Man - That's a Lot of Books

There are two times a year when I am guaranteed a good case of eye strain - in the spring when I start my bracket for the Morning News Tournament of Books, and again through late summer and early fall with the Man Booker Prize nominees.
And today is the big day! They announced the longlist of nominees for the Man Booker early this morning in London, and it's a great baker's dozen of reads.
This year will be a tough one for me because I've only read one of the selections, The Sellout, which was part of the Tournament of Books. So that leaves me 12 books to get through before the short list of books is announced on Sept. 13, and the winner is named in October.
Spoiler alert - I never finish all 13 before the short list, and there's usually a great gnashing of teeth when I realize that I've read some that didn't make the short list. But I'm never disappointed that I've read them all. Some of my most favorite books of all time have come from the Man Booker lists, books that I probably would not have discovered otherwise. Like the one that still haunts me today: Pigeon English.
If you'd like to follow along this summer, below is the current list of nominees. Or you can watch this space for my reviews and predictions. Now I'm off to buy the 13 - it's like Christmas in July!

Man Booker Nominees

The Sellout, Paul Beatty (U.S.)
The Schooldays of Jesus, J.M. Coetzee (South Africa-Australia)
Serious Sweet, A.L. Kennedy (U.K.)
Hot Milk, Deborah Levy (U.K.)
His Bloody Project, Graeme Macrae Burnet (U.K.)
The North Water, Ian McGuire (U.K.)
Hystopia, David Means (U.S.)
The Many, Wyl Menmuir (U.K.)
Eileen, Ottessa Moshfegh (U.S.)
Work Like Any Other, Virginia Reeves, (U.S.)
My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout (U.S.)
All That Man Is, David Szalay (Canada)
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien (Canada)

Zombies Ate My Semifinalist

As in any other game, when you play The Morning News Tournament of Books, you win some and you lose some. And I've lost quite a few this year - I never thought Bats of the Republic or A Spool of Blue Thread (both books I like!) would make it as far as they did.

Aana fared better than I did, correctly predicting one more match to my selections. But I think we're both happy because 3 of our favorite books have made it to the semifinals. And we're moving into predicting those rounds. 

Before we do that, I must caution you that the zombies are about to attack. No, I haven't been drinking - it's part of the fun of this tournament. WAAAAY back before the tournament even began, people were able to vote for their favorite books, just in case any of them were knocked out early. And the most popular books will be able to "rise from the dead" to compete another day.

The winners of this week's semifinal rounds will each square off in head-to-head competition against a zombie, so I hope they have their best zombie weapons (whatever those are). The judges have already let us know that Spool won't be one of them, but Aana and I think we know who the zombies will be, so read on.

Semifinal Match #1

The Competitors: Bats of the Republic vs. The Turner House

Our Pick: The Turner House, by Angela Flournoy

Why this one? We both liked Bats of the Republic, we really did. We both thought it was innovative, unique, creative, and engaging. But neither one of us thought that it was developed enough to compete with some of the other heavyweights in this competition. The fact that it beat The Sympathizer still blows Aana's mind. She says: "I'm bitter! Bitter enough to vote against it - I pick Turner House." While I agree with her selection of Turner to win, I actually chose Turner House because I think it really is the better book. Both of the competitors are complex, but Bats relies a bit more on flash and tricks, and Turner is a more mature and resonant story. If you want two great books to read, though, you can't go wrong with either one. It still astonishes me that they are first books for both authors.
TOB match to be decided March 25.

Semifinal Match #2

The Competitors: The Tsar of Love and Techno vs. The Sellout

Our Pick: Split decision by the judges!

Why this one? Okay, this is one of the toughest matches in the competition for both of us. These books are two of our favorites in the entire tournament and choosing between them is like selecting a favorite child. The differences between them are interesting: One is about a culture very different from our own, and the other is about specific aspects of our own culture that cause us the most strife. One is a subtle interweaving of stories from different characters' intriguing perspectives and one hits you in the face with its blatant messages on racism. Aana predicts The Tsar of Love and Techno will win because she found it enthralling, but she also says she would be happy no matter which one wins. I deliberated for a long time over this match, and I have to say that I think The Sellout has the edge. Maybe it's how resonant it is to our current political and social issues, but its razor-sharp wit and almost-too-uncomfortable spotlight give it a win by just a hair.

