The Orange Prize longlist was announced yesterday. Do you follow this or other book prizes? I admit I do like to see if any of the Orange Prize longlist/shortlist appeal (and many do)
Here's the list
Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Jamrach?s Menagerie by Carol Birch (Canongate)
Room by Emma Donoghue (Picador)
The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi (Bloomsbury)
Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty (Faber and Faber)
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Corsair)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Bloomsbury)
The London Train by Tessa Hadley (Jonathan Cape)
Grace Williams Says It Loud by Emma Henderson (Sceptre)
The Seas by Samantha Hunt (Corsair)
The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna (Faber and Faber)
Great House by Nicole Krauss (Viking)
The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone (Chatto & Windus)
The Tiger?s Wife by Téa Obreht (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (Viking)
Repeat It Today With Tears by Anne Peile (Serpent?s Tail)
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (Chatto & Windus)
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi?s Wives by Lola Shoneyin (Serpent?s Tail)
The Swimmer by Roma Tearne (Harper Press)
Annabel by Kathleen Winter (Jonathan Cape)
Of those, I've already read and reviewed 3 for a friend's website, (Swamplandia!, Whatever You Love and The Birth of Love, read 3 more (Room, The Invisible Bridge and The Pleasure Seekers) and liked all of them, I've bought at least two more and want to read most of the rest. I think this is going to be a very interesting Orange Prize year.
Which books have you read? Which books do you want to read? Do you have tips for the shortlist or winner? Or do you ignore the Orange Prize on principle or think it's a load of rubbish?
I'll be surprised if Donoghue isn't shortlisted, I imagine she'll be bookies' favourite to win.