June 2020 - Award-winning books

[Liz, Moderator]

Hi all,
So the genre we will be tackling for the first round of the challenge is: award-winning books (Booker, Costa, Pulitzer, Hugo etc.) As ever the book choice is entirely up to you and we're not fussy as to what prize it has won.

I have plenty on my to read list and first up, I will go for Saturday by Ian McEwan. It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2005, plus it's on my dusty bookshelf challenge list and even better, it's from the 21st century, so will also fit the time traveller challenge - 3 challenges in one book is a result!

But what will you be reading?

[Abigail]

Aak, looks like it's time for me to read The Overstory by Richard Powers, which won the Pulitzer Prize. It's one of those books that my better self would read but my lesser self keeps postponing.

[Liz, Moderator]

Ha ha. I have a lot of those!

[Kate, Moderator]

Well, I've been trying to read The Swimming Pool Season by Rose Tremain and having reached page 68 was on the verge of classing it DNF (very rare for me to do that) but as I have now seen that it won the Angel Literary Award in 1985 I might try and persevere.

[Liz, Moderator]

Kate wrote: "Well, I've been trying to read The Swimming Pool Season by Rose Tremain and having reached page 68 was on the verge of classing it DNF (very rare for me to do that) but..."

I've read several Rose Tremain and really enjoyed them (my favourite is Music & Silence). I haven't read The Swimming Pool Season, but I have heard that she can be inconsistent.

[Kate, Moderator]

I really enjoyed Music & Silence and Restoration which is why I was surprised that this one is so bad! I'll carry on now I'm over a third of the way through. Rather that than try and start another award winner. I don't seem to like them much!

[Mark]

I'm going to try to read The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year. It's a very dark story but have heard great things about it.

I'm new on here so am interested to try reading lots of different genres!

[Kate, Moderator]

Welcome Mark,
The Genre challenge certainly stretches us into reading things we wouldn't normally consider. I'm not a big fan of prize winners - they always seem to disappoint, but I'm gritting my teeth for June! lol

[Mark]

Kate wrote: "Welcome Mark,
The Genre challenge certainly stretches us into reading things we wouldn't normally consider. I'm not a big fan of prize winners - they always seem to disappoint, but I'm gritting my ..."

I have to admit, I usually feel like this too so will be interesting to see what I think to this one! Definitely found this group though as I was getting a bit bored of reading the same types of books and needed something to push me out of my comfort zone...

[Bill]

I just checked the books I'm reading and none of them are award winners. :0(.. We'll see if I manage one before end June.

[Em]

I’m going to read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. Booker winning.

[Rachel]

I'm going to read Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. It won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1989. It will also get me another country on my RTW trip.

[Liz, Moderator]

Good luck, Rachel. I am finally starting mine: 'Saturday' by Ian McEwan....

[Critterbee❇]

Hi everybody! I am jumping into to the challenge, and for June's award-winning book category, I will read the 2020 Pulitzer award winner, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.

I was lucky enough to see him last year at Freedom to Read Foundation's 50th Anniversary, where he read from the book. It is about time I read the rest of the book.

[Em]

I thoroughly enjoyed last years Booker winner Girl, Woman, Other. I would definitely recommend it. Also, just realised the other book I’ve just finished The Gender Games by Juno Dawson is also a prize winner as it was awarded the Diva/UK Black Pride Literacy Prize for Non-Fiction.

[Kate, Moderator]

Well I battled on with The Swimming Pool Season and hated every minute of it! Thank goodness I've read other Rose Tremain books, if this had been my first I'd never have tried another.

Going to check my TBR pile for another prize winner that I might enjoy more.

[Abigail]

Good on you for fighting your way through!

I am loving my choice, The Overstory by Richard Powers, but have to take it in small doses because it is a painful read for me, being one of those who feels ungoverned sorrow over the sufferings of the natural world. I'm 200 pages in and it's 500 long--hoping to make it by the end of the month, though every time I get too sad I need to turn to other books for a few days. It's a wonderful book and I want to finish--very sharp, observant writing, well informed, interesting characters.

[Rachel]

Nicola wrote: "Well this is possibly my favourite category when I knuckle down and read. I have many contenders lined up but is it ok to cover this with my dusty bookshelf current read? Assuming I finish it haha...."
I really enjoyed that Hope you do too.

[Liz, Moderator]

'The Nickel Boys', 'Girl, Woman, Other' and 'The Overstory' are all on my to read list - going by my past performance it'll probably be ten years before I finally get around to tackling them ;)

I did finish 'Saturday', which built carefully into something very good.

[Abigail]

I am almost through The Overstory and it is gut-wrenching me but I love it. Also admire it very much--beautiful, precise writing, opening up whole worlds through each character.

[Andrew]

I haven't joined the challenges for a while but this seems a good place to start and when i finished i noticed that it had won the national Jewish book award for fiction 1994. I definitely recommend this lost classic bitter sweet comedy which punches you in the stomach in the second half. My physical book group are doing Bernadine evaristo this month( by zoom) so i plan a reread.

[Abigail]

Finished The Overstory. It is, bar none, the greatest novel I have ever read.

[Liz, Moderator]

Abigail wrote: "Finished The Overstory. It is, bar none, the greatest novel I have ever read."

Wow! Praise indeed! I will have to put it closer to the top of my pile :)

[Critterbee❇]

Abigail wrote: "Finished The Overstory. It is, bar none, the greatest novel I have ever read."

WHOA

[Bill]

I'm starting, probably won't finish before end month, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It was sort of an award winner - Winner of WH Smith Book award for 1967 and Cheltenham Booker Prize 2006 for 1966. Acceptable? :0)

[Abigail]

Yes, Critterbee, that’s quite a statement from me. I’ve by no means read all the world’s classics, but have read an awful lot.

[Rachel]

Abigail wrote: "Finished The Overstory. It is, bar none, the greatest novel I have ever read."

After reading that statement I'm adding it to my ever expanding to read list :)

[Rachel]

I finished Nervous Conditions which I really enjoyed 4 stars but 1 star for the rubbish Kindle edition that I had that had lots of typos which I found very annoying.

[Abigail]

Not sure why you should be expected to take my word for it, Rachel, but if you want a little more detail here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Liz, Moderator]

Bill - I thought 'Wide Sargasso Sea' was excellent. Any prize will do (even the Smarties prize!)

[Fadi]

I will be reading Binti which won the Hugo award and Nebula award in 2016.

It is also my first proper sci-fi read...

[Bill]

Liz wrote: "Bill - I thought 'Wide Sargasso Sea' was excellent. Any prize will do (even the Smarties prize!)"

Thanks.. :0)

[Helen]

I have only just joined group but fortunately readLife after Life by Kate Atkinson in June

[Liz, Moderator]

I really enjoyed 'Life After Life'. How did you find it, Helen?

[Elaine]

Em wrote: "I’m going to read Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. Booker winning."
I have just finished this yesterday . I thought I was going to hate it after the first couple of chapters but the more I read it the more it impressed me . Now I think the author is astounding

[Liz, Moderator]

I was just listening to Bernadine Evaristo being interviewed on the BBC World Bookclub podcast. I love listening to podcasts - but my poor old to-read list only gets longer!

[Helen]

Liz, I loved Life After Life it was such an unusual read. I found it very interesting to see the butterfly effect translated this way. Would recommend to anyone