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I agree Hugh. I haven’t ordered a book in over a week and it feels a bit relaxing, not for rereads, but just to read. I blame all of you for my ridiculous TBR.
I don’t want a book shortage, but anything that prevented me from acquiring more books without any negative consequences to others would be welcome. I know I could just not buy books, but that’s too much like Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No! campaign against drugs.

I instituted a rule for myself long ago that I will only purchase a book if it’s the next book I read. I don’t always follow that but it’s definitely helped keep my TBR manageable.

Hugh wrote: "A TBR list of zero might be just what I need - I have loads of books that I should and want to reread but there is always something new to distract from starting them."

And as often as we complain, we the love the thought of another new book ans can barely wait for them to hit our TBR.

So true Sam!

I’ve instituted a number of rules aimed at not buying so many books, but not buying a book unless it’s my next book to read is not one of them. I buy books knowing it might be months before I get to it. I don’t want a smaller TBR, I want more time to read.

One of our forum members has a 2022 Prize contender published today in the UK

/review/show...

I’m South African. I’ve been quietly reading the long list and following the threads.

Damon Galgut was awarded the Booker!

It’s only the third time for South Africa

Lisa wrote: "I’m South African. I’ve been quietly reading the long list and following the threads.

Damon Galgut was awarded the Booker!

It’s only the third time for South Africa"
At least the fourth - Nadine Gordimer was the first, and Coetzee won it twice (admittedly he had already emigrated to Australia the second time).

Lisa wrote: "I’m South African. I’ve been quietly reading the long list and following the threads.

Damon Galgut was awarded the Booker!

It’s only the third time for South Africa"

Welcome to the group Lisa and congratulations to South Africa

Galgut would be pleased with me, I’m currently reading Our Lady of the Nile.

But back to 2022, I’m glad you posted your very good review of Chouette, GY. I intended to read it and forgot to look for it in April.

Chouette is excellent. It's the type of book I'd love to see on the Booker longlist.

Hugh wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I’m South African. I’ve been quietly reading the long list and following the threads.

Damon Galgut was awarded the Booker!

It’s only the third time for South Africa"
At least the fou..."

I cannot help but point out that all three of them are white.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "One of our forum members has a 2022 Prize contender published today in the UK

/review/show..."

I got a copy in October! Looking forward to reading it next month.

We have all acknowledged the whiteness of the African authors. It is a ridiculous oversight on the part of judges. We can remedy that on our own by seeking out black authors from the many African countries.

WndyJW wrote: "We have all acknowledged the whiteness of the African authors. It is a ridiculous oversight on the part of judges. We can remedy that on our own by seeking out black authors from the many African countries. ..."

I agree, Wendy.

I'd love to know how deeply the judges are thinking about, and trying to overcome, their inherent biases when choosing winners. Do they think in a pangea-like way about authors, where they're thinking since they awarded the prize recently to Black authors from the US and the UK that it makes up for choosing yet another white author from the African continent this year?

Anyway my feelings about this are quite complex. I don't know enough about the UK literary scene to know if these questions are being discussed openly, and in an intelligent way. I love being part of this group where we're trying to figure it out collectively.

Also, GY, thanks for noticing my pub day!

Finally wrote up some thoughts on "To Paradise"

There were bits I really liked and bits I was really unsure about and even though my review is really long I am not really sure what I thought about it but I can't see it not being all over prize lists next year

/review/show...

Fortunately it is ineligible for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Goldsmiths Prize and the International Booker, which rather reaffirms my intention to focus on those!

I would not be so sure on the Goldsmith

The University has been taken over apparently by US bankers

And the New Statesmen has undergone a complete redesign and shift of content in the last few weeks to explicitly appeal to a US audience

Suspect Goldsmiths Prize will follow

Goldsmiths has been taken over by Lloyds and NatWest - which, the latter in particular, are as British as it gets. When I worked there our Dutch coverage for example was an Englishman channeling Steve McLaren.

That is a thorough review, GY, and A Paradise sounds exhausting.

I’m glad GY remembered your publication too, Lark, because I forgot to get your book when it came out here!

