Your weekly edit
In the world of the Booker Prizes this week: we count down to this year's longlist; how to read like a prize judge; discover the best of Margaret Atwood; plus the sportiest books in the Booker Library
Just four days until the Booker Prize 2024 longlist is announced
In just a few day’s time, this year’s ‘Booker Dozen’ – the 12 or 13 works of fiction in contention for the Booker Prize 2024 – will be revealed. In a recent interview with the Booker Prizes website, Edmund de Waal, Chair of judges, shared what he and the rest of the panel are looking for: ‘I need books to work for me sentence by sentence – to have a cellular grip on language. No cliché. No muddling along, no taking the reader for granted,’ he said. ‘I want a book that has heart. That is my imperative.’
The longlist will be announced on thebookerprizes.com and our social channels on Tuesday, 30 July at 2pm BST. We hope you’ll join us – we can’t wait!
How to read more, according to the Booker Prize 2024 judges
Does your TBR pile fill you with guilt every time you glance at it? Do you pick up a book, only to find yourself distracted a few pages later? If this sounds like you, you're not alone. We all know that reading can be a balm for the soul, but finding the time – and motivation – can often feel like a Herculean task.
And so, we asked this year’s Booker Prize judges, who have been working their way through well over a hundred books that were submitted for the 2024 prize, to tell us how to read more, and above all, read more effectively. Their top tips will help you conquer your own TBR pile and most importantly – enjoy the process along the way.
Where to start with Margaret Atwood: a guide to her best books
Margaret Atwood is one of our most celebrated living authors – and one of the most prolific. Since 1969, Atwood has written 17 novels, as well as 18 books of poetry, 11 works of non-fiction, nine collections of short stories, eight children’s books and three graphic novels. She has won multiple awards, including two Booker Prizes. Figuring out where to begin, then, is no easy feat, although once you’ve started reading Margaret Atwood, the hardest thing is to stop. Here’s our guide to the best of her fiction, to help you on your way…
Six Booker Prize-nominated novels with a sporting edge
A summer of sport unfolds before us as we eagerly await the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games today. The games embody passion, determination, and the pursuit of excellence – much like great literature, reflecting a spirit we often see in both authors and their writing. As Booker Prize 2024 judge Sara Collins noted in a recent interview, the Booker is ‘a bit like the Olympic gold medal of book awards’.
Here, we’ve curated a list of books that capture the highs and lows of life on and off the field, from the thrill of competition to the sanctuary it offers for some.
Great 👍 Thanks a million 🙏💕📚💕🙏
I like the suggestion to read one chapter every morning for 12 weeks. I'm currently reading War and Peace, about two to four chapters every evening. I think that at one chapter every morning for 12 weeks will get you about halfway through the book. I'm no mathematician, so I could be wrong. My TBR queue is growing and I want to move on past W&P, but I am tied to the mast by my self-imposed feeling that to give up would be a big defeat. I'm a writer and I always finish a book. Well, 99% of them. So... I will carry on with Tolstoy's epic novel.