Starting Cell

My journey through the works of Stephen King resumed yesterday when I picked up his 2006 novel - Cell - to read.

I'm only six percent in (at last count), and I have to admit - it kicked off quite well.

I don't want to do any more research into the novel until I've finished, but - going by a vague memory I believe I have, so excuse me if I'm incorrect here - this is one of the controversial titles that is like Marmite. Some like it, others don't. 

I could end up disliking it myself. However, I have to give credit to its pace. It had quite an abrupt start with little build, which is an appealing technique to throw the reader in at the deep end.

For those who haven't read it, or haven't a clue what the book and its movie, for that matter, are about - it looks like it's a zombie-ish story where people act like the undead after using their mobile phones. 

There's a hidden message there, if ever there was one.

Anyway, that's me picking up where I left off last autumn in my quest to read every book by King. I've now reached 2006. 

Onwards I must go!

The 2025 Booker Prize Marathon

If all goes to plan, this post - the one you're currently reading! - will go live sometime close to Monday November 10th. For that will be the date when we find out the winning book (or books in the case of joint-winners) of the 2025 Booker Prize. 

As has been a tradition on this blog for five years, I have set out to read every shortlisted book with the aim of betting on what I believe could end up becoming the winner. I use some unconventional methods to decide the order I read the titles and keep a diary throughout the entire journey or, as I call it: marathon.

The preparation began on Tuesday 23rd September. Once I knew the shortlist, I printed out a sheet of paper with the covers on. Then, I woke up on Wednesday and began the journey...

Wednesday 24 September

I have now cut all the book covers into squares so I can place them into Spiky's old bowl. For those new to this, Spiky was my sister's family's dog. He passed away in 2022 and I have used his bowl as a tribute to him for these posts.

Oh, and below is Oreo. He was watching me as I cut the covers out of the sheet of paper with a 'what are you doing?' curious expression.

I have finally cut all of the covers out and have taken individual photos of each one to use once they're drawn. They've all been folded and placed into Spiky's bowl.

Okay, it's time to find out what I'm starting off with.

The first book I'll read, from the 2025 Booker Prize shortlist, is....

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. 

The blurb on the Booker Prizes website states that this novel is 'a spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years - an epic love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity.' 

Wednesday 1 October

It has been exactly a week since I began reading the first book I pulled out of the bowl. 

As of the time of writing this entry, I have read only 36% of the novel. I don't want to be negative before I've completely finished, but it seems that - despite spending a lot of time reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - I am struggling to get anywhere with it.

There are a lot of characters and the two titular ones have still not met. 

Tne frustration at not seeming to be getting anywhere with this book has led me to check out the page counts for each title on the shortlist.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the longest with six-hundred and eighty-eight pages.

Knowing that has been of some relief. Getting the largest book out of the way could be a blessing. Even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

I'll return in a week or when I finish this novel. Whichever comes first. At this rate, I'd bet on the former.

Wednesday 8 October

I still haven't finished The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. 

As of the time of adding this entry to the diary, I have read eighty-five percent of the book. So, I'm getting there. Slowly!

This marathon has become a mountain. I don't know if I'll be able to finish reading all six titles by the ceremony. 

Thursday 9 October

I have finally finished The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.

If you've followed along this far, you'll know I struggled with this one. To get to the point: I detested it. 

In the blurb I quoted on Wednesday 24 September, the novel is regarded as 'an epic'. I agree with that. It's an epic made up of countless Indian tropes thrown together to make a narrative. Actually, that should be 'narratives'.

I am aware that Kiran Desai is a former Booker Prize winner, so respect for that. But, I genuinely found this story of two lonely people linked, and mostly unlinked, to each other to be a chore to get through. 

As I noted, it's packed with tropes. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny felt like those themes were just being thrown willy-nilly hoping for something to stick. We get it all - class structure, family structure, arranged marriages, Indians becoming Westernised, old India vs New India, Indian magic, interracial coupling, mental health, domination, gangs and more. Much more.

It had far too much going on in which ultimately made it seem like it was a whole lot of nothing.

⭐

Friday 10 October

Time to select the next book. It's going to be.....

..Flesh by David Szalay. 

The Booker Prizes website states that Flesh is 'a propulsive, hypnotic novel about a man who is unravelled by a series of events beyond his grasp.'

Tuesday 14 October

Yes! This is more like it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Flesh by David Szalay.

It's a novel about the life of a Hungarian named Istavan. The story starts off in his home country where we see him as a young boy. He comes across as awkward and ends up in a relationship with a much older woman. That results in Istavan being somehow involved with the death of the woman's husband. 

Each chapter jump is like a skip button, so we see Istavan removed from the previous situation and we learn - from little clues in the form of Szalay's narrative - how far we've moved on in Istavan's life.

To cut to the chase, Istavan finds himself working in London for a rich family. He then ends up married to the wife of that rich family and, by the novel's close, back home - alone - in Hungary.

