The Complete Booker in 2010

14Dec09

The Complete Booker originated in 2007, to bring together book lovers and book bloggers interested in reading winners of The Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Next year, they’re hosting the Complete Booker in 2010 Challenge, with five levels of participation:

Winners Circle:  read at least 6 winners
Contender:  read at least 6 shortlisted nominees
Longshot: read at least 6 longlisted nominees
Booker Devotee: choose a year, and read all 6 shortlisted works from that year
Booker Fanatic: choose a year, and read all 13 long- and shortlisted works from that year

This challenge runs from January 1st to December 31st 2010.

As I want to read all the Booker winners, as well as the shortlists, signing up to this challenge just made good sense. While I’d love to complete all five levels, I’ll probably be going for the Winners Circle and the Contenders, which is twelve books.

Hopefully the challenge won’t be too challenging. Am looking forward to it already.

I don’t know which Contenders I’ll end up reading, but my shortlist for the Winners Circle, at this point, is:

1. John Banville – The Sea {Winner : 2005}
2. Peter Carey – The True History Of The Kelly Gang {Winner : 2001}
3. James Kelman – How Late It Was, How Late {Winner : 1994}
4. JM Coetzee – The Life and Times of Michael K {Winner : 1983}
5. John Berger – G {Winner : 1972}
6. PH Newby – Something To Answer For {Winner : 1969}

That’s one from each decade that the Booker has been running, plus another one from the 2000s.

Do you have any recommendations? Any must-reads on the shortlist? Or, amidst the winners?

And, more importantly, are you joining in?

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