Reading The Women’s Prize for Fiction Part Three | A Reader’s Journal
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 เม.ย. 2024
- For the third in my, relaunched once again, Reader’s Journal reading vlogs, I am returning to the @Womens_Prize Fiction 2024 longlist. Which books do I head to and how do I get on with them? You’ll have to watch to find out. #readingvlog #womensprizeforfiction #vlog #readersjournal
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“Biscuit Versus the Bin Men.” Coming to a cinema near you, soon.📽
Hahaha. It could end up in carnage. He has really taken against them.
His little growls are so cute.
I have loved these women’s prize vlogs, they have been an absolute treat! And also getting 3 big ones in quick succession (oo-err 🤣). It certainly doesn’t matter to me as a viewer that you haven’t read them all yet. I have loved your energy and hearing your real-time feedback - and the cat content 🐈
The only book I’ve read from the longlist is the Megan Nolan, which I loved. Realistically I will probably only get round to reading the winner, even though I always plan to read the whole longlist every year when it comes out… maybe one year!
I’m working my way through all the previous winners as a project, which I am hugely enjoying. Small Island is my favourite so far, but there are so many 4 and 5 star reads in there!
Ha. There will be a mini vlogging break this week and then back with a holiday reading one the following week and the Carol Shields prize the week after. Vlogs are back back back. Lol. Mum and I read the previous winners for the 25th year of the prize and it was soooooooo good. Lots of great books.
I’ve loved these videos they are my little bit of escapism after a few difficult weeks these came at a great time for me to just sit and watch and forget about it all. So thank you and keeping making these fab videos and the cat appearances are just gems😊
Sorry to hear you’ve had a difficult few weeks. Glad I could help even in a little way. Wishing you better weeks ahead.
Loved all the cat cameo appearances! You’ve done a great job of reading most of the books in the time. And Then She Fell has just arrived from the library for me so I’m looking forward to getting to that, but I’m currently reading The Wren, The Wren. Enjoyed 8 Lives, some of the stories were excellent. I also think it could have been even better mixed up a bit more in the second half, but the writing was fantastic. I also would like to get to the Carol Shields shortlist- too many of the prizes are sounding so tempting this year. 😂
Also too many of them happening at the same time. Hahaha. I really want to try and get to the Booker International shortlist too. Though I am hosting a lot of events in May so need to be realistic. They’re just so tempting this year as you say. Plus shortlists are definitely easier reading missions lol.
So glad you enjoyed 8 Lives! I really loved it too.
Yes, I thought it was fab. Was mildly gutted I didn’t have lots of Mirinae’s previous books to go back to hahaha. Can’t wait for whatever she writes next.
about 80% into Exit Ghost and was anxious to hear your thoughts on it. Have been doing it both in audio and print. The audio with the Arabic language accent and the fact it is a play gives it a special vibe that is hard to put down but that said it is too dense a book for the audio format so I often read parts before or after listening. I'm not going to put down too much of my thoughts since I am reading it for the BookTube prize. I too visited Israel about 10 years ago and thought I understood much of the conflict but this book gave me great new insight. I'm finding the history so informative and really a book I want to put in so many hands. thanks for a great blog. Just back from over the pond where I was in London and Scotland and want to thank you for the bookshop recommendations from your previous Edinburgh blog. I love, loved this trip again and look so forward to these 2x a year jaunts.
Glad you had a fab time in Edinburgh. It’s one of my very, very favourite cities. Also very glad you enjoyed the vlog. I think Exit Ghost is a very good book, it makes you think, highlights the issues and draws you in with this Shakespeare play story line (and the storyline of sisters) it’s very dense though… but I’ve been asking myself how it could not be. It has to be.
@@SavidgeReads thanks so much for your reply. Finished Exit Ghost and my thoughts when BT prize round done. Currently reading Collected Short Stories of Shirley Hazzard and loving it.
On Open Book today , Sinead Gleason was talking about Hagstone BBC RADIO4 ( BBC SOUNDS)
She was indeed.
All good, kiddah
Erm, thanks lol
I’m so excited to hear your thoughts on Soldier, Sailor! It’s very dear to me now as a new mom…but separate from my own emotional response, I think it’s just incredibly crafted.
Thoughts incoming… tomorrow with my shortlist predictions.