The flow of this story was brilliant. I was gripped following the evolution of Istavan. It turned into a rise and fall kind of story, but I obviously didn't know that until its conclusion.

One thing I am sure will be criticised, but not by me - I should add, is the dialogue in this story. 

Whenever Istavan talks to other characters, his speech comes off as dull. Often one-worded. I sense that those who may dislike Flesh will point that out. I saw it as a device used by Szalay to allow the reader to see the character as retaining his youthful awkwardness but shielded from the things he has lived through.

I don't even know if I'm doing enough justice. Let me put it like this - the critics will likely say that the dialogue in the book could make Istavan monotonous, but I don't. 

It simply made him human. 

Flesh is definitely the best Booker shortlisted book I've read so far. It didn't have a high bar to beat, obviously.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wednesday 15 October

I watched a couple of YouTube reviews of Flesh this morning when I was killing some time before getting out of bed.

My assumptions turned out to be almost accurate. Both videos brought up the dialogue for Istavan and how his use of 'Okay' was almost as far as he would go when he talked to other characters. With that stated, they also - just like me - felt it added to the character even if it didn't add to the character (if that makes sense!).

Anyway, I have to move on now. It's time to choose the next book to read. 

Here we go....

..it's going to be The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits.

According to the Booker Prizes website, this is 'an unforgettable road trip of a novel about a middle-aged academic whose marriage, career and body are failing him'.

My immediate thought after reading that blurb was 'David Lodge' who wrote a series of books about academics. Small World and Nice Work - two novels from Lodge's 'Campus Trilogy' - were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984 and 1988 respectively.

Lodge passed away earlier this year, hence why he came to mind first.

Saturday 18 October

Well, The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits was another enjoyable read from this year's shortlist. Two out of three isn't bad so far, is it?

Tom is a middle-aged lawyer whose wife - Amy - had an affair many years previous to our introduction to the characters. He had vowed to part ways with Amy once both their children had left home. We meet Tom, and the rest of his family, as their youngest child - Miriam (Miri) - is on her way to university, so Tom - now that in his mind is almost free - drives his daughter to her new life and then embarks on a road trip of his own meeting up with old friends and a girlfriend along the way.

The story circles back spectacularly by the end when Tom is diagnosed with cancer during one of his stops across America.

So, were we really seeing a guy have a middle-life crisis after all?!

I found the narration to be superb. It's written in the first person, but it comes across very cerebral as the character is conscious of his surroundings and tends to gently move away in a direction before immediately pulling back into focus. It felt like, to me, we were swimming in Tom's thoughts. 

Very good, and the end was touching with Tom and Amy together again although it's open-ended as we're left with three potential ways it could turn out for the character following his diagnosis.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

***

Next up is...

...The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller.

On the Booker Prizes website, the blurb for this novel reads that it's 'A masterful page-turning examination of the minutiae of life and a dazzling chronicle of the human heart'.

I am officially halfway through the marathon mountain now.

Friday 24 October

Bearing in mind I have read four out of the six novels, so this opinion could change, I have a feeling The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller could be the winner.

The novel is a story about two neighbouring couples living in the West Country of England during the 1960s. One couple has a doctor as the patriarch while the other is a farmer. That kind of shows a difference between the couples already. However, the two ladies - in the respective relationships - build a bond of friendship over the fact they're both about to become mothers.

I suppose the main theme of this novel is isolation because of how the females find friendship from the isolation they encounter in their marriages. However, the overall isolation comes in the form of when the book is set: during the Big Freeze of 1963.

A lot happens in this story, but the atmosphere that Andrew Miller sets is quite stunning, to be fair. I know it might come across as hyperbole, but I did feel a chill at times as I saw how some of the characters were exposed to those temperatures.

Speaking of the characters - I found every single one to be interesting in their own unique ways. With dark pasts - and presents - that haunt them at key parts.

So, yes, I strongly believe this could be the one which wins out. The stronger characters and atmospheric sensation does it for me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With all that said, I still have two novels to go. 

* * *

We'll obviously know which books are fifth and sixth once this one is picked. Here's number five...

Susan Choi's Flashlight. The Booker Prizes website states that it's 'a thrilling, globe-spanning novel that mines questions of memory, language, identity and family'.

I shuddered when I read that blurb. It must be the PTSD after reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sammy.

Monday 27 October

As you can witness directly above,  when I read the blurb for Flashlight by Susan Choi, I couldn't help but consider it an equal, of sorts, to its shortlist competitor - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny.

In a way, there are similar themes in that both could be considered 'epics' spent crossing different periods of time, passing over different continents even, and also about identity.

With that said, Flashlight is superior. 

The novel focuses on the family of Serk, who vanishes whilst going on a walk across a beach with his daughter - Louisa. Through the narrative, we learn that Serk is originally from Korea, but finds himself moving to Japan and then the US. His nationality becomes critical to the plot.

The other main characters are Louisa (obviously!), Anne (Louisa's mother) and Tobias (Anne's son and half-brother of Louisa). 