TOB match to be decided March 28 - and we'll see which judge is a better judge.

Zombie Predictions
Aana Says: 
1. The Sympathizer - this was easily my favorite book out of all of them, and I still can't believe Bats of the Republic beat it.
2. The Whites - this book was so intense and I felt like it didn't get the chance it deserved.
As long as John Irving doesn't come back, we'll be okay. That would be like the "hideous bloated zombie in the well" scene from The Walking Dead.

Cheminne Says: 

1. The Sympathizer - I really couldn't believe this book dropped out of competition in the first place. It was one of my favorite books of the year.

2. Fates and Furies, although I want it to be A Little Life - I was NOT a fan of Fates. As I said in my initial review, reading it felt like I was watching a couple pick and bicker for an hours-long dinner and I literally threw it down when I finished. But I suspect there are a lot of fans out there who voted for it. I actually voted for A Little Life. It hooked me from the first word, and I was surprised by the vehement reaction of the judge who knocked it out of competition.

And ditto Aana's John Irving diss. 

The Long and the Short of It

If I didn't know better (and perhaps I don't), I would swear that my two favorite book awards are trying to one-up each other.
First came the news in January that the National Book Award was "re-examining its rules" and would for the first time ever introduce four long lists for each of its award categories - Poetry, Young People's Literature, Fiction, and Nonfiction. This would allow room for more nominees, and would also mirror what another British award program just happens to do already.
That was followed yesterday by the announcement that the Man Booker Prize had also done some soul-searching. They have long had a long list (sorry), but have now decided to open the contest up to all "writing in English," not just English writing. That may seem like hair-splitting, but the Man Booker previously was open only to UK citizens. Now this "global expansion" opens the award to writers from "Chicago to Sheffield to Shanghai."
Here is my color commentary on this one-on-one game: NBA knocked the ball out of the MBP court with its new long lists. Then MBP said, "oh no you didn't," stole the ball back, and took it right to NBA's own home turf. Boom.
If you think I'm making a Jets vs Sharks thing out of nothing, let me also point out that there was a little matter of dates. The National Book Award had said it would announce its long list right on top of the Man Booker's announce date for its short list (see the NBA long lists below). And, coincidentally, the short list for the NBA will be only one day after the Man Booker names its winner in October. Hmmmm.
But after this major change to the Man Booker, I think the ball is in your court, NBA. Play nicely, everyone.

National Book Award Long Lists

Fiction
Pacific, by Tom Drury
The End of the Point, by Elizabeth Graver
The Flame Throwers, by Rachel Kushner
The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri (shortlisted for the Man Booker)
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra
The Good Lord Bird, by James McBride
Someone, by Alice McDermott
Bleeding Edge, by Thomas Pynchon
Tenth of December, by George Saunders
Fools, by Joan Silber

Nonfiction (evidently the rules say the title must include a colon)
Finding Florida: The True Story of the Sunshine State, T.D. Allman
Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Wake of the Tsunami, by Gretel Ehrlich
The Wolf and the Watchman: A Father, a Son, and the CIA, by Scott C. Johnson
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore
Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields, by Wendy Lower
Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States 1861-1865, by James Oakes
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, by George Packer
The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia 1772-1832, by Alan Taylor
Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, by Terry Teachout
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright (see my review here)

Poetry
Metaphysical Dog, by Frank Bidart
Bury My Clothes, by Roger Bonair-Agard
Stay, Illusion, by Lucie Brock-Broido
So Recently Rent a World, New and Selected Poems 1968-2012, by Andrei Codrescu
Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, by Brenda Hillman
The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka
American Amnesiac, by Diane Raptosh
Black Aperture, by Matt Rasmussen
Transfer of Qualities, by Martha Ronk
Incarnadine: Poems, by Mary Szybist

Young People's Literature
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, by Kate DiCamillo
A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff
The Summer Prince, by Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Thing About Luck, by Cynthia Kadohata
Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan
Far Far Away, by Tom McNeal
Picture Me Gone, by Meg Rosoff
The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu
Boxers & Saints, by Gene Luen Yang

