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#BookerDozen
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Graywacke
Empire of the Sun | J. G. Ballard
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Took me a while, but here it is. My #bookerdozen (The order was chosen by pic-collage. 😁)

Thank @Liz_M for the prompt and @vivastory for the inspirational. I‘ll list the titles in comments

Graywacke Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel (2005)
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (2023)
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (2023)
The Colony by Audrey Magee (2022)
An Island by Karen Jennings (2021)
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (2019)
9mo
Graywacke Frankissstein by Jeanette Winterson (2019)
Milkman by Anna Burns (2018)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (2009)
Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah (1994)
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (1987)
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard (1984)
9mo
Liz_M Thanks for the tag. The only two books I've read are also on my booker dozen. I guess I need to wishlist the other 10. 9mo
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Graywacke @Liz_M Start with Moon Tiger. 🙂 9mo
Suet624 Lost Children Archive ❤️ 9mo
Graywacke @Suet624 I second that heart. What a special book! If I were ranking, Moon Tiger 1, LCA 2. I think 9mo
50 likes6 comments
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JenP
Untitled | Untitled
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#bookerdozen
I‘m late to it but these are my booker dozen. Can‘t believe Atwood didn‘t make my list if I was allowed 13, she would be on there.

AkashaVampie I am scared to ever read A Little Life. Ive heard it wrecked some people. 9mo
JenP @AkashaVampie it‘s not a book I recommend to people and it‘s devastating. But, I‘m a psychologist and I thought it was one of the best representations of trauma and a certain personality type that I‘ve ever read. 9mo
AkashaVampie @JenP wow!! Yeah i might read it sometime before I die, but not any time soon.
9mo
vivastory Great list! Not surprised to see a bit of overlap with my own. Ishiguro is such a master at writing stories that stick with you for years, The Mistry & the McCormack are high on my TBR. 9mo
BarbaraBB Great choices 🥰 9mo
39 likes5 comments
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azulaco
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
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It took me awhile, but this is my #bookerdozen.
The Handmaid‘s Tale, Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
Prophet Song, Paul Lynch
Trust, Hernan Diaz
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo
The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke

Shocked at how few winners I‘ve read!

Ruthiella Great list ! A lot of overlap with mine! 👍 9mo
vivastory Fantastic liost!! I really liked Oryx. Plan on reading the rest of the trilogy. Some personal favorites of mine on your list & others that are high on TBR (Pullman, Saunders & Mantel). I know what you mean about the winners. I think that most of my selections were from the longlist & shortlist 9mo
28 likes2 comments
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Liz_M
Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann
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For my #bookerdozen, the first six were easy to choose -- the 5⭐ and 4.5⭐ books (Ducks through How Late). The other six I chose from the many four-star reads that I was slightly more enthusiastic about and didn't seem to have been mentioned already.

@vivastory

Liz_M Ducks, Newburyport
The Satanic Verses
Lost Children Archive
A Brief History of Seven Killings
The Sea, the Sea
How Late it Was, How Late
Eva Trout
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
How to Be Good
Lila
Empire of the Sun
Remembering Babylon
9mo
CatLass007 I read Empire of the Sun when it was first released. It was excellent. I‘ve never read any of the others but Litsy is the reason for my growing Audible wish list. 9mo
Ruthiella I loved Ducks! It changed the way I thought for a while. I found myself talking to myself like that narrator. 9mo
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BarbaraBB Great list. I still need to read Ducks but I loved the Rushdie, Luiselli and Murdoch. I have Empire of the Sun on my shelves. Should read it soon! 9mo
Liz_M @graywacke I'd LOVE to see your #bookerdozen 9mo
Liz_M @CatLass007 Lila was excellent on audio. 9mo
Liz_M @Ruthiella the fact that a lot of narrate to ourselves that way 9mo
Liz_M @BarbaraBB Ducks is a commitment and not for everyone, but I loved the unique style. Empire is quite good in how the situation is presented as normal and only when you think about it, realize how disturbing it is. 9mo
vivastory I somehow missed the Hornby. Lately I have been reading the compilation of his Believer articles & have been loving it. Def want to read Empire. Ballard is a favorite. 9mo
Liz_M @vivastory I loved those books! I am especially fond of the books bought vs. books read lists. 💝 9mo
Graywacke @Liz_M have to think about that. Lost Children Archive and Empire of the Sun would both be on there. 9mo
38 likes11 comments
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CarolynM
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Here‘s my #BookerDozen.
The Black Prince Iris Murdoch
Small World David Lodge
What‘s Bred in the Bone Robertson Davies
Moon Tiger Penelope Lively
The Van Roddy Doyle
Dirt Music Tim Winton
The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantell
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes
Hot Milk Deborah Levy
Autumn Ali Smith
Milkman Anna Burns
I was a bit embarrassed by how few I‘ve read when I went through the lists ☹️ Thanks for the idea Scott