As noted, the story covers a depth of time. It starts in the 70s, but then jumps back to the 40s and - by its conclusion - is close to modern day. 

Unlike the first novel I read from the shortlist, I found the characters to be more likeable even though - at times - I felt the story to be equally slow in comparison to Kiran Desai's work. 

So, yes, Flashlight is the better of the two, but not by much.

With that said - even though I thought the execution to be plodding at certain points, the subject matter is fascinating. It is provoking enough to be something I could see winning in a fortnight.

⭐⭐

***

If you've been paying attention, you'll know what's next. The last book I'll read from the shortlist will be....

..Audition by Katie Kitamura.

I believe this is the shortest book on this year's list consisting of two hundred and eight pages. Therefore, I pulled out the longest (688 pages) in the first draw and book-ended it with the shortest.

We also closed (or will close) with the two books featured in the photo with Oreo above. They were the first two covers I cut out of the printout for the draws.

As for the Booker Prizes' website's blurb - it reads that Audition is an 'exhilarating, destabilising novel that asks whether we ever really know the people we love'.

Thursday 30 October

I found Audition by Katie Kitamura to be quite strange. Not in a bad way, though. I found it peculiar in a good sense.

The novel is about an actress. When we first meet her, she is at a restaurant for a rendezvous with a younger male who believes he is her son. To cut to the chase, the narrator makes it clear to both Xavier and the readers that there is no way she could have birthed him. 

Along with Xavier, another main character - introduced early to the story - is the narrator's husband, Tomas.  

In the second part, things are thrown all over the place because it begins with the couple welcoming Xavier into the apartment. We see that Xavier is the narrator's son after all. 

And then - as if Xavier is the narrative's disruptor of sorts - we are welcomed to Hana, who is Xavier's partner.

The introduction of Hana made this even more of a surreal novel because it increased how anarchic the story had twisted between parts one and two. 

With this being a book set around an actress and her surroundings, added in that the novel is structured in two parts (like a play), it made me wonder what is meant to be real and what is meant to be a performance.

Or was it all a performance?!

I might even be way off with how I interpreted it. That's not a negative, in my opinion. It makes the novel all the more intriguing.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

* * *

Now that I've read all of the books on the shortlist, it's time to do a ranking before I attempt to visit the betting markets for the first time..

With five stars, the top book on the list is Andrew Miller's The Land in Winter. As I wrote in the review, I felt it was extremely atmospheric and closed in. Reading it was an experience. That sensation was enough for me to give the full amount of stars I could give it on Good Reads.

David Szalay's Flesh is a very close second. The structure, with each chapter passing significant time and with the readers' job to piece things together what has happened in the interim was a brilliant technique. I also loved how guarded the character of Istavan is. It seems like he's a one-dimensional character but, as I said above, that was enough to make him layered. 

I feel it's close between Audition and The Rest of Our Lives. Of the two, I'd have to side with Audition because of how it left me thinking it could be interpreted in different ways. The Rest of Our Lives had an open-ended conclusion, so us readers also left that one with our own ideas, though.

As you can see in the table, both of the lowest scoring titles have the better Good Reads averages with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny currently holding 3.95 while Flashlight is the closest with 3.91.

I see two bottom novels as somewhat similar in minor ways. However, I thought The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny was the most obnoxious of the two because it dragged and dragged. Then dragged some more. 

Now, I'll visit the betting to see where things currently stand. 

OH MY GOSH.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sammy is the favourite. Wow. 

It's good to see The Land in Winter as the second-favourite, though. Flesh, with a best price of 7/1, appeals to me.

Saturday 1 November

I haven't bet on any of the books. I'm unsure whether I will this year. Once again, I'm burdened by the fact that I have trouble with Ladbrokes/Coral and they are offering the top price for The Land in Winter. I don't want to place a 2/1 bet knowing I could get it for 3s with other firms. So, I'm going to sit it out.

Flesh at 7/1 is a bet I could make, if I wished. However, I would prefer to also have a wager on The Land in Winter as well because those are my top two.

If I end up gambling, I'll publish an update. It'll be on both of those titles. 

This post has now gone live and will float around through to the day/night of the ceremony. Keep checking back for more updates.

Friday 7 November

William Hill's shortlist market was published yesterday. The firm lists The Land in Winter as its favourite with a price of 15/8. The consensus favourite - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - is 2/1. Those titles are followed by Flesh (4/1), Flashlight (5/1), The Rest of Our Lives (6/1) and Audition (8/1).

Here's how the top prices have changed with the new addition to Booker Prize betting coverage.

Sunday 9 November

I have taken another look at the odds now that we're over a day before the ceremony. As of 9:45AM GMT today, a few of the top prices have shortened.

For example, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is now 15/8. That's down from the previous 2/1. Also moved in are the two titles I have spotlighted in The Land in Winter (now 5/2, but you could have found it at 4/1 for the past few days) and Flesh (now 9/4 from 7s).

With those novels having their odds shortened, a couple have drifted with Flashlight returning to 8/1 after a spell at 7/1 as the top available odds. Then there's  The Rest of Our Lives which has risen to 9/1 from 8/1.