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Forget those overblown winter holidays. If you're any kind of book lover, fall is the season that we dream about, thanks to new books, fab festivals, and lots of prizes and awards.
This Saturday, I'll be heading to one of my favorite book festivals, BookMarks, held in nearby Winston-Salem. Last year, I had a blast meeting authors like Michael Malone and Gillian Flynn. Gillian even signed my book with an nod to our weird names and the constant mispronunciations we both endure (hers is pronounced like Gilligan, not like Jillian).
This year's line-up is just as promising, and includes Jill McCorkle, Debbie Macomber, Carl Weber, Ann B. Ross, and Craig Johnson. I will also be volunteering at a table for the Bienenstock Furniture Library, the largest furniture specialty library in the world. That library is based in High Point, NC, and has over 5,000 furniture and design books in its collection. I've had a sneak peek at what they will sell at the festival, and let me just say that I already know I'll be dropping some serious dollars at that table.
It isn't just the one-day festival that I love, though. BookMarks hosts Lit/Flix, a showcase of movies made from novels, and Eat & Greet events that showcase why food and books make such a delicious combination. If you're going to be in the area this weekend, be sure you head to their website to see what's coming up (http://bookmarksnc.org).
In just a few days, the Man Booker Prize will announce its short list of finalists. I've been plowing through the long list, and I'm not sure I'll make it through all of them before the short list comes out on Sept. 10, but I do have some favorites already. We Need New Names had better be on that short list.
On Sept. 12, the National Book Award announces its long list - which means it's time to add to my ever-growing list of books I must read immediately. The new long lists for the NBA will include 10 titles now, in the same four categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. That is 40 books, in case you don't want to do the math. While I appreciate that the National Book Award execs believe this will allow them to recognize more fantastic books, I'm not sure they realize what they are doing to me.
Look for a post from me about Bookmarks next Monday, and the short list from Man Booker Prize on Tuesday, and the National Book Award long lists on Thursday. And then don't look for me anywhere else; I'll be cocooned in my house with thousands of books.

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 

Pulitzer to Fiction World: You Stink

For the first time in 35 years, there is no winner in the Fiction category for the Pulitzer Prizes. That despite the fact that three fine books were nominated: Train Dreams, Swamplandia!, and The Pale King.

But evidently those three books were not that great. Or at least that's my take-away from the announcement.
The judges are in for a PR-storm of mighty proportions. Even the three jurors who proposed the nominated books seemed mystified by the decision, or lack of decision. Juror Susan Larson, from The Times-Picayune, has said that she was incredibly disappointed that the judges could not come to a consensus for a winner.
She and the other 3 jurors went through 300 books to come up with their shortlist, or as she called it "the most intense book club ever." Larson was not a happy camper this morning on NPR as she said that this was a blow for fiction writers. However, trying to put a good spin on it, Larson said maybe now people will buy all three nominated books.
This isn't the first time that the nominees have been snubbed. In 1977, judges said the nominees just weren't worthy of the prize. Ouch. In 1984, the overall Pulitzer committee reversed the judges' decision and awarded the prize to a different book than the one selected. That must have been nice for the first-choice book.
And in 1941, no prize was awarded, despite the fact that For Whom the Bell Tolls was nominated.
People can be wrong, and we all know that taste is very subjective. One person's Pride and Prejudice is another person's Ulysses. However, I think the lack of an award in Fiction hurts the publishing business at a time when it needs it least. There are too many fabulous writers out there that are not receiving much-deserved recognition.
Speaking of recognition, The Tuscaloosa News received a Pulitzer for its coverage of the tornadoes last year, The Huffington Post took the top prize for its amazing online reporting on soldiers returning from war, and The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., garnered the top award for its coverage of the Penn State scandal. As a former journalist, I love to see news outlets get the attention they deserve for serious reporting. That doesn't come for free, either, Mr. Internet.
For the full list of Pulitzers, click here.

You Be the Judge

Last week, the winners were announced for the National Book Critics Circle Awards (click here). I think critics pride themselves on finding that one book that hasn't received all the hype, the title that slid under the radar. This year's winners definitely fit that description.

In the Fiction category, the winner was Edith Pearlman for Binocular Vision, a short-story collection. For Nonfiction, the winner was Maya Jasanoff for Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World.

