My Live Reaction To Booker Shortlist | Booker 2020

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  • čas přidán 14. 09. 2020
  • It's Kamil here, with a quick live reaction to Booker Shortlist.
    Booker longlist:
    Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
    / burnt-sugar
    Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
    / shuggie-bain
    The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
    / the-new-wilderness
    This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga
    / this-mournable-body
    The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
    / the-shadow-king
    Real Life by Brandon Taylor
    / 19531469.brandon_taylor
    #bookershortlist #2020bookershortlist

Komentáře • 54

  • @jshin331
    @jshin331 Před 3 lety +4

    So happy to see your live reaction Kamil! So many books to read! And what a scandal Hillary Mantel not being shortlisted haha

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety +2

      I won’t be surprised if she stops writing. In serious note though I’d be surprised if she cared

    • @jshin331
      @jshin331 Před 3 lety

      I agree. I remember reading Mantel will stop writing historical fiction, and may dive in short stories! She wants to live some life with her remaining days :)

  • @ChaoticBibliophile
    @ChaoticBibliophile Před 3 lety +3

    I loved this video! I had zero own thoughts on the list but you keep me up to date 😅 also you convinced me to pick up Wolf Hall sometime.

  • @teanlit2949
    @teanlit2949 Před 3 lety +1

    So cool to see your live reaction of the list. Thanks for sharing!

  • @dfserafine
    @dfserafine Před 3 lety +2

    Thanks for the video Kamil

  • @ZimmReads
    @ZimmReads Před 3 lety +4

    Great Video! I am not altogether disappointed. I think there was some really great picks. I just wish Zhang was on there. :(

  • @aishikamitra
    @aishikamitra Před 3 lety +5

    I think they have had their share of controversy by giving Atwood the prize last year, and they dared to include Mantel in the long list. So, they have focused on shortlisting debut authors this year. Too much flack came their way when Mantel got to the longlist(Even I was a part of it because it is unprecedented and objective to include known and popular authors and drag them to winning almost every year) I hope the best one wins.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety +3

      I think this award should be about literary merit so it shouldn’t matter who wrote a book. Its about literary merit. Mantel is fantastic so deserved the spot. It’s quite understandable why big names are on those lists, they are big names for the reason (most of the time). There are different awards for debut writers so that’s the place where those type of highlighting of new voices should be taking place. However If those debut writers are producing great works as those here I’m all for them to take the spot on booker shortlist.

  • @kathleenianziti5480
    @kathleenianziti5480 Před 3 lety +1

    So good to hear from you tonight. These all sound interesting - I’ll be looking forward to seeing you review them. I finished The Overstory today. There was a lot that I liked about it, but I found the ending to be underwhelming. And the characters’ romance with the trees to be overdone. But that’s how literature works with the suspension of disbelief. Now I’m reading Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago, historical fiction taking place in 18th century Portugal. Fifty some pages in and I’m loving it.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Thank you Kathleen for watching. This Saramago novel is still on my TBR list. My partner loves it, I should pick it up soon.

  • @frgabrielmary4620
    @frgabrielmary4620 Před 3 lety

    Had to put down Shuggie Bain less than a quarter in. Well-written or not, I just can't handle another slide into debauchery tale. I'd love to understand better why many find it fine literature. Looking forward to your review.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      My socks weren’t falling off either when I was listening to it, but will try to pick it up in a physical copy to see how that goes.

  • @Gagging4Lit
    @Gagging4Lit Před 3 lety

    Adore Mirror and the Light - but still loved the shortlist this year!

  • @mikhailareads7405
    @mikhailareads7405 Před 3 lety +1

    COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED!

  • @OjaswiShxrma
    @OjaswiShxrma Před 3 lety

    I’m really curious and excited by the shortlist. I haven’t read any of the ones shortlisted but surprisingly, I’m interested in all of them and also haven’t heard many terrible things about them. I don’t really care if or if not Mantel was shortlisted since the other books seem to be deserving of a spot on the shortlist, even if they can’t be compared to Mantel. A lot of what I’ve been hearing about her has been about her being a prolific author versus the book itself, which is also why I’m inclined to not be bothered by it at all.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Have you read Wolf Hall or Bring up the bodies?

    • @OjaswiShxrma
      @OjaswiShxrma Před 3 lety

      @@WhatKamilReads haha, I wasn't denying her artistic abilities. I was more so talking about how it probably doesn't affect her since she's already a big name

  • @sandra7319.
    @sandra7319. Před 3 lety +6

    Love these live videos.....but Real Life brilliant???....🤦🏻‍♀️

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Will explain in my video and pay attention to brilliant “little” book 😊

  • @omololaagbe-davies877
    @omololaagbe-davies877 Před 3 lety +1

    It's a great shortlist. Interesting year for the Booker. Can't wait. I suppose with all that has happened in 2020 it is only natural that the prize be more inclusive. This taking nothing away from the brilliance of the writers' work. Have heard great things of all the shortlisted books and personally loved The Shadow King! Your Hilary humor....lol

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      What do you think now, that the award was given to Suggie Bain?