Audition is still available at the 8/1 from a a couple of days ago.

I might visit Oddschecker a few more times across the next day, so there's potential for further updates to this post by the end of Sunday. 

4:07PM GMT: The Coral/Ladbrokes market is now off the board. Here are the updated best prices:

10:05PM GMT: Here are the latest top prices for each title.

Monday 10 November

The date of the ceremony has finally arrived. This post will now be updated through to the point where we know the winner. 

Or winners!

10:42AM

As far as I'm aware, it seems that all but one of the markets have been closed ahead of today's announcement.

William Hill being the only game in town means that The Land in Winter is the sole favourite, with a price of 9/4. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - which, as you saw, was favourite almost everywhere else, is 2/1 with the bookmaker.

One of my other preferences, along with Miller's The Land in Winter, Flesh is in third-place.  It's 9/4. The other titles come along in the following order: Audition (6/1), Flashlight (8/1) and The Rest of Our Lives (10/1).

10:02PM

The winner is....

Flesh by David Szalay!

As you've seen, if you've made it all the way through, Flesh was one of my top two favourites to win. Therefore, I am happy to see it win. 

Finally! Amazon's New Kindle Is 'Coming Soon'

As an Amazon Kindle user, especially of a Kindle Scribe device, I had been looking forward to today.

I didn't know the day was imminent. I just knew that - one day - a Kindle Scribe colour would come along.

And it will. 

Soon.

Within the past hour or so, I happened to visit the Amazon website and noticed the company was plugging a bunch of new tech. Sharing the spotlight with the new Echo Show, Ring doorbell camera, speaker and TV is the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

I visited the page promoting the new e-reader. I am intrigued by the fact that documents from Microsoft OneNote (which I use for all of my pro wrestling and NFL betting blogs) can be imported to the Scribe.

As well as that is the obvious fact I could now add a bit of colour (okay - COLOR) to my daily journals because I can change the pens.

I'm absolutely going to purchase one, but I will not do so in time for its launch (it's currently 'Coming Soon'). 

There was controversy with the initial Amazon Colorsoft last year with many customers airing complaints over a yellow line which bled onto the bottom of the devices' screens. I made a mental note to wait until a few weeks, possibly months, after launch before diving in.

But - I will dive in. 

I use my Kindle Scribe every day, so I know - for certain  - it'll be a welcome addition.

1,500 Days Later

Yet another Kindle milestone was reached this morning when I ticked off this being the 1,500th day of continuous reading on my Amazon devices.

The last update about my Kindle Journey was published on April 19th when I reached week 200. In that post, I listed the 188th to 233rd books I read. I have read five more since then, so here's the additional titles for the list:

234. The Boy from Tiger Bay by Ceri Jackson

235. Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

236. Say Hello to the Bad Guys by Marc Raimondi

237. From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

238. Life Is Fighting by Kevin Robert Kesar (AKA Karrion Kross in WWE)

As you can see, two of the books on that list are works by Stephen King. I still have three or four more to read for my challenge to get through seven books of his in 2025. At this point, I'm unsure whether I'll hit that goal because - as I mentioned on Tuesday - I am planning to do another Booker Prize Marathon once I know the shortlisted contenders.

The 238th book on the list - Life is Fighting - will be published next week. My review of it is scheduled for release day.

200 Weeks Later

I reached another milestone in using my Kindle to read books this week. 

Yep, I have used my Kindle for two hundred weeks in a row. Two months off from four years. And, by the end of the day, I would have read for 1,397 days continuously.

The last time I wrote about my 'Kindle Journey' was in March of last year. In that post, I listed the books I had read between 100 weeks in a row and 1,000 days in a row. So, here's everything I've read since then starting with the 188th title right through to the 233rd.

