Hi. Book addicts. What’s up?! How is your September going? Are the days passing too quickly? Mine seem to be. This month is going fast. And we plan to be away this coming week with the dogs at a cabin in the mountains, doing some hikes. We’re trying to use some of my husband’s vacation time while the weather is still good. It should be a hoot as our new pup Willow is just 10-months-old and she’s full of energy (and licks) but luckily she has learned a lot since we got her last week. She’s figuring things out, and has some puppy training coming up in October. Here is a picture of her zonked out after a day’s activities.
In book news, I see that the Booker Prize shortlist was announced. Whoa. Here are the fiction finalists below. I put their Goodreads ratings beside each of them just to see what some readers thought.
- The Promise by Damon Galgut (4.12)
- A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam (3.79)
- No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (3.69)
- The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed (3.87)
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers (4.30)
- Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (4.16)
I still plan to get to Great Circle, which was on my summer list, as well as Bewilderment and perhaps A Passage North. Maybe I’ll get to No One Is Talking About This, though I don’t know if its internet style or subject matter will be for me. What do you think of the finalists? Have you read any of these? And which do you think will win? I guess I’m leaning towards Bewilderment to win, but they all seem to be very different in style and scope, so who knows.
As for the longlist of fiction books for Canada’s Giller Prize check here and for the U.S.’s National Book Award look here. Both of these will have their shortlists come out on Oct. 5, so that will be interesting. You also might be curious to check out the virtual events this week at the National Book Festival in D.C. (Sept. 17-26), which looks to have a lot of authors speaking, so here’s the schedule for that. I hope to catch some of it, if I can.
Lastly this past week, I heard that the great QB of the Green Bay Packers — Aaron Rodgers — now has a Book Club. Ha. It’s not really a book club per se … but he’s announcing one book per week on the Pat McAfee show (available via YouTube) that he recommends reading. So far his two recommendations have been: Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist and Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman. I have not read these but I’m an Aaron Rodgers fan, so wherever Aaron goes, I will go. No offense to his fiancee Shailene Woodley. But isn’t that sort of an odd pairing anyways? Apparently she has never followed football … or watched it? Hmm. While he’s Mr. MVP. But regardless, I think it is great he is emphasizing reading!
That’s all for now. What about you — what are you reading?
Your pup is quite big for 10 months. Have fun on your hikes. I started listening to Bewilderment and it’s wonderful. It is a rather short book so I’m doing short doses to make it last. I’m pretty confident I will love it when all is said and done. Have a good week.
Thanks Diane. Great that you’re loving Bewilderment! I’ll look for your review. I’m still on the library wait list for it … We should have a good week. Enjoy yours.
I’m currently reading and enjoying the first in Ann Cleeves’ new Matthew Venn series. I read a review of Bewilderment in The Times this week that was surprisingly (to me) negative, but I am undeterred. I hope to read it soon. Some of the others that are on the shortlist are of interest to me as well and I may get to them later.
Enjoy your camping trip. It’s a great time of the year for it.
Thanks Dorothy. It’s our last window of above freezing temps so we must go! The NYT gave Bewilderment a negative review?!?! Sounds surprising to me too. I’m still game for it. Have a great week.
Sounds like you and the pups have a fun week coming up. It’s great when you can get out and enjoy the fall. I did a lot of that the last couple weeks, but now I’m back at home trying to get good exercise in an urban setting!
of The Booker Prize shortlist, I’ve only read The Great Circle and I liked it, but didn’t love it. I may try Bewilderment, though I didn’t request a copy, so will have to wait until it releases. Nothing else on the list is really grabbing me, but that’s no surprise. The award winners are not typically my top books.
Have a great week!
Great to hear from you Susie. Glad you are enjoying things in the NW. Of the Booker ones … those 2 novels you note really call out to me. I plan to get to them. I did see your feedback on Great Circle and I’m keeping that in mind when I get to it … sometimes alternating storylines can be unequal in likability and cause problems. Hmm. I’m a bit slowed from PW reading & reviews I do. Argh.
Have a great week.
Have a great trip and enjoy the good weather! I haven’t read any of the books on the list, but The Great Circle is the one that most interests me. Booker Prize winners have not always been books that I’ve enjoyed, but I do like to give some of them a try.
