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review
Graywacke
Headshot: A Novel | Rita Bullwinkel
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Pickpick

#booker #booker2024 #longlist

My last longlist book. This is an interesting narrative style, a series of snapshots from each fighter‘s past, future, and rather violent present. The 8 girls fighting for the u-18 boxing championship in-front of 12 fans in a neglected arena. But the narrative is doing a lot more than just following our neglected lady gladiators.

My full longlist summary will go in the comments.

Graywacke Some thoughts: 2024 was not my favorite Booker list. Four terrific books. And three others that I found rewarding reading. But that leaves six of thirteen that didn't really work for me. Seems like a lot. What was unique this year is that last September I joined the Booker Prize Book Club on Facebook and got really involved. So I had a different and much higher level of excitement around the list than ever before. That was rewarding. 4w
Graywacke Here's my breakdown, a personal list

My top two:
- Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
- James by Percival Everett

Other books I really took to and that are really well done:
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey
- Held by Anne Michaels

The book that was just too cautious to be great
-My Friends by Hisham Matar

The imperfect but with terrific elements
-Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
-Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
4w
Graywacke The interesting ones that didn't quite work for me
-Playground by Richard Powers
-Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

The book that never quite took off and overcame itself
-This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud

The ones that I didn't like (although I can talk about some of their strengths)
-The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
-Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
-Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
4w
See All 13 Comments
BkClubCare Just wanted to say…. Cool post. I am not a Booker follower other than being interested in which book wins. So with all the overlap of lists I *do* follow, I like to see other opinions. I appreciated Safekeep but didn‘t enjoy it; will look for the Charlotte Wood (the only one I don‘t recognize). 🌟 4w
Suet624 I never think that facebook is consistent enough to include me in a reading group. I‘m glad you got a lot out of it. I primarily agree with how you‘ve rated the books, but I liked My Friends more than you apparently. It‘s true that Booker was a bit disappointing this year. 4w
BarbaraBB Very interesting post! It‘s been great following your progression. Overall I was a bit more positive about the list although I haven‘t read all of them. I am looking forward to Playground and will skip Creation Lake. 4w
squirrelbrain I love the way you rated the books, although I disagree with some of them. ☺️ Actually, only one - The Safekeep. I‘ve enjoyed seeing all of your reviews and opinions. 4w
Graywacke @BkClubCare thanks. I have found the Booker winner often less interesting than the Booker longlist over all. But that‘s 13 books instead of one. SYD is terrific. 4w
Graywacke @BarbaraBB thanks. Creation Lake has its fans. Playground is much more universal, though 4w
Graywacke @Suet624 That FB group is the only thing l like on fb. ☺️ I joined last year and found it unexpectedly kind and encouraging. 4w
Graywacke @squirrelbrain i‘m probably too hard on The Safekeep. It‘s not the 🍐 🍐 so much as the clean wrap-up that left me feeling down on it. Thanks. I enjoyed all your posts too! 4w
Leniverse We have the same two favourites! After that I would put My Friends and Orbital. I still have three that I haven't read though, but I doubt they would make the top of my list. 3w
47 likes13 comments
review
Graywacke
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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Pickpick

My 12th from the #Booker #longlist. One more to go.

A sensitive thriller? A low-level violent drug-deal abduction, that becomes very interested in the sensitive nature of its characters. The pacing is careful but controlled. When we want it to move on, it holds its course. Be patient dear reader. I enjoyed it.

#Booker2024

Suet624 I liked this one too. Great review. 😊 2mo
Graywacke @Suet624 thanks 🙂 2mo
See All 6 Comments
Cathythoughts Great review. I enjoyed it too. 2mo
Leniverse I've waited so long for this to be available from the library, I was starting to lose interest. But I guess I'll keep my hold after all. 2mo
Graywacke @Leniverse you won‘t regret meeting Dev, Doll and Nicky 2mo
57 likes6 comments
blurb
Graywacke
Wild Houses: A Novel | Colin Barrett
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See, collar off. 🐕

Starting my 12th from the Booker longlist.
#booker #booker2024 #longlist

Leftcoastzen 👏🐶 2mo
dabbe And more beautiful than ever! 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
55 likes2 comments
review
squirrelbrain
Playground | Richard Powers
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Pickpick

I started this on audio and struggled to connect so switched to physical. However, whilst I really enjoyed the book overall, I think the lack of human connection might have been the issue rather than audio.

Neither of the two male MCs was very relatable and there was too much distance between all of the stories - they sort of came together at the end but I didn‘t feel emotionally connected.

It would still have made my #booker shortlist.

BarbaraBB I have this one waiting on my shelves 2mo
quietlycuriouskate I loved it but, yes, there was an emotional coolness to it. 2mo
Hooked_on_books I‘m glad you finally got to read it! I liked both storylines but I didn‘t really want them in the same book. 2mo
74 likes3 comments
review
Graywacke
Playground | Richard Powers
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Pickpick

My pup is out of this lion costume collar now. Surgery went well, recovering largely done.

Powers is an author determined to make quality fiction out of pertinent science. Here he tosses us a red herring, when a social media leader, author of AI-based Playground, suffering from a disease that affects his mind, looks at the oceans. I was waiting for the environmental hammer, but his focus is different. Thought-provoking. Not subtle.