188. Rose Madder by Stephen King

189. School Days by Jack Sheffield

190. The Man by Becky Lynch

191. Last Day of School by Jack Sheffield

192. Billy Connolly's Route 66 by Billy Connolly

193. The People .vs. OJ Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin

194. Kamala Speaks by James 'Kamala' Harris

195. Songs That Saved Your Life: The Art of The Smiths by Simon Goddard

196. The Green Mile by Stephen King

197. Desperation by Stephen King

198. The Regulators by Richard Bachman (AKA Stephen King)

199. Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck

200. The Early Days of ESPN by Peter Fox

201. Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

202. The New Fesstament by Rob Manuel

203. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

204. Wrestling With Fatherhood by Titus O'Neil

205. Ringside Gamble by S.J. Clarke

206. Diddly Squat: 'Til The Cows Come Home by Jeremy Clarkson

207. Mornings With Madden by Stan Bunger

208. Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand

209. University Tales by Jack Sheffield

210. Bag of Bones by Stephen King

211. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

212. CriminOlly Presents Garbology compiled by Troy Tradup

213. Diddly Squat: Pigs Might Fly by Jeremy Clarkson

214. Held by Anne Michaels

215. Orbital by Samantha Harvey

216. Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

217. Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood

218. The Safekeep by Yan van der Wouden

219. My Autobiography by Joe Wilkinson

220. University Challenges by Jack Sheffield

221. Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd by Eugene B. Bergman

222. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

223. The War for Late Night by Bill Carter

224. The Trillion Dollar Conman by Ben Robinson

225. Rambling Man by Billy Connolly

226. DragonKingKarl's Pioneer Era Pro Wrestling Omnibus by Karl Stern

227. Wrestling For My Life by Shawn Michaels

228. The Wrestling Observer Collection 1984 by Dave Meltzer

229. Mike Mentzer: American Odysseus by John Little

230. Bigger! Better! Badder!: WrestleMania III and the Year It All Changed by Keith Elliot Greenberg

231. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

232. Black House by Stephen King

233. My Family: A Memoir by David Baddiel

I suppose the next milestone will be sometime in July when I reach the 1,500th day of continuous reading. IF I manage to pull it off, that is.

Dreamcatcher, It's Your Birthday! (Or Is It?!)

My journey on the road through the works of Stephen King resumed yesterday when I started reading Dreamcatcher.

It's the first King book I've picked up this year. I am slowly getting through his bibliography.

The funny thing about me choosing Dreamcatcher yesterday, of all days, is - as I added it to my GoodReads list - I noticed it had an upcoming birthday.

The book was released on this day in 2001!

I should have started it today. However, I was already a few pages deep when I browsed the title on the Good Reads website and noticed the coincidence.

Dreamcatcher is the forty-fifth book by Stephen King I'll read in a project I began three years ago. I have read most in order of publication, but a few have jumped the queue.

In 2025, my aim is to read at least seven more titles along the journey.

HOLD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

As this post was set to get published, I checked out Wikipedia and I've noticed a contradiction.

According to the page for Dreamcatcher on Wikipedia, the book was published a month later than what is stated on the GoodReads website.

Looks like I've jumped the gun here, doesn't it!?

1,000 Days Later

Remember the other day - in the post when I wrote about it being Wordle's 1,000th daily puzzle and I mentioned that there was another 1,000th day celebration coming up? Well, the moment has finally arrived.

It has been 1,000 days since I first used an Amazon Kindle.

You know how I am aware of that? Well, it's because - on the Kindle app - it states that I am on the 1,000th day of continuous reading.

I have written posts sharing my milestones in the past. The first update was 10 Weeks After I Started. Then, I came back with another update when it was A Year After first picking up a Kindle. The most recent follow-up came last year when I reached 100 Weeks as a Kindle owner.

Considering I am on Day 1,000, I guess I don't need to prove that I still enjoy using the device. Heck, I should have written 'Devices' considering I now own TWO Kindles after having picked up a Kindle Scribe last summer.

Both Kindles get good use out of me. 

In the last update, I wrote that I had read 131 books. As of right now, the number stands at 187. Here's everything I have read from 132.

132. The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
133. Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
134. Tangled Ropes by 'Superstar' Billy Graham
135. Drowning by T.J. Newman
136. The Waste Lands by Stephen King
137. The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight
138. Needful Things by Stephen King
139. Dynamite and Davey by Steven Bell
140. Pop 1280 by Jim Thompson
141. This Is Your Own Time You're Wasting by Lee and Adam Parkinson
142. The Very Best of Fesshole by Rob Manuel
143. Gerald's Game by Stephen King
144. Diary of a Flight Attendant by Marika Mikusova
145. Overheard at Waitrose: Poetry of the Public by Nathan Bragg
146. Good Pop, Bad Pop by Jarvis Cocker
147. Grateful by Eric Bischoff
148. Wrath of the Dragon by John Little
149. The Last Real World Champion by Tim Hornbaker
150. The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semlyen
151. The Two-Minute Warning by David A. Kelly
152. Tod Is God by Tod Gordon
153. Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
154. It Will All Work Out by Kevin Hart
155. 9/11 Chaos by Larry Smith
156. Dirty Briefs by Dave Fendem
157. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
158. The Woman Who Would Be King by Madusa Miceli
159. Starting Over by Jack Sheffield
160. Gambler by Billy Walters
161. Put The Kettle On by Trish Taylor
162. Overheard at Whole Foods by Theresa Vogrin
163. This Other Eden by Paul Harding
164. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
165. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
166. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
167. Study For Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
168. If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
169. Behind The Mask by Tyson Fury
170. Ganbaru: How All Japan Pro Wrestling Survived The Year 2000 Roster Split by Jonathan Foye
171. Football Biographies For Kids by Robert A. Malone
172. The Best of Matt (2022) by Matt Pritchett
173. Books Of Blood (Volumes 1-III) by Clive Barker
174. A 1980's Childhood by Michael A Johnson
175. The Rise by Ian Rankin
176. Gloves Off by Tyson Fury
177. The Wrestling Observer Complete Collection 1989 by Dave Meltzer
178. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
179. Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
180. The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone
181. Macho Man by Jon Finkel
182. James by Percival Everett
183. Changing Times by Jack Sheffield
184. Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood
185. Insomnia by Stephen King
186. Back to School by Jack Sheffield
187. Inside Out by Ole Anderson

The 2023 Booker Prize Marathon

For the past couple of years, I have read the Booker Prize shortlist and shared my thoughts about each title here on the blog. As well as keeping a 'diary' as I made my way through each novel, I wrote about betting on the books I enjoyed the most.