Thanks Jen. Yeah sometimes these Award nominees are out in left field and aren’t enjoyable reads … but like you I will try a couple. Great Circle could be the ticket. Have a good week.
Booker Prize books haven’t always appealed to me. My list of new & upcoming books is long, but none of these are on it at this point. I’m reading Harlem Shuffle now, and I imagine it will win some prize.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Good to know Mae — about Harlem Shuffle. I will look for your review of it. I’ve seen some reviews so far. Does it really have a lot of characters to follow? I was glad to get your take on The Magician, which seems a bit fascinating about what Mann’s life was like. Have a great week.
I’ve been poring through all kinds of award lists this week. I’d love to read Great Circle as well – just need to make some time for the chunkster. Otherwise, so many good books on the many lists.
(I just read your previous post as well) Congratulations on a new furbaby joining your family. Willow looks adorable and I completely understand that crazy energy they have.
Enjoy your week!
Thanks Athira. We are having fun with the new dog. And she’s getting a lot of walks so far. I have been a bit put off by the length of a couple of the books out – including Great Circle and Cuckoo Land. Who has time for all that?! But I hope to eventually get to Great Circle. Have a great week.
I think it’s great that a football player is recommending books as it might get those who don’t usually read to look into it!
I haven’t read any of the Booker Prize finalists. Not really a surprise as I usually haven’t. Sad statement about my reading, I know.
Hi Helen, I agree it’s great of Aaron Rodgers to emphasize reading and I’m sure a lot of kids would follow his lead. I look forward to hearing more of his picks.
I haven’t read the Booker books either but hopefully will get to a couple of them. Have a great week!
Have fun at your outing! I’ve been interested in Great Circle, and I was on the verge of buying it twice but I read it’s a mix bag: some love it and others simply give the poorest ratings. That usually doesn’t sit well with me as I don’t know where I will fall on the spectrum. Anyways, based on the love I think it may win the Booker. Bewilderment peeked my interest again since a commenter above says it’s relatively short.
I finished Cloud Cuckoo Land and liked it a great deal (4*). It is very long, 640 pages, and sometimes it feels that long, particularly because it’s more literary than thriller (action-wise); that is not to say that nothing happens, plenty does, just not things thrilling things, per se. The only villain, if you can call him that, was likable in the sense that one could understand his motivations and maybe empathize. It is a mash-up of genres–some historical fiction, climate change awareness, sci-fi/dystopian, but always the literary undercurrent with the Greek manuscript content as the thread central to all five sub-plots. I read about 1.5 hours every night, which is less than I do each night, but my reading increased in the second half and finished several days ahead of schedule. In short, a slow but fulfilling read.
Oh thanks Carmen for the report on Cuckoo Land. You are the first one to finish it that I’ve heard from. I don’t read many chunksters so I’m contemplating it along with Great Circle. It likely won’t be soon. Did all the timelines in it work for you? Was the ending any good? 1.5 hours per night is a lot — I usually conk out long before that which is a problem. But I hope on the trip to the woods – I can get some reading done. Bewilderment appeals to me too … b/c it is short … you should take a breather right? Congrats on finishing Cuckoo … that’s quite an accomplishment. What books are next for you? Enjoy your week.
Great Circle is a chunkster too. 😮 1.5 Hours is less than I usually read every night, but it was enough to complete one chapter a night, which didn’t deplete me too much since the first half of the novel is rather dense. Now I’m reading The Vanishing Days by Susanna Kearsley (a favorite author of mine), and I will hopefully follow with Damnation Spring–I got ARCs of both, so I want to dispatch those and tip the rating average towards 80% reviews.
Sorry, one more thing that I forgot to reply. The ending is satisfying and all the subplots worked for me; they are all different and each has its own merits.
Okay it seems Cuckoo is pretty interesting, so I’ll keep it on my TBR. I heard about Damnation Spring but I need to check out The Vanishing Days. Sounds like your reading is on a roll. Are you on Goodreads? We’re off to the mountains for the week so I will check in when I get back. Thanks for all your good tips and report.
I’m disappointed that I haven’t read any of the Booker shortlist, but still hope to read Bewilderment and Great Circle. Hope you get to enjoy some time away while the good weather lasts. And good luck to Willow as puppy training begins.
