Reading the Women’s Prize Shortlist! | GKreads 

I’m entering my litfic era so I was so excited to see this video! A number of these books are on my tbr ✨

I am almost finished reading The Island of Missing Trees. I absolutely love this novel. When I can get a paperback copy I am definitely going to add it to my library.

Girl! Absolutely loving an hour long vlog with such solid reads! Your positive experience really makes me want to have a go with The Sentence and The Great Circle, as unghostly and non-historical my reading taste typically is. Only thing I was left wondering - where did you mention ordering the cap? 🧐 Because I definitely need one in my life! 😂

I'm so happy that you loved Sorrow and Bliss!!!! It's probably my favourite fiction book of the year!

So happy you loved Sorrow and Bliss! I related to so much in it, I have clinical depression and anxiety and was diagnosed with autism a couple of years ago. I was reading the book and going 'HOW HAS THIS WOMAN REACHED INSIDE ME AND PULLED ALL THIS STUFF OUT?!' Sooooo good. I still need to read The Sentence, been putting it off because half the people I know disliked it.

I'm past the friends' wedding era and well into the friends' divorce/second wedding era! Your review makes me want to read Sorrow and Bliss!

YESSSS I loved Great Circle SO much. I never wanted it to end despite it being so long! Jamie broke my heart. Totally agree re getting that wonderful epic reading nostalgia. Really loved Sorrow and Bliss too. I absolutely HATED the Elif Shafak and DNFd it in a rage at 2/3 of the way through!!!

I just finished the island of the missing trees today and agree with you, the cyprus portions were much more intriguing but I overall really liked it! I think it would have been stronger without the multiple timelines, showing how the division affected the future generation through ada felt a little forced/told instead of showed if that makes sense?

I was kinda sad that the shortlist only included the big/popular ones but I’ll still be reading some of the ones on the longlist. I’m currently reading Build your house around my body - Vietnamese writers seem to do it best 🤭

Fantastic that you've enjoyed these so much! A couple I wouldn't have picked from the longlist, and I'm upset three of my favorites were crowded out, but really they're all so good. (Sorrow and Bliss and Great Circle were my favorites from the shortlist as well.) I highly, highly recommend Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being, it was my absolute favorite the year that I read it, so profound, and fun (but sometimes painful) and beautifully written. From what I've seen of your taste, I think you'd love it!!

so excited to see your thoughts! i loved sorrow and bliss, enjoyed the island of missing trees while i was reading it but after have changed by rating to be lower, and i didn’t like the first half of great circle at all but i thought the second half was so good!!!

I can 't wait to read The Sentence based off your review! I adored her other novel, LaRose.

So glad to see that you've loved the two books I'm more excited to read (sorrow and bliss and the sentence)! I really must pick them up soon!

YEEESSS so happy you loved great circle!! ive had the island of missing trees on my shelf since it came out and i feel like it's gonna disappoint 😞 also you've convinced me to read sorrow and bliss (£4 in sainsburys rn btw)

Yes I’ve been so excited for your verdicts! Can’t wait to get stuck into sorrow and bliss

Loved this, Grace! Loved Sorrow and Bliss. Awaiting Great Circle in paperback next week.

I’m so glad you loved The Sentence too. It was a 5⭐️ book for me. Erdrich balanced the different topics in it so well. The characterization in Great Circle was incredibly well done. It also had me wondering if Marion Graves was a real person. Great Circle and Sorrow and Bliss were both 4⭐️ books for me.

I was so sad that Creatures of Passage didn't make the shortlist, because I absolutely loved it and it would've been my top choice. That being said, Sorrow and Bliss was right up there for me as well. I haven't read The Bread the Devil Knead yet because I'm still waiting on my copy, but it's going to have to really deliver to get into my top 3!

The Sentence is such a good book 😍 definitely an experience!

I'm on with Great Circle at the moment and loving it but finding it hard to keep momentum, I just need to have a full day with it I think! I think you're onto something with your two winning picks, my money is on Sorrow and Bliss as well x

I've totally Googled characters from fictional books to see if they're real people. It is definitely one of the signs of a great book!

I really enjoyed watching this. Thanks for taking the time to film, edit and upload :-) I'm very intrigued to read Great Circle now. For some reason, I didn't connect with the blurb and to be honest, I think i was intimidated by how long it is but i'm going to download it to my kindle now. I really loved Sorrow and Bliss too - incredibly moving and poignant but so laugh out loud funny! Still sad The Paper Palace didn't make the short list though. It's one of my favourite books so far this year and I still think about it now months after I finished it.

Great vlog! I loved Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead.

I would be really happy for Great Circle, Sorrow & Bliss or Island of Missing Trees to win. Loved Martha's sister in S&B - such a great relationship between them & their aunt! The only one I haven't read is Bread the Devil Knead coz I'm such a light weight when it comes to physical violence in books.

Was that you getting your Ghetto Golf on?! Yasssss! Some of us got food poisoning there - we felt so hood 😂😂

Ps don’t stress about your charger. I use the kindle app on my phone in emergencies!

I just didn’t get on with Sorrow and Bliss and feel like I must have missed something which is a shame. I have 2 and half still to read but my pick to win is Great Circle. It was the only book I had read when the longlist came out and I have read 9, dnf’d 3 and will finish the shortlist to end up picking it. I also loved The Paper Palace, Careless and Creatures of Passage (on audio).

Love that Hawaiian shirt!’ Where’s it from please? Xx