2011 Man Booker longlist announced

The 138 books under consideration for the 2011 Man Booker prize have now been whittled down to just 13 titles. They are:-

Julian Barnes The sense of an ending (Jonathan Cape - Random House)
Sebastian Barry On Canaan's side (Faber)
Carol Birch Jamrach's menagerie (Canongate Books)
Patrick deWitt The Sisters brothers (Granta)
Esi Edugyan Half blood blues (Serpent's Tail - Profile)
Yvvette Edwards A cupboard full of coats (Oneworld)
Alan Hollinghurst The stranger's child (Picador - Pan Macmillan)
Stephen Kelman Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)
Patrick McGuiness The last hundred days (Seren Books)
A. D. Miller Snowdrops (Atlantic)
Alison Pick Far to go (Headline Review)
Jane Rogers The testament of Jessie Lamb (Sandstone Press)
D. J. Taylor Derby Day (Chatto & Windus - Random House)

In September, the judges will announce a shortlist of six books from this selection, with a winner chosen in October. We'll keep you updated every step of the way, but if you'd like to find out more, take a look at the Man Booker website: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/.

We have a number of previous winners and shortlisted titles available in Townhill Library. Find titles on the Man Booker website, or just come in and browse our English fiction section at shelf mark 823 on the ground floor. Don't forget, books borrowed over the summer won't be due back until the 6th October 2011.

Has anyone out there read any of the books on the longlist? Or have you got any favourites from previous years? I know Emma Donoghue's Room from last year's shortlist was very popular with library staff. Let us know what you think!