2012 Man Booker Prize Longlist. . .

Mmmm - some really interesting books on the longlist this year.  I've not read any of them yet although I have a copy of Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies (still have to read Wolf Hall though).  The one that intrigues me the most is Alison Moore's The Lighthouse because it's the story of a man coming to grips with his life on a walking holiday, the author is from Manchester, and well, could there be a hint of homage to Woolf in it?

I also love Michael Frayn so am looking forward to reading Skios which promises his usual farce.  Will Self's Umbrella is set during the end of the First World War about a woman in a coma who only wakes up fifty years later. Communion Town by Sam Thompson bills itself as the story of a city in ten chapters as its citizens walk through it.  And The Teleportation Incident by Ned Beauman just looks like a lot of fun.

Those are the five that are on my list to try and read before the shortlist comes out on September 11th. One great thing about living now in the UK is that presumably all the books will be available now or very soon.  I notice that Umbrella has a January 2013 release date in North America, though I imagine that will change if it wins or makes the shortlist.