Those huge Great Gatsby glasses over the headboard are fabulous!
Ain’t they just! 🤓
📚 & Lush = 2 of my favorite things out here
Same.
Love the concept of a ‘patchwork’ book and now I feel I’m really missing out on reading the fiction Longlist in its entirety 😢❤
Hahahaha. But think about all those fabulous reads on the non fiction longlist. I’m excited I have that shortlist to read… though no prize books for me for a while. Well, not from Friday for a whole week!
Awww Biscuit!! Our Lilypad hates the window cleaner for some reason. They get growled at on the regular.
I haven’t witnessed Biscuit with the window cleaner yet, I can almost guarantee the response. A neighbours alarm went off today… he was furious.
Loved the vlog. Just can’t help but think this is a subpar year for me for the prize.
I think there is a very very good shortlist in there, if the judges pick certain selections. I’ve only struggled with a third. That’s not bad. Longlists can always be tricky as panels have such wide and differing tastes.
Oooooh I am reading Hagstone atm. Really love it! And I just ordered Enter Ghost
Hagstone is soooooooo good. Loved it.
And Then She Fell was one of my fav reads last year. I've also read her nonfiction book called A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, which was moving. The ending of ATSF though! I did not see that coming.
Hahahaha. I’d be amazed if anyone saw that ending coming. Hahaha. I will definitely be heading to her non fiction.
Loved Enter Ghost & Anne Enright - I forgive the latter because of the quality of the writing. Hoping Megan Nolan is shortlisted as well as I loved that too. Enter Ghost -?first time I have read a book about life in Israel / Gaza and made the history and currents events much more real, even though it’s fiction. My only afterthought is that the backstory of Miriam could be edited as the personal & political are pretty well covered through lots of other characters too. Thanks for sharing Simon.
Thank you for watching. And your thoughts on the books. Not long to go now until the shortlist.
Omg your pink bathroom I’m in love
Hahaha. Thank you 🩷
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Thanks Simon for these Women Prize vlogs. My fav at the moment from most of the books I have so far read is Enter Ghost alongside one other🤐. Im saving 8 lives of a century old trickster as I think this will be my very, very favourite one but time will tell as I will probably get around to reading most of the longest this year. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Hahaha why are you keeping one a secret when I’m spilling all the beans in these videos. Hahahaha.
I think you probably meant "debilitating" but honestly as someone who also has a chronic illness, "dilapidating" sounds accurate, I might use that. 😂
Hahahaha. They both apply.
You’ve articulated a bit of my lack of complete connection with Enter Ghost. While I think it deserves to be on the shortlist, I agree about the distance . Also, I felt like some of the tension built up, or conflicts depicted (the strain between the sisters, the mention of tension between the father and the uncle) either resolved in a way that didn’t balance the build up, or just faded away. The choice of using script was interesting, but I didn’t feel it served the story in the long run. I excused some of my issues by recognizing that one of the things the book does well is show the atmosphere -the constant tensions and suspicions of an occupied state. I was interested in Maryam. The ending is good, but I didn’t feel like the book was calibrated in a way that made it a surprise. You’ve made me want to read And Then She Fell. I really like your blogs and there cannot be enough Biscuit content. ❤
Ha. I have to make sure Biscuit doesn’t steal the limelight from the other two just because he’s new. Lol. Ooh the faded away tensions, yes I know you mean. I thought it’s a brilliant piece of literature and really highlighted and educated me in many ways. I wasn’t, as you say, quite connected to it but I do think it’s a brilliant work. If that makes sense.
@@SavidgeReads It TOTALLY makes sense, and despite my quibbles I agree with you and wouldn’t be mad if it wins the prize.
So far from the longlist, I've read 10 and parts of 3 others. And Then She Fell would be on my shortlist. As well as 8 Lives and Brotherless Night. I've enjoyed all of your vlogs for the Women's Prize. Thank you!
Awww thank you for the lovely comment. I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed them! A small vlogging hiatus is scheduled and then I’ll be back with some more. I’d love to know all six of your personal shortlist.
I feel exactly the same about Anne Enright's writing (and I have read 5 of her books), and since you connected so well with this book, I am very excited about reading The wren the wren!
Oooh I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It felt quite different from her other books, for me anyway. I liked the change.