I am once again doing the journey through the Booker shortlist this year and - as I did in 2022 - I will avoid the betting markets until I have read everything. 

This year's ceremony is scheduled for Sunday November 26th. The diary started the morning after the shortlist was revealed.

Friday 22 September

I watched the livestream of the shortlist announcement last night. As soon as I knew which titles are in the running for this year's award, I put an image of their respective covers on a Word file to replicate what I did last year.

For those who weren't here in 2022, what I did was printed out little images of the covers, folded them and then placed them in a dog bowl that is no longer in use (RIP Spiky!). I then used a 'Lucky Dip' approach to selecting each title.

Here are the six books:

Notice how there are three authors named Paul?

I have folded each bit of paper up and placed them in the bowl ready for the first selection.

And now it's time to select the first book I will read from this year's contenders. It's...

Paul Harding's This Other Eden. 

I'm not surprised I had a book by a Paul with my first pick! This Other Eden is described as a novel which 'celebrates the hopes, dreams and resilience of those deemed not to fit in a world brutally intolerant of difference'. 

Monday 25 September

I've read the first book from this year's shortlist - This Other Eden by Paul Harding.

The novel is a bout a colony of black people who live on Apple Island, off the coast of Maine. Generations  have inhabited the island. However, people from the inland set about to evict the islanders from their home. 

This Other Eden is a work of fiction that draws its narrative from real events that took place on Malaga Island on the coast of Maine in the early 20th Century.

I found the novel somewhat difficult to get into initially. I suppose this was due to being introduced to so many characters from the start and having to learn how they are all linked to each other. By the mid-point, I found that I was immersed and - as cliché as this may appear - I couldn't put the book down because I was intrigued enough to see what happened to a young male character who departed the island in order to live on the mainland some time before his family and neighbours were removed.

As you can see, this is the first book I have read for this year's Booker Prize. This will obviously become the one I grade the next title I read next to (and so on). I suspect I might end up enjoying other titles more than This Other Eden. 

But - I also have a feeling that this could be the one the judges will grant as the 2023 winner.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tuesday 26 September

It's time to select the next title from the bowl.

It's another one of the Pauls.

This time, it's Prophet Song by Paul Lynch,

The Booker Prize website writes 'a mother faces a terrible choice as personal freedoms are eroded and society heads towards collapse' in this novel.

Saturday 30 September
I was gripped by Paul Lynch's Prophet Song.

Set in Ireland, Prophet Song is about a lady whose husband has been taken from her by the country's government in the midst of civil unrest. We see Eilish try to keep herself and the remaining members of her family together while everything around her is chaotic.

I was hooked from the start. There was one scene later in the book where I legit let out a huge sigh of sorrow. That should indicate just how much I was enthralled by this work.

It should go without saying that this is the one I now believe will win the award. It's ahead of This Other Eden by a nose.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

 I have started out with two fine books this year. 

Sunday 1 October

I would really like to pull The Bee Sting out of the bowl next because it'll mean I would have scored the 'Paul' hattrick in my first three draws.

Here goes..

WHOA!!

I swear.. I 100% did not fix this. How funny!

The Bee Sting is the longest book on this year's list with a page count of 640 according to the Booker Prizes website. 

The site goes on to state that Paul Murray 'presents an unforgettable Irish family in the grip of multiple crises, emotional, financial and existential' in The Bee Sting. 

Another Paul and another Irish family.

Thursday 12 October

It is late on Thursday night as I enter this part to the 'diary'. I have finally completed The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. 

I did not expect to finish this book until the weekend because, only a few days ago, I was only half-way through. What made me beat my estimated time of finishing was the way The Bee Sting concluded. The final few chapters genuinely had me gripped hence me staying up late when I noticed the end was in sight.

Ironically, the story kind of does not end. Well, not in a resolution way. It's left open-ended, I guess. More on that in a bit.

The main part of the story focuses on an Irish family. The Barnes are, you could say, dysfunctional and each of the four characters in the 2.4 children family holds their own secrets that could implode their relationships.

Dickie - the patriarch of this family - is in financial trouble due to the recession. His wife, Imelda, is a housewife who is finding the new struggle difficult to navigate and then there are their offspring: Cass and her younger brother - PJ.

To cut a long story short, and trust me: this is a long story, the family members - in their own way - are split apart emotionally mainly due to outside forces and the denouement of the book sets a scene where they could potentially find themselves bonded together. Only, we don't get to see whether that transpires.

That is the best I can say without giving away any spoilers.

