For the umpteenth year in a row, the LA Times has nominated book prize finalists that I've never heard of. Ever. In a world of so many prizes with long lists then short lists that have so many familiar names and so many obvious outcomes, I can't sort out if I'm intrigued that I don't recognize many of these author names & book titles or if I'm unimpressed with the proceedings. I suspect it's the former. That's a good thing, no?
You can read the full list of nominees over at Jacket Copy, but I'm primarily interested in three categories and have noted with an obnoxious "*" the books I'd not heard of until this moment so that you may guffaw and roll your eyes at how alarming it is or how embarassing it is that I'd openly admit to not knowing about them:
Fiction Nominees
Nashville Chrome by Rick Bass*
Something is Out There by Richard Bausch
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Day for Night by Frederick Reiken*
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni*
The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison*
The More I Owe You by Michael Sledge*
Portaits of a Few People I've Made Cry: Stories by Christine Sneed
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
Graphic Novel
Duncan the Wonder Dog: Show One by Adam Hines*
Bodyworld by Dash Shaw
The Lodger by Karl Stevens
You'll Never Know, Book Two: Collateral Damage by C. Tyler*
Weathercraft by Jim Woodring*
Woe is me, that's a lot of reading I need to do before I can properly guess who might win and take bets and overly surmise and all those fun LAT Book Awards shenanigans that happen only once a year.
So - for now I will say this: Damn if that isn't a lot of reading I need to get done in the next two months. Also: whither my favorites for the year? Hmmm. More soon.
What are your thoughts on these finalists and have you (hopefully) read more of them than I have?
