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My Reading Plans for Women's Prize for Fiction 2018


HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! To celebrate it the Women's Prize for Fiction announced the longlist and I'm so so excited! I know I won't be able to read all of the books because I'm on my last year at Uni and I'm dealing with a dissertation but there are some titles I'm planning to get to before the winner is announced.

In this post my idea is to tell you all about the books I've already read, the ones on my immediate TBR, the ones I'm planning on getting and those that I won't probably pick up and why. Here we go!

The ones I've read:
  • See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt. Unfortunately I didn't get along with this one but I've seen so many other readers do. My problem was that I felt completely detached from the story.
  • Elmet by Fiona Mozley. I read this after it was longlisted for the Man Booker last year. I really enjoyed it but I wish it could have been longer. The writing is excellent and I highly recommend it if you love books about remote places.
  • Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. This I knew was going to be on the list. It was one of my favourites last year and I love it so much. Ward's writing is phenomenal and I had a hard time letting go of the characters. I did a full review which you can find HERE.
The ones on my TBR:
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. This was in many people's predictions and I bought it last year because it sounded amazing. I'm planning on reading it as soon as a finish Middlemarch.
  • The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowan. Another one I was expecting to see considering the hype. Will try and read it in March as well. Wish me luck!
The ones I'll get:
  • H(A)PPY by Nicola Baker
  • Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
  • The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
  • When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy
  • Sight by Jessie Greengrass
  • Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
The ones I won't pick up and why: (nothing wrong with these books but I just had to do a selection since I most likely won't get to all of them. If any of these turns out to be the winner I might consider picking them up)
  • Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. I've read Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad and it didn't work for me so I'm not sure about this one.
  • The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy. Nothing wrong with this book but I want to read her first novel The God of Small Things first. I'm just not sure I have the stomach for it.
  • The Idiot by Elif Batuman. I've heard mixed things and I'm not so sure she's a writer for me. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe I'm not. If it get's short-listed I might give it a chance.
  • A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert. This I'll probably read in the future since the topic interests me but I can't deal with IIWW at the moment.
  • Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig. I've been hearing quite mixed things about this and I had to sacrifice a few books because I know I can't read all before the winner is announced.

And that is all! I'm being super ambitious, I know, but this prize has become one of my favourites in recent years and I feel kinda invented. If I don't end up reading all the titles I have in mind, it's okay; what I love is the discussion around the books and all that jazz.

So, are you excited about this prize? 
Are you happy with the longlisted books?

*image taken from The Bookseller

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