Paul Murray uses some interesting techniques to form the narrative. The first few chapters focuses on each of the main family members through their vantage points. However, the author does this by sticking with a third-person narration. One of the most fascinating parts of this approach was how Murray wrote the chapters with Imelda as the focus. Punctuation is not used and is free flowing in Imelda's section. I don't know what the exact purpose was, but it made me wonder if we're supposed to see the mother of the family as being ungovernable or something. This style of narration was not too dissimilar to the prose in Prophet Song.

The third act of the book jumps from one character to the next with the authorial voice speaking in the second person. As I stated in the beginning of this entry, the scene setting in this part of the book had me trapped and forced me to stick with it in order to see how everything played out at the end.

I thought the 'Three Pauls' thing was more of a publicity gimmick for those in charge of the Booker Prize when I first realised the trio in the shortlist. Now that I've read all three of their novels, I have to admit I was wrong to believe that. This has been one of the best back-to-back-to-back runs of enjoyable books I have read out of all three of the Booker Prize marathons I have done. I wonder if the good path continues with whichever book is drawn next.

In regards to my current favourite after reading half of the books on the shortlist, I still feel Prophet Song is the one to beat. It's still a very close race, though.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Friday 13 October

It's time to draw out the fourth book from the list. Next up is...

..Chetna Maroo's Western Lane.

The Booker Prize website writes 'in her tender and moving debut novel, Chetna Mario captures grief, sisterhood and a teenage girl's struggle to transcend herself'.

This is also the shortest book on this year's shortlist. It coming immediately after I drew this year's longest book, in The Bee Sting, is not lost on me.

Sunday 15 October

I have finished reading Western Lane by Chetna Maroo.

This novel is about a young girl - from an Indian family living in Britain - whose mother has recently passed away. Guided by her father, Gopi and her sisters play squash at a local courts named Western Lane. We see the father deal with grief of losing his partner and attempt to move on. Squash is the thing which helps the girls with their grief.

Western Lane isn't only about grief. It's also a coming of age story - especially as it pertains Gopi - as you see her mature almost instantly through her loss. The same goes for one of Gopi's sisters, who briefly becomes the main breadwinner in their household.

The squash aspect was interesting. Although, at times, it felt like it was too much part of the story. But then again, if we're to believe that squash is what helps the girls through the loss of their mother, then maybe the excessive coverage of the sport was needed.

I think a low three stars is the best I can give to Western Lane. It's my least favourite book of the shortlist so far.

⭐⭐⭐

Monday 16 October

It's time to find out what the fifth book I'll read is. At the same time, it'll give away what number six is because it'll be the only one left.

The next book to read is Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein.

'In her accomplished and unsettling second novel, Sarah Bernstein explores themes of prejudice, abuse and guilt through the eyes of a singularly unreliable narrator' reads the Booker Prize website.

I shall start this one this evening.

Tuesday 17 October

When I finished reading Western Lane a couple of days ago, I expected it to have been the book I liked the least from this year's shortlist. 

I was wrong.

Sarah Bernstein's Study For Obedience is now at the bottom of the books I have so far ranked. 

The novel is written in the first person and is about a woman who has arrived in an unnamed area to look after her older brother. The setting of the book is foreign to both the main character and the reader despite it being a place where the character's family originated from. 

Upon arriving at the town, a lot of things happen to some of the animals in the area and the finger of blame appears to point towards the foreigner.

As I read this book, I felt like I was missing something big. Ironically, it made me feel like I was the foreigner and was missing the point of what was in front of me.

Was she the xenophobe for thinking everyone she encountered was xenophobic? 

I was so lost after finishing the book, I had to look around at reviews to see what the consensus reaction is. I found that it was evenly-matched with some loving Study For Obedience and others disliking it. One went so far as to quit on the book a quarter of the way through reading it.

Another suggested that it may be like Marmite. I thought that summed it up. I'm in the dislike camp. 

It should be noted - I like Marmite, though.

If I scored Western Lane a low three, I have to go under that.

⭐⭐

***

It should come as no surprise, with only one book left to select, that If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery is the next book to be drawn.

The blurb on the Booker Prize website states that If I Survive You is 'An exhilarating novel-in-stories that pulses with style, heart and barbed humour, while unravelling what it means to carve out an existence between cultures, homes and pay cheques'.

It's the morning of Tuesday 17 October as I write this part of the diary. I expect to begin this novel by the end of the day.

Friday 20 October

I have finished reading If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery. By completing this book, I have now finished the Booker Prize Marathon of 2023.

Things closed out with a very good book. 

If I Survive You is a bit unconventional in a way because - on the surface - it appears as though this is a collection of short stories that piece each other together to create a novel. I didn't really approach the book in that way, though. It felt like a novel first to me. 

With that said, there is a story which could act as an interlude of sorts which is about the cousin of the main character in the book. This spin-off did not feel out of place in the story, to be fair.

Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself by mentioning the story about the cousin and his relationship with family and America. But, then again, am I?

