What usually happens at the start is I print off the covers of each book into little bits of paper, fold them over and then pick one out. I then repeated that process to select the next book until I've read all six. That cannot be done this time. The bowl I used for the 'lucky dip' part of the picking process was broken earlier this year. I've remedied that problem by creating a new method to choose each book.
The covers of the six shortlisted titles have been printed out and placed into numbered envelopes. A die (or another picking method!) will be rolled to determine which envelope is opened when it's time to pick one.
Yes, I could have picked another bowl, but I thought this would be a fun alternative.
Here it begins...
Wednesday 23rd September
As you can see above, all six envelopes have been filled. I don't have a die at hand, so I'll ask Siri to assist me.
It came up THREE.
Inside the third envelope is...
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry.
Thursday 24th Septemnber
I didn't get to start May We Feed the King until this morning.
Usually, I would have a look on the Booker Prize website to grasp an idea about the novel. I've decided to go into this one blind. I might do that for the other books on this year's shortlist as well. But, don't hold me to it.
I'm 11% in and already finding this book interesting. I'll return once I've finished it.
Thursday 1st October
I've now finished May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry. My thoughts will be posted below. I have now rolled the die. 'It's five,' said Siri.
In the fifth envelope is..
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.
Friday 2nd October
My thoughts about May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry
I wish May We Feed The Kind wasn't the first novel selected this year. The reason why is because I need a baseline.
As I sit here right now, I have mixed thoughts. Most are positive. I enjoyed the novel. However, I have trepidations concerning whether I think it will win.
I state that fully aware Perry secured the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize in July.
May We Feed The King is a three-act novel. In the first part, we're introduced to a person who has been commissioned by a grand house to create scenes within the building for an exhibition marking the property's anniversary. The curator spends a lot of time creating the ambience using replica props that would have been around during the time of a certain royal would have resided in the building.
The middle part of the book takes us to the time of the King the curator has focused her work on. We don't know his name other than 'The Rat King'. We're taught he reluctantly ruled his kingdom following the deaths of his brothers. By the end of this part of the story, the reader is told the King has vanished, leaving his subjects to fend for themselves and - I think this is the point - to create their own narratives about his disappearance.
We return to the curator's part of the story in the final act. She has created the scenes for the visits and leaves the patrons to build their own image of history through the props.
As noted, I wish this wasn't the first novel I read this Booker Prize season. It's clever in numerous ways - every single character's identity is nameless. We only know them by either their occupation or relation to other characters. By doing this, we - the reader - have to create our own take on each character's history, similar, in ways, to how the patrons at the home have to build their own narratives from what they've been given.
Thankfully, the Elizabeth Strout book is relatively short, so I'll soon have something to contrast May We Feed The King with.
Sunday 4th October
My opinions about Elizabeth Strout's The Things We Never Say
Okay, I feel I now have somewhat of a baseline to work with, in regards to guessing what will win this year's award.
Elizabeth Strout's The Things We Never Say, even though I'd rank it right next to May We Feed The King in stars, could be the strongest challenger. So far.
One of the reasons why I feel this - before I've read the remaining four titles of the shortlist - is because of the setting of the novel.
The story is set in post-Pandemic America. The main character is Artie Dam. We witness how he navigates his final years battling loneliness and depression. The main challenge Artie faces is dealing with finding out that his wife - Evie - has been lying to him about who fathered their son, Rob.
Artie continues living with an unbeknownst Evie.
There's a blatant critique of 'The President' in this work. Symbolic, in ways, because the presence of this commentary goes hand-in-hand with the pressures Artie is facing. It stood out to me that Donald Trump's name wasn't used. It made me think about how every character in May We Feed The King is identified by their role.
If the Booker Prize judges want to make a statement about the current world we live in, then this could very well be the winner.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
There's four for May We Feed The King as well.
* * *
Next up is...
John of John by 2020 Booker Prize winner - Douglas Stuart.
Monday 12th October
My initial thoughts after reading John of John by Douglas Stuart
Douglas Stuart has an extremely high chance of winning his second Booker Prize.
That's how I feel immediately after finishing John of John. In fact, I felt that way for most of the book. Not to get ahead of myelf.
This novel is set on a remote island of Scotland and mainly focuses on the relationship between a father and son. The latter, Cal, returns home after spending time at university in Edinburgh.
Cal's father - John - is a staunch Christian and you would expect there to be tension between father and son because Cal is a closeted homosexual. However, we learn that John is also secretly gay and is in love with a man named Innes.
Innes also has a relationship with Cal within this story. Both father and son were unaware of each other's involvement with Innes. As a reader, I felt the tension as Stuart crafted his way to the denouement. I felt genuine anxiety for both Cal and John, not knowing how the revelation would affect themselves and the story.
There are obviously other subplots within the novel, but I am in awe at the simmering tension which was built through Innes' involvement with the two main characters.
John of John is absolutely the better of the three novels I've read so far even though I'm going to give it the same amount of stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tuesday 13th October
Next up is Black Bag by Luke Kennard.
Saturday 17th October
Immediate thoughts after reading Black Bag by Luke Kennard
Oh my. There's a struggle brewing.
