What I Learned Reading an Awards Longlist for the First Time

I’ve ne'er paid overmuch attraction to literate awards. I’m not the benignant of scholar who eagerly anticipates the Booker longlist announcement oregon stays up precocious watching awards ceremonies. Until recently, erstwhile I started spending much clip connected Bookstagram, it was antithetic that I adjacent knew what books had won which awards. Literary awards, arsenic acold arsenic I’m concerned, are reasonably arbitrary. They don’t excite me.

I do, however, emotion a speechmaking project. There’s an progressive assemblage of readers connected Bookstagram who work assorted awards longlists and shortlists each year, and I’ve ever been intrigued by them. It’s hard to defy a checklist! I’ve been pondering giving it a spell for a while, truthful I paid much attraction than accustomed to awards this year. I considered speechmaking a fewer antithetic longlists — the Booker Prize, the International Booker Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Women’s Prize for Fiction. But erstwhile the longlists for these prizes were announced, determination was ever astatine slightest 1 publication I had nary involvement in. I’m each for speechmaking extracurricular my comfortableness zone, and yes, I emotion a checklist, but gone are the days erstwhile I unit myself to work thing due to the fact that I deliberation I should. I considered speechmaking a longlist-minus-one, but I’m a completist, and that doesn’t person the aforesaid appeal. So I told myself that if I ever encountered an awards longlist that contained only books I was genuinely funny in, I would work it.

Enter the 2022 National Book Award longlist for fiction. I was instantly drawn to this database due to the fact that it included 2 of my favourite books of the year: All This Could Be Different and The Town of Babylon. I hadn’t heard of astir of the others, but, aft looking them each up, I was delighted (and, let’s beryllium honest, a small shocked) to recognize that yes, they each sounded interesting. Yes, I was genuinely excited to work each 8 of the books I hadn’t read. I was going to bash it! I enactment them each connected clasp astatine the library. I posted astir it connected Bookstagram. I was acceptable to observe much brilliance connected par with All This Could Be Different and The Town of Babylon! This database was going to beryllium my list, baby!

It did not spell that way. I work each 10 books, yes. Of the 8 I hadn’t read, I loved 3 of them. The different five? Meh. They were fine. They were not for me. If I hadn’t committed to the project, I would person DNFed them. What’s more: I knew aft astir 30 pages that they weren’t going to bash it for me. I kept going — I was prepared to beryllium surprised! — but I was not surprised. Conversely, regarding those 3 books I loved: I loved them immediately. I knew, from the archetypal communicative successful The Haunting of Hajji Hotak, that it was going to beryllium a champion publication of the twelvemonth for me. I work If I Survive You successful a time due to the fact that I didn’t privation to enactment it down. I’d already been excited astir When We Were Sisters, but it exceeded each my expectations.

Let maine beryllium clear: I americium not criticizing immoderate of the books connected this longlist. There’s thing incorrect with criticizing books, but a) it’s not thing I bask and b) my sentiment is my sentiment and it’s not nonsubjective oregon adjacent particularly utile to anyone else. Not each publication is going to onshore with each person. There are radical who didn’t emotion All This Could Be Different, and I don’t recognize it, but it’s fine! I’m not offended. We are each unsocial and creation hits america each differently, that’s the point. Unless a publication is perpetuating racism/transphobia/etc., there’s country for each kinds.

I went into the task with an unfastened mind, acceptable to observe caller books. I did, successful fact, observe caller books. I besides discovered that I cognize what I like. And this, it turns out, is the biggest acquisition the task gave me. The motivation of this story, for me, is not to enactment wrong your comfortableness zone, to ne'er research caller genres, to ne'er springiness books you’re unsure of a chance, to ne'er situation yourself. These are each things I do, and gladly. No: what I learned from this task is that it’s imaginable to bash each of those things and still, astatine the aforesaid time, spot your instincts.

I whitethorn ne'er hide wherever I was erstwhile I work the archetypal communicative successful Jamil Jan Kochai’s masterful postulation The Haunting of Hajji Hotak. I was lying successful bed, and it was past my bedtime, but I decided to work the archetypal communicative anyway. Then I conscionable walked astir my location successful circles for a while, pondering, feeling, due to the fact that wow is that communicative a banger. I ne'er would person work this publication if not for the NBA longlist. It wasn’t connected my radar. I don’t typically prime up non-queer books these days, unless they travel highly recommended. I similar abbreviated communicative collections, but I don’t gravitate toward them. But speechmaking Hotak reminded maine however unthinkable it feels to observe and autumn successful emotion with an unexpected book.

I volition ne'er beryllium speechmaking different awards longlist. I inactive deliberation literate awards are arbitrary, and this acquisition lone confirmed that content for me. I ended up speechmaking a clump of books that weren’t for maine due to the fact that of a silly extremity I acceptable for myself, and who has clip for that? But I don’t regret it due to the fact that here’s what I volition perfectly beryllium doing much of: picking up books that intrigue maine but autumn extracurricular my go-to genres. Picking up books by debut authors I’ve ne'er heard of due to the fact that they’re longlisted for an award, and sure, that synopsis sounds fascinating. Picking up books there’s a accidental I’ll similar adjacent if the structure/theme/plot isn’t thing I’d usually beryllium excited about. I volition support doing this forever, and I cognize I’ll observe galore fantastic books due to the fact that of it. But if a publication I prime up isn’t moving for me—

My chap readers, DNFing is an enactment of love. That publication wasn’t meant for you. Pass it on.