You’re wearing your Owl & the Pussycat T-shirt 🤩 I’m delighted that Small Things Like These and The Colony are on the list. They are the only two I’ve read. 4 books I’ve never heard of. If you are going to read The Colony I’d recommend audio. That way you get the nuances of language & humour. I’m now reading another book by Audrey Magee called The Undertaking ( set in Germany & Russia in WW2)

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I actually found the audio of The Colony on Scribd, so that's exactly how I'll do it (when I get to it)! This is one of my favorite t-shirts. 😍

I am very new to reading prize lists and winners but very excited incorporate them into my reading. Your channel is great for that and I so appreciate it! I am particularly excited about Small Things Like These, Trust and The Trees! :)

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I hope you enjoy Small Things Like These as much as I did.

I loved The People in the Trees and your review of it is how I found your channel. I'm so glad I did! Your predictions, deep dives, and book haul revisits are some of my favorite videos. Not a big fan of A Little Life; so I'm hesitant for the new one too.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

Oh thank you so much! That means a lot.

I'm four chapters into Glory, and it's working for me. Bulawayo is quite witty.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

She was very witty in We Need New Names. Glad you're enjoying Glory.

I appreciate this video a ton, great overview

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

I'm most excited for The Seven Moons! It's such a fun list. I also want to read Small Things Like These, Case Study, Trust, and The Colony. I LOVED The Trees.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

It really is a great list this year.

It wouldnt be the Booker without controversy and disappointment. Its why we love the Booker i think...sorting through 196 books this year from a wide amount of countries is a huge hard task. But i think it also gives us chances to defend the books we think should have. I subscribe to the bookers youtube page, they post past ceremonies frequently, its been fjn to watch and add older books to my TBR. As for this years list so far, ive only read Booth, loved it qnd happy it made the Long

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I think that's a pretty good summation of why it's fun to follow book awards like the Booker. 👏

I loved Booth

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

It does sound like a very interesting idea for a book.

I read NIGHTCRAWLING by Leila Mottley and I absolutely LOVED it! I'm very excited to see that it made the long list. I really wanna see it make the short list. And I really, REALLY wanna see it win! Ms. Mottley is an extraordinary writer; she's definitely an author to keep your eye on! 👍👍

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I've heard so many good things about it!

Perceval Everett is a great author! This is a fable to white people about white supremacy and is a horror novel. I have given it to all my friends for the past year. All haves loved it. This would be very deserving of the Booker Prize. One can only hope It’s about time

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

The Trees sounds like a great book. I can't wait to read it.

I am currently reading The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida….it is enthralling. I learned about it after it won the Booker. It was compared to several classics that I love ( including The Tin Drum). Fast moving, with wonderfully creative descriptions of “life after death.” It is incredibly absorbing……both a detective story and history lesson. A true treat to read.

Love you...and your Channel Sir! 😻💙🤗

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Reading the Keegan book now and enjoying the writing/story. I like the cover of your copy. Many on this list are also on my TBR. I will just keep going. 😊

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

That's the cover of the UK edition. It is very pretty. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I really think To Paradise is a fantastic novel. It’s a good book thats really incisive in its indictment of white queer peoples history in the united states as people who fight to be seen as white first and queer second. It’s also a really brilliant discussion of fascism, colonialism and imperialism in the way it uses the perspectives of indigenous Hawaiian characters in part 2 and 3. I’m really excited to see Nightcrawling, Glory and The Colony! It’s such a full list that feels like it’ll be tough to whittle down a winner for!

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

It does feel like it will be tough to narrow the list down this year. There are usually one or two books that feel like filler and that's not the case this year at all.

To Paradise is well worth listening to the audiobook. It’s brilliantly narrated. I can understand your hesitation but this is nothing like A Little Life

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

That's good to know--thanks.

I was very lucky, Small Things LIke These was available at my library- excited to read it.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I had gotten Small Things Like These from the library back in January but I just pre-ordered the US release of Foster, and I've been looking for a used copy of Small Things for my library.

I'm with you, thank goodness I don't have to read To Paradise. I'm disappointed there are no Australian writers again, when there are so many great Aussie books out there. I have read 3 from the list and Glory arrived in the mail yesterday. I generally try to read the entire longlist. I think The Colony is the type of book that could go all the way and win.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

I do hope we get some Australian writers in the mix soon. It feels bizarre that there's such a block.