For Biography, the award went to John Lewis Gaddis for George F. Kennan: An American Life (I've never heard of him, either). The Autobiography award was presented to Mira Bartok for The Memory Palace: A Memoir. And in Poetry, the winner was Laura Kasischke for Space, in Chains.
And, of course, there were awards for the critics themselves, with one honoring Geoff Dyer for his critical essays.
So, how many of those books have you read? Probably just as many as I have. In fact, I'm on hundreds of book sites every week and I've only heard of one those titles.
That isn't a bad thing, I think it's refreshing. The overhyped books tend to let me down.
Speaking of hype, let's check our Tournament of Books bracket, brought to you by The Morning News.
On March 9, Lightning Rods by Helen DeWitt took the lead over Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.
And today, 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami beat out The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah.
Tomorrow, The Stranger's Child is pitted against The Tiger's Wife (which sounds a bit one-sided just from the titles).
We'll keep an eye on the competition as we head into the Great Eight and then the Final Four.

Sweet 16 Tournament

If you live in the South, spring means two things – the humidity is about to dump on us like hot Jello and it's time for March Madness. A newbie may think those two things are the same thing. But no. March Madness refers, of course, to basketball.

But there's another spring tournament I'm more interested in – the 8th Annual Tournament of Books, organized by The Morning News (click here) and sponsored by Field Notes.
Here's the general gist, according to The Morning News site: "A ridiculously small and poorly informed group of TMN editors and contributors have chosen 16 of the most cherished, hyped, ignored, and/or enthusiastically praised books of the year to enter into a month-long tournament, NCAA-basketball-madness style.
"We take these books and seed them, with the odds-on favorites receiving 1 seed and longer shots receiving 4 seeds. Then we place them in an NCAA-style tournament bracket and assign books in pairs to judges, who read both assigned books, advancing one."
Sounds as good as any other book awards set-up that I've heard of. And just as arbitrary!
This year's Sweet 16 books are:
Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
Nathacha Appanah, The Last Brother
Teju Cole, Open City
Helen DeWitt, Lightning Rods
Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers
Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot
Chad Harbach, The Art of Fielding
Alan Hollinghurst, Stranger’s Child
Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones
Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
Téa Obreht, The Tiger’s Wife
Michael Ondaatje, The Cat’s Table
Ann Patchett, State of Wonder
Donald Ray Pollock, The Devil All the Time
Karen Russell, Swamplandia
Kate Zambreno, Green Girl
In the first round, The Sense of an Ending put the smack-down on The Devil All the Time – or at least judge Emma Straub delivered the smack-down.
So now you have one name to fill in your bracket. Oh, you didn't think there was a bracket? Madness.

A Slip of the Lip

The National Book Award finalists were announced yesterday (I told you it was award season). But for the first time in 62 years, there will be 21 nominees instead of 20.

In a live broadcast, the announcer said that the book Shine by Laura Myracle would be a nominee in the Young People's Literature category. However, the book that was supposed to be announced was Chime by Franny Billingsley. Oops.
In a classy move by the the National Book Foundation, however, both books are going to included as finalists in that category. Good choice.
There are some terrific books in each of the four categories, but there is no way I'll be able to read them all before the Nov. 16 awards dinner in New York. At the very least, I'm going to get Radioactive by Lauren Redniss. It's the story of Marie and Pierre Curie (and yes, Aana, you will get a copy).
Here is the full list of nominees in case you want to read them all in the next month:

Fiction
The Sojourn, by Andrew Krivak
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht
The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka
Binocular Vision, by Edith Pearlman
Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward

Non-Fiction
The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism, by Deborah Baker
Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution, by Mary Gabriel
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, by Manning Marable
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, by Lauren Redniss

Poetry
Head Off & Split, Nikky Finney
The Chameleon Couch, Yusef Komunyakaa
Double Shadow, by Carl Phillips
Tonight No Poetry Will Serve, by Adrienne Rich
Devotions, by Bruce Smith

Young People's Literature
Chime, by Franny Billingsley
My Name Is Not Easy, by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai
Flesh and Blood So Cheap, by Albert Marrin
Shine, by Lauren Myracle
Okay for Now, by Gary D. Schmidt

Take It or Leave It

The Man Booker Prize will be awarded one week from today in England. It is presented to "the best novel of the year by a citizen of the United Kingdom." Well that's just a recipe for a fight.

