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The Booker long list 2009 has been announced…..

The long list this year is….

The Children’s Book by AS Byatt  stars3h
Summertime by JM Coetzee
The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds
How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall
The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey  stars51
Me Cheeta: The Autobiography by James Lever
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel stars1
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer
Not Untrue and Not Unkind by Ed O’Loughlin
Heliopolis by James Scudamore
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín stars3h (review coming soon)
Love and Summer by William Trevor
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters stars4

I have read 5 of the list, counting Wolf Hall which I didn’t manage to finish.

I have just ordered the rest of the list, so I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with quite a few Booker books on my blog for the next few months.

I am so happy that Wilderness made the long list. I really hope it wins, as it is one of my favourite books of the year so far.

What did you think of the list?

Are you planning to read them all?

27 replies on “The Booker long list 2009 has been announced…..”

I am delighted that The Wilderness because, like you, it has been of my favourites this year too.

Some of the others really excite me and I am looking forward to reading them. I am relieved and intrigued that there are books on the list that I hadn’t yet heard about.

I am happy to see a few books I don’t recognise. Now the question is…which one to read first?!

I would’ve expected nothing less! You are my direct line to Bookerland. I am happy that The Wilderness is included, knowing how much you loved that book. I’m interested in Love and Summer!

Love and Summer does look good. We have another month to wait until it’s release though. I’ll let you know if it is any good!

I won’t be reading them all right now, as I’ll be waiting for the paperbacks to come out! Also, because I’ve way too many challenges that need to be tackled first. I haven’t even read last year’s shortlist yet, but have been meaning to, as I had waited for the paperbacks. I’ll do it after my challenges are done. Which is another reason why I won’t be doing challenges next year, only shared reads! Good luck, Jackie!!

I haven’t finished last year’s short list either! I’m going to cut back on the challenges next year too, but I love reading these prize lists.

I have to say if your not selling these on or getting them from publishers then this is a really expensive exercise which of course I am throwing myself into!! Am looking forward to the journey and am going to re-read The Wilderness as think read too quickly last time!

I think the profit I made from importing Little Stranger into the UK before it’s release will mean that I should break even on the Booker prize list this year, but I can see that it would be a very expensive hobby for most.

I love reading a good list – being able to compare book thoughts with so many people reading the same ones is one of the best things about blogging.

I read Wolf Hall halfway through (didn’t like it) and The Children’s Book (didn’t like that either). I’m nearly at the end of Little Stranger, which I am loving but not sure if it’s Booker material? I’ve heard lots of good things about Wilderness (your review inspired me to order a copy) and it’s next on my reading list along with Olive Kitteridge. I’m very glad that Home is not nominated as I really didn’t enjoy it – it was like swimming through custard.

Sounds as though we have matching taste in books!

Home couldn’t be on the Booker list as she is American, but I agree with your thoughts on it!

Olive Kitteridge is great – I think you’ll enjoy it.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t normally do “current reads”. Tackling the long-list is tempting, but, I think I might just take the easy way out, and opt for the short-list. I’ve got a lot of books on my TBR at the moment, that I really want to read, and I think they’re getting annoyed at being neglected.

However, Coetzee’s Summertime intrigues me, and I’ll probably try reading that, as well as The Little Stranger and The Wilderness this year, irrespective of the shortlist.

I’m not sure I’d attempt the long list if I hadn’t read so many already – I have never attempted the long list before, but I do try to read all the short listed ones at some point.

Wow, I haven’t read any of these yet. I’m going to fix that; I just started by requesting The Little Stranger and Wilderness at the library. I can’t wait to see what you think of the rest! I’m not inclined to read the whole list, but I’m perfectly happy to use your recommendations as a guide. =) Good luck reading them all!

Brooklyn is beautifully written, but a bit too gentle for me. I’ll have a review up soon, but it isn’t for every one.

I’m quite happy with you sorting out those books for us since I won’t be able to read all of them ever 😉 (if you don’t already know, I read slow..)
Me Cheeta is a surprising candidate don’t you think?

Me Cheeta is a very interesting choice! I think I might read that first – I am very intrigued by it….

Interesting comment about Wolf Hall. I”m such an historical fiction buff and LOVE anything about 16th century England that I was most excited about that one. What made it difficult to finish?

Hi Sarah,
You can read my full review here:
http://www.farmlanebooks.co.uk/?p=2249
but in summary I found the writing clunky and it began to irritate me. The plot followed well trodden lines, so I knew exactly what was going to happen next and the length was the final deciding factor.
Hope this helps!

I’m very impressed by the judge’s decision to long list ‘Me Cheeta’. It’s a laugh out loud funny, scurrilous yet enchanting inversion of the Hollywood legend. It’s also beautifully and movingly written – If you make it to the end, I defy anyone not to have a lump in their throat at Cheeta and Weissmuller’s final meeting.

I’m really looking forward to reading it – I got my copy yesterday, so plan to read it next week. It is great to see something different on the list.

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