Birnam Wood was amazing! I hope you love it 😊
I’m intrigued by it and slightly terrified of it. I really, really didn’t like The Luminaries. Ha.
I agree with you about the Brotherless Night covers. The red is so pretty!
It’s a red that’s almost pink which is one of my favourite cusp of colours.
Fab vlog as always Simon! Would love another hotel rec as I stayed at The Standard last time I was in London and had a lovely time 😊 never know where to start with hotels there 😊
That one with the rooftop pool was the Art’Otel in Battersea, it’s usually horrendously expensive but if you keep your eye on booking.com and/or Expedia it can drop at random points quite significantly.
@@SavidgeReads thanks muchly Simon - I’ll keep my eye out! 😊
The name Battersea Bookshop made me think of Piranesi. 😄
I finished a couple of other books based on your 2024 prompts:
- A Book That’s a Retelling of a Myth/Legend/Fairytale. I read Thornedge from T. Kingfisher, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Very different from what I usually pick for myself. I've found I'm not big into fantasy, but this one was a short book, so it was not too big of a commitment.
- Animal, Vegetable or Mineral - The Measure from Nikki Eirlick - it has a bouquet on the cover. The story is about people all around the world receiving cords that reflect the length of their lives. I got through it relatively fast. The subject matter was memorable, the way to the story was told, maybe not as much, but it was entertaining enough.
Oooh glad you’re getting in well with some of the prompts. I haven’t read any for this month I don’t think. Have I? Hmmm. I need to have a proper look. My brain has been so Women’s Prize focused.
Loved the vlog! I loved And Then she fell, think it’s one of my favs. I wanted to love Eight Lives and I did like a lot of it, but I wasn’t sure it all came together that well. It made sense to me that some of the sections had been as short stories. But I will definitely read the authors next book!
It has a few flaws for me but overall I just looooooved 8 Lives. I liked And Then She Fell a lot too.
Enter Ghost is one of my favorite reads for the Women’s prize. It’s definitely an important book. Heady stuff but not in a heavy handed way. Would really like to see this on the short list. I thought it was a little stiff in the beginning but the momentum and story did build. I liked the script element. I felt like it added to the idea of a troupe and how the individuals were striving towards a common goal. The Wren, the Wren is also a favorite and another I’d like to see on the short list…Enright’s writing is gorgeous. Not going to read the William’s book based on reviews. Sorry to hear you were unwell. Glad you are feeling better! Be kind to yourself as you are terrific and providing wonderful videos!
Yes. Maybe I should have said that, it’s heavy but not heavy handed that’s a great way of putting it. I didn’t think the Williams book was bad, I just was pushed for time and knew I probably wouldn’t put it on my shortlist. I will finish it at some point though.
And Then She Fell really reminded me of Women of the Edge of Time.
Ooh I’ve not read that.
I was unsure about reading And Then She Fell but I think you just sold it to me. I love Woman on the Edge of Time
Loved the vlog! Great to hear your thoughts as always.I’m excited to hear your thoughts on Birnam Wood..
Oooh that’ll be in another vlog in a few weeks 😉
Great way to start my Monday 😊.
I haven’t read any of the these yet. 8 Lives I’m saving for the right headspace as well as Enter Ghosts.
Loved all the cat content - not enough food content though 😂. I’m always envious of the beautiful restaurants you end up at. Have a lovely week.
Hahahaha. I haven’t been to as many restaurants recently… or forgotten to film when I have. You wait for the next vlog though. That’s all I am saying 😉
Learned my lesson, I will never pay attention to the long list again, I'll wait for the shortlist to pay full price. Love that Harry Potter looking glasses mirror in the hotel room , or if you prefer, the Aldous Huxley glasses mirror. Love seeing your food on your travels too. Nice haircut, should get you through the upcoming hot weather, especially if you are going away to a hot and sweaty place, streamline swimming with sharks (again)?
I’m off somewhere warmer soon. No sharks though. It’s sad if you’re never paying attention to a longlist again. That’s a shame. I love seeing all the longlists of all the prizes. A fan way to find new books.
Libraries. And then if I love it, I buy. Win, win.