I just finished rereading Jane Eyre for RIP last night and loved it. I think the read/listen combination added to my experience this time around.
Hi JoAnn: Great to hear you had fun with Jane Eyre for RIP. I’ll have to see who reads the audio for it.
Of the Booker books — I’m also lured to the 2 you mention. And Bewilderment will likely come first, especially due to its shorter length. Willow has been keeping me busy this past couple of weeks … but we are trying to get into a routine so I can figure out when I have a free moment. Have a great week.
Bewilderment just went onto my TBR yesterday as I saw it on the National Book Award longlist and loved Powers Pulitzer winner, The Overstory. I was surprised to see it on the Booker short list since I thought that award only went to books by authors from UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, India? (Past colonies or protectorates?) I looked it up and the books just have to have been published in the UK or Ireland during a certain time period.
Hi Anne: yeah the Booker Prize changed some years back (to include English speaking countries like the U.S.) and many British authors were Not happy about it. Such authors as Zadie Smith and Ian McEwan waged their disappointment. It used to be a British thing but now it’s opened up. I think Bewilderment has a good shot at winning. And I plan to get to it soon. Hope you like it. Have a great week.
I haven’t read any of the titles yet from this year’s Booker short list, but I’ve had the Richard Powers book on my TBR for a while and still plan to read that one. And, as always, I’ll be taking a close look at all the books on the list, because the Booker award is always an interesting one.
Thanks so much for the reminder of the links to the National Book Festival. i started watching the Ishiguro interview a minute ago, and will return to it when done here. One of the few good things to come out of this pandemic has been all the virtual events around the world I’ve been able to attend. The schedule really looks like fun.
Enjoy your week in the mountains. That sounds wonderful.
Thanks Sam. I hope to get to some reading in the mountains! It should be a gorgeous trip. I’ll try to get some pictures. Some of the trees are getting yellow here now.
The line-up at the Book Festival looks good … I’ll have to catch it when I get back. I’d be curious what Ishiguro says. I liked Klara quite a bit.
I’m sorting hoping Bewilderment wins the Booker. I plan to get to it soon.
Have a great week with your reading.
A visit to the mountains sounds amazing. I hope you have a fabulous time.
I was delighted with the shortlist for the Booker. Well, honestly, I wish Klara and the Sun had made the list, too, but I was awfully glad to see the Richard Powers book. He wasn’t sure he had another book in him after writing The Overstory.
I will be watching for the arrival of the other short lists. It’s a great way to find some of the best books.
Thanks Deb. I agree I like finding out what’s on the short lists — as I try to read a few of them. I too thought Klara & the Sun should have made the Booker List. I enjoyed Klara and thought it had some great scenes in it. I hope to get to Bewilderment soon. Have a great weekend.
I haven’t read any from the shortlist and the only one I’m interested in is Bewilderment. From what I’ve heard, most people believe The Promise will win.
Hi Stargazer. Interesting to hear thoughts about The Promise possibly winning. I had heard a talk by author Damon Gaglut about a previous book … so it’s nice he is getting some recognition though I have not read him yet. I got Bewilderment for my bday gift!
The prize lists for fiction always surprise me. I’ve not read one book. Although Bewilderment is getting a lot of buzz and Great Circle is on my list.
Hi Ti, yeah I’m looking at these 2 novels too, though Great Circle is a chunkster so I need to find time for it. My reading has been slow lately …. much time trying to calm the new pup and get her into a routine with us. And we’ve been away. But hope to get back into a reading roll. Enjoy your weekend.
I’ve never been able to get into the Booker finalists and winners. I try and feel like I’m too dumb to get them.
Glad you got away to the mountains for a bit! Your puppy is so cute!
I always like to see celebrities’ book recommendations or their choices for book clubs. Good on him!
Thanks Heather. We are enjoying our new pup and she’s learning lots these weeks. Even a puppy class is on the horizon, starting this week.
I think the two Booker finalists Great Circle and Bewilderment seem accessible to me and I will give them a go. Will report back.
I forgot to mention this week Aaron Rodgers’s third book recommendation was The Giver by Lois Lowry which I’ve read … and seems an interesting choice. Cheers!