My best girlfriend and I are planning to read all the long listed books and hopefully before the short list is announced. We have both read James and loved it. We woke up early to FaceTime when the list was released and then sat on FaceTime buying all the books hahahah. I have now spent most of the day watching booker list videos-book nerds unite!!!!!! And we are just as excited as you-thank you for all these great video’s Shelly!!!!!
Looking forward to checking a few of these titles out of my library! I just read James and sobbed my eyes out. I’m hoping it at least gets shortlisted!
What a great video intro to the long list. Having been disappointed with past long lists, I share your excitement with this one. I chanced upon your video looking for a quick intro to the 2024 listed novels/authors. I’m so glad I stumbled into your channel. Next time I see a goat, I expect I will immediately think of you ….and I mean that in the best possible way. Thank you for your time and effort. I can’t wait to follow up as you read through these exciting selections to hear your further thoughts.
Normally I’m not super into the booker picks. I love seeing the list each year but rarely want to read very many of the books. I’m very intrigued by 11 of them this year! I’ve got lots of library holds and am about to start my first one!
Yesterday i did watch as an unsubscribed person, but that lasted maybe three minutes before repeatedly hitting subscribe...which as it turns out unsubscribed me resubscribed me, unsubscribed me...well you get the picture. Im sorry, but like you i was excited. Moreso than i think i ought to be. Anyway im so excited about this years booker even if i still dont think ive yet to read one book on said list, but i will. In fact i just finished rereading Huckleberry Finn to prep myseld for James although it seems i didnt have to. Anyway im sorry for wroting a small novel, but your excitement is contagious!
You really should read Orbital; I think you're being misled by the blurb. It's just over 200 pages and is filled with beautifully written passages. She really fleshes out the six characters with a sparse number of words as they adapt to living in space focus on their new jobs and reflect on their lives back on Earth. It's profound and silly at times, happy and sad, and filled with exquisite, lush writing. I really think that it's going to make the short list. Hard to imagine anyone not enjoying this book.
I’m excited about this list too! So happy to see James, Wandering Stars, Orbital and Held. I gushed about all four of these when I read them. (Shelly, start with There, There because otherwise Wandering Stars is spoilery.) Several books are already on my library holds list-Wild Houses, My Friends, Safekeep and This Strange Eventful History. Messud’s novel is a whole lot longer than Held, btw. Also, Held is written in a fragmented circuitous style, which I am guessing is quite different from Messud’s prose style. I’m quite curious about Headshot, even though boxing would not normally attract my interest. We shall see!
Powers and Kushner books not out until September. Happy to start in on this list, and my local library is only missing one on the list of already published books. Probably won’t read Headshot though, not interested in boxing which I find to be an accepted form of physical violence, so not for me. I plan on reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and There There before reading Everett and Orange on this list. I’ve read Overstory but not Bewilderment by Powers. Some people say Bewilderment is better and more of an intimate novel as it is told in the first person narrative. Intriguing list…thank you for your excited overview of this list! Happy reading.
Interested most in The Safekeep, then Orbital & Headshot. I really want to read James but I've never read Huck Finn so not sure if I need to do that first ?? Tried to read There, There a while back and DNF'd so not super into Wandering Stars but I understand the pick. I DNF'd Richard Powers' last novel so that one is not going to be for me. Overall several things I'm interested in, but I have noticed people saying that there are far too many US authors on this list
So glad a Canadian made the list. Anne Michaels has won several awards, including The Women's Prize in 1997 with Fugitive Pieces which I really need to read. There are several authors on the list that I want to read. 😊💙
I really liked James! I wanted more development in the part that I can't say here without spoiling the fantastic twist in the novel. And also, the philosophers appearances threw me off and I would have preferred a more realistic approach. Nevertheless, what Everett did with the language switch is brilliant! It is a great book for discussions. I have borrowed the There There by Tommy Orange from libby on my kindle one too many times and I still haven't read it yet. I put it again on my kindle to read it soon after I saw the Wandering Stars on instagram. Like you, I didn't want to read Wandering Stars before reading There There. I hadn't heard of My Friends by Hasim Matar, but somehow I had heard of the author. I'd love to read My Friends.
No Praiseworthy! I'm just sitting here...eating my hat...and disappointed in the judges decisions! I've read 4 on the list - My Friends is my favourite. James is great. Orbital was not for me and I love a Literary SciFi. Stoneyard Devotional is good but it's not even Charlotte Wood's best novel let alone the best coming out of Australia, sigh. I liked There There, it was really cleverly brought together, maybe I'll read Wandering Stars. I have the others already reserved at the library including Held, I read her Fugitive Pieces years ago, and thought it was excellent. I hope Held is as good. Anyway Happy Reading 🙂