Absolutely thrilled that you loved The Wren, The Wren, and I completely see the Ali Smith comparison.The younger child aspect of Soldier Sailor makes the novel quite different from the other books on the longlist that deal with motherhood, at least for me, and the narrative voice is different too. I found Enter Ghost quite problematic, perhaps because I’m quite familiar with the history and found the story so one-sided as to be off-putting, but I will be stunned if it’s not on the shortlist. I do hope you get to Brotherless Nights as I think you will love it. Thanks as always for the cat, food and hotel glimpses as well!
Glad you enjoyed the non bookish content as well as the bookish content. I’ll definitely be heading to Brotherless Night. Probably this afternoon straight after my interview with Andre Aciman. Interesting you found Enter Ghost problematic, see this is why it should be a book club book… though at the same time I don’t know if I would pick it for a book club of my own. Ooh I’m conflicted. Hooray for The Wren, The Wren. I’m about to pick up Soldier Sailor again. I’ve taken a slight grudge against it though for that start. Hahahaha.
Hi Simon I read Enter Ghost last week and thought it was great. Currently reading A Trace of Sun. Still number 12 for The Wren The Wren at the library. Will probably end up buying it if it ends up on shortlist. It would be nice to have a bit more time between Longlist and shortlist.
I think six weeks is pretty good, though eight would be even better. Two a week is waaaay more doable. Hahaha.
I love all the cat content! And I really don’t think you should put yourself down for not having read all of the books yet this year - especially because you hadn’t read any from the longlist before it was announced, unlike other years. So far, I’ve only finished Western Lane and I just thought it was fine…? I listened to it on audio and I wonder if that was a mistake because everyone else seems to love it so much.
Someone else reminded me that I have usually read a few. This year. None. Hahaha. But I so thought I could do it. And I’m not putting myself down so much as just being honest about my feelings and wanted to discuss failure a bit, failure isn’t a bad thing.
The audio of Enter Ghost was excellent. I felt like I was listening to a radio drama. I had to do Hamlet for A level English, so I really loved the play bits.
You must have had a very good teacher. I pretty much loathe every book I was taught at school. It was weirdly, but truthfully, my English lessons that put me off reading so much I stopped from the age of 16 to 23. Not a single book read.
@@SavidgeReads I had a great teacher. She became a friend. Her passion for literature only encouraged mine.
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- Just want to add that the way you describe, summarise and reflect on books is just so gorgeous and engaging imo which gives an informative and foundational sort of feel of the book. So thank you for sharing your reading experiences!
Awwww thank you so much. That means a lot. I was watching another channel earlier and feeling a tiny bit inferior on my book thoughts.
“And Then She Fell” by Alicia Elliott is one of my top reads of 2024. Yes, it’s a bit bonkers but the author does a fabulous job of putting us in the protagonist’s head space. She’s also spot on in her depiction of Toronto academics or even Toronto professionals in general and their attitudes.
"8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster" by Mirinae Lee also rates highly on my list. It’s quite difficult to read about some of Mrs. Mooks’ history yet her stories are fascinating.
Oh I wasn’t complaining about the bonkers in And Then She Fell. I really liked it. I loved 8 Lives, a tough read but soooooo gripping.
@@SavidgeReads Oh, I know you weren't complaining about the bonkers.😀I need to work on how I word my comments. Either that or figure out which emojis best relay what I'm trying to say. Ha! Thanks, Simon. I'm glad you enjoyed it, as I did, too.
I love these videos. Thank you. Following up on The Blue, Beautiful World, which I picked up following your last vlog. I'm a seasoned SFF reader and I wondered (wrongly) if there was a genre component at play, but I think it might need to be a DNF forever. No spoilers below.
I'm really frustrated that the PRH page isn't flagging it as a Cygnus Beta book. I googled it a lot, and it was only on Karen Lord's blog that I found that it is connected to other books. I've read The Best of All Possible Worlds, which I really loved, and there wasn't (to me) any glaring crossover even though there are connections to be made.
I'm about 75% through and still a bit confused about what is going on. It's exactly as you put, I feel like I've missed something, even though I now have an inkling as to what I'm meant to know now you've made me aware that it's the same universe to The Best of All Possible Worlds. I'm so far into it that I'm going to see if it ties together in the end, but as a Karen Lord fan, I'm a bit gutted tbh. I feel like it was longlisted for the premise but not the execution. I'm totally ambivalent about books-in-a-series-as-prize-nominees, but I definitely think that books in a series shouldn't rely on an unspoken premise you need to just remember from before. If it's comprehension-relevant, it needs reflagging.