BarbaraBB Well you did read some good ones! I LOVED The Black Prince and Moon Tiger! 9mo
BarbaraBB … and Milkman, Line of Beauty and Dirt Music! (edited) 9mo
Graywacke Moon Tiger! 🖤 9mo
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Ruthiella Great list! Iris Murdoch is such an interesting writer. I definitely have The Black Price on my TBR. 9mo
Centique Theres so many here i need to get to! This is a great reminder of great books ive missed 🙌 9mo
Reggie I loved Milkman so much. 9mo
59 likes6 comments
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Ruthiella
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Inspired by @TheKidUpstairs and @BarbaraBB here‘s my #womensdozen using only the short list and winners. Purposefully no overlap with my #bookerdozen with either author or title. Some are my favorite books of all time.

1. The Poisonwood Bible
2. Bel Canto
3. Purple Hibiscus
4. Old Filth
5. The Observations
6. The Tiger‘s Wife
7. Life After Life
8. The Goldfinch
9. Do No Say We Have Nothing
10. The Idiot
11. Girl, Woman, Other
12. Piranesi

Christine This is an amazing list, and now I‘m of course wondering which are your favorite books of all time! 9mo
vivastory I have read only 2 of these! I have a lot of reading to do as several of these are on my TBR 9mo
Ruthiella @Christine Thanks! Bel Canto, Old Filth, Life After Life and The Idiot would go on that list. 😃 9mo
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Ruthiella @vivastory So many books, so little time! 😃 9mo
vivastory So true, so true. If only work didn't keep interfering! 😅 9mo
vivastory @Ruthiella I have to ask: have you read other Atkinson books? I'm just curious, because I read “Case Histories“ & really loved it but it's the only Atkinson that I have read so far. 9mo
Ruthiella @vivastory I LOVE Atkinson. I‘ve read most of her novels and the entire Jackson Brodie series. I highly recommend it. When Will There Be Good News is IMO the best, but they‘re all great. @CarolynM is also a fan. 9mo
vivastory @Ruthiella Thanks! *Noted. I am def. planning on continuing the Brodie series, but also plan on checking out Life After Life. 9mo
BarbaraBB Such a great selection 😍. I loved Old Filth too. And Piranesi. And I should read 9mo
Ruthiella @BarbaraBB Discovering Jane Gardam was a revelation to me. I want to read everything she‘s written! 9mo
BarbaraBB I‘ve been thinking that too! And I noticed I already read The Tiger‘s Wife. Not even that long ago, in 2020. I don‘t remember a thing, isn‘t that weird? Or maybe it‘s because it‘s the damned Covid year… 😱 9mo
Ruthiella @BarbaraBB I definitely have read books where I have no memory. I sometimes wonder if I briefly had an out of body experience. 😂 9mo
BarbaraBB I am really shocked. I often don‘t remember what a book was about but not remembering that I read a book in the first place hasn‘t happened before, I think 👵🏼 9mo
vivastory @BarbaraBB If it's any consolation I recently started reading a short story collection thinking I had never read it & halfway through it I checked goodreads only to discover that I had read it 6 years ago 🙃 9mo
TheBookHippie The Observations is the only one I didn‘t read in your list!!!! Wow. 9mo
Ruthiella @TheBookHippie Wow! The Observations was great. I‘d recommend it to anyone who likes Sarah Waters. 9mo
Christine Worthy picks! Though I have to admit I‘ve never heard of Old Filth! 9mo
CarolynM Yep, big Atkinson fan. That one is probably my favourite Brodie (very hard to choose) I haven‘t read all of her non-Brodies yet @vivastory Of the ones I‘ve read I love Life After Life but my favourite is its companion novel 9mo
batsy Purple Hibiscus, The Idiot, and Piranesi! 💜 So many here that I must read. 9mo
Tamra I‘m still irritated by the The Goldfinch. I was downright angry at the time! 🤣 9mo
TheKidUpstairs So many good ones! Totally stacking The Observations and Old Filth! 9mo
Ruthiella @CarolynM The way the plot of When Will There Be Good News winds up was so amazing. I still get goosebumps. (edited) 9mo
Ruthiella @batsy A lovely list of possibilities! 😃 9mo
Ruthiella @Tamra I get that! Donna Tart‘s style can be indulgent and long winded. 😆 9mo
Ruthiella @TheKidUpstairs I hope you enjoy them! 9mo
Caryl Ooh! Some of my favorites (Bel Canto, Old Filth, Purple Hibiscus, Life After Life) and some shelf-sitters I need to get to (Piranesi, The Idiot). 9mo
Ruthiella @Caryl so many books, so little time! I hope you enjoy both when you get to them. 😃 9mo
Readerann Have read 7 of these and mostly agree with you, especially on 1 and 2! (edited) 9mo
Ruthiella Both were the first I‘d read from Patchett and Kingsolver and they knocked it out of the park. 9mo
BkClubCare Oh my, there are 5 on this list that I have yet to read.🧐 9mo
Ruthiella @BkClubCare Looking through the shortlist, I saw lots of books I already have on my mental TBR. 9mo
75 likes31 comments
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BarbaraBB
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Okay @TheKidUpstairs I checked out the history of the Women‘s Prize for Fiction and it turned out some of my all time favorites were nominated on it. So here are my #womensdozen (I didn‘t use books I already posted in my #bookerdozen post).

