Stars)
2. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (3 Stars)
3. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (4 Stars)
4. History of the Rain by Niall Williams (3 Stars)
5. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (5 Stars)
6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (4 Stars)
7. Milkman by Anna Burns (4 Stars)
8. Normal People by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
9. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4 Stars)
10. God On The Rocks by Jane Gardam (3 Stars)
11. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (4 Stars)
12. Snap by Belinda Bauer (3 Stars)
13. The Long Song by Andrea Levy (4 Stars)
14. Lila by Marilynne Robinson (4 Stars)
15. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (4 Stars)
16. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4 Stars)
17. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (3 Stars)
18. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (4 Stars)
19. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (4 Stars)
20. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (3 Stars)
21. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak (3 Stars)
22. The Green Road by Anne Enright (3 Stars)
23. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (4 Stars)

2. Carnegie Medal [average rating 3.63]
The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction recognizes the best fiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year.
1. Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (4 Stars)
2. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (3 Stars)
3. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (4 Stars)
4. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (4 Stars)
5. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (4 Stars)
6. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (3 Stars)
7. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (5 Stars)
8. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (3 Stars)
9. Outline by Rachel Cusk (3 Stars)
10. The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan (3 Stars)
11. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (4 Stars)
12. Lila by Marilynne Robinson (4 Stars)
13. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (4 Stars)
14. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (5 Stars)
15. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (3 Stars)
16. The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam (3 Stars)
17. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (4 Stars)
18. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (3 Stars)
19. The Green Road by Anne Enright (3 Stars)

LITERARY FICTION (cont.)

3. Center for Fiction First Novel Prize [average rating 3.50]
The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize is awarded to the best debut novel of the year.
1. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (3 Stars)
2. Girl at War by Sara Nović (4 Stars)
3. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta (3 Stars)
4. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (4 Stars)

4. Costa Book Award [average rating 3.90]
Costa Book Awards honour some of the most outstanding books of the year written by authors based in the UK and Ireland.
1. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain (4 Stars)
2. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld (4 Stars)
3. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (4 Stars)
4. Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell (3 Stars)
5. Normal People by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
6. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4 Stars)
7. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins (5 Stars)
8. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (4 Stars)
9. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4 Stars)
10. The Road Home by Rose Tremain (4 Stars)
11. The Green Road by Anne Enright (3 Stars)

5. Desmond Elliott Prize [average rating 4.16]
The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK.
1. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (5 Stars)
2. A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (4 Stars)
3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (4 Stars)
4. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
5. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (4 Stars)
6. Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak (4 Stars)

6. Dylan Thomas Prize [average rating 3.83]
The Dylan Thomas Prize is awarded to the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under.
1. Normal People by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
2. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (4 Stars)
3. A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (4 Stars)
4. Melmoth by Sarah Perry (3 Stars)
5. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
6. Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (4 Stars)

7. Folio Prize [average rating 3.62]
The Rathbones Folio Prize is open to all works of literature written in English and published in the UK. All genres and all forms of literature are eligible.
1. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (3 Stars)
2. Milkman by Anna Burns (4 Stars)
3. Outline by Rachel Cusk (3 Stars)
4. The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan (3 Stars)
5. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4 Stars)
6. A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (4 Stars)
7. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
8. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4 Stars)

8. Goldsmiths Prize [average rating 3.80]
The Goldsmith Prize rewards fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form.
1. Outline by Rachel Cusk (3 Stars)
2. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4 Stars)
3. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (4 Stars)
4. A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (4 Stars)
5. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4 Stars)

LITERARY FICTION (cont.)

9. National Book Award [average rating 3.76]
The National Book Award is an American literary prize administered by the National Book Foundation.
1. Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg (4 Stars)
2. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (2 Stars)
3. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (4 Stars)
4. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (5 Stars)
5. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (3 Stars)
6. Far North by Marcel Theroux (4 Stars)
7. A Death in the Family by James Agee (4 Stars)
8. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (4 Stars)
9. The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor (3 Stars)
10. Lila by Marilynne Robinson (4 Stars)
11. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (4 Stars)
12. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (5 Stars)
13. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (3 Stars)

10. National Book Critics Circle Award [average rating 3.87]
The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards to promote the finest books published in English.
1. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (4 Stars)
2. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (3 Stars)
3. Milkman by Anna Burns (4 Stars)
4. Euphoria by Lily King (4 Stars)
5. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (4 Stars)
6. The Carrying: by Ada Limon (4 Stars)
7. Lila by Marilynne Robinson (4 Stars)
8. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (4 Stars)

11. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction [average rating 3.83]
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author published during the preceding calendar year.
1. Ruined by Lynn Nottage (4 Stars)
2. The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan (3 Stars)
3. A Death in the Family by James Agee (4 Stars)
4. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (4 Stars)
5. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (5 Stars)
6. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (3 Stars)

12. Scotiabank Giller Prize [average rating 3.33]
The Scotiabank Giller Prize is an award that goes to the author of a Canadian novel or short story fiction collection published in English (including translation) deemed by a jury to be the best published in the previous year.
1. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (3 Stars)
2. Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper (3 Stars)
3. Outline by Rachel Cusk (3 Stars)
4. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald (4 Stars)
5. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (3 Stars)
6. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (4 Stars)

13. The Stella Prize [average rating 3.66]
The Stella Prize is a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing.
1. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld (4 Stars)
2. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (3 Stars)
3, The Strays by Emily Bitto (4 Stars)

LITERARY FICTION (cont.)