I loved Black Bag by Luke Kennard. However, I don't know if I love it enough to go all-in and say I feel it will win this year's Booker Prize.
The quirky novel is about an out of work actor looking for a job. He takes up employment as a model/exhibit for a lecturer. His role is to attend lectures and walk around the university campus zipped up in a leathery black bag.
We see how the black bag consumes the main character and how it also influences other characters in the story.
The quirkiness is brilliant. I found myself laughing out loud many times. It mildly reminded me of The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliott. Moreso when you realise how much the black bag has become the narrator's identity just like the face paint did in Elliott's work.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am still avoiding the odds as of the time of writing this section. I wonder how close this title is in the field.
Onwards I go. Two more left.
Sunday 18th October
Microsoft Copilot was given a choice of envelope one or six yesterday. It opted for six, which had..
I believe The Disappearers is the heftiest book on this year's shortlist. Let's see how long it takes me to get to the end.
Thursday 22nd October
I am not enjoying The Disappearers at all.
It seems that, every few years, I come across a shortlisted book that tries too hard. Patricia Lockwood's No One Is Talking About This stands out as an example because she's on the judging panel. There's also 2025's shortlisted title - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - which was a chore to get through.
Percentagewise, I am in the late 30s of The Disappearers. I have invested far too much into the novel to quit, but I have entertained the idea of doing so.
Sunday 25th October
I didn't like Marlon James' The Disappearers
I've finally finished The Disappearers. As I mentioned on Thursday (October 22), it felt like James tried too hard. Now that I've read the entire novel, I feel I jumped the gun on that point, and that point alone. It's meant to be that way. We're meant to be uncomfortable reading it.
Well, that's what my exiting take is.
The Disappearers is an epic which covers a brutal attack of a group of homosexuals in 1988 and then crosses over to other eras.
There are many styles employed in the narrative. Diary, epistles, dictation. It's bloated at points (as my previous entry indicates).
I'm not a prude in any way, but the graphic tone felt overdone in points (I accept that's intentional). It just wasn't for me.
To end this experience on a few positive notes - I feel James captured the eras he covers perfectly. The threat of AIDS is prevalent in '88. It still lingers around the characters in the latter stages in the novel. There are also cultural references dropped in constantly which helped with the settings.
So, yes, I didn't like The Disappearers. But, that's just my taste. My head tells me it has a strong chance of winning. My heart isn't sold.
⭐
Monday 26th October
There's one envelope left. No more surprises. It should be M. John Harrison's The End of Everything.
And it is.
Tuesday 27th October
The End of Everything reaction
It's late on Tuesday evening. I have finally completed the Booker Prize Marathon for 2026 and wanted to share some thoughts about The End of Everything before I reflect on the entire shortlist tomorrow.
I thought M. John Harrison's novel was another top contender for the award. It's a dystopian work set in an England that's long past Covid, but in an era following the influx of an alien form called iGhetti.
There are two main characters - Philip Tennant and his aunt, Marnie. We see how both deal with the post-apocalyptic Britain they try to survive in.
I may be overreading this, but there seems to be an underlying message about today's post-Brexit society in this book. That's because the country, in fact all countries, seem to have been broken apart from each other following the iGhetti invasion (if you can call it that).
There's also a commentary about people of a certain age and their embracing of new technology (I think!). We see that through Tennant's 'artefact' which is named that, but - by the end of the novel, when it eventually becomes more important to 70-year-old Marnie - it's evolved into being a more important 'driver'.
Certainly one of my favourites in a year full of top contenders.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wednesday 28th October
Now that I've read all six titles on the shortlist, this post will go live. It'll float around across the next few weeks before it sits firmly on the dare of the ceremony.
I have yet to take a look at the betting on the shortlist. However, I did manage to take a blind screenshot of a betting market a few weeks back and managed to email it to myself without looking at any of it. I'll get to look through that in a short time. For now, I'll simply rank my favourites before I contrast them with the betting.
My 2026 Booker Prize ranking
Before I line the books up, I should point out that this is more based on my personal taste rather than a prediction on whether it'll win or not. I'll explain more once I've shared my ranking.
1. Black Bag
2. John of John
3. The Things We Never Say
4. The End of Everything
5. May We Feed The King
6. The Disappearers
That's it. It was possibly the toughest list I've ranked in all these years because five of the six were brilliant. The Disappearers was simply not for me in many ways. But, it's one that has evidently got its supporters.
The title I believe would not shock me the most, were it to win, is John of John.
Time to check out the odds from a few weeks ago.
It's funny to see The Disappearers at the top and Black Bag at the bottom when it's a reverse book-end with my ranking.
As noted, those odds were from a few weeks ago. I must check to see the current pricing.
The market above was from William Hill. It isn't available as of the time of writing. There is one from Ladbrokes/Coral with the following:
The Disapperarers 6/4
John of John 3/1
The Things We Never Say 5/1
Black Bag 6/1
May We Feed The King 6/1
The End of Everything 6/1
Close to William Hill's.
I won't place any bets for now. It's not one of those years. I loved Black Bag, but my head is telling me John of John should be the favourite.
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