It is thrilling that The Colony (which is available in the US) and Small Things Like These made the list. I'm also excited to imagine that prolific and excellent author Percival Everett might find more readers with The Trees. Trust was very smart and interesting. I'm reading Glory now. Although I have enjoyed books by both Strout and Karen Joy Fowler including these, they would not have been in my top 13. The others are on their way, 2 from the library and 4 purchased from farther afield. It seems like a strong list to me and I plan to read them all! I'll also be reading some of the predicted/suggested books that didn't make the list, including Young Mungo, The Fell, and more. Thanks for posting your reactions. Happy reading!

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

It's a very strong list but I agree that Booth is probably the easiest one to swap out (not having read it yet, of course). Happy reading!

The Lucy Barton books are amazing! My favorite is "Anything is Possible".

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I checked and the audio of My Name is Lucy Barton is on Libby. Someday soon I hope to get started!

@AthynVixen

2 жыл бұрын

Usually love them but found Oh William a bit meh. It doesn't add much to her story... I would say skip OW rather.I have the ARC of the next one which will hopefully be better

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

@@AthynVixen I hope you enjoy it!

I haven't followed the Booker for the last few years so I feel like I'm wading in blind but this looks like a strong list! I like how indie publishers are so well represented, and that the judges went beyond the usual to (hopefully!) find some gems.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I agree--it's nice to see smaller publishers in the mix.

I’ve read eight and loved seven. Five more to go; four haven’t been published in the U.S. yet. I ordered three from Book Depository. My two favorites are Trust and The Colony, followed by The Trees, Small Things Like These and Oh William!. Elizabeth Strout is one of my top ten living authors and I’ve read all of her books. I believe she is highly regarded, just not trendy. I am disappointed that Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois and Horse weren’t included. Geraldine Brooks, who wrote Horse, is an Australian native who has lived in the U.S. for years (she has dual citizenship)-that would have given a bit more geographical diversity. Of the books I have not read, I am most interested in Treacle Walker. I love Booker season. 💕

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Happy Booker season! I didn't know Geraldine Brooks is Australian. 🤯 Thanks for the feedback. You've done a great job on these already!

@jaynelewis372

2 жыл бұрын

I’m disappointed Horse isn’t on the list too. Geraldine Brooks now lives in Martha’s Vineyard.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

@@jaynelewis372 That's quite a journey for her!

Assassination Vacation was a great/fun read.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

It was so fun! I have only read one other Vowell book and didn't like it nearly as much, but Assassination Vacation is great.

These all sound really interesting. Which is bad for me because I just bought books and I need to read them before I buy more! 😆 Being Irish myself, it's great to see Irish writers on the list. The Keegan seems to be universally loved. Not read it yet myself, but it's on my list. It's great that it's eligible. Maybe the Booker doesn't have a minimum page/word count like some awards. I often think novellas are better than novels, because they use less space to say the same amount. This is the first time in years I've been genuinely interested in all or most of the books on the list. Not sure about Strout. I didn't love Olive Kitteridge, though I did think it was well written, and I did like some of the stories - mainly the ones not about Olive! I would like to try Lucy Barton and see how I get on with that.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

I'm a proponent of novellas and story collections so including Keegan feels like a win for me. I hear great things about the Lucy Barton books.

I loved, loved, loved Trust. It was about truth and who gets to tell it. I just read it last week and didn't expect it to be nominated.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Ooh, that sounds fascinating.

Definitely recommend the audiobook for The Colony. It is excellent.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

I'm so glad the audio is available for me! How lucky.

The Colony was a 5 star +++ read for me. It was amazing.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

Good to know--thanks for the feedback!

Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois is great also disappointed it hasn’t gotten recognition

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

It's such a great book. It feels very disappointing to me that major literary prizes overlooked it so consistently.

No Australians, again! I haven't read any but had a few on reserve at the library, there's a lot that my local library don't have yet. I think I'll be reading what I can according to what becomes available the soonest. I've reserved a couple from a few of the authors backlist to keep me going along with all my other little reading projects. Claire Keegan's and Percival Everett's backlist particularly.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I loved the Keegan and I'm most excited to get to the Everett. It does feel odd that this is another year with no Australians.

I really loved His Bloody Project even though it should not have worked for me. So really excited to see another book by him on the longlist now

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I really need to try to get to His Bloody Project soon.