Ddzmini I saw this book at the book fair and almost bought it now I‘ll have to get it 🤗📚 2mo
AllDebooks Beautiful pup 😍 2mo
See All 14 Comments
Ruthiella ❤️🐶❤️🐶❤️ 2mo
DogMomIrene Glad your pup is healing. Those soft collars are such a great alternative to the cone. 2mo
AlaMich I‘ve never seen a collar like that! It‘s adorable! However, my pencil-neck greyhound would probably be able to worm his way out of it. 2mo
Leftcoastzen Awww , cute !🐶 2mo
squirrelbrain Aw, such a cute collar - glad pup is feeling better. As for the book, I enjoyed it but also felt it was rather heavy-handed in places. 2mo
ShelleyBooksie What a cutie! So glad that surgery went well and that recovery is going well ♡♡♡ 2mo
dabbe Such a beauty! So glad surgery went well and that she's healing! 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
Graywacke @AllDebooks @Ruthiella @DogMomIrene @Leftcoastzen @squirrelbrain @ShelleyBooksie @dabbe she says thanks to each of you. And she wants you to that she‘s much better looking without the pillow. Her words. 🐕 2mo
Graywacke @Ddzmini hope you can get a copy of 2mo
Graywacke @DogMomIrene @AlaMich that pillow collar was a huge hit it doesn‘t get in the way of her eating or getting up on couches. It‘s clearly much more comfortable. And she like to use it as a pillow 🙂 They come in different sizes 2mo
Graywacke @squirrelbrain yeah, heavy handed 😇 2mo
64 likes1 stack add14 comments
blurb
Leniverse
Predictions | Sian Griffiths
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I don't have the will or the energy to make a video, so here's my #Booker winner prediction and shortlist ranking:

Personal faves: James and Stone Yard Devotional
Quite liked: Orbital and The Safekeep
Don't think succeeded in what it set out to do: Creation Lake
Actively disliked: Held

Book I think will win: James or Held.
Sure hope it is James.

squirrelbrain It‘s bound to be Held, because most of us disliked it! 2mo
33 likes1 comment
blurb
Graywacke
Playground | Richard Powers
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Another book i started last week. Slowly making way through. Joy of discovery mixed with drama of the characters lives. Fun stuff so far. #booker #booker2024 #longlist

BarbaraBB Looking forward to your review and to this book! 3mo
47 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Leniverse
Headshot: A Novel | Rita Bullwinkel
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Pickpick

I liked this a lot more than I expected to! It had innovative storytelling and just the right amount of quirky and feral teen girl energy. Will it stand out in my mind a year from now? Probably not. But I really enjoyed my time with it. In all but the final match it was perhaps too easy to work out who would win based on how their story was told, but in the end that's not truly what the book is about.
(Personally I was #TeamWeirdHatEnergy)
#Booker

review
Graywacke
Held: A Novel | Anne Michaels
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Pickpick

What an interesting book. I‘ll have to reread this. It‘s a splintered narrative and I tried to focus on where and when and who, enjoying the romantic touches and the drifty feel, overlooking the mechanical and scientific commentary … until I saw two chapters titled “River Orwell…1984”. Then I started to look for something dark. It‘s a little buried and quiet, but pieces line up. A striking condemnation of our destructive society is built in here.

BarbaraBB Another great review. It is an exceptional Booker year don‘t you think? 4mo
See All 15 Comments
Suet624 My goodness. You‘ve made it sound quite intriguing 4mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB thanks… but no, I don‘t think it‘s a good longlist 🙈 I feel i read several meh books and all soft or imperfect prose. But i like that my four favorites are on the shortlist - this, Held, James, and SYD. 4mo
Graywacke @Suet624 it is intriguing! 🙂 4mo
BarbaraBB @Graywacke I haven‘t read the whole longlist but I really love the shortlist except for the Kushner that I haven‘t read 4mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB i have three on the longlist to go - Playground, Wild Houses and Headshot. I was mixed on CL 4mo
squirrelbrain I‘m going to start Playground soon too…. 4mo
Leniverse I didn't even notice the Orwell reference 🤦🏻‍♀️ I was so frustrated and bored by that point. This one just didn't work for me. 4mo
Graywacke @Leniverse what part do you think made it boring or frustrating? 4mo
Leniverse It was just too disjointed for me. The ghost thing was frustrating because it was introduced and then abandoned except for some woo woo musings by later characters. Because we jumped around so much I had trouble working out how some of the characters were connected, and I didn't feel invested enough to put effort into it. ⤵️ 4mo
Leniverse I get that the whole thing was snapshots from a family album, and that ties in with the photographer theme, and it's all very clever, I'm sure. I think if the book works for you, you probably get a lot from it. I can recognise that. But to me it was just paragraphs, polished to be very pretty with overblown language, and no connecting matter. 4mo
Graywacke @Leniverse Thank you for sharing. Very interesting. i‘m still pondering the ghost thing. My thought at the time was that it‘s kind of silly. Or that his assistant was doing it. But it might have a good reason to be there. I didn‘t think of the photo album relationship. I like that idea. I was thinking she was jumping around to create reader detachment (from our real world) and to create associations. 4mo
Leniverse There was a thread of mysticism and lingering ancestors throughout that made me think the ghost photos were real (but probably also allegorical in some way), and because they're highlighted in the blurb I didn't expect that whole narrative thread to be abandoned. I felt detached, alright, but from the story. After we left photographer John I only felt invested once - the story where the woman goes back to a war zone and her father & husband wait. 4mo
51 likes15 comments
review
Leftcoastzen
Creation Lake: A Novel | Rachel Kushner
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Pickpick

#Booker an odd one ,but I liked it?A bit of a thriller w/ a woman for hire infiltrating a eco-terrorist group. Kushner adds so many ideas, philosophy, anthropology, w/ the main character having a hey, I‘m just doing my job kind of attitude.The scene that recalls a character finding a dead German soldier, taking his helmet, inherited his lice was intense. I can see why people bail, many layers in this one. I thought Flamethrowers was overrated.

BarbaraBB I didn‘t like Flamethrowers indeed (not the Mars Room) and haven‘t read this one but I love your review. 4mo
Leftcoastzen @BarbaraBB 😊 thank you! 4mo
58 likes2 comments