Posts tagged ‘books’

Sep 21

1001 Book Review: The Jungle Upton Sinclair

I have finally returned to the land of the living. The last two days I’ve been knocked out by a horrendous cold which my daughter brought home from kindergarten. She had a mildly stuffy nose, while I felt like I was dying. I was even too sick to read. If you’d like to get a sense of what happens when you try to review a book while under the influence of a 103 degree fever you can check out this review. Anyway, I’m feeling well enough now to actually schedule a joint 1001 review that we read a while back: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Check out what we thought. Read more

Sep 15

12 Comments

National Book Award for Fiction Nominees

‘Tis the season for literary awards. Earlier this week The Man Booker judges released their shortlist while the National Book Foundation released their nominees for poetry, nonfiction, and young peoples literature. Today they released their nominees for fiction. Interestingly, there is surprisingly little overlap between the awards (Bailey’s prize, Man Booker, and National Book Awards) proving once again that judging books is completely subjective. Here is the list of fiction nominees for the National Book Awards. Read more

Sep 13

16 Comments

2016 Man Booker Shortlist

man booker

It official. The 2016 Man Booker shortlist was announced this morning. Yesterday we made our predictions. How did we do? Here are the 6 books that made the cut: Read more

Sep 12

6 Comments

2016 Man Booker Shortlist: Our Predictions

Combined our shadow panel of 5 judges managed to read all 13 books. We rated all the books on the following criteria: 1) writing quality; 2) originality; 3) character development; 4) plot development; and 5) enjoyment. Unlike some of the other shadow panels and reviewers out there (you should read the (Wo)man Booker shadow panel reviews if you haven’t already done so), our consensus about the list was that it was pretty strong. Keep reading to find out how each book was ranked and which books we predict will make the list. Read more

Sep 8

9 Comments

2016 Man Booker: The Schooldays of Jesus by Coetzee

coetzee

We made it! With this book, our shadow panel has officially completed all the Longlist books. Book Worm and I read all 13 books and our three fabulous contributors managed to read quite an astounding number of them. Our final book is The Schooldays of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee. Tomorrow we will post our overall reflections of the Longlist, Monday we will post our shortlist predictions, and Tuesday the Man Booker committee will release the shortlist. Keep reading to see what we thought of this last book and for our full rankings of all 13 books.

Sep 6

6 Comments

2016 Man Booker: Serious Sweet by A.L. Kennedy

serious sweet

We are in the final stretch with the shortlist announcement coming up soon. Friday we’ll be posting a list of our thoughts reading the list and some of our favorites. Saturday we’ll post our panel’s predictions for the shortlist. Book number 11 for our shadow panel is Serious Sweet by A.L. Kennedy. Three of our judges read this book. Here are our mini reviews and ratings… Read more

Sep 5

15 Comments

2016 Man Booker: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

05 do not

We are entering the home stretch for our Man Booker Shadow panel. Next up is Madeline Thein’s book, Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Only two of us read this book, in large part because it was hard to find. Check out what we thought of this nominee… Read more

Sep 2

10 Comments

2016 Man Booker: All That Man Is by David Szalay

all that man is

Next up on our list of Man Booker 2016 longlist books is All That Man is by David Szlay. Three of our judges read this book. Here are our ratings and how it ranks on our list… Read more

Sep 2

11 Comments

2016 Man Booker: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

his bloody project

Book number nine for our shadow panel is His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet. Three of our judges read this one. Should this book make the shortlist, we’ll repost our reviews with expanded information and any additional reviews from our judges. Check out where this one ranks on our list and let us know what you thought of the book.

Sep 1

20 Comments

2016 Man Booker: The Many by Wyl Menmuir

the many

Next up on our list our shadow panel reviews: The Many by Wyl Menmuir. All five of our judges read this book. Keep reading to see our mini reviews and ratings. Will this book make the shortlist?
Read more

Book Worm’s rating system

★ Bah I really hated this would not even pass this to my worst enemy
★★ I really didn't like this but would consider giving it to my worst enemy for vengeful purposes
★★★ this was an enjoyable way to pass the time not great not horrendous
★★★★ really enjoyed this book there was something about it that made me think
★★★★★ wow I loved this book I am now out recommending it to all my friends, will keep to re read even though I have banned re reads