Do Not Disturb - I'm Reading, Man

It's that time of year again, and I am equally giddy and nervous. Today, the longlist of nominees was announced for my favorite awards: The Man Booker Prizes. Awarded to the "best novel" of the year that was written by an author from the United Kingdom, these prizes have been my introduction to books I would not otherwise have heard about.

Last year's winner was the very well-known Hilary Mantel for one of my favorite books, Bring Up the Bodies. But the longlist included some of the most amazing books I'd never heard of: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Teleportation Accident, The Lighthouse. So good.

These are books that haunt me, to be honest, and that I call to mind often. In 2011, Pigeon English was on both the shortlist and the longlist. There is not a month that goes by that I don't at some point think of 11-year-old Harrison Opoku, the hero of that novel. The selection committee and the judges for these awards very rarely disappoint.

Therefore, I am putting you on notice: I am about to read these 13 books in a frenzy and I may not look up for weeks. You'll probably find many of the selections in my reviews later this year, if the past nominees are anything to go by.
At least I have until Sept. 10 to read them all. That's when the judges - who read 131 books to determine this list - will name their shortlist for the prize. The actual winner will be announced on Oct. 15.

Meanwhile, here is the longlist, just in case you want to put your eyesight in jeopardy, too. You can also find a Pinterest board of the nominees here.

Almost English, Charlotte Mendelson

Five Star Billionaire, Tash Aw

Harvest, Jim Crace

The Kills, Richard House

The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri

The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton

The Marrying of Chani Kaufman, Eve Harris

The Spinning Heart, Donal Ryan

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki

The Testament of Mary, Colm Tóibín

TransAtlantic, Colum McCann

Unexploded, Alison MacLeod

We Need New Names, NoViolet Bulawayo 

What a Bracket

For bigger version, go to TOB.

Today is National Bracket Day, so it's a good time to review my bracket. And no, there are no recognizable sports names on there at all. You've come to the wrong blog for that.
I am, of course, referring to the bracket for this year's Tournament of Books, brought to you by The Morning News. And evidently, I am the worst bracket-filler-outer in the history of bracketology.
Let's review.
I said that The Fault in Our Stars would lose to The Round House. Wrong.
I said that Where'd You Go Bernadette would beat out The Orphan Master's Son. Wrong. 
* Justification Time: I did tell you that I had a hard time choosing between the contenders in those two match-ups. See proof here.
Now we get to a bright spot. I totally called the contest between Building Stories and Dear Life. It was impossible for Alice Munro to win that one. Building Stories is so totally different that it will take a better book than hers to beat it. We'll see how it moves up. It will be paired next against Beautiful Ruins, which, against my prediction, beat out The Song of Achilles. It should not have won, but I was wrong again.
Beautiful Ruins frustrated me. It could have been such a good book. Commentator Kevin Guilfoile notes the same problems that I have with Jess Walter's book: One of the narratives works better than the other. And that is exactly why Song of Achilles should have moved on.
I was wrong again in my call about May We Be Forgiven vs. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Neither one of these should make it to the finals in my estimation, but May We Be Forgiven was the worst of the two. It was a bit too much of a pile-on by the end of the book. I stopped believing that any human, particularly the protagonist, would be involved in so many near-farcical experiences.
I also think that the wrong book won in Arcadia vs. How Should a Person Be. The commentators seemed to struggle with this one as much as I did, and I contend that the book you would choose is completely based on what age demographic you fall into.
After all the wrong calls, it's nice to be able to point out that two of my favorites are still in the game: Gone Girl and Bring Up the Bodies. The Girl can definitely bring the pain for the flawed Beautiful Ruins in a match-up later this week.
And Hilary Mantel has proven what a vicious fighter she can be against the Duchess of Cambridge, so imagine how much hurt she can inflict on How Should a Person Be's Sheila Heti on Friday. It's a matter of maturity.
So I only called 3 out of 8 contests. That won't stop me from predicting the Final Four:
The Orphan Master's Son
Building Stories
Gone Girl
Bring Up the Bodies
That's if a zombie doesn't come along to wreck my bracket again. Don't know what I mean? Click here.

My Eyes!

There are two times during the year when I know I'm going to need a trip to the optometrist. Spring and fall are notorious for heaping books on me. I know it's partially my own fault. Why I feel the need to read all the books on an awards nomination list is beyond me. But it's a compulsion.

As you may know, I am already in the throes of reading all the contenders for this year's Tournament of Books, hosted by The Morning News.
There are 15 books on the list at this point, and I have read six. Don't worry...with five weeks to read the rest, I have "plenty" of time. Sigh.
I have also done my civic duty and voted in the Tournament of Books Zombie Round. Just in case you haven't been reading my blog (sigh again), the Zombie round gives eliminated books a chance to rise from the dead. I voted for my favorite book to date, Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (READ IT).
But back to the issue with my eyes. The Edgar Award nominees were just announced by the Mystery Writers of America, giving me roughly 20 more books to read by May. I have read five of the nominated books already.
That's a lot of pressure. After all, how can I give you my opinion on the sanity of the judges if I have not read the books myself? Exactly.
To add even more tiny print for my optical pleasure, the National Book Awards have changed their rules for the first time in forever, stating that they will now announce a "long list" of 10 nominees per category. I applaud the changes, which were inspired by my favorite book award, the Man Booker Prize. However, that now means I'll have about 80 books to read for those fall programs.
So look for me at the local pharmacy, trying on reading glasses in ever-increasing intensity.
Meanwhile, here is the list of the nominees for the Edgars. Note that I don't include the short story or juvenile prizes. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Best Novel

The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (you go, Girl)
Potboiler by Jesse Kellerman
Sunset by Al Lamanda
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley

Best First Novel

The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay
Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman
Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
The Expats by Chris Pavone
The 500 by Matthew Quirk
Black Fridays by Michael Sears

Best Paperback Original

Complication by Isaac Adamson
Whiplash River by Lou Berney
Bloodland by Alan Glynn
Blessed Are the Dead by Malla Nunn
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

Best Fact Crime

Midnight in Peking by Paul French
Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
More Forensics and Fiction by D.P. Lyle, MD
Double Cross by Ben Macintyre
The People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry

Best Critical/Biographical

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe by John Paul Athanasourelis
Books to Die For edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke
The Scientific Sherlock Holmes by James O'Brien
In Pursuit of Spenser edited by Otto Penzler