The entire book is about Jamaican descendants trying to find their identity in America. The main focus is on the character of Trelawny - the youngest son of the Jamaican family. He is more 'Americanised' than the others, but - to the American's eye - he isn't. 

Farce and dark humour is thrown in for added flavour.

Most of If I Survive You reminded me, in a slight way, of The Bee Sting because some of the narration is done in the second person. The short stories sometimes shifting away from other characters in the book also made me contrast this work with The Bee Sting.

If I Survive You is close enough to The Bee Sting in my rankings. So, it gets an equal number of stars. It's hard to decide which one I prefer better out of those. I suppose.. well, I suppose I have to give the nod to The Bee Sting only because of how gripped I was at the story's conclusion.

With all that said, Prophet Song is the novel I believe will win this year's Booker Prize.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Saturday 21 October

I noticed something interesting last night after I looked at the 'My Books' page on Good Reads.

Before I point it out, I'll show you the section of the page.

What I have found interesting is all of the novels almost appear to be rated in the same order I liked them. My order goes like this. I shall put the respective ratings in parenthesis be

1. Prophet Song (4.20)

2. The Bee Sting (4.06)

3. If I Survive You (3.74)

4. This Other Eden (3.85)

5. Western Lane (3.52)

6. Study For Obedience (3.24)

The only contrast is between This Other Eden and If I Survive You. The former was in the hunt along with Prophet Song and The Bee Sting right up to when I completed If I Survive You last night.

I hadn't graded each book until after I had completed the shortlist because I wanted to see the numbers before I added mine. 

Another thing I tend to do when I am in the midst of reading the shortlist is not look for any of the betting markets for the prize winner because I do not want to see anything that could sway my opinion either way. Today is my first opportunity to browse the markets.

BetWay was the first website I checked out because I had punted on the Booker Prize with that firm in the past. I was not disappointed - there was indeed a market available when I visited.

I find it unsurprising to see Prophet Song listed as the favourite. What is a shock, however, is to see The Bee Sting with the longest odds.

If we were to disregard my opinion that The Bee Sting is the next best on the list, the Good Reads consensus has it as the second-favourite.

And for that reason alone, I think it's far too high at 7s. 

I'll have a wager on both Prophet Song and The Bee Sting.

That didn't go to plan - my Betway account was locked when I tried to login. I last used the account to wager on the 2022 Booker Prize, so I don't know what has happened in the meantime.

Thursday 26 October

This has turned into a farce.

I still haven't been able to get my account unlocked by Betway. The live chat function has had me in the high 50s and 60s whenever I've attempted to reach the staff in that way and an email I sent over the weekend has gone unanswered.

To add even more frustration, Ladbrokes/Coral have a market available and Prophet Song is 11/4. I no longer have accounts with Ladbrokes or Coral.

Like I started out - a farce.

Or maybe it's a sign Prophet Song, or The Bee Sting, are not going to win.

My fingers are crossed that another betting firm will open markets.

I have thrown down the gauntlet to my favourite bookmakers.

Saturday 28 October
I am still unable to gain access to my Betway account. However, I have noticed William Hill has created a market.

I have placed my first wager for the award on The Bee Sting. The 13/2 is slightly shorter than Betway's offer, but - if the business isn't replying to my emails and have live chat queues with fifty-plus people in front of me - I had no choice.

Will have to bet on Prophet Song now.

Sunday 29 October

I now have a bet on Prophet Song at odds of 11/4.

Tuesday 14 November

It has been a while since I looked over the betting odds. Here's an update concerning William Hill's market.

The Bee Sting's odds have been cut from 13/2 into 7/2.

Both Prophet Song (5/2 FAV) and This Other Eden (3/1 Second-FAV) remain where they were. The remaining three selections have all drifted with If I Survive You moving to 5/1 from 9/2, Study For Obedience now 11/2 from 9/2 and Western Lane increased from 11/2 to 13/2.

Saturday 25 November

There have been more adjustments made to William Hill's market.

The Bee Sting is now a 2/1 joint-favourite. 

This Other Eden (2/1 from 3/1) and Study For Obedience (11/2 into 4/1) have also leap-frogged the early favourite - Prophet Song (4/1 from 5/2 FAV).

Western Lane is another novel that has had a price reduction. It was 11/2 in October, but rose to 13/2 by mid-November. It has now dipped into 6/1.

If I Survive You has now moved up to 8/1. It initially moved out from 9/2 to 5/1 sometime between October 28th and November 14th.

I've had another look at Oddschecker. More bookmakers have created markets since I last checked in. Here are the best prices for each book:

This Other Eden by Paul Harding 7/2 

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 4/1

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch 4/1

Study For Obedience by Sarah Bernstein 5/1

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo 13/2

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery 8/1

I am sticking with Prophet Song or The Bee Sting even though the former has drifted out.

Sunday 26 November

They're about to announce the winner. And it's........

Prophet Song!

As I had written above, it was the one I felt would win (The Bee Sting was my second). It really was the best of this list and obviously deserved the W. 

Hopefully, I'll get to do this again next year.