Play Book Tag discussion

The Booker Prize Longlist has been announced:
https://thebookerprizes.substack.com/...

Love Forms
The South
Universality
One Boat
Flashlight
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Audition
The Rest of our Lives - https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...
The Land in Winter
Endling
Flesh
Seascraper
Misinterpretation

7 books with one word titles

Great observation about the one word titles, lol!

I am super excited to dig into this list - - very fresh compared to years past. I have only read one! I tried to predict the list and only got three right. A lot of these are short which is also nice because maybe I can read them before the deadlines.

I have read six:

- Endling - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Audition - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Flashlight - 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Universality - 4*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Misinterpretation - 3*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Flesh - 2* (not reviewed - I am not saying it's a bad book, just that it's not MY type of book)

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny has not yet been released, but I'll read it as soon as I can get hold of it.

A few of these are only available in hard cover and not available yet at my library:
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (but it's not yet released in the US)
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

This one is available in ebook and hard cover but my library doesn't have it yet:
One Boat by Jonathan Buckley

These are the two I hope to get to soonish:
The South by Tash Aw
Love Forms by Claire Adam

Booknblues wrote: "The Booker Prize Longlist has been announced:
https://thebookerprizes.substack.com/...

[bo..."

I noticed that too, apparently 1-word titles are now all the rage!

Joy D wrote: "I have read six:

- Endling - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Audition - 5*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
- Flashlight - 4.5*
https://www.goodreads.com/revi..."

Thanks for these reviews, Joy! I added several books to my Want to Read. Many of these books are "meta" or have original styles of writing, which is often true of prizewinning novels, movies, etc.

I think most of them sound interesting. The Kitamura book not so much, but it is just the kind to win, which is why I have become much more careful in reading Bookers.

Flesh is one which I would skip as well.

I will put up front that I am not a Booker or any other award reader.

What I find fascinating is when I look at the GR's ratings (which we all know can be very screwed up), only three of those books are 4 stars or above. I have noticed this for all the years that I have been a member of PBT, where I know you all love the lists and reading them. And, in the past, the winner has not been one of those that goes to 4 stars.

Joanne wrote: "I will put up front that I am not a Booker or any other award reader.

What I find fascinating is when I look at the GR's ratings (which we all know can be very screwed up), only three of those boo..."

I think that's very common, the judges have different tastes from the average reader, or even the above average reader, which we all are!

I only read Audition which was underwhelming. I don't usually agree with these lists.

I think I am the Booker's target audience. I love "literary fiction" (whatever that is).

Audition is a "love it or hate it" book (I loved it).

Endling is also a "love it or hate it" to a lesser degree, but you have to like metafiction. I don't always love meta, but it works here (there's a good reason for it). I'd love to discuss it with you all if you have a chance to read it.

Flashlight is just a great traditional story, which I think just about anyone could enjoy, even if you're not a fan of award-nominated books.

Universality captures lots of issues found in today's world.

Joy D wrote: "I think I am the Booker's target audience. I love "literary fiction" (whatever that is).

.."

I'm also the target audience. I don't view readers as good or bad, or average or above average, because I think ALL reading is basically good. If it is engaging to you and meets the needs in your life, then it's a very worthwhile and mind expanding activity.

That being said, I am looking for reads that challenge me and that are different in some fashion. The Booker is a great source for these types of reads . . .but some years are definitely better than others.

Honestly, I need the intellectual stimulation - - I'm not really getting it from my job, and certainly not excited about current events. I hate movies. So reading is both entertainment and a way to use and engage my mind.

I LOVED Audition. I'm listening to it again now. I loved it for exactly the same reason other people will hate it. It's not tied up with a neat bow and therefore might not be satisfying for some readers. But I like trying to puzzle out what might really be going on. The second read through is proving worthwhile and interesting because I'm seeing more hints as to what could be happening.

I just started One Boat. At first I was like, oh, I don't think this is for me, but it is steadily growing on me. Kind of a very layered story with each layer getting deeper. I'm only halfway through, but so far it's in the 4-5 star territory.

I'm going to check out your reviews Joy! Thanks for posting.

Anita wrote: "Honestly, I need the intellectual stimulation - - I'm not really getting it from my job, and certainly not excited about current events. I hate movies. So reading is both entertainment and a way to use and engage my mind. ..."

Anita, I feel the same way. I NEED the intellectual stimulation that I used to get from my job and my professional recertification studying. I try to avoid reading about current events (too depressing) and I also hate movies. We are reading twins!

ETA - I agree that all reading is good and I'm not being a snob here. You all know I am an eclectic reader, but I definitely have preferences toward "thinking" books (as opposed to "feeling" books).

As someone who was working on a PhD in literature (French) and did an independent project on metafiction in comparative lit - uisng books by John Barth, Vladimir Nabokov, André Gide - I am usually a fan of metafiction. One of my all-time favorite books is Possession, which is all about literature.

I also don't want to read a lot about current events these days - climate fiction, war, mistreatment of women and children. I follow enough in the news that I don't want all my leisure to go there too.

I would love to hear your take on Endling, Robin, if you get a chance to read it.

Joy D wrote: "We are reading twins!"

I love THIS!!!

We would really be reading twins if I could up my volume by like 10x.

I have never met another person who hates movies though, so we are definitely some kind of special twins.

I too need the intellectual stimulation I used to get from my career. I need to keep learning. I haven’t warmed up to the Booker Prize as much as other awards, but I know I will eventually. I’m probably still influenced by ratings too much, and these books tend to be colder than mainstream books. I’m enjoying nonfiction and science a lot more than I used to, and I will always be interested in current events.

Lately I’ve been craving really beautiful writing. Joy, I haven’t read your Booker reviews yet, and I’m thinking I should look at your reviews from last year to find something I’ll be able to get from the library.