It isn’t out yet in the US, Wendy. My UK editor, Virago, is about 12 days ahead. It’s out today in the UK and out on Nov 16 in the US and Canada.

Happy Publication Day. And Chouette really should be on all the prize lists.

I second the notion of Chouette deserving its place on all the prize lists!

I just saw that, Lark. I will be getting my copy on the 16th!
Congratulations on publication month!

Is Jennifer Egan's The Candy House eligible? To be published in April 2022.

I think so.

Yes, Satsuma has kindly added it to the Listopia.

For Chouette fans (i.e. everyone):

This seems an alarmingly presumptuous place to mention this, but since we're on the subject of my book, Lauren Oertel, a moderator for the Tournament of Books goodreads group, is hosting a Chouette talk, for my goodreads friends only. She asked me to post in other groups I'm active in. Here is the info:

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We have our CHOUETTE discussion (with the author!) set for Saturday, December 11th at 3pm PT/6pm ET.

Link to register for Zoom:

----

Someone will need to figure this out for me for sure, but in the U.S. we have daylight savings time coming up this Sunday Nov. 8, which I -think- means this event will be at 10 pm GMT?

Anyway maybe it's in the realm of possibility for people living elsewhere that I'm friends with. It will be small and I'm looking forward to it because we've all read the same books and it's very obvious to me anyway how these books influenced how I wrote Chouette.

We have already moved our clocks back so his weekend we will return to the normal 5 hour difference - so I think this is 11pm uk time

ok, thanks GY.

I will try to make that if I am still awake then!

Paul wrote: "I will try to make that if I am still awake then!"

my only other scheduled event is sadly at 2 AM for you! Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch, will be interviewing/interlocuting for me at a zoom event hosted by Bookshop Santa Cruz. Here is a link, below. My Virago editor is trying to get a similar event going at a bookshop in the UK, with Rachel and me attending together. It makes sense since we both felt drawn to the animalistic when writing of motherhood.

here is the link:

I loved the links between the two books.

After previously-twice-shortlisted author wins the prize, how about another in 2022? Patrick McCabe has a new book out and John Mitchison, from Unbound.com (also involved with the RoC Prize) says it's the best thing they've ever published

600 pages long with one excerpt someone stoned rambling about how like John the Baptist ate grasshoppers man and the other extremely odd - and inspired by 1970s horror films

I assume you have ordered a copy Paul - sounds like it could be a way to get your -1 * quota filled for the year

No I haven’t ordered a copy for that very reason. Doesn’t sound a book I would exactly like.

Interesting how strongly John M is endorsing it though.

lark wrote: "This seems an alarmingly presumptuous place to mention this, but since we're on the subject of my book, Lauren Oertel, a moderator for the Tournament of Books goodreads group, is hosting a Chouette..."

Just registered and ordered the book. Looking forward!

Lark, it was not even a little presumptuous to let us know about the Zoom chats. I will try my hardest to sign in to the Zoom on Dec 11th.

I preordered Poguemahone a few months ago. I’m glad to hear Mitchison is so pleased with it.

I have a proof of Poguemahone. I might just bump it to the top of the TBR pile now.

Please do, Joe, and let us know what you think.

I am in the cloakroom queue at the Guildhall. Last time I was here I was with Gumble’s Yard standing next to a certain Margaret Busby and telling her she really should accept the role at chair of the Booker jury!

Why are at the Guildhall? I assume not just to loiter in the cloakroom :)

Charity dinner this time.

But it did bring back Booker memories.

I still feel GY and my unsolicited views, having eavesdropped o her conversation with the prior year’s chair, helped clinch the deal!

Maybe she just found you charming and since there are two of you, that’s twice the charm.

I feel Young Mungo has to be a serious contender for at least the longlist

/review/show...

I checked Amazon.com for most of the books listed above. Smith's Companion Piece, Egan's The Candy House, St. John Mandell's Sea of Tranquility and Stuart's Young Mungo are not listed yet. I wanted to stick them on my wishlist.

They are all on Amazon.co.U.K. so I don’t really understand why not on .com

I was able to find all of them on my amazon.com app.