Reader Question: Which book award lists are the best?

Powell’s Books, which happens to be not only my local non-chain bookstore, but also possibly the largest bookstore in the free world or whatever, gives away these free bookmarks with lists of award winners on them. I hoard them like a freak and use a highlighter to mark off which books I’ve read.

These lists include not only award winners but, say, the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century, which I’m working my way through. But let’s talk about award winners.

Suffice it to say, I strongly think that some annual book awards have a tendency to pick better winners. And by “better,” I mean:

Books I like to read. This is my opinion mememememe me me me me me.
Approachable books. Like, I don’t need an advanced degree in English to dissect the book’s Deeply Meaningful Metaphors.
Memorable books. Stuff that, five years down the road, still rings a damned bell of some sort.

David’s totally groaning right now, because I’m about to say that the Booker Prize usually is the most consistent for me (he thinks I’m dreadfully Anglophilic). I also am partial to the Pulitzer for fiction and find that its choices usually have a timelessness. Contrast this against the National Book Award, which always seems like a cruel, academic joke on the reader.

But what do you think? My opinions about the recent selections from each of the three award lists I mentioned just now below. Keep in mind I am aware and care about things like the National Book Critics Circle Drum Blanket Group Commemoration Club Annual Potluck and Reading Group Award (or whatever), as well as the Nobel Prize in (Obscure, I-bet-you-haven’t-heard-of-THIS-guy-or-gal, Didn’t you go to college? You pillock. It’s just because you’re American that you haven’t read this fella’s entire catalog. Ignoramus!) Literature.

Powell’s (yep, mentioning them twice in one post) actually has the best single page/rundown of the significant annual (etc.) awards for books and writers on their site that I have seen online, if you are looking for a reference.

And now. My opinions. Titles in bold, I’ve read.

Man Booker Prize

Man Booker Prize 2002-present:The Man Booker Prize is awarded for the best novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
Year	Title	Author	3-Word Summary (if I have read it)
2009	Wolf Hall	Hilary Mantel	lucid, revolutionary, synthesis
2008	The White Tiger	Aravind Adiga	relentless, topical, grueling
2007	The Gathering	Anne Enright	plotless, grim, remote
2006	The Sea	John Banville	evocative nostalgia. Reflective.
2005	The Inheritance of Loss	Kiran Desai	Landscape, humidity, turmoil
2004	The Line of Beauty	Alan Hollinghurst	[Aborted halfway through for no good reason. Need to return and re-read. So far so good.]
2003	Vernon God Little	DBC Pierre	Good. Read it.
2002	Life of Pi	Yann Martel	Expect strong reaction.

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Pulitzer Prize in Fiction 2002-present: Awarded annually by Columbia University to American fiction writers; primary focus on coverage of American topics.
Year	Title	Author	3-Word Summary (if I have read it)
2009	Olive Kitteridge	Elizabeth Strout	[On my short list to read]
2008	The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao	Junot Diaz	youthful, urban, awkward
2007	The Road	Cormac McCarthy	Best book ever.
2006	March	Geraldine Brooks	Romantic yet unromantic.
2005	Gilead	Marilynne Robinson	God, so boring.
2004	The Known World	Edward P. Jones	slavery, oppression, sad
2003	Middlesex	Jeffrey Eugenides	Everyone’s read this.
2002	Empire Falls	Richard Russo	Saccharine, yet enthralling.

National Book Award for Fiction

National Book Award 2002-present: Recognizing great American literature.
Year	Title	Author	3-Word Summary (if I have read it)
2009	Let the Great World Spin	Colum McCann	[Will read in next few weeks...just watch]
2008	Shadow Country	Peter Matthiessen	[It's on my bookshelf. But it's so...big.]
2007	Tree of Smoke	Denis Johnson	[This book intimidates me]
2006	The Echo Maker	Richard Powers	[Huh? I think I forgot about this one. Anyone?]
2005	Europe Central	William Vollmann	[This book. O, this book. OH THIS BOOK! Arcane, baffling, impossible. Has anyone successfully read this book?]
2004	The News from Paraguay	Lily Tuck	[...anyone?]
2003	The Great Fire	Shirley Hazzard	Pretty awful book.
2002	Three Junes	Julia Glass	Finally! Liked it.

One Comment

Todd says:

I am the last person you should ask about books, and yet I, too, have found the Pulitzer and Booker lists to be good — if only inasmuch as the books I did manage to read find themselves on said lists, or at least short-listed for them. (Have you read Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, short-listed for the 2005 Booker? I feel like a complete ass recommending books to you.)