I'm also shocked about Young Mungo. I've not read any Hanya Yanagihara, so I'm unfamiliar with the discourse around it. I'm so glad Glory is on the list, it's the one I'm most interested in reading! Wow Nightcrawling sounds great!

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

The discourse is just that there's a very fierce divide between people who think A Little Life is the best book ever and people who think it's absolutely atrocious and irresponsible (not to mention a little gross that Yanagihara seems to enjoy writing about gay people suffering). There's very little in between those extremes. You can probably tell I fall into the latter camp--I hated A Little Life.

Quite a few on this list appeal to me 😊 I have The Colony and Glory already.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I found The Colony on Scribd and I may try to do it soon.

This is a very good mix. I have read several and want to read several more. I thought the same thing about Glory, I’ve been waiting for Treacle Walker. I’m ordering it from UK. As well as The Seven Moons. I’ve read Trust. ( It’s good but I liked In The Distance better). Trees was excellent as well.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

By and large, it really is a solid list this year.

Read To Paradise! It's a very original work . Totally different from A Little Life.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

We'll see if I get to it this year! Thanks for the feedback.

My two favorites on the list are The Colony and The Trees. I have read Glory. Parts of it were laugh out loud funny. I am surprised it's been compared to Animal Farm. The only comparison is the animals. I ordered a copy of Case Study. As a retired LCSW I don't have the best of luck with this type of book. I will see what happens. Good luck reading.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Not having read it, I think Animal Farm is probably the quickest way to explain the animals-as-stand-ins-for-humans aspect so people get it.

it's certainly a strong longlist, although I'm sad not to see Crossroads make an appearance. I have a beautiful indie bookshop edition of Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies ready to go on my shelves, and really looking forward to getting a copy of The Trees, Case Study and Nightcrawling. Alan Garner was a childhood favourite of mine so it's super heartwarming to see Treacle Walker on here. I did gift a copy to my Mum last Christmas if I remember rightly, so may have to steal it back in the spirit of Booker season!

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

That would be so fun if you could do a quasi buddy read. I’ve never read an Alan Garner book but he’s gotten a lot of good praise in the comments.

i'm currently reading booth and oh william! - i'm not loving booth lol but oh william is surprising me!! i didn't read the others in the lucy series and feel like it works w/out the previous context but the narrator does drop lines like "i already covered in my previous novel" lol

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

I kind of love that tactic to refer to previous books.

I think Yanigahara is extremely talented and while I didn’t have an emotional connection to To Paradise I do think it’s an achievement. As someone who loved A Little Life I think I’m one of the few who can totally understand the arguments against it.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I do agree that Yanagihara is a talented writer. I'm not sure I like how she uses those talents, though. I definitely don't when it comes to A Little Life, but I do see why it means a lot to a lot of people.

I think the list is really interesting. I have only read three: Oh William (I love everything Strout, but will be very surprised if this goes all the way), The Colony (wonderful, would be happy for it to take the prize except …), Small Things Like These (rooting HARD for this gem).

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I would love to see Small Things Like These take the whole thing, but it does feel like The Colony has the best odds based on my very un-scientific examination of excitement levels from comments here and on Twitter.

I did read His Bloody Project when it came out. I remember liking but not loving it; but I'm interested in Case Study. I'm also intrigued by The Trees, The Colony, Trust, Small Things Like These, and Oh William! I have read the Lucy Barton and the Olive Kittredge books and liked all of them so far. Even the ones I probably won't read sound unique; I think this list is pretty solid. (Sheds a tear for The Love Songs of W.EB. Du Bois)

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

😢 I agree it's a solid list (other than missing Love Songs).

@readandre-read

2 жыл бұрын

Okay took me 3 tries to edit and correct my typo. Nevertheless, I persisted.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

@@readandre-read 👏 👏 👏 😉

I feel like if I tell you anything about His Bloody Project then I could potentially spoil it for you. I didn't really know anything about it when I read it and I think that made the book far more interesting than if I went into it with expectations. Saying that, I might have liked it more because I'm from the part of the world where the novel is (historically set). I really want to read 'case-study' because I feel like it's a narrative he could use to hone the themes that he started to explore in 'his project'.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

His books definitely feel like cases where the less you know, the better. Thanks for the feedback.

