I’ve been fickle, I admit it. I had a brief meaningless fling with my new friend, Kindle, but it’s over, trust me. Oh, I keep in touch for old times sake, and I take the old thing away on trips to keep it happy, but actually it only really served to rekindle (!) my love affair with books. I am back to books for good.
There is something so beautiful and timeless about books. I just have to see a pile and I swear the endorphins start coursing through my veins at the rate of knots! I even have a collection of pictures of books on shelves and fantasise about having my very own library, with a comfortable velvet armchair, a continual supply of cups of tea on hand, and a crystal decanter of gin for evenings. What bliss.
So just imagine how excited I get when I see a whole stack of books written by women. Baileys have released their long list for women’s fiction prize. The judges were Laura Bates, Shami Chakrabarti, Grace Dent, Helen Dunmore and Cathy Newman. Chair of the judges, Shami Chakrabarti, said this year was “particularly strong” for women’s fiction. I’d have loved to have been on that judging panel, although as our home is already bursting at the seams with books perhaps it’s just as well.
*The shortlist will be revealed on 13 April, and the winner named on 3 June, 2015.
This year’s longlist in full:
- Rachel Cusk – Outline
- Lissa Evans – Crooked Heart
- Patricia Ferguson – Aren’t We Sisters?
- Xiaolu Guo – I Am China
- Samantha Harvey – Dear Thief
- Emma Healey – Elizabeth is Missing
- Emily St John Mandel – Station Eleven
- Grace McCleen – The Offering
- Sandra Newman – The Country of Ice Cream Star
- Heather O’Neill – The Girl Who Was Saturday Night
- Laline Paull – The Bees
- Marie Phillips – The Table of Less Valued Knights
- Rachel Seiffert – The Walk Home
- Kamila Shamsie – A God in Every Stone
- Ali Smith – How to be Both
- Sara Taylor – The Shore
- Anne Tyler – A Spool of Blue Thread
- Sarah Waters – The Paying Guests
- Jemma Wayne – After Before
- PP Wong – The Life of a Banana
I’ve been fortunate enough to interview many authors. Here’s a selection of those interviews you might enjoy while we’re on a book theme:
Sarah Sheridan, novelist, in conversation
Kathy Lette, author and very funny woman
RenewYou is my international one day course for women. Naturally it has a book with it! Find out more by clicking this link.
*The shortlist was announced on April 13th and here it is:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah
Hannah Kent – Burial Rites
Jhumpa Lahiri – The Lowland
Audrey Magee – The Undertaking
Eimear McBride – A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing
Donna Tartt – The Goldfinch
RenewYou, My Tried and Tested Career Booster!
RenewYou has helped thousands of women make positive and lasting change in their lives. I deliver it one-to-one as part of a bespoke coaching package for women looking to move into leadership, to progress their career, or who wish to be the absolute best version of themselves.
Posted on March 11th, 2015 by Jane
