2022 Booker Prize longlist discussion

[Alwynne]

Paul wrote: "The Booker Prize has put up a “which Booker book should you read” quiz

https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booke...

Twelve questi..."

I started it but the questions irritated me so much I had to stop, particularly the one about the people you'd want to discuss things with. Just weird!

[Neil]

I had exactly that problem. Answered a couple of the questions but was getting crosser and crosser so I gave up!

[Paul]

The one I struggled with was the music one as there was no “none of the above” button.

[Paul]

It endeared itself to me by one of the first questions being the most important of all - preferred book length.

[Cindy]

I took the quiz and got Seven Moons. Conveniently, that's the only one I have left.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I got The Trees and couldn't really work out why. Too many questions and none really drilled down far enough into taste issues. The worst one was the one about writer recommendations for which I picked Daisy Johnson - who can possibly know what historic writers would make of modern fiction.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

Music - I think I said Neil Young but about half of them were people I had never heard of.

[Debra]

Hmm...I got Oh William! which is currently at the bottom of my rankings.

[Lee]

I got Nightcrawling.

I'll be eager to see what it has to do with listening to Max Richter.

[Paul]

On the writer one I alternated between Virginia Woolf (who I suspect would despair how little much contemporary fiction has evolved in the last 100 years) and Max Porter (whose taste on books is good).

[Elizabeth]

Hugh wrote: "I got The Trees and couldn't really work out why. Too many questions and none really drilled down far enough into taste issues. The worst one was the one about writer recommendations for which I pi..."

I chose Daisy Johnson as well, and also got The Trees...So maybe that was the deciding factor, it shows I like strange, dark stories.

Also had no idea on the music question, so I picked randomly. I'd love to hear which books they thought aligned with which type of music.

[David]

I also got Nightcrawling.

[David]

Anyone who couldn’t make it through the quiz should get Booth as punishment.

[Roman Clodia]

I got Small Things Like These - a book which screams no, no, no to me!

[Vesna]

Lee wrote: "I got Nightcrawling.

I'll be eager to see what it has to do with listening to Max Richter."

I also got Nightcrawling and apparently it's good for someone who listens to Erik Satie.

I don't intend to read it after previewing a few excerpts.

[Joy D]

David wrote: "Anyone who couldn’t make it through the quiz should get Booth as punishment."
Too funny. I somehow got Booth! I mean, I liked it but it's not top of my list.

[David]

I got Nightcrawling and said I listen to the Smiths.

[Joy D]

I said Hozier. Not sure how that would relate to Booth, though.

[Paul]

Now if Night Crawler had been available as music to listen to I would have picked that one.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E69-sUy...

[Lark]

After Sappho--which happens to be my current read! The Booker People are mysterious and magical

[Britta]

Neil wrote: "I had exactly that problem. Answered a couple of the questions but was getting crosser and crosser so I gave up!"

And it happened again: we agree. 🤣

[Laura]

I got The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (which at the time was next on my TBR)!

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Oddly I got a suggestion to read for a possible 2023 longlist book (2022 is so last month)

[Debra]

I'm listing to The Trees on Audible (while doing other activities) and reading After Sappho in book form in the evening. What an odd pairing! Toggling between the two hasn't been easy.

[WndyJW]

That is a huge shift, Debra. If I started doing that I would end up focusing on just one book.

[Lascosas]

I got Nightcrawling and listen to Eric Satie.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I am going to be left with four American books to read after the rest of the list, and the only one of those that really appeals to me is the one that hasn't arrived yet.

[Alwynne]

Just like the dregs of the Christmas chocolate box?

[Suzanne]

I’ve just started my last book of the 13! I’ve enjoyed something about each book. This is my third year reading the whole longlist, and it’s easily the most consistent of those years I think.

[LindaJ^]

I got The Trees. I had the most trouble picking an author to recommend me a book. Music was easy because the only one I knew was Neil Young, who, luckily, is a favorite -- Four Dead in Ohio.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Perfectly expressed Suzanne.

[David]

Great, Suzanne! Which are your favorites?

[David]

The lowest four on my list are the chunky American books, Hugh. Hopefully they appeal more to you than they did to me.

[LindaJ^]

I'm on my 12th - Seven Moons. I thought I had After Sappho in hand but was wrong. I ordered a few days ago but doubt it will make it across the ocean before I head to Maine for 2.5 weeks. I'm not sure how much headway I'll make on Seven Moons before Monday but am now seriously reflecting on my predictions and whether I will list them in order of ratings or a more predictive list. I'm pretty sure Maps will be at the top and Nightcrawling and Case Study at the bottom but between those it is much more of a tossup, including my thoughts on whether the Booker should go to a US-centric book.

[Suzanne]

Maps, Glory, and The Colony are the standouts for me. Maps is possibly my personal favourite but I think I would prefer either Glory or The Colony to win. I am currently reading The Trees, but too early on in it to have a feel of where it will sit.

[Vesna]

It looks like that for quite some time Nightcrawling is firmly #13 on Hugh's and #12 on Paul's versions of the longlist dynamic rankings which were exactly the positions for the books that were shortlisted in the last 2 years. Hmmmm...

[WndyJW]

That is not good news, Vesna.

[Roman Clodia]

This is not a good longlist in terms of matching my tastes - even my two top books (Trust, After Sappho) are only 4*. I still have The Trees to read and maybe Case Study.

[David]

Was last year’s list more to your taste, RC?

[Roman Clodia]

Not really, I don't think the Booker is a great match to my tastes - but I did like A Passage North and 5-starred Second Place. There's still hope I might love The Trees.

[Tracy]

And, done. In general, I think this was a good longlist. There were a few that I didn’t care for, but that’s mostly because of my tastes. Treacle Walker and After Sappho certainly rank high in the unique department. Trust and Case Study were my least favorite- not my style. I’m glad I’m not a judge this year.

[David]

Nice job Tracy 🙌🏼

[Debra]

Great job, Tracy!

I'm not sure how far I will get with the longlist. I definitely want to finish reading After Sappho (even though it's a slow read), but I am not sure how far I will get with the remaining books (Seven Moons, Glory, Night Crawling, and Case Study).

[Hugh, Active moderator]

My copy of The Trees finally arrived yesterday, and I only have that and Booth left to read, so I should be able to finish the list early next week.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

That’s great Hugh.

[WndyJW]

I’m eager to see what you think of The Trees, Hugh.

Well done, Tracy. Congratulations to everyone who has read the whole list already.

[Paul]

Read 9 out of 13 and will stop there until the shortlist. Treacle Walker, After Sappho, Colony and Small Things would all be worthy winners so it’s a strong year at the top.

And talking of small things a relief after ploughing my way through Seven Moons to be back to a TBR pile of books more to my taste:

https://twitter.com/fulcherpaul/statu...

[Cindy]

I've now finished the longlist. Overall, as others have said (and as I think I have said) previously, I think this is the best longlist we've had in some number of years. That does not mean I loved or even liked all of the books, but there is not a single book (even Nightcrawling) that I am sorry to have read. I suspect that the shortlist will be a combination of happy and sad surprises for me (and for most of us). Time will tell.

[BookerMT2]

David wrote: "Anyone who couldn’t make it through the quiz should get Booth as punishment."

Haha that is exactly what I got. Put The Smiths for music but none would have been a better choice.

[WndyJW]

I got Booth. I know I got that because I said take me to a different time. Im pretty sure if I said I like to get to limits of truth through fable and myth I would have gotten Treacle Walker. There is no way the answers I chose should have given me a 500 page historical fiction from a big publisher.