  • @isabelleangouleme
    @isabelleangouleme Před 3 lety

    I am deeply disappointed that Apeirogon didn’t make the list - it is so inventive and well-crafted. Choices such as New Wilderness puzzle me.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Yes, I am too bcs of the the fantastic book it is, but this sexual harassment business McCann is involved with is very nasty so I can understand the fear of booker being involved with it... a difficult thing to judge, on one hand literary merit should rule but then when you give money to an individual ...

  • @natalya6091
    @natalya6091 Před 3 lety

    Thanks a bunch, dear friend.🇷🇺

    • @natalya6091
      @natalya6091 Před 3 lety

      Good morning, dear Kamil!
      Where're you originally from?
      What did you graduated from?
      Greetings from Moscow, Russia.🇷🇺

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Poland, I graduated from law and political science, work in finance though.

    • @natalya6091
      @natalya6091 Před 3 lety

      @@WhatKamilReads Thank you very much!

  • @justinreader2804
    @justinreader2804 Před 3 lety +2

    I’d be interested in your thoughts on the new wilderness I really didn’t get along with it. I felt a book about meandering around a wilderness literally felt quite meandering and most of the action was done after part 1- I assume it only made it because it’s about climate change and the world is burning down and there are like 5 hurricanes coming at us at a time but still I did not enjoy that read at all.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      I had a similar feelings, I talk a bit about it in my Booker Reaction video.

  • @browngirlreading
    @browngirlreading Před 3 lety +1

    Loving this shortlist! Hillary. who?

  • @drawyourbook876
    @drawyourbook876 Před 3 lety +5

    I was so disappointed...

    • @ZimmReads
      @ZimmReads Před 3 lety +1

      :( its true. its so potent in your review!

    • @ZimmReads
      @ZimmReads Před 3 lety +2

      wait till you read How Much of These Hills is Gold. you'll be even more crushed. :D

    • @drawyourbook876
      @drawyourbook876 Před 3 lety

      Zimm Reads I need to start it soon! But I need to finish my current read first, then I will know which side of the argument I am in

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety +1

      I’ll watch you reaction tomorrow

  • @andrewrussell2845
    @andrewrussell2845 Před 3 lety +3

    Very disappointed with the judges. Makes me question the validity of the Booker as a worthwhile prize to follow.

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      Because of Mantel or something else?

    • @andrewrussell2845
      @andrewrussell2845 Před 3 lety +2

      @@WhatKamilReads partially Mantel but I think in recent years, the prize has elevated qualities other than penmanship. That's not to say the books selected are poor - no doubt they are all of a high standard - no, it's more that factors such as diversity of authorship, the premise of the book (rather than how well it is actually written) and whether the author has any black marks against their name in terms of personal controversy, all seem to have vastly superceded the actual quality of the book itself. Apeirogon blasts the socks off Shuggie Bain for example...I'm sure that others have a different opinion but when I saw the shortlist, I just thought 'Uuuuuugh...'. Having said all that, there will always be SOME value to the prize, as it will no doubt spark interest from those who might only read a select handful of books a year.

  • @harryleighton5178
    @harryleighton5178 Před 3 lety +1

    Come on...Real Life sucks

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety

      But what sucks about it?

    • @harryleighton5178
      @harryleighton5178 Před 3 lety

      WhatKamilReads the characters 😭😭 oh my god, the characters. Wallace and his constant forgiving of horrible behaviour towards him. Like, what was that ending? Sorry, pass 😅

    • @WhatKamilReads
      @WhatKamilReads  Před 3 lety +1

      Harry Leighton yes, of course but that was exactly for the reason of recreating the frustration a reader felt reading Yanagihara’s A little life. When reading Taylor I felt like screaming “for fuck sake, say something to these bunch racist morons” ... but that was the point I felt.

    • @harryleighton5178
      @harryleighton5178 Před 3 lety

      WhatKamilReads I didn’t get that feeling at all in a little life 🙈 I think the backstory should have been more fleshed out for Wallace instead of only having nine pages

    • @harryleighton5178
      @harryleighton5178 Před 3 lety

      WhatKamilReads that being said..I did really like the dinner party section. And some of the social commentary was really well done. But I don’t think it should have been in the shortlist 😳😢