Every literary prize, and prize winner, seems to spark fierce debate. Use the news about the Nobel Prize for literature this year as the perfect example.
But what was different about the announcement of this year's shortlist (aka nominees), was the quote from the judging panel's chair Stella Rimington. In true no-nonsense Brit fashion, she told the world to "take it or leave it." I love that. She followed that up with the comment that "there have been weirder judges than me." Oh Dame Stella, I am now a fan.
There are six books on the Man Booker Prize shortlist:

• The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes
• Jamrach's Menagerie, by Carol Birch
• The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt
• Half Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan
• Pigeon English, by Stephen Kelman
• Snowdrops, by A.D. Miller (see my review here)

The money seems to be on Barnes, who has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize three times before and is one of Britain's most beloved writers. At the very least, being on the shortlist has definitely been beneficial to all of the nominees. According to Bookseller, the books on the list have broken sales records since the announcement (click here for the story).
I do have a favorite on the list. Tune in tomorrow for a review of the book that gets my vote ― take it or leave it.

Review and Recipe

For today's Review and Recipe, I'm going to step out of the Read.Eat.Think box a bit and highlight a food event for the "recipe," rather than an actual step-by-step procedure. Think of it as a recipe for fun for this weekend.
And speaking of doing things differently, since it's a major book award season, for the month of October I am going to give you more reviews:
CWA Daggers
On Oct. 7, the Crime Writers Association will announce the Dagger Awards. Starting on Monday, each day I will highlight one of the nominees for the Gold Dagger award. Since there are only four nominees, on Friday I will write about one of my favorite mystery writers, who won last year's CWA Diamond Dagger Award for a lifetime of mystery writing. She has written over 20 books in one series, and I adore her. But no more hints.
Man Booker Prize
This award honors the best novel of the year by a citizen of the United Kingdom. The winner will be announced on Oct. 18, and I will highlight the shortlist nominees the week of Oct. 10.
Mysterious and Spooky
Since I will hit a bit of a black hole at the end of October, thanks to my day job, I'll give you two weeks of seasonal suggestions. The week of Oct. 17, we'll start out gently with spooky and kooky books and then hit my list of the five scariest books I've ever read the week of Oct. 24. On Halloween, we'll return to the treats instead of the tricks. Now back to the Review and Recipe:

Review: New York
by Edward Rutherfurd
Historical fiction can be tricky, but the thing I have always admired about Edward Rutherfurd's extensively researched books is the seamless blend between historical facts and fictional characters that you think about even when you've finished the book.
Known for novels that stretch across centuries, Rutherfurd has only ventured off the British Isles once before, with the book Russka. So I was intrigued to see how he would approach the long history of the New World.
He begins as he always does, by drawing you in to the earliest days of the location, and beginning to build the land into the real central character of the book. With New York, those early days did not include the Europeans, of course, but rather the indigenous tribes who called the island Manna hata. Once settlers arrive, the forested island almost overnight becomes the bustling city of immigrants that it still is today, moving from a Dutch settlement to a British city to the center of revolution.
Interwoven into the history of New York City is the fictional story of families based on the real immigrants who came here for a new life. Some succeed and begin great empires, some are ground down by hardship and challenges. New York is an engrossing book that captures the can-do spirit that became the signature for the city that never sleeps. (2009 - Random House) 
Other Recommended Books By Edward Rutherfurd: Sarum, London, The Forest

Recipe for Fun: New York City Wine & Food Festival
Autumn is the time for some of the best food festivals in the country. I plan to indulge a bit myself this weekend at the Dixie Classic Fair. In keeping with the theme of today's book, this weekend also kicks off the New York City Wine & Food Festival (click here). This year, the theme seems to be all about food that's easy to carry.
Tonight, burgers are on the menu and chefs will create 21 varieties on the all-American classic. On Saturday, chefs like Bobby Flay will serve up 30 takes on tacos. Sunday's theme is meatballs, made of more unusual ingredients like crab, mushroom, or lamb.
All of the cooking, and the accompanying wines, are for a good cause, with proceeds from the event going to the Food Bank for New York City. So enjoy the crisper temperatures and find your favorite foodie event this weekend.