Titles below in the comments!

BarbaraBB Anne Michaels: Fugitive pieces
Helen Dunmore: A spell of winter
Yaa Gyasi: Transcedent kingdom
Jacqueline Woodson: Red at the bone
Valeria Luiselli: Lost children archive
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Americanah
Elizabeth Strout: The Burgess boys
Siri Hustvedt: What I loved
Sarah Waters: Fingersmith
Margaret Atwood: Blind assassin
Jane Urquhart: The underpainter
Anna Quindlen: Black and blue
9mo
TheKidUpstairs Fugitive Pieces has been on my TBR since high school when a teacher recommended it. I'm thinking I should finally get to that one soon! Only 26 years late! 9mo
TheKidUpstairs And I really have to read Lost Children Archive. I absolutely loved 9mo
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sarahbarnes Some great books here! And Fingersmith is on my list! 9mo
Ruthiella Great list! 👍 Looking at the Women‘s Prize shortlists over the years made me want to read all of them! Anna Qindlen is an author I need to try. (edited) 9mo
vivastory I feel like between the #bookerdozen & the #womensdozen I could easily be stocked up on books to read at least until the summer! So many wonderful recommendations on these posts & reminders of books that I have been meaning to read 💙 9mo
vivastory @TheKidUpstairs I saw a virtual event with several incredible authors early days of the pandemic & Valeria Luiselli read from that one & I haven't forgotten it. I keep meaning to read it. 9mo
BarbaraBB @TheKidUpstairs Thanks for the Luiselli recommendation! And looking at your choices I was thinking: I should finally read 9mo
BarbaraBB @vivastory Yes! I felt a renewed appreciation for them: so many authors I probably wouldn‘t have discovered without them! (edited) 9mo
TheBookHippie Wellllll my my my we have a similar choice !!! 😳👀♥️😘 9mo
squirrelbrain Some great books! ❤️ 9mo
BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie Finally! And it‘s a good one 👌🏽 9mo
batsy Great list! Many I have yet to read but Fingersmith and The Blind Assassin are excellent 💜 9mo
Tamra Loved Blind Assassin! 9mo
TheKidUpstairs @BarbaraBB one of my favourites by one of my favourite authors! 9mo
Readerann I loved Americanah and The Blind Assasin. Anna Quindlen is a writer who I feel is predictable but I‘m perfectly happy to read anything she writes anyway! We only part ways at Elizabeth Strout. 😁 9mo
BarbaraBB @Readerann You‘re no Strout fan? I loved everything she‘s written 😃. I haven‘t read many Quindlen books but this one stood out at the time (long ago!) and I still remember it! 9mo
86 likes17 comments