14. Women’s Prize for Fiction [average rating 3.78]
The Women’s Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English.
1. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain (4 Stars)
2. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks (3 Stars)
3. All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld (4 Stars)
4. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien (3 Stars)
5. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (4 Stars)
6. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (4 Stars)
7. The Undertaking by Audrey Magee (4 Stars)
8. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (5 Stars)
9. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (3 Stars)
10. Girl at War by Sara Nović (4 Stars)
11. Milkman by Anna Burns (4 Stars)
12. Normal People by Sally Rooney (4 Stars)
13. Outline by Rachel Cusk (3 Stars)
14. The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan (3 Stars)
15. A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride ( 4 Stars)
16. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 Stars)
17. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (4 Stars)
18. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald (4 Stars)
19. The Long Song by Andrea Levy (4 Stars)
20. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (4 Stars)
21. The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter (3 Stars)
22. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (4 Stars)
23. How to Be Both by Ali Smith (4 Stars)
24. The Road Home by Rose Tremain (4 Stars)
25. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (4 Stars)
26. Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (4 Stars)
27. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (3 Stars)
28. The Green Road by Anne Enright (3 Stars)


HISTORICAL FICTION

15. Walter Scott Prize [average rating 3.90]
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary prize that celebrates quality, innovation and longevity of writing in the English language.
1. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain (4 Stars)
2.Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (4 Stars)
3. The Undertaking by Audrey Magee (4 Stars)
4. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (3 Stars)
5. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan (5 Stars)
6. Wake by Anna Hope (4 Stars)
7. Sugar Money by Jane Harris (4 Stars)
8. The Long Song by Andrea Levy (4 Stars)
9. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (3 Stars)
10. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (4 Stars)
11. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (4 Stars)

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY

16. Clarke Award [average rating 4.00]
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.
1. Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (4 Stars)
2. The Machine by James Smythe (4 Stars)
3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (4 Stars)
4. Far North by Marcel Theroux (4 Stars)
5. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 Stars)
6. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (4 Stars)
7. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (3 Stars)

17. The Kitschies [average rating 4.25]
The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic.
1. Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (4 Stars)
2. The Machine by James Smythe (4 Stars)
3. The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang (4 Stars)
4. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 Stars)

18. Nebula Award [average rating 3.83]
The Nebula Awards, for eligible novels published in the United States during the two previous years, are voted on by members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.
1. Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (3 Stars)
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (4 Stars)
3. The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang (4 Stars)
4. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (4 Stars)
5. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (5 Stars)
6. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (3 Stars)

19. Tiptree Award [average rating 4.00]
The James Tiptree Jr. Literary Award is an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender.
1. My Real Children by Jo Walton (4 Stars)
2. Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (3 Stars)
3. Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (4 Stars)
4. The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang (4 Stars)
5. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5 Stars)

LOVE LOVE LOVE this. (Feel free to delete this if you want this space for your posts, but I just had to share how excited I am about this.)

Katie wrote: "LOVE LOVE LOVE this."

Thanks Katie! I had so much fun looking through all these prize lists over the past couple months.

dalex, I stole this idea from you, I loved it so much. EXCEPT, I threw out the science fiction fantasy awards and put in the mystery ones. Now it's perfect for me. Hope you don't mind me using this too.

This is fabulous...plus gives the rest of us a lot more wonderful lists to peruse.

Ann wrote: "dalex, I stole this idea from you, I loved it so much. EXCEPT, I threw out the science fiction fantasy awards and put in the mystery ones. Now it's perfect for me. Hope you don't mind me using this too,"

That's perfectly fine Ann! I look forward to seeing your version of a prize challenge.

Lizzy wrote: "This is fabulous...plus gives the rest of us a lot more wonderful lists to peruse."

Thanks!

😐 Guys, I can't possibly do anymore challenges. I can't even finish the ones I have planned lol.
But I do LOVE this idea....so much.

Tracy wrote: "😐 Guys, I can't possibly do anymore challenges. I can't even finish the ones I have planned lol. But I do LOVE this idea....so much."

I chose most of the books for my ATY challenge from these prizes so I can complete both challenges with just the one list of books.

It's totally doable Tracy. You should try it! (And there are a bazillion million different awards for books so it would be very easy to customize to your reading preferences.)

dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "😐 Guys, I can't possibly do anymore challenges. I can't even finish the ones I have planned lol. But I do LOVE this idea....so much."