Oooh that’s super interesting that you’ve not really got the link with this book and the rest of the series. And super odd that the publisher aren’t saying that it’s from a series on their website. I felt sad about my reading experience with this too as was looking forward to something different to my usual read AND heading to Karen’s work again after enjoying Redemption in Indigo so much.
Simon there are so many books published today that don't seem to have been well edited, grammatical errors, spelling errors, sometimes formatting or style confusion. This is happening not only on the printed works but also prevalent on the eBook published works. I find this so frustrating. What is going on in the publishing world, that they are not picking up these things today, are publishers not paying for good editorial services now, do you think? I wish they would be more obsessed with this so the quality we receive is better or much higher, don't you?
I’ve heard it’s more prevalent in the ebook market for sure. No idea why it’s happening. I have to say I’ve only spotted it with a few publishers in final books. Proofs have some in but that’s partly because they’re proofs. I once had a book where all the pages were out of order but that was the printers not the publishers 😜
I’ve finished 6 on the long list. I’m more than halfway through Night Bloom. I’ve also started And Then She Fell
The Maiden
I will not be finished by Tuesday? shortlist announcement.
What do you think will be on the shortlist? I hope that Enter Ghost , Brotherless Night, The Wren The Wren,
are in the shortlist.
As I mentioned at the end I’ll be making a shortlist video tomorrow (Tuesday) before the shortlist announcement on Wednesday so not giving anything away until then 😉
Enter Ghost is the only one of these I've read - I don't read a lot of lit fic. I thought it was flawed, but wonderful, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. It's one of those books I'd love to put in everyone's hands.
I wasn't aware of how life is lived in The West Bank, and at times I thought I was reading historical fiction; maybe some Pre-WW2 story. Then I'd get jerked back to the present day.
I also thought the way she showed the differing views of Palestinians with different backgrounds or ages was clever, and realistic.
I agree I felt a bit distant from the characters. I wondered if she did that deliberately because the MC is disconnected from herself and the others, so I was kind of seeing her world the way she did.
Oooh you’re thoughts on distance are really interesting, that’s given me some good for thought. Totally agree about sometimes feeling it was a much older time and how that would make my head spin when I realised it was recent.
@@SavidgeReads @SavidgeReads Glad to know someone else got the sense of going back in time reading this. All the getting your car stopped, searched, armed soldiers standing around, bullhorns, etc. I didn't realize it's like that now.
But I really appreciated it's the story of ordinary people trying to live their everyday lives under such circumstances. I'm always more interested in the lives of ordinary people over rich or powerful ones. All in all it's a book I keep thinking about
And it occurs to me that the MC's confusion and disconnection does mirror Hamlet's. I'm just now thinking about connections between the story and the play and wondering why she picked Hamlet specifically.
I love Shakespeare but always feel like I'm not getting all that's in Hamlet. I guess I might feel that way about Enter Ghost, too.
I also didn’t like the cover but found that A Trace of Sun was really good. The Wren The Wren just didn’t work for me and I dnf’d it 50% in. I liked Enter Ghost but it just didn’t quite make my shortlist predictions
Oooh interesting. So what would make your shortlist?
My shortlist is: Soldier Sailor, A trace of sun, In defence of the act, Brotherless night, Nightbloom and River east river west. It’s really hard picking a shortlist as there were quite a few I tossed up between. First time I’ve read the long list for the Woman’s Prize
I read The Wren the wren and liked it very much and then a week later I couldn’t remember what it was about.Very weird as books do stay with me
Oh that is weird. I read it a week ago and still keep thinking about it. Let’s see if it stays or fades. It’s interesting how books do that sometimes.
I’ve had a similar response to The Wren, The Wren! I can barely remember it and I read it in March 😅
Well you still have one to read😂
I had at the end of that video. Lol. Now I’ve half of that left. Ha.
Solider Sailor , I think, works best on audio. One of the three Irish books is bound to be shortlisted??
Ha. You say that Jacqueline but you never know. Don’t jinx it. Interesting you say that Soldier Sailor works best on audio, for me that’s a strike AGAINST it, not just because I struggle with audio but also because a prize longlisted book should work as a physical book and an audio.
@@SavidgeReads True.