The Cheat List

To celebrate the beginning of the Third Year of my One Year blog, I decided to do something a little bit different.  I've gone through the list of Man Booker titles that I've read so far and created some 'Best of' lists to summarize my thoughts on them. If you're new to the blog, you can think of this as a 'cheat list' to get a sense of what sort of literature I enjoy.

Most Likely To Recommend
If you came into my store, you'd probably find at least two of these in my 'Staff Recommendations' shelf at any given time. If we are friends, I've probably tried to give you a copy of at least one of these.

• Troubles - J.G. Farrell
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme
• The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch
• Schindler's Ark (aka Schindler's List) - Thomas Keneally
• How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman
• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
• Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey

Most Likely To Read Other Works From The Same Author
Writer's whose style engaged or intrigued me, even if I didn't necessarily love their prize winning volume.

• Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)
• J.G. Farrell (Troubles & Siege of Krishnapur)
• Graham Swift (Last Orders)
• Ian McEwan (Amsterdam)

Most Likely To Re-Read
Novels I either loved to pieces, or didn't quite 'get' but want to give another chance.

• Troubles - J.G. Farrell
• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch
• Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
• Saville - David Storey
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme
• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle
• How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman

Books That Have 'Grown On Me' Upon Reflection
I didn't necessarily love these titles when I first read them, but I think about them often, which has led to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the work.

• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
• Last Orders - Graham Swift
• The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis
• Saville - David Storey

Novels That Support My "Incest/Sexual Abuse And/Or Insanity = 'Literature'"Theory
Often just a single scene or instance and not the driving theme of the story. In particular I find the sexual abuse or incest disquieting, which mars the remainder of the story.

• The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens
• Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively
• Heat and Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
• The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme 
• Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey
• Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
• Rites of Passage - William Golding

Least Memorable Novels
I know I read these ones, you know I read these ones, but if you asked me today for more than a basic outline of the plot... I would be hooped.

• Holiday - Stanley Middleton
• The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer
• Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald
• Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner
• Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively
• In A Free State - V.S. Naipaul
• Staying On - Paul Scott

Novels I Wouldn't Read Again If You Paid Me
Pretty self explanatory. I don't think there are any surprises here!

• G. - John Berger
• Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee

Favourite Non-Booker Authors
Read them. You can thank me later.

• Kelly Meding
• Caitlin Kittredge
• Rob Thurman
• Daniel Kalla
• Holly Smale

So, that's the past two years of my reading life, in a nut shell.  I owe you a gigantic post in the next week for the past five novels I've read. To be fair, three of them are Harry Potter titles, so they'll probably just get lumped together, but it will still be a fairly large post.

Happy Reading!