Category: Reading the Booker shortlist
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Reflections and predictions on The Booker long list
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve read the thirteen books that make up the Booker long list. And I’m glad I’ve done it. I’ve just taken a photo of the books that I’ve still got. As I usually do, with my books, I’ve been giving them away, finding them new homes as I’ve worked my way…
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Derby Day and soppy stuff about my family
Derby Day is another book that I’m not sure I would have gone for if I wasn’t doing this challenge but that I ended up really enjoying. The seedy Victorian world of rigged betting and bill broking is magnificently conjured. I don’t know the period well enough to vouch for accuracy but this is a…
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Over halfway there and off the wagon…
So I’ve finished seven of the thirteen longlisted books. One of the good things about doing this challenge is that it has made me read at least one book that I would never have tried. Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan is very good indeed. It is about a group of musicians on the cabaret scene…
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Booker update – the enemies of reading
So a good old few days have passed since I made this pledge and I am still only half way through book six. I’ve been thinking about the enemies of reading. When I was first a bookseller I used to read at least a book a day. On my days off I’d rattle through two…
Cathy Rentzenbrink 