I chose most of the books for my ATY challenge f..."

True. Good point.
I'm having issues for some reason with double dipping for challenges. Its a weird mindset and I need to get over it. Logically I know I can't READ ALL THE BOOKS, but I want to.

I had a similar problem my entire life with DNFing books. I swear it could have been the worst book ever and if I started it I would have to finish. Finally solved that problem last year and DNF'd my first book EVER at the age of 42 lol.

Progress, I guess.

Tracy wrote: "I'm having issues for some reason with double dipping for challenges. I had a similar problem my entire life with DNFing books."

I think it's fun to see how many challenges I can fit one book into. Maybe if you thought of it like that?

I totally understand not wanting to DNF a book. I rarely do but sometimes a book is just so bad that it's simply impossible (and unreasonable) to force myself to read it. I can't believe you never DNFed a book until last year! Wow. :lol:

dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I'm having issues for some reason with double dipping for challenges. I had a similar problem my entire life with DNFing books."

I think it's fun to see how many challenges I can fi..."

I don't like to DNF because a lot of times if I stick with it I find something I love ( case in point: Frankenstein also Bleak House) AND, I just noticed I DNF'd 2 last year. Go me! Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I just couldn't do it. And the other was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which made me sad, because I wanted to like it. I'll probably give it another go at some point, but all those foot notes were frustrating me and I was running out of time, so I threw it against the wall and read something else for whatever prompt.

Tracy, I really like the audiobook of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. It was really well done, and not long at all. Bonus: no footnotes. Down side: I had no idea what all the Spanish words meant. I guess I could have just googled.

In January, I read three award-nominated books.


The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
(4 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction
Costa Book Award
Walter Scott Prize

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
(3 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
(4 Stars)
Carnegie Medal
Booker Prize
National Book Award

In February, I read five award-nominated books.

My Real Children by Jo Walton
(4 Stars)
Tiptree Award

All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
(4 Stars)
Costa Book Award
The Stella Prize
Women’s Prize for Fiction

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
(3 Stars)
Nebula Award
Tiptree Award

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
(3 Stars)
Booker Prize
Carnegie Medal
Folio Prize
Scotiabank Giller Prize
Women’s Prize for Fiction

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
(4 Stars)
Booker Prize
Carnegie Medal
Costa Book Award
Walter Scott Prize

In March I read 10 award-nominated books.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
(4 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction
Carnegie Medal

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
(4 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction
Carnegie Medal
National Book Award
National Book Critics Circle Award

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta
(4 Stars)
Clarke Award
The Kitschies
Tiptree Award

The Undertaking by Audrey Magee
(4 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction
Walter Scott Prize

History of the Rain by Niall Williams
(3 Stars)
Booker Prize

The Machine by James Smythe
(4 Stars)
Clarke Award
The Kitschies

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
(3 Stars)
Carnegie Medal
Walter Scott Prize

Ruined by Lynn Nottage
(4 Stars)
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
(5 Stars)
Women's Prize for Fiction
Carnegie Medal
National Book Award
Walter Scott Prize

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
(5 Stars)
Booker Prize
Desmond Elliott Prize

Hi Dalex! I really like this idea and may do something like it for 2020. I tend to look for award winners and nominees anyway. I can’t believe I’m already thinking about 2020 challenges! 😂

Bluegrass Pam wrote: "Hi Dalex! I really like this idea and may do something like it for 2020. I tend to look for award winners and nominees anyway. I can’t believe I’m already thinking about 2020 challenges! 😂"

I definitely encourage you to try a prize challenge. I've found some really magnificent books by doing this!

And....I totally get it about already planning for 2020. :lol:

And I have completed my "19 Prizes in 19" challenge!

75 of the 127 (59%) books I read this year were prize nominees.

Top Prizes Read
Women’s Prize for Fiction - 28
Booker Prize - 23
Carnegie Medal - 19
National Book Award - 13
Walter Scott Prize - 11
Costa Book Award - 11


Highest Rated Prizes
The Kitschies - average rating 4.25
Desmond Elliott Prize - average rating 4.16
Clarke Award - average rating 4.00
Tiptree Award - average rating 4.00
Walter Scott Prize - average rating 3.90
Costa Book Award - average rating 3.90


Favorite Prize-Nominated Books

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Carnegie Medal, National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction


The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Clarke Award, The Kitschies, Tiptree Award, Women’s Prize for Fiction


The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
Costa Book Award


Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
Booker Prize, Desmond Elliott Prize


The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Nebula Award


Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Carnegie Medal, National Book Award, Walter Scott Prize, Women’s Prize for Fiction


Far North by Marcel Theroux
National Book Award, Clarke Award


A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
Clarke Award


Euphoria by Lily King
National Book Critics Circle Award


The Strays by Emily Bitto
Stella Prize