chesilbeach Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 The shortlist of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2014 has been announced today: Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan Persiana: Recipes from the Middle East & Beyond by Sabrina Ghayour Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty You can find out more about the books on the Waterstones blog. I've not actually read any of these but there's a few already on my wish list, and I think it's quite an interesting selection. I definitely want to read H is for Hawk, and Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 As is relatively standard with 'book of the year' lists, I've never read any of them... There's a few that look pretty good though - wouldn't mind reading Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) Not only have I not read any of them, I've not heard of any of them either (and I spend quite a bit of time browsing in Waterstone's!). Edited November 11, 2014 by Raven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Not only have I not read any of them, I've not heard of any of them either (and I spend quite a bit of time browsing in Waterstone's!). I'm surprised you haven't seen H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald in Waterstone's - I've been in four different branches this year and since it was published, it's had window displays, table displays and been on the Recommended shelves in every single one of them. It's been hard to miss as far as I could see! Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates has been widely promoted across the media, and I've heard two different radio programmes discuss The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I followed the Man Booker prize quite closely this year, after Ali Smith was long- and then short-listed, so I've also read about the books on the list, so I've come across The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan quite a lot too. I've also been looking at Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers as it will make a good Christmas present for young children, and it's was on the Recommended shelves in the Children's section in a couple of Waterstone's I've visited too. You need to look harder!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'll obviously be rooting for my fellow Australian, Richard Flanagan. I bought The Narrow Road to the Deep North recently and hope to start it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) I am keen on getting myself a copy of The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Edited November 12, 2014 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) I'm surprised you haven't seen H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald in Waterstone's - I've been in four different branches this year and since it was published, it's had window displays, table displays and been on the Recommended shelves in every single one of them. It's been hard to miss as far as I could see! Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates has been widely promoted across the media, and I've heard two different radio programmes discuss The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I followed the Man Booker prize quite closely this year, after Ali Smith was long- and then short-listed, so I've also read about the books on the list, so I've come across The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan quite a lot too. I've also been looking at Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers as it will make a good Christmas present for young children, and it's was on the Recommended shelves in the Children's section in a couple of Waterstone's I've visited too. You need to look harder!!!! I probably have seen them, and if I took the list and looked up the covers I suspect I'd recognise some, but I've probably dismissed them as books I'm not interested in! ETA: I've just looked up the covers on Amazon and I think I may have seen: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Once Upon An Alphabet by Oliver Jeffers H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty But I'm not sure! Edited November 12, 2014 by Raven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Out of this (British) list, I've only heard of two books. So I really couldn't comment. Do they make a list like this every year, and then pick one winner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I think I've twigged why I don't recognise most of those books. Are they all currently hardbacks? I only tend to look at the paperbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I think I've twigged why I don't recognise most of those books. Are they all currently hardbacks? I only tend to look at the paperbacks. As far as I know they were all first published in 2014 and most books are published as hardcovers and don't become paperbacks until 6-12 months later, so you could very well be right (and it's also the reason I haven't heard of many). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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