I really like the look of this list. The only one I'm not excited to read is Oh William! partly because it's part of a trilogy, partly because it sounds too twee for my tastes. I've read The Trees. I thought it had a fantastic premise and story but was underwritten, and I found the attempts at humour (the silly names in particular) quite cringe. I think it's a very interesting addition to the kind of new Black surreal movement that has emerged over the last decade or so (a la Get Out, Sorry To Bother You, Atlanta, The Other Black Girl, The Underground Railroad etc). I also think The Trees could be controversial for reasons other than you stated here. It has at its centre a group of likeable, empathetic and competent Black police officers, and I think having cops as heroes in a novel about racial violence won't sit right with a lot of people.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback. I do think people could find a lot of reasons to push back against The Trees but I’m glad to see it on the list and I can’t wait to read it.

@haysleigh1190

Жыл бұрын

@@SupposedlyFun you're welcome! It's good to have provocative books on the list. Enjoy!

Colony is sublime and I could see it being on the short list without hesitation, as I hope Small Things Like These will too. Both are excellent and strong Irish representation, beautiful prose, but also important political and sociological messages wrapped into deceptively simple looking stories. I’m very sad for Young Mungo being ignored, it was for me stronger than Shuggie Bain and I thought for sure a shoo in. After two years in a row of Gay male winners, there doesn’t seem to be any of that representation in content or authors this Booker Awards season.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I hadn't realized that Damon Galgut is gay and I can't believe I didn't know until just now. Wow!

Do you think, just to avoid controversy, or to be fair, there should be a minimum word/page count for inclusion on the list?

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

I don't think so. I love that a novella is competing, personally. I don't think the page count matters as much as what the author does with that page count.

Trust is marvelous as long as you are ok with unreliable narrators.

@SupposedlyFun

Жыл бұрын

I'm okay with them depending on how it's handled.

There are certain topics that scare me, Alzheimer’s, strokes, and most definitely cancer. Alzheimer’s made The Swimmers an awful read for me and I’m not going anywhere near Maps because… cancer. The other two that I definitely won’t be reading are Oh William (just not interested) and After Sappho (even though I bought a copy because I love supporting Galley Beggar press). Greg, you can definitely read Case Study without having read the one that’s been languishing on your shelf. I’m in the same boat, except I also have his book called something like Accident on the A35. I look at it this way. Reading one of them will get me to pull out the others eventually too. I definitely feel that this is an author I will like. Coincidentally, I just got Case Study in the mail last week after it was on my wishlist for ages. I take it as a sign. The Trees! Spectacular. I’m so happy it is on the list. I loved Small Things Like These and in general, I’m more easily impressed by authors doing incredible things in under 200 pages than the opposite. Personally, I find it more of an achievement. I have Glory, Nightcrawling, and The Colony here waiting to be read. I am waiting for Trust from the library, but it’s a long wait. Booth sounds like something I would do on audiobook. I ordered Treacle Walker today after watching Eric’s video. I was immediately invested in the story and that cover pulled me right in. The blurb for The Seven Moons makes me want to race to order it. It sounds fantastic and that cover! But it also makes me think of Creatures of Passage from the Women’s Prize longlist. I ordered it immediately, and while I still really want to read it, I haven’t gotten to it yet. So, I’m going to wait on The Seven Moons. A surprisingly pleasing list from the Booker. I don’t usually say that. Great video!

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

Since filming, I was thinking that after losing Guinness to a brain tumor, I probably won't want anything to do with Maps for a good long time. I found an audio of The Colony on Scribd, so that's all set. I got on hold for the audio of Glory on Libby. My library has Nightcrawler and Trust. It may take a while to get them, but I'm on hold. I think I'm going to wait on Seven Moons and Case Study for now. I did also tag the audio of My Name is Lucy Barton on Libby so I can circle back to it later. And, of course, I have my copy of The Trees here waiting for me when I'm ready. That's the plan for right now!

@mradcaqbdb

2 жыл бұрын

@@SupposedlyFun I just lost my gorgeous Ozzy early yesterday morning probably due to complications from lymphoma. The oncologist thinks it must have been something acute rather than the cancer itself, but we’ll never know exactly. I wasn’t actively thinking of him (or any of my other beautiful cats lost to lymphoma over the years) when I made this comment, but I’m sure it was in the mix. I don’t want cancer in my thoughts more than unavoidable.

@SupposedlyFun

2 жыл бұрын

@@mradcaqbdb I'm so sorry. It isn't easy to lose them regardless of the cause. I agree that I would rather not think about cancer right now.